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Issue #09 11/2016
Placed!
latest news in the world of executive search from InterExec
 
 
Welcome to Placed!

The latest issue of our newsletter which looks at the news, issues and trends affecting recruitment at senior executive level. We would welcome your feedback – please send any comments to jane@emggb.com
 
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The Trump Effect

 

Kit, InterExec’s CEO believes that the senior executive employment market can look forward to a positive impact of having a Senior Business Executive as President of the largest economy in the world.

“Regardless of the doubts that some may have had on the election of Donald Trump, one thing that already seems to be certain is that it will create great opportunities in the senior executive employment market. As corporations anticipate a more business-driven policy, US companies and their close associates in the UK should benefit from a greater investment focus on the business agenda.

“The effect on attitudes and immediate action is noticeable and at InterExec, we have already seen 10% more activity in world markets than we have experienced for the last few months.

“Both individuals and corporations are quick to respond to the Presidential race at last being settled, the continuing positive nature of the UK economy following the Brexit decision and the potential of the special relationship having a stimulating impact on markets.

“The UK’s autumn budget statement continued to support significant investment in R&D, infrastructure development and the business community, all of which is likely to encourage positive movement in the senior executive employment market.”

“We look forward to continuing improvement in 2017”

 
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Global Cooperation Called For

The World Employment Confederation (formerly Ciett) is urging policymakers to cooperate with the employment industry to determine enhanced international labour regulation.

It says that as the world of work becomes increasingly flat and inter-connected, new global labour policies and regulation are required to deal with issues that transcend national or regional borders.

WEC sees this as essential to embrace the many structural shifts currently taking place around the world – with globalisation, growing diversity of contractual arrangements, new career expectations, digitalisation and demographics all re-shaping the way we work today.

It is calling on global policymakers to cooperate with the employment industry and other stakeholders to adjust international labour regulation and seize the opportunities the new era of work will bring.

WEC reports that while almost 200 million people are unemployed globally, 61% of companies experience difficulty in recruiting - 72% of HR professionals say that talent scarcity has negatively affected their business and 45% believe it has threatened leadership continuity and succession. Adopting appropriate regulation will help reduce the mismatch between supply and demand and lead to better functioning labour markets.

www.wecglobal.org
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Overseas Experience Increasingly Important

 

Confidence in growth remains high amongst CFOs in Europe according to Deloitte’s Q3 survey of opinions from over 1,100 CFOs in 17 countries. Uncertainty lingers, but against a background of modest growth in Europe, CFO optimism remains unchanged. They continue to be risk averse, think Brexit holds more negatives than positives, but still expect to see growth over the next 12 months.

Deloitte’s ‘European CFO Survey,’ carried out between August and October this year, obtained opinions on topics including risk appetite, financial prospects and strategic priorities, as well as the impact of Brexit on European businesses.

  • Two-thirds of CFOs view current levels of uncertainty as above normal.
  • Combined with a background of modest growth in Europe, CFO optimism remains broadly unchanged.
  • CFOs continue to be risk averse. Less than a third believe now is a good time to be taking greater risk onto their balance sheets.
  • 37% of European CFOs think the Brexit negotiations will have a negative impact on their business and just 5% foresee any positives.
  • A rise in non-tariff barriers to trade – specifically ‘increased complexity and costs due to the introduction of different regulatory requirements’ – rates as the biggest concern for 12 of 14 countries asked.
  • As a whole, ‘reduced workforce mobility’ and a ‘rise in tariffs’ rank as the next biggest concerns.

Deloitte says the message for politicians and policymakers - ahead of the Brexit negotiations - is that non-tariff barriers matter at least as much, if not more, than the issues of tariffs and migration.

www2.deloitte.com
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Growth Prospects Remain Strong

Two thirds of CEOs from the largest European companies have overseas experience, but without a global view, Chief Execs are holding their careers back, says DHR International in a just-released report.

The study looked at the career histories of CEOs at the 100 largest European companies by sector and found that a CEO with experience of moving to a new market as a senior executive before taking up the reins as a CEO is increasingly sought after and valued.

