search-consult issue 25

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C M Y CM MY CY CMY K

www.search-consult.comS U B S C R I B E O N - L I N E

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COMING UP

IN FUTURE

ISSUES:Search in Russia

The International Executive Search MagazineThe International Executive Search Magazine

Power Shift:Are Candidates Taking the Helm?

Interview with theHR Manager of Coca-Cola CEE

Assessment:Hitting the Right Target

IIC Partners:Planning the Next Steps

In-House Search What Do YourClients Want?

ExecutiveTalent Online

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S E A R C H - I I C P A R T N E R S

4 search-consult ISSUE 25 2005

ooking past the crowded

reception on the manicured

lawn of the Bangkok Peninsula

Hotel, toward the lights of the huge

city, I IC Partners Chairman Urs

Wüthrich says simply, “Size is not

enough.”

As the leader of one of the top 10

executive search organizations in the

world, Wüthrich should know.

IIC Partners now lists 59 offices in

35 countries, covering the business

capitals of five continents. More

importantly, in his view, revenues will

surpass $100 million for the first time

in 2006, and likely by a fairly wide

margin.

But as 80-plus IIC partners and

consultants meet at their 2005 annual

general meeting in Bangkok, and

prepare to celebrate their 20th

anniversary next year in Rio de Janeiro,

Wüthrich is pressing his board of

directors and general membership to

develop plans for what he calls ‘Next

Steps’.

“We’ve outgrown the need to place

more dots on the map,” Wüthrich says.

“We have very strong coverage in

Europe, Asia/Pacific and the Americas.

We will continue to add locations,

s e l e c t i v e l y a n d s t r a t e g i c a l l y,

and we always welcome expressions

of in teres t f rom potent ia l new

members. But geographic growth is

no longer a primary focus for IIC

Partners.”

“We have the sizeand the intellectual capital

within IIC to competefor very senior searchassignments againstthe biggest integratedsearch firms and thebest of the boutiques.We frequentlydo that verysuccessfully - butnot frequently enoughin my view,” he says.

“The reason is simply that, by their

very nature, integrated search firms

are able to focus their marketing efforts

on a few key cities and sectors — and

they have a single brand.”

THE ADVANTAGES OF BEINGLOCAL

IIC’s network of homegrown search

f i r m s , m e a n w h i l e , o f f e r s t h e

advantages of local knowledge and

long-established access to business

leaders in every country where they

operate. Eight practice groups lead

st ra tegic market ing in i t ia t ives ,

providing technical skill sets and

industry experience equal to the best

of the competition, in his estimation.

Increasingly, he says, IIC has the

critical mass necessary to raise the

profile of the shared brand. “We won’t

be signing up David Beckham or Tiger

Woods for TV ads,” he smiles. “Frankly,

it wouldn’t be the right approach, even

if we could afford it.”

Instead, he says, IIC convened a

special two-day session in Bangkok to

involve all AGM delegates in crafting

‘Next Steps’ for the organization. To

facilitate this effort, the Zürich-based

LBy Jason Starr in Bangkok

Planning theNext Steps

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5ISSUE 25 2005 search-consult

Chairman recruited Dr. Jan Kubes,

professor of strategic planning at the

world-renowned IMD (Institute of

M a n a g e m e n t D e v e l o p m e n t ) i n

Lausanne.

“IMD is recognized as one of the

world’s top business schools and Dr.

Kubes is one of the IMD stars, so you

can see we’re very serious about how

we proceed,” Wüthrich says. “This is

very practical stuff. As Jan told us,

c o r p o r a t e v i s i o n s a r e j u s t

hallucinations unless they lead very

quickly to action.”

Wüthrich explains:“As a group of independentlyowned search firms,we’re not much interestedin mass delusions.Out of these sessions,

our members havegiven us ideasfor a range of concreteinitiatives in eightareas. Now our boardis working through theprocess of assigningpriorities, budgetsand professionaltalent to these tasks.

He won’t discuss specifics of the new

projects, but it’s a safe bet they will

support his constant theme that IIC is

“the network that works.”

He says industry literature indicates

there are as many as 45 executive

search networks claiming to provide

regional or global services, with

varying degrees of credibility.

“Some of these groups are little

more than telephone referral services,

whose members wouldn’t know each

other if they met on the street,”

Wüthrich says. “They share very

little more than the hope for additional

bus iness , based on c la ims o f

geographic coverage.”

BUILDING EFFECTIVE GLOBALREACH

Wüthrich describes how one of their

“biggest jobs is to elevate the network

concept in the minds of potential

clients, or at least to differentiate our

organization from the image they may

have of a network.”

“We’ve invested a great deal of

money and 20 years’ time and effort to

build an effective and professional

search organization with genuinely

global reach. But that’s not a message

you can squeeze into every client

conversation, so we spend as much

time as we can, talking with the trade

media about these issues.”

He says I IC has grown ver y

deliberately, applying a system of due

dil igence to every new member

application, auditing the accounts of

the prospective new partner, as well

as verifying experience levels and

checking references.

“We spend a lot of time identifying

potential new members and a good

deal more on the final selection of the

f i rm who can be the s trongest

contributors in a particular market,” he

says. Every member firm is required

to attend at least two meetings per year

and to support strategies for promoting

IIC Partners regionally and globally.

Members are expected to employ

quality processes and best practices

in all their work and, most especially,

in shared transborder assignments

passed between one IIC firm and

another.

Later, with a laptop computer,

Wüthrich shows off the secure, internal

IICNet (“ice-net”) system. The home

page resembles a newspaper front

page, displaying the latest news on IIC

and member activities - and Wüthrich

says new items are posted on a nearly

daily basis.

“We employ a communications

consultant to keep our websites current

and meaningful and I call IICNet our

virtual home, because it keeps us all

informed and connected, wherever we

are in the world,” Wüthrich says. The

borders of the IICNet homepage

contain links to member directories,

business agendas, practice group

bulletin boards and downloadable

c l i e n t b r o c h u r e s , Po w e r Po i n t

presentations, IIC logo files and

information on something called a

‘clone’ website.”

Wüthrich elaborates: “We have an

IT consultant who spends part of his

time creating and updating websites

for members. We call the member sites

‘clones’ because they’re based on the

IIC model, so that our entire Internet

presence is more un i f ied and

professional. Clones can be created

very quickly and cost-effectively, so

there’s a significant value-added

impact for members.”

Wüthrich says communication is

central to IIC but peripheral to the

client.

COMMUNICATION IS KEY“Communication gives us a strong

central identity — but what the client

wants is performance on the search

Martine Bournerias* and Urs Wüthrich

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www.search-consult.com

For more information, contact:

Web: www.iicpartners.com



a s s i g n m e n t . T h e h e a r t o f o u r

professional capabilities is our system

of eight practice groups: Auto, Board

Search, Consumer and Retail, Energy,

Financial Services, Industrials, Life

Sciences and Technology,” Wüthrich

states.

Two of them are new this year, but

not really. IIC has created a new

Consumer & Retail group, but it was

formerly active as a subgroup within

the Industrials practice. The core team

just felt that Luxuries and Fast Moving

Consumer Goods needed an identity

s e p a r a t e f r o m M i n i n g a n d

Transportation sectors.

Wüthrich also describes how IIC

has a new Non-Executive Board Search

group.

“It’s based on seniorconsultants who have extensiveexperience in board search in

their own markets.

Increasingly,internationalcompanies needdirectors withinternationalexperience and sowe’ve broughttogether a group withthe experience andglobal reach to servethose clients.”

While he’s conf ident a l l th is

separates IIC sufficiently from most

other networks, Wüthrich insists that

his organization also holds certain

advantages over the larger, integrated

firms.

“We’re hearing from our contacts in

the HR community that there’s a level

of impatience with the status quo in

the search industry and that’s reflected

in some of the larger client companies

creating internal search groups. They

feel search firms have become too big,

bureaucratic and expensive and that

they’re not very responsive to specific

client needs.”

Wüthrich explains how “we’re

actual ly glad to hear that f rom

companies because we say they’re

using the wrong search firm. In fact,

this is the area where a strong network

o f independents can be more

responsive and innovative. We can

provide customized boutique services

— but we also have access to a depth

of expertise in our practice groups and

to established and effective global

connections.”

Despite the shi f t away from

geographic expansion to a strategic

focus on increasing market power, IIC

continues to add new locations. At the

Bangkok meeting, four new offices

were admitted to membership.

“We’ve added three new offices in

Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi to

our previous position in India; and put

Boston on the IIC map as well.”

Wüthrich notes all four new locations

are partners in the New York-based

Gilbert Tweed organization, which was

already an IIC member.

“Boston is very strong in Financial

Services, and a strategic addition to

our capacities in New York, London

and other financial centres,” Wüthrich

says. “And, of course, more offices in

India are a tremendous asset, both

immediately and for the future.”

Wüthrich notes that IIC now has four

offices in India, five in Greater China

and a total of 14 in the Asia/Pacific

region.

“It’s more than obvious that Asian

economies are claiming an important

position in global trade, and we have

excellent exposure throughout this

region,” he says.

“It’s also true that the management

talent pool in Asia is expanding rapidly.

More and more Asian business students

are going abroad to acquire the

language skills they need to become

truly international managers and this is

happening just as a huge cadre

of baby boomers in Europe and the

Americas are approaching retirement.

How that dynamic will play out is not

ent i re ly c lear but we are now

well positioned to play an important

role.”

Wüthrich describes how several

other prospective new members are

being developed in Europe, the

Americas and Asia/Pacific.

“We would be the first to admit that

our organizational model has its

chal lenges ,” the I IC Chairman

remarks. “But we like the advantages

it confers and we think those are

becoming more and more obvious to

the market. Over the coming months

we’ll be doing more to continue to

communicate those ideas.”

* Martine Bournerias is the Paris-based EuropeanVice-Chair of IIC Partners.

IIC Partners was formed inEurope during the mid-1980s,a n t i c i p a t i n g t h e n e e d s o fi n t e r n a t i o n a l l y c o m p e t i t i v ecompanies to access a world-classexecutive talent pool serving theemerging global economy.

