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In
today's challenging business climate, companies are turning to
proven leaders to head new strategies and organizational initiatives.
Companies such as Raytheon, Motorola and Texas Instruments are
working to bolster performance by hiring executives with a proven
track record in the organization's niche or industry. These companies
are also consolidating operations, eliminating jobs and promoting
potential from within. What do these changes mean to you, the
recruiter? In this article we'll address recent shifts in corporate
priorities and suggest ways to stay productive in this new environment.
When
sourcing executive positions, it is first useful to understand
the client-company's view on leadership. Although definitions
of leadership vary, contemporary thought has many common threads.
Most companies expect leaders to set, clarify and communicate
a company's direction and vision for the future. Leaders should
have a strong hand in motivating employees, peers and partners;
exhibiting many of the traditional qualities of good managers.
They are also expected to inspire and motivate others by creating
effective teams and discouraging complacency. Working in the organization,
leaders should remove barriers and bureaucracy, particularly those
that prevent a company from delivering value to its customers.
Recent
trends in executive recruitment have seen companies hiring experienced
leaders with a proven track record of success and a strong understanding
of a company's specific business challenges. United Airlines,
Ford and GE are companies that have recently hired industry insiders
who can be trusted to implement change. Just a few years ago it
was not uncommon to see senior partners and executives depart
for startup opportunities, and to see them replaced by managers
transitioning from a position of significantly less responsibility.
Today, companies are replacing experience with experience: moving
board members into executive positions, hiring industry leaders
from other companies and bringing back top alumni performers.
Consolidation
is another prevalent trend this year. Companies are combining
positions to conserve resources and shore-up leadership. For example,
some organizations with two or more technology positions, such
as CIO and CTO, have merged these roles, unifying infrastructure
and product development functions. When skills do not overlap,
responsibilities may be reallocated within the organization to
executive or senior leadership staff. Strategic or business development
roles may shift to the CEO or CFO. Management positions left vacant
are filled with the best performers sourced internally or out
of major accounts.
The
big-five accounting and consulting firms are also tightening their
ranks. In better times, many partner or director positions were
made available to consultants with premium skills, a.k.a. people
who could "bill" business. Today, facing reduced demand, consulting
firms are promoting leaders who can build business and augment
the company's bottom line. This trend has also flowed into the
lower ranks. Firms are hiring at the associate level with an eye
on leadership and business-development promise.
In
tight times, recruiters should be flexible and adjust their strategies
to meet demand. Layoffs have brought talent back to the labor
pool, giving companies more leverage to choose. The result? Organizations
are replacing "experience with experience," hiring and promoting
bottom-line performers with a proven track record of success.
Executives with cross-competencies are also in high demand as
companies consolidate positions and individual roles expand. In
addition, companies are filling the leadership pipeline with talented
up-and-comers; bringing renewed emphasis to organizational continuity
and future promise.
With recent trends favoring proven performers and industry insiders,
the hiring scope has narrowed. While consolidation has had a negative
impact on hiring, these changes also create leadership gaps that
must be filled. Recruiters should be informed and ready to offer
solutions when opportunity calls.
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