Other findings from DHR’s research includes:

  • The percentage of CEOs in the top 100 largest European companies with overseas experience has risen from 60% to 66% in the last 10 years
  • Amongst Germany’s DAX 30, 87% of CEOs have overseas experience compared with 77% in 2006. Amongst France’s CAC 40, 63% of CEOs have overseas experience versus 53% 10 years ago
  • The number of CEOs with international experience in the Netherlands has increased to 9 out of 10, as opposed to 8 out of 10 in 2006
  • Although businesses in France and Germany buck the trend and tend to prefer home-grown CEOs, the number of British CEOs within the FTSE 100 has reduced over the last 10 years, from 71% percent to 60%
  • Across Europe, while the need for international experience is increasingly key, the use of non-domestic CEOs is more mixed
www.dhrinternational.com
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Bigger Is Best Say Top Execs

Just 1 in 6 senior executives want to work for a small business, with 41% saying companies with between 100 and 500 employees is the ideal size to work for.

Norrie Johnston Recruitment in its guide ‘The SME Recruitment Challenge,’ reports that 79% of respondents it surveyed believe that directors of small companies are paid less than their counterparts at large businesses. 66% of respondents think that career progression opportunities are better at large companies and 68% feel that larger companies offer a better work-life balance.

However, although the majority of senior level executives who responded to the survey said they don’t want to work for a small business, 70% said that they are more likely to work for an SME now than at the outset of their career and 76% said that senior executives of smaller companies have greater influence than those at large businesses.

The NJR guide contains advice from experts on what SMEs need to do to make themselves as attractive as possible to potential top level recruits.

www.norriejohnstonrecruitment.com
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Top Talent Conundrum

 

A survey by Antal International among 8,000 companies in major world markets shows global hiring levels at professional/managerial level has dipped over the last year. Yet the ’Annual ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage Survey’ shows that 40% of 42,000 employers surveyed globally are experiencing difficulties filling roles.

In its 19th ‘Global Snapshot Survey,’ Antal International found that the appetite for hiring has dipped over the past 12 months. Its 18th survey found that 70% were ‘hiring now’ and 45% would be hiring in the next quarter. But these figures have dropped significantly in the 19th survey - to 50% hiring now and 45% next quarter.

An Antal International board member said: “The trends in this survey take us back to the global hiring levels of 2014 and it appears organisations are taking a more cautious approach to hiring. Taken in context, almost half of those taking part in the survey are still looking to inject new talent into their business in the coming six months.”

Meanwhile, the ManpowerGroup survey has found that employers are having difficulties filling roles with more than half now choosing to develop and train their own people, as opposed to just 20% in its 2015 survey. Talent shortages in EMEA are at the highest levels since 2006; almost half of Asian employers report hiring difficulties and in the Americas, Argentina is suffering most acutely, with 59% of employers reporting difficulty.

www.manpowergroup.com & www.ags.antal.com
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Poaching on the Up

A quarter of US businesses are experiencing a marked increase in talent raids at C-suite level, a talent retention survey from Marlin Hawk and Hunt Scanlon Media has found. Yet most have no strategy in place to ward off poachers.

In the survey among 400 HR professionals, 54% of respondents said their company either has no plan to ward off poachers or, if it does, they’re unaware of it. But of those talent acquisition professionals whose companies had a strategy in place, only 39 percent were satisfied with it.

Although just 4% believe talent raids have declined during the past two years, only 47% of responders’ companies have a definitive plan in place to identify vulnerable talent.

www.marlinhawk.com
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Insights in brief…

  • New research from IPPR and Burning Glass Technologies shows a 13% fall in the number of job vacancies in England’s finance sector since the EU referendum in June. In London, the slump has been even bigger, with a 22% drop in jobs advertised, including at senior executive level. www.ippr.org
  • A poll of 4,500 global job seekers by ManpowerGroup Solutions shows that Australians are more likely than American and British candidates to cite ageism as one of the top challenges they face in making career decisions. 37% of people in Australia cite ageism as a key barrier to overcome, compared to 34% in the UK and 26% in the US. www.manpowergroupsolutions.com
  • 63% of UK-based European workers are concerned about their future post-Brexit – with the biggest fear being economic uncertainty. In a special edition of its annual ‘State of the Sector’ study conducted among 250 employees, Gatehouse also reports that 16% think there will be fewer business and job opportunities post-Brexit, with a similar proportion believing existing positions will be affected. wwww.gatehouse.co.uk
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