Today IIC Partners celebratesits 20th anniversary as this leadingnetwork's main objective hasendured, continuing to work withclients worldwide. In fact, IICPartners is currently placed amongthe top 10 global search firms byrevenue and locations, with morethan 59 o f f i ces wor ldwide ,providing instant access to35 countries.

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S E A R C H - S U C C E S S I O N P L A N N I N G


xecutive tenures aren’t what

they used to be. With decade-

long executive stewardships a

thing of the past, today some terms are

shorter than a NFL season. A sign of

the times, boards of directors no longer

seem shocked by early exits; for some

it’s almost de rigueur.

While coping successfully with CEO

churn is critical to a company’s health

and well-being – imagine a ship

without a captain - it’s still an area that

many companies neglect. Overlooking

it is easy. There’s always a more

pressing matter and CEOs typically

avoid the topic. Correcting the damage

caused when a CEO leaves and there’s

no clear replacement, on the other

hand, is much more difficult. From lack

o f s t ra teg ic d i rec t ion to poor

o p e r a t i o n a l f o l l o w - u p , t h e

consequences can be dramatic and

lasting. Indeed, some corporations

never recover.

By planning ahead, companies don’t

just ensure continuity in leadership;

preserve intellectual property; and

create a seamless transition; they

manage their own destiny and –

importantly, when you consider the

millions of dollars most corporations

today have at stake - avoid falling

victim to circumstance.

Equal par ts ar t and science,

succession planning and management

have always been one of the best

investments a company can make. In

the current environment, that’s even

truer than ever.

NINE INSIGHTS TO MANAGE ANDPLAN CEO SUCCESSION:

1. Make it a board-owned and driven

process

Boards – independent with diverse

skills and experience - are best

equipped to choose new C-level

executives and so their leadership is

essential. CEOs, search firms and

assessment consultants are vital

process participants but responsibility

mustn’t be abdicated to them. And, in

the majority of cases, CEOs must not

be “king-makers”.

2. Let strategy drive succession

planning

Corporate strategy should dictate

the requisite core competencies for

the position being filled. The board

must determine what’s required as the

company moves ahead and how does

it relate to the open position? Is the

company expanding globally? Then

global experience is likely important.

An executive who fits the company’s

long-range strategic plan is essential.

3. Develop a talent rich company

Seeding the management team with

the right high potential talent is

fundamental to C-level succession

planning. Developing a depth and

breadth of top performers ensures

enough executive potential to fill top

posts as natural attrition takes place.

Removing low per formers and

attracting, developing and retaining

top talent are key elements to this

process.

4. Identify and groom potential CEO

candidates within the company

Determining who has C-level

potential is a critical step that benefits

f r o m o u t s i d e i n p u t . E x t e r n a l

benchmarking complements and

confirms senior management’s views,

object ive ly assesses execut ive

performance, evaluates the company’s

talent vis-à-vis the marketplaces, and

ensures cronyism doesn’t develop.

EBy Dora Vell

The Art & Science

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Web: www.vellconnection.com

Once identified, executive bench

strength must be cultivated through

challenging assignments, coaching

and exposure to different business

facets.

Man y cand id a tes sho u ld b e

developed, not just a handful. When

executives exit, the board needs to

have a choice.

5. Avoid overt horse races

An overt horse race is damaging to

a company ’s health, causing good

people to leave and depleting valuable

bench strength. Absolute discretion –

which means that internal candidates

names must be kept confidential - is

key, ensuring runners-up aren’ t

publicly embarrassed when they don’t

get the top job.

Runners-up are at risk of leaving due

to bruised egos. Avoid losing them by

thanking them for their contribution

and recognizing their importance

through “perks” like additional stock

options and choice assignments.

Bottom line, make sure they feel

attended to and valued.

6. Make it an ongoing process

Don’t create a plan and put it on a

shelf. Companies evolve over time

and with these changes new objectives

and strategies develop. As a result,

leadership requirements must be

modified accordingly and senior

managers’ performance and potential

must be reassessed. As the company

and its leaders evolve, so must the

plan.

7. Consider the emergency scenario

A key shor tcoming o f many

succession plans is their failure to deal

with emergency situations.

Corporate icon and publicly traded

Disney, when President Frank Wells

died in a helicopter crash and CEO

Michael Eisner had to undergo

emergency heart surgery, suddenly

was without its top two executives.

Literally, overnight the company ’s

bottom line and global expansion

initiatives were in question. Crises are

always unexpected. When one strikes,

hav ing an es tab l ished p lan to

seamlessly fill the vacant post with a

skilled and experienced executive is

imperative.

8. Follow “right hire” principles

When selecting a new executive, “right

hire” principles must be followed.

Perform a thorough review and

assessment of each candidate’s skills

and competencies; consider insider

versus outsider advantages; check

references diligently even of internal

candida tes ; dedica te the t ime

necessary to complete the task; and

pay what is necessary to attract the

right candidate to the position.

Choosing an outsider doesn’t mean

your succession planning has failed.

S o m e t i m e s a n e x e c u t i v e

psychologically removed from the

situation is required in order to provide

a major shift.

9 . Provide support to the new

executive

Whether an insider or outsider is

chosen, providing support through

"The First 100 Days" is essential.

Solidify the organization underneath

the execut ive by ensur ing s tar

employees do not leave; openly show

support for the new leader; and

cul t ivate acceptance by sol idly

backing the executive. Boards

can provide extra support to outsiders

by:

• Helping to diagnose the cultural

and organizational environment

• Outlining the key issues

• Detailing expectations and

• Drawing a clear picture of the

landscape.

BE PREPARED AND “HIRE RIGHT”Fr o m m a k i n g i t a b o a r d

responsibility to developing bench

strength and ending with providing

support to the chosen candidate, the

process has its challenges but is

clearly worth the time, commitment

and focus. As the old saying goes

‘failing to plan is planning to fail’ so be

prepared and when the inevitable

happens, “hiring right” will be a

rewarding process.

Dora Vell is Managing Partner ofVell & Associates Inc., a Waltham,MA-based global corporate andtechnology executive search firmspecializing in C-level and Boardsearches for Fortune 200s, fundedstart-ups, private equity and venturecapital firms. Prior to her career inexecutive search, Ms. Vell had anequally successful career intechnology, authoring sevenworldwide software patents duringher tenure at IBM. She has twoComputer Sc ience degrees(including a Masters) and an MBA.She has been a featured speaker atindustry conferences and CEOroundtables and contributes totechnology, business and humancapital media from around theglobe. She can be reached at:[email protected]

Dora Vell

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S E A R C H - C E E


s one of the fastest growing

emerging marke ts in the

world’s economy, Centra l

Eastern Europe (CEE) is a key target

a r e a f o r m a n y i n t e r n a t i o n a l

companies. The majority of countries

in this region have impressively pulled

themselves out of undemocratic

regimes and a proportion of them are

now members of the European Union,

with more to follow in their footsteps.

All this has occurred in just fifteen

years.

As multinational companies such

as Coca-Cola, Colgate, Unilever,

GlaxoSmithKline, Procter & Gamble

and Pepsi set up regional HQ in the

CEE it is imperative for a search

provider to be able to not only

specialise in a local market search

but also have the ability to search in

neighbouring markets to be able to

effectively identify top talent.

For example: when undertaking a

project to find a senior marketing

manager for the Polish market, the

search firm must have the ability

to source high value Polish candidates

currently working in other CEE cities

such as Prague, Budapest and

Moscow. This is achieved through

a strong company network and having

local consultants and researchers

in each key city throughout this

region.

SEARCHING FOR TALENTMoreover, there is now a growing

number of CEE nationals working in

pan-European positions throughout

Western Europe or even further, such

as Japan, Korea, Australia, and the US.

A search partner must therefore have

the research and tracking ability to

effectively identify these candidates

for searches based back in their home

markets.

Within this context , i t is very

important for companies to realise that

these CEE nationals returning home

bring back to their home economies

vital international experience, coupled

w i t h l a n g u a g e s k i l l s a n d a n

understanding of other cultures -

which are vital in today’s global and

dynamic business world. While not all

CEE nationals abroad wish to return

to their home market, many do, and

while not all would be suitable for

local roles, many are.

It is imperative for a search firm to

have the ability not only to intimately

understand the client's needs, but also

its own internal ability to effectively

identify high value candidates not

always located in the obvious places

as well as managing this highly valued

talent pool over time.

At the same time, companies since

2002, especially in the FMCG sector,

are focusing on developing local

talent. They is an ever increasing

number of high-value CEE nationals

who are reaching their peak in their

local emerging markets, and they are

now looking for - and obtaining -

opportunit ies to work in mature

markets. Firms like Reckitt Benckiser,

Unilever and Danone have been

extremely active in taking high calibre

C z e c h s , S l o v a k s , Po l e s a n d

Hungarians into developed markets

such as France, UK and Holland.

Although this movement is more

common in commercial roles, such as

marketing and sales, we are now

beginning to see this extending to

A

Central Eastern Europe:

By Mark Hamill

AnEvolvingMarketplace

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o t h e r i n d u s t r i e s , s u c h a s H R ,

Pr o d u c t i o n , S u p p l y C h a i n a n d

Finance.

We have noticed that candidates

who achieve a high level of local

experience may be missing out on

other areas of development since

working in a European marketing HQ

is a very different level of exposure

than working in an executive role in

a local market. Working abroad helps

candidates acquire a deeper level of

strategic understanding and better

conceptual skills. It allows them to

gain valuable personal experience in

learning how to work more effectively

in a larger market as well as how to

be able to adapt to working in a

different market with new challenges

such as a new language, culture and

so forth.

CLIENTS’ EXPECTATIONSAs the candidates change, so do

the clients. In the mid to late 90s, the

trend was to fill seats in IT, FMCG,

Retail and Banking sectors for mostly

P r o j e c t M a n a g e r s , C a t e g o r y

Managers and Key Account Managers.

At that stage if you had a decent

profile, there were opportunities for

y o u . C o m p a n i e s g r e w t o

unsustainable sizes and many had to

cut back when the results simply were

not there. Unilever, for example, cut

back from 15 Key Account Managers

to 5 in one Key Account Cycle in one

of the key regional marketplaces.

Roles in finance (CFO/Finance

Directors) in addi t ion to Sales

Directors are of recent importance

throughout the region. There is also

a new focus in Supply Cha in ,

particularly in FMCG markets such as

Poland and Russia. Trade Marketing

and Category Managers are other

areas where companies can gain a

c o m p e t i t i v e a d v a n t a g e i n t h e

marketplace.

Now there is a much more cautious

approach to hiring, more thought goes

into what really is needed as role

profiles tend to be better produced

and more complete. It has become

more popular to use assessment

centres and psychometric testing as

part of the recruitment procedures.

This approach is obviously more

scientific, but the main concern is how

HR Managers are paying less attention

to instinct and gut feelings, preferring

the hire to be based on figures and

results. And quite simply, once a

candidate has been through one of

these tests it becomes relatively easy

to know what you are being asked for

when it comes to future testing. How

many execut ives would ace an

psychometr ic tes t due to t rue

knowledge and skill versus having the

appropriate knowledge and skill to

play the system?

Difficulties also arise in mid-level

searches where there is a larger pool

of average candidates, thereby taking

more time to cover a market for a good

calibre Key Account Manager or Trade

Market ing Manager than for a

Market ing Director or Countr y

Manager. A search partner should take

the time and effort in the beginning of

t h e p r o c e s s t o m a n a g e t h e i r

expectations versus what exists in the

market.

Zbigniew Plaza, Country Manager

for Russia and Poland explains: “We

a lso have to look a t the vas t

differences in each of our countries.

For example, in Poland i t is an

employer market where it is relatively

easy to approach and to convince

candidates whereas in Russia it is an

e m p l o y e e m a r k e t w h e r e i t i s

extremely difficult to motivate the

candidate where there is a lack of

corporate culture and a lack of

loyalty.”

CHANGES IN THE MARKETThe search market i tsel f has

changed considerably since the 90’s,

when it was dominated by the major

players, amongst other European

branded search and selection firms.

The CEE was seen as easy markets

for these firms, and few really had the

quality approach and local knowledge

that is required.

Since then many search firms have

come and gone, but there are now a

handful of quality search partners with

the vital deep local and regional

knowledge.

Currently the more stable markets

in the region are Czech Republic and

Hungary, with Poland not far behind.

New markets for us include Romania

and Ukraine, as they develop closer

links to the EU and we find ourselves

doing more work in both of those

countries.

I believe the market will change

even further in the coming years, with

a return to solid business, companies

driven by character and drive and a

unique approach to developing each

market. Making it work for the future

very much depends on the people;

having seen some wonderful ideas

and companies fail due to deficiences

in the management teams, both in

Western and Central Europe. I firmly

believe that posit ive motivation,

energy, drive and ambition are the

cornerstones for any company to

s u c c e e d , p a r t i c u l a r y i n t h i s

continiously emerging region.

According to B lake Wi t tman,

Country Manager, Czech Republic

and Slovakia: “Performing a search in

CEE today is a more daunting task

than even just five years ago. Gone

are the days of asking three or four

Mark Hamill

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Web: www.spenglerfox.com

contacts for a great Finance Director

or outstanding Marketing Manager.

This was the more common way of

finding people because there simply

weren't too many people with the ideal

profiles. Approaching 17 years after

the iron curtain fell CEE nationals now

challenge Western European nationals

for exper ience in in ternat ional

companies and are increasingly

scrupulous about choosing a business

school . And thus search ing i s

now certainly a wider, more extensive

and more in-depth task than years

before as the markets compete and

somet imes beat , the i r Western

counterparts.”

Peter Szabo, Country Manager

Hungary states: “I believe the two

most important factors for clients

when looking at a search partner in

CEE are reliability and contact base.

I am not thinking about a database of

candidates or clients but rather a

network in a given sector who share

with us relevant information about the

sector, the market, the candidates in

t h e m a r k e t , p r o c e s s e s a n d

connections between organisations,

suppliers and partners as well as

helping us determine the level of the

selected or targeted individuals. Vital

to this building of a network are:

personal attributes of the consultant,

relationship with the consultant and

the service level of the team.”

Brian Rovetta, Practice Group

Leader IT/Telco who is based in

Moscow and has been a search

consultant for the CEE markets for 9

years, believes that today’s consultant

needs to be “much more professional

than was previously accepted, with a

greater depth of experience and

understanding within the markets they

operate in. Previously, in the late 90’s,

anyone who could sell was seen as

b e i n g a p o t e n t i a l c o n s u l t a n t ,

regardless of their background. The

search consultant of today must not

only be able to sell but needs to

combine this skill with an in-depth

understanding of their particular

markets (geographical and business

sector) and a proactive consultative

approach to the process.”

As someone who has been living in

the CEE since 1997 and working in

executive search since 1999, I have

s e e n m a n y c h a n g e s i n t h e

environment, the people and the

opportunities. If we take for example

the local talent in the region; the initial

wave of high value nationals has come

and gone - many CEE nationals who

joined the likes of Procter, Unilever

and Coke in the early 90’s developed

careers at an unpreceedented rate

compared to developed markets.

Many climbed the heights of senior

level management in four to six years.

Companies gave these high value

locals opportunties, and many still

value the “mentor” approach taken by

certain expat managers they worked

with. Other companies allowed locals

only to achieve certain levels within

companies and repeated cycles of

expats for many years, much to the

frustration of the bubbling pool of local

talent below. Certain expats viewed

opportunites in CEE markets as

merely stepping stones for their

careers and did not attempt to develop

those below them as they could have.

More recently however, particularly

over the past three years, it is possible

to perceive a more realistic view of

what can be acheived in these

markets. The pot at the end of the

rainbow scenario no longer exists and

companies know that they will only

succeed in these markets through the

right management (which can be

purely local, or a mixture of an expat

and a local), the right strategy and

solid decision-making. More and

more HR people see the value in

promoting high value nationals to

opportunities in developed makets,

upgrading skill levels locally and

invest ing in the future of local

management. What we recently do

see is those who are now in senior

level local positions have a much

more levelled approach to doing

business, and are more focused

having seen both good and hard times.

When one considers what was

happening in Western Europe just 15

years ago and then looks at the former

Eastern Europe and how it functions

today - i t is without a doubt an

impressive metamorphosis. With the

right global network and a dedicated

team of local and internat ional

consultants who understand the

changes this region has undergone

and continues to undergo, there will

be, for the foreseeable future, a strong

market for executive search, providing

the search firm provides the right

partnership and transparency to the

client.

Mark Hamill, Regional Director CEEfor SpenglerFox, has conductedexecutive search for seven years andhas completed over 230 searches. Hehas placed mid to senior level executivesacross all sectors in the CEE and Russianmarkets with a special focus on FMCG,Retail and Pharma/Healthcare.

Mark began his career in search in1999, working at Antal International. Hethen joined Pedersen & Partners in CEE.He joined the SpenglerFox Group in 2003.Prior to executive search, Mark workedas an International Brand Manager forHeineken in Dublin and Prague.

Of Irish origin, Mark speaks Czech,Spanish and French in addition to hisnative English.

H e c a n b e c o n t a c t e d a t :[email protected]

Defying all conventional practices,since launching its brand in 2003,SpenglerFox has opened twelve officesacross Europe and the Middle East,proving to its clients and investors, itsnetwork’s dedication to being a leadingpartner in executive search.

SpenglerFox is the Executive Searchwing of Grafton Recruitment, the whollyowned Irish group established 25 yearsago. SpenglerFox, established just twoyears ago now has twelve offices and aclient list that defies conventionalexpectations.

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n an era that is increasingly international

and interconnected, success depends

on innovation and in-depth knowledge

of the different markets where a company

operates. As globalisation intensifies, more

and more multinational firms are opening

offices in emerging markets as they look to

expand and claim a stake in these new

frontiers.

The Coca-Cola Company is fully aware

of this as it affirms that its success is based

on being innovative in marketing, with its

brands and consumer relationships that

reflect the unique character of the markets

where they are established.

In fact, this company has been in operation

for more than a century and is currently the

world's leading manufacturer, marketer, and

distributor of non-alcoholic beverage

concentrates and syrups, used to produce

nearly 400 beverage brands, with local

operations in over 200 countries around the

world.

Aniko Szabadfalvi, HR Manager ofCentral Eastern Europe (CEE) for

Coca-Cola, talks to search-consult to discuss

how this company must be extra careful to

make sure that the talent they select

incorporates the company’s core values,

matches the cultural fit and can effectively

contribute to the company’s present and

future growth. Finding the right search

provider, in turn, is fundamental to be able

to continue selecting outstanding talent that

will help them keep their competitive edge.

DEVELOPING TALENTAs HR Manager, it is essential that she

make sure that Coca-Cola can continue to

attract the right talent. Most importantly, the

brand name is still very attractive.

Then as a leading global company,

explains Ms. Szabadfalvi, there is a variable

workload offering interesting challenges and

opportunities as these talented individuals

can make local decisions with strategic and

global implications. In fact, Coca-Cola

strongly believes local execution has, and

will continue to benefit this company’s long-

term success.

She describes how people today want a

job where they can enjoy what they are doing.

Therefore, Coca-Cola aims to offer them an

enjoyable work environment while at the

same time providing them opportunities to

continue to develop so that these

talented individuals can feel that they

are gaining valuable experience and

knowledge.

“Good opportunities, good development

plans and good compensation” are vital to

attract and then retain these highly valued

employees.

Within this context, the recruitment

process is instrumental. Ms. Szabadfalvi

states: “We may spend more time focusing

on the selection process because it is

important that we get the match right the first

time since we don’t have the luxury to get it

wrong.”

She then explains how her and her team

are very meticulous. They must not only think

about the immediate position that must be

filled, but must broaden the reach so that the

selection process encompasses the right fit

for the future as well.

“We make sure we select very carefully,

not just in the short term but looking longer

term and at a bigger scope,” declares Ms.

Szabadfalvi.

LOOKING AT A BIGGER SCOPEAs HR Manager, Ms. Szabadfalvi notes

that she must be able to identify and select

talent that has the potential to be developed

even further. For very senior roles the search

may be global, but usually is regional, which

means searching within 7 countries to find

this sought-after talent.

For her, the profile will include people that

can possibly be moved within Central Eastern

Europe, but also beyond.

She must assess if the person can perform

the job at hand effectively, but can also be

efficient if moved to a different country or

given more regional responsibilities.

Therefore, evaluating the mobility of the

candidate is essential.

Moreover, “we need to assess if the person

is flexible, cooperative and open to changes.”

According to Ms. Szabadfalvi, it is vital

that the candidate embody the values of the

company, such as excellence, honesty,

integrity and responsibility. He or she also

has to respect the unique customs and

cultures in the communities where Coca-

Cola operates.

SELECTING THE RIGHT SEARCH FIRMAs Ms. Szabadfalvi strives to find the right

match, it is equally important that she strives

to find the right search provider.

She explains that there are various options

to choose from. On one hand, there are the

local boutiques that offer a reliable and

personalised service. On the other hand,

there are the big international search firms

that offer industry expertise with global

connections.

Ms. Szabadfalvi prefers to use both types,

depending on the requirements of the search

IBy Pilar Gumucio

to Remain Successful

Coca-Cola:Selection is Key

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S E A R C H - H R I N T E R V I E W


assignment. “Although I might have a list of

providers that I prefer to use, they may not

cover a particular area that I am looking for.

For instance, they may be great in filling a

marketing position, but if we need to fill a

technical position then I would select a

company that has more expertise in this

particular area.”

There are those search firms that meet

her expectations, and therefore she will

repeatedly use them. At the same time, she

is eager to keep her options open, reviewing

her existing list of providers as well as

meeting new ones that will be able to

demonstrate that they can provide quality

service.

CONFIDENCE AND EXPERTISEIn the end, what counts is the quality

service the search firm can provide. This,

coupled with who is running the business,

is fundamental.

Ms. Szabadfalvi declares: “It is really

personal! They must be able to demonstrate

that they know what they are doing, they

know the market, they know the industry,

they have the necessary experience in

executive search and what type of experience

they have so I have the sufficient confidence

in these consultants” to be effective in

carrying out their searches.

She highlights industry expertise as

paramount. “Does the search consultant

really know the particular industry Coca-

Cola is operating in? How much does he or

she really know about the talents working in

it? How familiar is he or she with our

company?”

Another element that Ms. Szabadfalvi

considers to be important, especially since

she is covering 7 countries, is finding a quality

search firm that operates throughout Central

Eastern Europe. This can be beneficial, as

she does not have to take the time to re-

explain Coca-Cola's expectations but can

simply contact this firm’s consultant and

initiate a search.

She explains: “The search firm already

knows your culture, your challenges, the

difficulties you are facing, what you are

planning and what opportunities are arising

as the overall strategy is the same throughout

this region. They already know Coca-Cola

and what we are looking for.”

Ms. Szabadfalvi admits that there are

differences in each country, but the search

firm is also already aware of them. This is

favourable for both parties, as they can

immediately begin managing the intended

search.

PERMANENT COMMUNICATIONThe HR Manager of Central Eastern

Europe for Coca-Cola strongly believes that

search firms have a fundamental role in

updating her and her company

on what is happening in the industry and

market.

She states: “ I have regular conversations

with the search firms I am working with on

what is happening in these countries and

what is happening when it comes to

marketing because they are acting as my

consultants.”

According to Ms. Szabadfalvi, it is vital

that the search provider always puts the client

first. She describes how the firm really needs

to know and thoroughly understand

Coca-Cola. Sometimes this is difficult

because “consultants might like one

candidate over another, but the best service

they can provide is defining what the best is

for Coca-Cola.”

As HR Manager of Central Eastern Europe

for the company, she strongly believes that

the success in finding and selecting the right

candidate is a joint effort. Within this context,

it is important that she and her team be closely

involved in the whole search and selection

process.

Ms. Szabadfalvi states: “We are extremely

careful in spending a lot of time in the

selection process. We have to be sure we

obtain the right match since we know better

than the search firm what our cultural fit is.

They may have some idea from working with

us, but ultimately, it is more our responsibility

to select the right candidate.”

To help with the selection process, Ms.

Szabadfalvi considers that an assessment

tool can really add value to the process, and

especially helps support the decision taken

when hiring the selected candidate.

She notes: “I have seen many times where

the candidates have been brilliant but the

company culture was not appropriate for

them to perform well in. If we ask the search

firm to carry out an assessment for us these

issues can be identified before we make the

final decision.”

One of the advantages of having the

search firm perform this task is that “they

are already familiar with the profile, the

position required and well, the entire

process.”

What is essential is that Ms. Szabadfalvi

makes sure that the selected search provider

and her firm are in constant communication.

There is continuous contact throughout

the entire process. “We are discussing what

companies are included in the search as

well as where they are searching,” she

comments.

“There must be total honesty between

us,” Ms. Szabadfalvi declares.

She must be able to give the consultant

her honest feedback if it was a right fit or not,

and why she believes this to be the case. In

turn, Ms. Szabadfalvi expects the consultant

to be completely honest with the progress

of the search, and especially if there are

difficulties arising so that she has the

opportunity to redefine the original profile.

“During these discussions I try to make

sure I know exactly what is occurring so I

can see the effort the search firm is doing

and I feel confident that they have done

everything required to find the right person,”

states Ms. Szabadfalvi.

If this is carried out effectively, both the

client and the search provider will have

achieved their aim of finding the right match.



Web: www.coca-cola.com

Ms. Szabadfalvi has over 14 years seniormanagement experience in human resourcefunction at different multinational companies.Currently, she is HR Manager at the Coca-Cola Company, taking responsibilityfor Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Polandand the Baltics.

Previously, Ms. Szabadfalvi worked forHBO as HR Manager for Central and EasternEurope from 2001-2003. Before thatappointment she was HR Manager of EricssonHungary Ltd. from 1998-2001. Prior to thatrole, Ms. Szabadfalvi was Chief Officer forSales and Administration at the HR departmentof Coca-Cola from 1994-1998 (Coca Cola’sHungarian bottler). Before that, she was aTraining Manager of Pizza Hut Hungary from1991-1994.

Ms. Szabadfalvi graduated at the JanusPannonius University of Science in 1997. Shecompleted her MBA studies at the BudapestTechnical and Economic University in 2004.

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S E A R C H - I M D

by Pilar GumucioMD International Search & Consulting

has been around for over 30 years now,

as its formula for success has been

based on its ability to work with its partners

and clients to help find and develop top talent

on a global scale.

Sherilyn Shackell, Board Director of IMD

and CEO of Highfield Human Solutions in

the UK, explains how the last few years have

marked enormous changes, especially from

a client requirement perspective.

“Although there has always been a need

for a global supply, there is now more of a

need to pull talent from countries outside of

the clients own domestic market and to find

those people with international experience

that maybe working as expats at the moment,”

she states.

This is a real challenge because clients

are no longer requesting that a search for a

top-level executive be based in, and for,

one country. The scope of the search must be

broadened to include multi-country searches.

As globalisation intensifies, clients are also

requesting that the candidate pools be

broadened. Shackell explains how clients

now look at the skill sets and culture fit of

candidates rather than just the practical

experience.

As a result, the search process is evolving.

She elaborates: “A search used to be very

classically directed within the client’s own

industry sector and within the core role

function. For instance, a search for a SVP in

Marketing would be focussed in the

marketing function, in the direct competition,

and within the country that the position is to

be based. Today, in order to find exceptional

talent, the process needs to be much broader.

You now need to look in additional countries

for that talent, in other additional functions

and you need to look outside your client’s

competition base.”

“If you were conducting a search for a

Managing Director in the UK,” Shackell adds,

“it is possible that the best candidate might

currently be a SVP for a telecom company

based in Prague, but is a British expat. It is

vital that we widen our scope to be able to

find the right candidate.”

As a result, IMD is adapting its processes

to ensure it continues to add value to their

clients, providing them with unparalleled

levels of service for all of their global

resourcing needs.

She insists: “As suppliers we need to be

able to adapt very quickly, to think outside

the box, to be more innovative and to be

more flexible as we partner with our clients.”

“IMD provides this level of service

because we are all owner-managed

businesses that stand, or fall, on the

relationships we have with our clients, as well

as our partners within the organisation,” says

Shackell.

AIMING TO BE A WORLD LEADERIMD, which is a global affiliation of first

class executive search firms that are leaders

in their domestic markets, combines the

boutique flavour with global accessibility.

This formula has definitely proven effective,

as IMD’s total revenues have grown by over

30% during the last twelve months.

At its latest worldwide conference held in

Zürich, IMD announced its expansion into

five countries. New partners included INX

Executive Search in India, Bubenik & Partners

in Czech Republic, Executive Network in

Poland, Epsen Fuller & Associates in the US

and Corinthe Executive Search in Holland.

IMD’s expansion plans do not stop there.

They are currently conducting new partner

acquisitions in Russia, Canada, South America

and the Middle East. They are also looking

to further their development within the US.

Shackell affirms: “Our absolute strategic

objective is to be within the top 10 search

firms worldwide based on revenue.”

She explains that IMD currently has

reached the top 10 by the number of offices,

but that is not enough. They want to be within

the top 10 by revenue, and they want to reach

that objective by 2007.

Shackell admits that it is “quite an

ambitious growth plan, but we were bang on

target this year,” and she is optimistic that

IMD will continue to move closer to achieving

this objective.

She describes how “these growth plans

are responding to what our clients are

requesting from us. For instance, last year

our clients needed capability in Asia and so

we brought in Malaysia, China and India.

This year we are responding to our clients

needs of where they need us to be in order

for us to continue to support them.”

At the moment, IMD is strong in Europe

and Asia, with the Americas in the process

of being developed.

“We have expanded into Eastern Europe,

gaining a foothold in Poland and the Czech

Republic," comments Shackell. “We are

building a strong capability in this area as

well.”

She explains how the world is changing

at different rates. “For instance, the UK market

has been saturated for such a long time; we

desperately need to innovate our offering if

we are going to add any real value to our

clients.”

According to Shackell, there are some

markets, such as India and Eastern Europe,

IMD:Makinga Global Imprint

I

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S E A R C H - I M D

which have immature search markets.

Therefore, the services provided will

obviously be tailored to meet those clients

needs. Although methods may vary from

country to country, the recruitment processes

used are appropriate to the targeted market.

THE EXACT FITIMD partners tailor their approach to fit

exactly the local context, effectively providing:

• Global solutions with local control,

• Direct involvement with country experts,

• Deep experience with pan global search,

• No language/cultural barriers,

• Worldwide economy of scale, and

• Fast access to international candidates.

“Since we all run our own businesses,”

she states, “we can make decisions very

quickly and we can come up with new

financial models without having to go through

a massive decision-making apparatus - which

benefits our clients enormously.”

In fact, Shackell describes how IMD is

constantly looking at ways in which to innovate

their offering and provide new additional

services to clients. For instance, IMD is

effectively working on growing its capabilities

outside just pure search, either by providing

it through their partners or forming alliances.

She explains how in order to provide more

value to clients, IMD has created strong

assessment capabilities for management and

board audit, robust coaching capabilities and

a very vigorous talent management service

that offers organisational design and planning

as well as management and leadership

development.

Shackell remarks: “It’s all about developing

talent on a global scale, and that is not just

about finding new talent and bringing it in;

it’s about developing the talent you already

have. Clients are becoming more focused on

getting the most out of the talent that they have

rather than just enjoying somebody else’s,

and then having to pay for that acquisition.”

She describes how the candidate market

is also changing, which brings new

challenges. “Fifteen years ago you would

have a young executive who was willing to

sweat blood for his career, go anywhere in

the world and work ridiculous long hours to

climb that corporate ladder.”

Shackell explains how now it is getting

harder to persuade those executives to move.

There is more of a work/life balance as the

me-too-generation is changing the

psychological decision-making of senior

candidates as the power has switched

strongly from the employer in favour of the

candidate. As a result, she believes that it is

vital that search consultants walk the extra

mile in order to exhaust all potential talent

pools and identify that absolute match

between client and candidate.

CLIENTS DEMAND MORETRANSPARENCY & BETTER VALUE

As the “War for Talent” intensifies, Shackell

sees the search market consolidating as

clients continue to expect top quality searches

at real economic value. “Clients are

demanding more transparency and want to

know where their money is being spent.”

Within this context, she explains how it is

imperative that “we find ways to deliver real

economic value while utilising the fact that

we are now operating in over 50 offices in 23

countries. We have very robust processes

where we can offer clients much reduced

costs when a search covers a number of

countries or even continents, and that is

perceived as real added value to our clients.”

She notes that as owner-managed

businesses, they live and breath on their

ability to deliver results.

She then states how IMD has “robust

processes for assignment execution,

specifically when working on multi-country

searches for our clients.”

Shackell describes, for instance, how IMD

provides clients with a single Accounts

Director, which means that when a client has

three or more ongoing searches, the key

decision maker will have one contact person

that will be able to provide him or her with

feedback about the progress of each search

at any given time.

“This does not detract from the

relationship that the country will have with

the local decision maker, but it does mean

that real deep and statistical information is

fed back to the client through one point of

contact,” informs Shackell.

She explains how the relationships and

the delivery will be held very strongly in

country of the search in order for that country

to be able to use the knowledge of the cultural

environment, economic environment and so

forth.

Within this context, communication plays

a fundamental role. “We are always sharing

information. We are conferencing calling

between countries all the time, we have

partner conferences worldwide twice a year,

we have researcher conferences across the

world, we have sector groups that will meet

monthly and we have regional groups that

meet regularly. This process of sharing

knowledge has proven immensely beneficial

to our clients.”

Shackell explains that there are

performance measurements in place to

ensure that all the partners are operating

under the same key performance indicators.

She states: “This is way we can ensure

IMD always delivers quality, speed and value

for money.”

Shackell comments: “We are not a hard

sales organisation, nor are we in the luxurious

position of relying on the strength of a highly

recognised global brand for business to drop

into our laps. What we are doing is to ensure

that the quality and service levels are

so high that our clients will use us time and

time again simply because there is no reason

not to.”



Web: www.imd-search.com

Sherilyn Shackell

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S E A R C H - E X E C U T I V E A S S E S S M E N T

arlier this year I was invited to

w o r k w i t h t h e s e n i o r

management team of a major

bank located in South East Asia. The

HR Director stood up in front of her

senior management team colleagues

to introduce me. She talked about the

phenomenal growth the Bank had been

experiencing, and to the nods and

smiles of satisfaction of the group, told

them how they had hired an additional

800 staff over the past four months.

The smiles soon disappeared when,

without missing a beat, she then added

that they had also lost 700 of that 800

staff within three months!

This is not an uncommon story. All

around the world, HR and l ine

managers are making decisions about

people – whether to promote them,

hire them, relocate them overseas or

into a new area of the business. But

how is the decision being made?

I remember seeing one of the very

early John Cleese training movies years

and years ago. There was a brilliant

line in it, something along the lines of

“no one will ever admit to being a bad

dr iver, a b ad l o ver o r a b ad

interviewer”. There seems to be a

feeling that we can become good

interviewers or good assessors of

people almost by osmosis. It just

doesn’t work that way!

Reddin Partners has been doing a

lot of work in Australia and in Asia,

working with organisations looking to

recruit and retain top talent. McKinsey

spoke of “the war for talent” way back

in 2000. It hasn’t diminished. Business

is faster, more competitive and more

demanding than ever. Often the only

thing that gives a company an edge is

its people.

ASSESSING THE CANDIDATEAs I worked with my banking client

it became apparent that their senior

managers and their managers in turn,

were falling into the age-old trap of not

truly assessing the candidates they

were meeting. All the evidence was

there: “I know within 15 minutes if it’s

the right candidate”, “I have a strong

gut feel for whether or not a person

will fit”, “there was just something I

didn’t like about that candidate …” –

we’ve heard it all before.

Research has shown that anything

up to 10% of all the people in an

organisation should never have been

hired in the first place. Up to 45% of

an organisation’s population have been

“easy way out” hires – that is they’ve

got the skills to do a particular job at

a particular point of time, but they don’t

have that extra “oomph” required to

develop within the company and add

value over a period of time. Only some

25% of new hires are true “high

potential” in the sense that they have

that hidden ingredient that will ensure

their success in an organisation if they

are developed and nurtured. The

frightening thing is that only 20% of

what we would call “future leaders”

really have what it takes to be high

achievers in whatever role they’re put

into.

Most of us who recruit know that it’s

important that we look at the skills that

a person brings into the organisation

and we have a pretty good feel for the

level of those skills that we require. A

lot of recruiters also understand that

an element of “cultural fit” is important;

but all too often the real emphasis is

placed on skills, experience and

knowledge and not enough on the fit.

Let me go back to my banking client.

Sure my brief was to work with this

group of senior line managers and

refresh their basic interviewing skills,

but my real aim was to show them how

to assess candidates rather than just

interview them. It is the ability to truly

assess somebody’s fit that dictates the

success or otherwise of the hire,

promotion or transfer of that individual.

THE CULTURAL FITThose of us who work in the

executive search business have heard

our clients over the years claim that

their businesses are “unique”. Many

of us smile knowingly when we hear

this and pay lip service to the claim.

Those of us who are in the business of

assessing people need to understand

that organisations’ cultures are often

quite unique. It’s true that there are

many common factors in business and

that most businesses have to tackle the

s a m e s o r t s o f p r o b l e m s a n d

challenges. However, it is the culture

of an organisation, that unique set of

factors that almost define the “soul” of

the organisation that makes it unique.

My first challenge with my group of

banking managers was to get them to

accurately describe the culture of their

organisation, but more particularly the

factors or characteristics that a person

By David Reddin

E

wydanie 25d.fh9 12/8/05 12:47 PM




needed to demonstra te in that

organisat ion i f they were to be

successful. There are a number of

ways to uncover this information. You

can use a range or combination of

detailed interviewing of a vertical slice

of the organisation, 360 feedback

appraisal, psychometric testing – and

typically coming out the other end,

you’ll identify somewhere between four

and six factors that seem to be shared

by those people in the organisation

who are seen as the most successful.

When I took my banking clients

through this exercise it sounded very

simple to begin with. However,

complexity arises because different

people see the organisation’s culture

in different ways. They have their own

measures of success, and many define

success by what they read in

management texts or what they think

people want to hear.

My line managers came up with a

list that included such words as:

• Multi-tasking

• Capable of working under stress

• Team focused

• Results oriented

Having got this list of words out of

them, I then asked the hard question –

how many of them shared these

characteristics? Without missing a

beat, they all agreed that each and

every one of them shared all those

characteristics in common.

I then added a twist to the question.

I asked them to actually translate terms

like “team oriented” and “results

oriented” into what I call “dirty

language”. By this I mean a description

of the bland term, but a description in

such words that i t is absolutely

impossible to misinterpret what the

factor means. I gave them an example.

Many years ago I’d been asked to

recrui t a very senior sales and

marketing person for an organisation

in Melbourne . Th is company

manufactured hessian bags for the then

Australian Army sandbag contract, but

bags that were also used in abattoirs

for the storage of carcasses. The

company also had a large polythene

bag manufacturing operation and sales

of that product tended to be in the form

of mult i -mil l ion dollar contracts

negotiated in fairly plush boardroom

settings. When I asked my Managing

Director client to define some of the

key characteristics that the successful

sales and marketing person would

need to show, one of his first words

was “flexible”.

Once again I asked a question to

my banking clients. How many of them

saw themselves as “flexible”? Without

hesitat ion, al l 15 admitted their

flexibility. I said to them, “so, no one

in this room would count themselves

out of contention for this particular role

based on the fact that you are all

flexible?” Heads nodded.

A MORE IN-DEPTH FOCUSI then went on to put the word

“flexible” into “dirty language”. I

explained that flexible meant being

able to cope with the blood and guts

of a killing floor in an abattoir and yet

being equally at home negotiating a

multi-million dollar deal over an

expensive lunch in a plush boardroom

setting. I looked at the group – they

looked at me. I asked the question

again – “How many of you now see

yourself as being flexible?” Not one

hand reached to the sky.

The point I was trying to make was

that we all too often describe the

characteristics we are seeking in a

person in the most bland manner, open

to interpretation, and yet so full of value

judgement that people are always

going to count themselves in. If you

are going to assess a person accurately

you need to assess them against those

fit factors that determine success, and

you need to be able to express those

fit factors in a way that is highly

reflective of the behaviours you are

looking for in the organisation, the

behaviours that dictate success.

The interesting thing about my

banking cl ient is that , al though

everybody in the room said they were

a team player, it wasn’t true. They were

successful – they’d been with the Bank

for a reasonable period of time, they

were the leadership group and they

had taken the business through a

period of significant growth and image

enhancement. However, analysis of

those factors that appeared to be

critical to success within this Bank, and

I’m talking about analysis that had been

undertaken right around the World,

showed that the successful person

within this Bank was NOT a team

player, rather they were a very results

oriented individual who could leverage

resources and who understood that

one of the resources at their disposal

was a team.

You can see that once you put the

term “team player” into this dirty

language you actually get a feel for the

behaviours you’ll be looking for, almost

the smell and feel of the person who

is going to be successful in your

organisation, that is they are going to

fit well and blossom rather than just

exist within the company culture. So

the day continued. Between us we

were able to define six factors that do

actually predict success within this

Bank’s unique culture. That was just

the start. What we then had to do was

work through the application of an

assessment process based on an in-

David Reddin

wydanie 25d.fh9 12/8/05 12:47 PM






Web: www.reddinpartners.com.au

depth interview aimed at uncovering

c h o i c e s , p a t t e r n s , t r e n d s a n d

motivations that underpinned any

candidate’s history.

If we can acceptthat a person’s pastbehaviour will predicttheir future behaviour,

and if we cantherefo uncoverthe patterns andtrends that make uptheir history to date,we should beable to predictwith reasonableaccuracy their fitin our organisationand their ability togrow and contribute.

ESTABLISHING RAPPORTI showed my banking clients that

spending 15 minutes with a candidate

was not enough. They had to establish

rapport with the candidate and get

them to relax to the extent that the

person would begin to volunteer

information. The interviewer would

certainly guide the process, but by

going right back into their history and

starting at the beginning and working

forward, they could begin to see what

choices the individual had been faced

with in life and why they had made

those various choices, they could see

what motivated them consistently over

time, but could also see the patterns

as they began to emerge. The

interesting thing is that patterns and

trends can only be seen if you start at

the beginning and move forward – you

can’t see a trend developing if you start

with a person’s current role and move

backwards.

And so I introduced my banking

clients to a structured approach to

interviewing. I introduced them to a

range of questioning techniques that

encouraged the candidate to talk about

t h e c h o i c e s t h e y ’ v e f a c e d i n

employment, what their roles have

been about, what they liked in those

jobs and what they didn’t like in them.

I showed them how to get candidates

to talk about their achievements

(obviously making sure that they

quantified them!) and also to disclose

the feedback that they ’d received

along the way. I showed them the

importance of keeping interview notes

and writing observations as they went.

I emphasised the importance of

understanding how people view

themselves and how that should match

with their own view as the interview

progressed.

At the end of the process, I spent

time showing them how to use their

interview notes and their recorded

observations to begin to truly note the

patterns and trends that had emerged.

I stressed that they needed to be able

to point to at least three bits of

evidence before turning a hypothesis

about the candidate into a true

conclusion. That was the honesty

check, and it was designed to remove

the “gut feel” element.

It’s true that I was asking each and

every one of these senior managers to

put a little bit more time into every

interview they conducted. However,

I’d also given them a process they

could use right up front, a process to

screen candidates out and make sure

that they were, in fact, seeing fewer

candidates for each role. In this way

they were spending exactly the

same time across the total recruitment

p r o c e s s , b u t g e t t i n g b e t t e r

results.

The result? Staff turnover in this

particular region has declined by some

30%. The Bank is developing a

reputation for targeting top talent. Top

talented individuals are also becoming

aware of this as they are beginning to

apply directly to them. The cost of

recruitment has gone down, the

succession plan is back on track as

HR and line managers are sharing a

common methodology and a language

that they both understand. Candidates

know they have been given every

oppor tun i ty to se l l themselves

effectively, and even when rejected,

can be given feedback that helps them

understand the decision. This is one

of the first steps in building a reputation

as an organisation where people want

to work.

Good assessment boils down to

using a process that produces factually

based conclusions about an individual

and their potential to not only do the

job you want done today, but to

continue developing and adding value

to the organisation over time. It

demands a rigorous process, thorough

training and practice in the use of

effective interviewing skills, and a

commitment to establishing rapport

with a candidate and getting them to

“tell their story”. It demands good

reflective listening skills and the ability

to spot choices, motivations, patterns

and trends.

David Reddin has been working inthe executive search industry since1980 and is the foundation partner ofReddin Partners based in Melbourne,Australia. He works extensivelyaround Australia and throughout theAsia Pacific region, supportingclients in a range of industries inexecut ive search , execut iveassessment and executive coaching.H e c a n b e c o n t a c t e d a t :[email protected] andon +61 3 9620 4822 or +61 409 258 597.

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S E A R C H - M R I

n an increasingly demanding,

competitive and dynamic market,

today ’s companies are more

dependent on having the best talent

on their side.

MRINetwork™, which has nearly

1,100 offices in more than 35 countries

and draws on 43 years of history in the

search and recruitment industry, has

recently conducted a global survey,

reporting that because a growing

number of companies are experiencing

difficulties in filling senior and middle

management positions candidates are

now having more choices and a greater

amount of leeway to dictate the terms

a n d r e m u n e r a t i o n p a c k a g e s

companies are offering them in order

to convince them to join their team.

High turnovers and bad hires are

costing businesses millions, especially

when it comes to executive talent. As

a result, businesses are increasingly

recognis ing tha t people are a

company's most valuable asset, which

means they are ferociously battling to

attract and retain them.

Search-consult spoke to three

f r a n c h i s e m e m b e r s o f t h e

MRINetwork™ to see how the role of

the candidate is evolving, especially

in the last three years. Dave Campeas,

President and CEO for Princeton

Search Group in the US; David Roots,

Managing Director of ISM B.V. in the

Netherlands; and Tony Dickel, Chief

Executive Officer of MRI China Kong

provided us with their insight on this

interesting debate.

ATTRACT THEM RIGHTThe Managing Director of ISM B.V

explains that the smaller to mid-size

companies are reacting quicker and

more effectively to attracting the right

people, offering good packages and

terms to candidates.

However, “larger companies and

multinationals are still generally slow

to react to the change in the market

and many still act with the arrogance

and complacency that people will want

to join them because of their name,

assumed status, market posit ion

or image,” comments David Roots.

It is this precise attitude, he insists,

which is making many good candidates

turn down these larger companies,

favouring “smaller and more flexible

firms that offer them more scope and

opportunities.”

The CEO of MRI China describes

how in the olden days the company

dictated a candidate’s terms and

package, always having the last word.

“The candidate was interviewed by the

company and if there was going to be

a dominant decision maker it was the

company.”

“Now if a search is going to fail,” he

cont inues, “ i t wi l l because the

company has messed up the candidate

m a n a g e m e n t p r o c e s s , ” a s t h e

candidate has ultimately selected a

company that has a more effective

candidate management process.

Tony Dickel notes that candidates

are very cautious about the whole

recruitment process, especially the

candidate management side. A couple

of years back candidates were content

to “accept a process where they may

be interviewed 7-8 times before any

decision was made. Now we are

finding that candidates are now

requiring companies to make quicker

decisions, and they are getting fed up

with companies that can’t seem to

make that decision.”

According to David Roots, one of

the main reasons deals have failed is

because candidates are becoming

frustrated with “a company’s inability

to make a quick decision, get an offer

out to a candidate in a timely manner

and then be able to ‘se l l ’ the

opportunity effectively.”

Tony Dickel comments: “The

negative decision is more likely going

to come from the candidate versus the

client. The people we have to keep

happy in the process tend to be more

candidates versus the customer. It’s

definitely a switch.”

But what’s happening now to make

candidates have more choices and

really be able to negotiate their

packages and terms more?

WHAT’S THE CATCH?The answer, according to all three

IBy Pilar Gumucio

Power Shift:

Are CandidatesTaking the Helm?Are CandidatesTaking the Helm?

wydanie 25d.fh9 12/8/05 12:47 PM


S E A R C H - M R I


o f t h e c o n s u l t a n t s f r o m t h e

MRINetwork™, is that companies’

need to hire top talent is increasing.

The environment is changing as talent

becomes more of a premium than ever

before.

According to the President and CEO

for Princeton Search Group, in the US

there are not enough people to replace

retirees, thus providing a candidate

the upper hand in the hiring process.

Tony Dickel explains that in China

more than 3,000 new companies are

coming into that country each month.

And many of the foreign firms already

established there are expanding their

operations even further.

He explains that these companies

“are facing a dramatic shortage that

they weren’t expecting in a country of

1.3 billion people. Today ’s current

environment reveals that there is a very

limited pool of foreign eligible talent,

and the demand far exceeds the

current supply.”

As a result, there is salary inflation

- which in some cases can be extreme.

“There is a recent case of a mid-level

engineering candidate,” comments

Dickel, “that has changed jobs three

times in 12 months, and in each has

received 100% salary increase.”

Although this example may not be

the norm, i t does prove what

companies are willing to do to get the

right talent on board.

Tony Dickel also insists that because

the demand for good talent exceeds

the limited supply, many companies

are “getting desperate to acquire

talent” and are resorting to “promoting

c a n d i d a t e s t o o q u i c k l y. . . T h e

environment is encouraging this sort

of behaviour, and therefore people are

ending up in roles they are not

necessarily suitable for.”

For Dave Campeas, it is more of a

talent shortage than a skills shortage.

“Companies are not settling for a B or

C player. Thus, the competition for A

players is much more intense.”

Consequently, the offer has to be

more attractive and businesses have

to f iercely compete to convince

candidates to join their firm over

another.

David Roots cautions that although

offering competitive salaries for the

market is important to candidates,

compensation alone is not sufficient.

It must be “closely followed by a clear

opportunity and career progression

path whereby the successful candidate

can see exactly where his or her career

path” is heading towards.

“Clients need to be aware”, explains

Tony Dickel, “that if you simply bribe

candidates then they are going to leave

you quickly because there will always

be a company that is more desperate

and willing to pay more to acquire that

sought-after talent. You have to acquire

talent for the right reasons.”

Gone are the days when a candidate

would simply accept the first job offer.

Because candidates are receiving

simultaneous calls from various head-

hunters, it is increasingly becoming

standard procedure to receive various

offers and counter-offers. Therefore,

candidates now have a wider scope of

choices to select from.

HOW TO STEER THE WHEEL?As a result, today is more of a

candidate driven market as the

demand for the top talent exceeds the

current supply. The ‘War for Talent’ is

intensifying as companies must analyse

how to identify, attract and retain their

most valued assets.

Within this context, David Roots

advises: “companies have to be very

competitive in all aspects of their

offerings to get the right talent on

board.”

For Dave Campeas, “ l i festyle

compensation” - which means having

more holiday time, having the flexibility

to work from home on occasions, and

travelling less - becomes instrumental

in being able to secure the A player.

A c c o r d i n g t o D a v i d R o o t s ,

candidates are now “taking control of

the recruitment process to make sure

that the offer meets all their goals

before committing to move ahead.”

Therefore, candidates are asking

more questions about the current role,

the company, the locat ion, the

corporate culture and environment as

well as prospects for the future. They

are asking about the pay and perks as

well as the challenges. They are

researching the company thoroughly,

interviewing senior management

before an offer has even been decided

upon so that candidates can determine

for themselves if this opportunity and

company are compatible with their

personal and professional objectives.

A REWARDING CHALLENGEThere is no doubt that this change

implies more challenges for search

consultants as they must work harder

to get the perfect candidate for their

client.

N e v e r t h e l e s s , m a n y s e a r c h

consultants haven’t adapted their

p r o c e s s t o t h e s e c h a n g i n g

circumstances.

Tony Dickel notes how “it’s very

easy to do, and will benefit everyone

involved, but many recruiters don’t do

it because it adds a bit more work to

the process.”

Dave Campeas agrees that there are

more challenges to contend with, but

at the same time, he insists: “It is also

the most rewarding time for recruiters.

It truly allows us to find the absolute

David Roots

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S E A R C H - M R I

best candidate, and the process

becomes more of a courting than a

hiring.”

He explains that in today’s current

environment a candidate and a

company have to “work to come

together”, making it more meaningful

and increasing the likelihood that the

match will last longer.

In order to be effective, David Roots

repor t s th a t r ecr u i te r s sho u ld

“concentrate more skilled resources

on headhunting the best talent in the

marketplace.”

The numbers of jobs that can be

filled by database or online job board

methods have certainly decreased.

“Those recruiters that continue to rely

on passive methods will probably fail,”

he adds.

In fact, search consultants are

finding that job boards are virtually

impossible to pick up good candidates.

O n o n e h a n d , To n y D i c k e l

describes: “I f we do f ind good

candidates on job boards we find that

they are virtually uncontrollable and

the reason for that is because

everybody is pitching at them because

there is such a high demand for talent

in certain industries and functions.”

On the other hand, he says that today

there are less candidates proactively

job-hunting. “You may think that the

current environment might attract

candidates to be proactive, but the

reality is that candidates are somewhat

fuzzy about getting their resume into

the market.”

As a result, it is vital that search

consultants effectively source a list of

possible candidates; thus, using their

industry knowledge, expertise and

broad network of contacts to be able

to locate, screen and recommend

t h e b e s t c a n d i d a t e s t o t h e i r

clients.

In fact, David Roots describes how

“we offer to work with our clients to

help them understand where they

should be ‘pitching’ a job and the best

way to attract new people to their

companies.”

UNDERSTANDING THE CANDIDATEAs companies begin to realise the

importance of matching the right

company and candidate, search

consultants are becoming instrumental

in helping their clients actually achieve

this objective.

David Roots explains how one of his

tasks includes offering “our clients a

very broad range of services including

in depth psychometric testing in order

to cut down the instances of bad hires.”

Tony Dickel states that they key

elements needed to have a successful

placement are: competency, chemistry

and goals.

All three consultants reported the

importance of conducting diligent

competency-based interviews as a

means of really being able to uncover

w h a t t h e c a n d i d a t e h a s b e e n

responsible for and analysing if the

candidate is really ready for the given

role.

Tony Dickel insists that in an

environment where there is an extreme

talent war, unfortunately, consultants

find that people’s interviews become

more superficial when actually they

should become stronger.

“We train our customers to improve

their interviewing process so that

instead of just looking at the positives,

they also look at the negatives as well.

And we are finding that companies are

ignor ing the warn ing s igns in

somebody because they want so

desperately to make a hire. When you

have such an extreme talent war you

get this type of behaviour because

people are not doing the proper due

diligence, and it is costing them,” he

adds.

As a result, search consultants need

to be preparing their clients better so

that they can be more effective in

ident i fy ing, select ing and then

retaining their top talent.

Together they have to prepare a plan

of action, taking into consideration the

sel l ing poin ts tha t wi l l a t t rac t

candidates. But they must also discuss

the negative points of the job and the

company so tha t these search

consultants can then discuss these

points as well, when approaching these

candidates.

“Companies often won’t tell you the

bad, but they have to tell you this as

well since candidates are going to find

out when they research your client’s

company after this information has

been disclosed to them. It is better that

the client tell you what the problem is,

and then you can help them put a

strategy in place moving beyond the

problem so that you can share this with

the candidate,” remarks Tony Dickel.

FITTING INWithin the executive recruitment

process it is vital that the consultant

assess if the candidate really fits in

w i t h t h e c l i e n t ’ s c o r p o r a t e

environment. In other words, are the

heart and mind of the candidate really

aligned with the heart and mind of the

client’s corporate culture?

Tony Dickel provides an example to

highlight this point: “If a candidate says

he wants to be a financial controller

for a company like GE, then there is

no point in making him CFO of a start

up company. You have to find a way of

being certain what type of company

t h e c a n d i d a t e w i l l f e e l m o s t

comfortable working in, and what will

continue to motivate him or her to stay.”

Dave Campeas

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S E A R C H - M R I


All three of the consultants from the

M R I N e t w o r k ™ s t r o n g l y a d v i s e

companies to work with a recruiter that

really understands a candidate’s

personal and professional goals, and

makes sure they are aligned with the

client’s goals before any opportunities

are even discussed with the candidate.

To be effective in executive search,

Dave Campeas insists that it is crucial

that recruiters maintain an open

dialogue with candidates.

He strongly believes that “candidates

have to feel comfortable enough with

recruiters to tell them what is really

going on in their lives, and companies

have to realise that recruiters are truly

guiding them in the process, and not

just trying to close a deal.”

Often candidates don’t tell the

consultant about their concerns or

reservations regarding the role that is

being discussed. Therefore, recruiters

need to figure out ways to find out what

t h e c a n d i d a t e s ’ c o n c e r n s a n d

reservations are.

According to Tony Dickel, “our

screening process allows us to ensure

that we are going to fish out the

concerns the candidate has along the

way… In fact, in every conversation

we have with the candidate we always

ask what else they have going on

because it is a very dynamic market

as candidates can by called by three

different headhunters in the same

week, and we need to be able to keep

our client well informed.”

STORMY WATERS AS PROBLEMSARISEI f communicat ion breaks down,

problems will arise. In fact, the number

one problem companies are having is

that candidates are turning down offers

at the last moment, af ter having

endured a very long and difficult

process. At the end of the road,

candidates are changing their minds.

Why is this occurring so of ten?

Fal l o f fs , which is when the

candidate actually signs an offer but

doesn’t show up to work because in

the interim he or she has received

another offer better aligned with his or

her goals, are also growing in number.

As a resu l t , companies and

consultants must jointly analyse where

the process is going wrong, and see

how to prevent these problems from

occurring in the future. Provide the

client and candidate with feedback so

that each party is aware of how the

recruitment process is developing.

Furthermore, in an environment

where counter-offers are becoming

standard procedure, challenges arise

as consultants must be able to

effectively plan for these occurrences

within their recruitment process.

Tony Dickel explains how his firm

doesn’t simply wait until a counter-offer

is made. “We have to manage that

counter-offer well ahead of the offer

actually being made.”

He reports how this preparation

begins the first time they meet the

candidate, and is worked in every

single conversation afterwards until

the placement has been successfully

made.

The CEO of MRI China also cautions

that there is a great deal of resume

fraud as reference checking must be

conducted better.

As companies demand for top talent

increases and the current supply

continues to be constricted, this

env i ronment encourages some

candidates to exaggerate their resume

or their compensation package, hoping

that this type of behaviour will land

them a better job. Since the current

environment is very dynamic and is

favouring quick executions, many

people are not detect ing these

irregularities as often as they should.

This is partly because the people

conducting the interviews don’t have

the necessary experience to uncover

these mistakes.

However, explains Tony Dickel,

another reason is that the “the demand

is so high that it is encouraging that

candidates bet their luck and probably

get away with it. If they don’t, it doesn’t

matter because another company will

come along soon after where they can

exaggerate their resume, inflate their

salary and sooner or later, they will get

away with it.”

TAKING THE HELMIn order to avoid these types of

problems, all three of the executive

recruiters from the MRINetwork™ that

search-consult interviewed suggested

that companies and search consultants

need to thoroughly reference check

and make sure that the l is t o f

candidates presented are all willing

and able to take the job of fer.

Within this context, David Roots

e x p l a i n s h o w i t i s b e c o m i n g

increasingly important to “keep a very

close watch on ‘hooks’ that others are

using to attract people,” and then

advice your cl ient accordingly.

Companies involved in the hiring

process must ensure their processes

are faultless, well planned and also

that they have the flexibility to arrive

at a decision quickly in order to avoid

los ing that 'per fect ' candidate .

Search consultants must always

make sure to provide feedback to the

client so that the company is well

informed and can then provide proper

feedback to the candidate, reassuring

him or her of any reservations that may,

a n d u s u a l l y, a r i s e d u r i n g t h e

recruitment process. Moreover, it is

vital that the client always know what

the candidate is thinking and who else

they are competing with.

As the market continues to be

candidate driven, David Roots insists

that effective search consultants must

make meaningful interactions with both

the client and the candidate, acting “as

the broker in putting the actual terms

and conditions of the deal together.

That way we can more effectively

control the process and ensure that

offers are on time, in line with the

market and meet the candidate’s

expectations.”



Web: www.mrinetwork.com

wydanie 25d.fh9 12/8/05 12:47 PM


his regular section in search-consultis about technology in search. I’ve

written before that the search

industry is one in which technology will

always play a back seat - and I largely stand

by that statement. However, it is noticeable

that search firms are increasingly beginning

to use technology as a way of differentiating

themselves in the eyes of the Client.

One firm that is already achieving this is

Boyden Global Executive Search, and Chris

Clarke, President of this leading company,

explains how at the end of this article.

Yet Boyden is not alone. Speakers and

delegates that attended Kennedy

Information’s most recent Executive Search

Summit in New York discussed the topic at

length. As a vendor of IT solutions to the

executive search industry, Dillistone Systems

is increasingly seeing that our ability to

provide this form of functionality is a key

differentiator for us. This was certainly the

case for Blackbird Partners, an Oak Brook,

IL, USA-based boutique for which the ability

of FILEFINDER to facilitate extranet access

was key.

PERMANENT ACCESSManaging Director Kelly Carlson

remarked: “Our clients have come to expect

complete transparency and 24x7 access to

comprehensive information related to

search assignments.”

The benefits of such a service are

numerous. The most obvious one is that it

provides access to information whenever

and whereever the client requires it. By

adding the ability for him or her to provide

feedback on the same basis, the search

process may be sped up significantly –

particularly on assignments with multiple

decision makers in multiple time zones.

The second benefit for the search firm

is that the provision of such a service may

be a competitive advantage. The busy HR

executive may be involved in managing

numerous searches across a range of

business units. If a search firm can provide

24x7 access to all project data in a single

location, it is likely to motivate that HR

executive to provide that search firm with

a higher percentage of their firm’s work.

The availability of online reporting tools

can also substantially reduce the

administrative overhead associated with

producing paper – or even email – based

reports for the client. Depending on the

S E A R C H - T E C H N O L O G Y


TBy Jason Starr

OnlineClientwith the

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S E A R C H - T E C H N O L O G Y




E-mail: [email protected]: www.dillistone.com

www.boyden.com

implementation model chosen, the extranet

site is either updated automatically

whenever the search management system

is updated or – at worst case – it is updated

with just a couple of clicks. Compare this

to the time taken in the traditional production

of client reports!

SO, HOW DOES IT WORK?Essentially, there are two models. The

first, which we call ‘Client Reporting’,

provides live but controlled access to the

Search Firm database using a variety of

web-based technologies.

CONTROLLED ACCESSThe keyword here is controlled. None

of these search firms will allow the client to

go wandering around their database.

Clients are strictly limited in what they can

see – typically, no more information that

would have been provided in a traditional

paper format. This might include a summary

of short-listed candidates along with detailed

profiles on specific candidates. Some clients

also provide information on ‘target

companies’ and access to project

documents such as the Candidate Profile,

the Assignment Brief or even invoicing

information.

Clients are able to review the assignment

online 24x7. In addition, however, they can

interact with it. Many of our sites will include

‘message board’ technology allowing

multiple client contacts, along with

representatives of the search firm – to leave

notes and feedback as, and when,

appropriate. This has the impact of speeding

up the search significantly.

The alternative model, which we call

FFCIM (Client Interaction Module), does

not provide the client with live data but,

rather, an exported subset of the database.

This provides the search firm with an

additional layer of quality control, while also

simplifying the implementation and ongoing

support of the site.

Either of these methodologies – but

FFCIM in particular – may be very quickly,

easily and cost effectively implemented by

any size search firm - indeed, many of our

clients will pass the running cost of the tool

on to the client as an expense – and so it is

no surprise that they are in such demand.

Chris Clarke is President and CEOof Boyden Global Executive Search. Hehas been successfully leading this firmsince January 2000, breaking all timerecords in the process.

Boyden's search approach is highlytailored and personalized to be able tomeet clients' specific needs. Within thiscontext, he explains how Boyden isembracing online technology to be ableto continue to provide their clients witha faster, more direct and custom-basedservice.

It is a little amusing to hear some

competitors trumpeting their technology

and service ‘breakthrough’ in getting

online with the client.

As far back as 25 years ago suppliers

in the automotive industry were already

online with clients, ensuring components

were just in time. Likewise, the retail

industry has managed the entire logistics

chain this way. Banks have been directly

linked to their leading customers,

and more recently to every customer

desiring it.

How clever of our search industry

dinosaurs to discover this technology

and boast about their innovation. The

reality is that sophisticated clients have

demanded it.

Boyden, like other large search firms,

has embraced the Internet Revolution

and its opportunities for direct

connection to clients. As a minimum,

which can be made available to all

clients, there is the opportunity for

feedback on every search performed to

be given online. A higher level of online

connection is to have real-time

information available on the state of the

search. This is in place for several of

Boyden’s preferred provider clients.

They can see candidate information,

schedule interviews and many other

matters, as well as being able to

comment on any issues and quality at

any given time. The highest level of client

connectivity is to have a separate

dedicated website. This concept is

working well and allows the client and

the search firm to jointly manage the

search with complete transparency

online.

All this said, we have to remember

that executive search is a high touch

business. We must never allow it to be

dehumanized into pure e-commerce.

Boyden clients do not want this; they

value the Friday call to discuss progress.

They value the face-to-face review

meetings and personal contact.

Technology is merely a tool to make the

process more efficient, never a substitute

for the human touch. The day we

dehumanize the process will be the day

we treat clients and candidates as things,

not people, and this must never happen.

To the dinosaurs, which are only now

discovering the wonders of the Internet,

welcome as late arrivals to the club.

Also, ensure adequate security

protection for your clients and

candidates, and ensure that you are

complying with the different laws on

privacy and data protection in relevant

jurisdictions.

Chris Clarke

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The Trainer:Jill Dillistone – arguably the Search industry’sleading trainer with over 20 years experienceof conducting research for a number of premiersearch firms in the UK and Europe as well asdelivering training courses internationally formajor search firms such as Russell Reynolds,Heidrick & Struggles and Whitehead Mann.

BOOK NOW FOR:

Research and Candidate Development Workshop: London: 31 January 2006,Brussels: 21 March 2006, Hong Kong: 10 May 2006, Tokyo: 15 May 2006This 1-day workshop is for less experienced researchers and consultants. The three themes covered during the dayare research skills, telephone techniques and administration and project management.

You will learn:How to be creative in solving your search • Five techniques to screen candidates effectively • How better to set prioritiesand manage your time • The secrets of getting to the best candidates fast

Search Execution and Client Management Workshop: London: 1 February 2006,Brussels: 22 March 2006, Hong Kong: 11 May 2006, Tokyo: 16 May 2006This 1-day workshop is for professionals involved in the search execution process and focuses on effective andsuccessful client management and liaison (including progress reporting), candidate interviewing and referencing andthe preparation of candidate reports and package negotiation. You will learn:How to get the real story behind the CV • Five techniques to add value in the search process • How better to manageclient meetings • The secrets of developing long term client relationships

Interview Skills Workshop - London: 2 February 2006, Brussels: 23 March 2006,Hong Kong: 12 May 2006, Tokyo: 17 May 2006This 1-day workshop covers an introduction to compentency-based interviewing and an exercise in critical-incidentbased interviewing. The benefits of the day include the opportunity to improve your skills in candidate evaluation;practice different questioning techniques in role plays and learn about different approaches to interviewing.

You will learn:How to match candidates to clients' requirements • Five techniques to improve your interview skills • How better to getthe detail behind the CV • The secrets of presenting the right candidates

a series of 1-day training seminarsfor Search Professionals

EXECUTIVESEARCH

TRAININGWORKSHOPS

THE WORKSHOPS:

"Workshop was great. I learnt some important issues regarding client management."Sorin Popa, Accord Group, Romania

"Well structured, well paced, clear presenter, good group discussion and clear objectives covered."Sally Clark, Kathleen Townsend Executive Solutions, Australia

"As a newcomer to the industry, I found the day very useful and came away with a knowledgeof processes and techniques." Susan McCabe, Halcyon Consulting, UK

Maximum 16 attendees per workshop.For rates and to book, please complete the booking form available online at www.dillistone.com/workshops

and send it with the payment to (please make cheques payable to Dillistone Systems Ltd):Executive Search Training Workshops, Dillistone Systems Ltd

Calvert House, 5 Calvert Ave, London, E2 7JP, UK If paying by credit card, please fax it back to us on +44 (0)20 7729 6108.Refreshments will be provided throughout the day.

For more information, please visit our website www.dillistone.com/workshops or send an email to [email protected]

London Brussels Hong Kong Tokyo

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US: +1 (201) 653 0013 UK & Europe: +44 (0)20 7749 6100 Germany: +49 (0)69 27 40 15 807Australia/Asia: +61 2 9006 1194 Rest of the World: +44 (0)20 7749 6100

[email protected] www.dillistone.com

Opening a company record in FILEFINDERwill present the user with both the ‘data’ fromthe database and the very latest news on thatcompany – delivered automatically from the Web.

FILEFINDER software is designedfor Executive Recruitment and is supported by

people who understand Executive Recruitment.To find out how your business can benefit,book your FREE demonstration TODAY!

Knowledge - FREE with every record.

This gives users a benefit in terms of bothbusiness development and research. In turn,this will help your search business perform better.

U S A U K G E R M A N Y A U S T R A L I A

search-consult issue 25

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r t n e r s4 search

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t ia t ives

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i n e2005 issue