RecruitSmart Today
A bi-weekly source of market intelligence and insight that executive-level recruiters in the corporate and search firm environments leverage to advance best practices in executive talent management.
Shaped by the voice and perspective of our widely respected industry analyst, Joseph Daniel McCool, RecruitSmart Today delivers trend and data analysis that you can use to benchmark best practices in executive-level recruiting, retention, compensation, and other key human capital functions.
We're confident that once you realize the value of RecruitSmart Today, you'll find reason to leverage the exclusive, members-only ExecuNet resources that other executive-level recruiters are leveraging to boost their human capital advantage. Whether it's our exclusive job posting, candidate search, and networking resources, or the periodic RecruitSmart Insider intelligence briefings available only to our members, you'll soon discover how ExecuNet members are keeping pace with the issues, trends and data that are driving executive talent management.
"The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it."
— John Ruskin (1819-1900), art critic, writer and poet
ExecuNet Exclusive: Job Satisfaction And The Task Of Extracting Executive Talent
Job satisfaction and engagement are two considerable dynamics that help determine whether corporate staffing or external executive recruitment overtures to top-notch business leaders will fall on deaf ears or open an exploratory dialogue about the possibilities and the rewards of transition. But who's most satisfied with their jobs? ExecuNet research finds that leaders at both ends of the career spectrum are just as likely to be satisfied with their current management role.
Moving Downfield Early Is Key To Executive Onboarding
Too many executives in new leadership roles spend too much of their early tenure with a new employer evaluating which of their team members they're going to keep and which of them need to go.
That's often a fatal flaw, says Mark Hubbard, a partner with onboarding firm PrimeGenesis, because precious time is lost assessing talent when the real focus should be to generate some early wins to buy the leader enough time to sort out those important talent-related questions at a later date. Hubbard was the featured presenter for a recent ExecuNet Power Break webinar.
"It's more important to move downfield with the team you have," Hubbard contends, "than to invest too much time trying to figure out which people you'll keep and which you'll let go."
Once an executive has demonstrated performance and secured some early momentum, they'll have more time, more organizational support, and perhaps even more leverage and organizational authority to make hard decisions about who has earned the right to move the ball further toward the objective.
Sorting out the talent challenge will eventually drive higher performance, but only if the new executive has shown what he or she can do from the start and is still in the role when it comes to tackling that task.
Majority Of New Leaders Don
Less than one-quarter of new leaders received the kind of coaching they require to reach their full development potential.
"While organizations see value in providing coaching to strategic and developing leaders, coaching is not offered as frequently to new leaders," says Steve Cohen, a senior vice president with Right Management's leadership consulting practice.
The human capital consulting firm surveyed 656 human resource professionals in North America and found that organizations consistently provide coaching to some employees as part of leadership development initiatives, as the following chart details.
"Most New Leaders advance in their careers due to their proficiency with technical skills, but they don't necessarily have the leadership abilities needed for success in their higher-level positions," Cohen adds.
"New Leaders need as much development as strategic and developing leaders — they are the future leaders of the organization. Smart organizations focus their resources to develop these individuals and ensure they deliver on their much-anticipated success."
Half Of Companies Fail To Update Their Management Succession Plans
Among the North American companies that actually have a management succession plan, barely half of them update that document on a regular basis, exposing their organizations to significant (and many would agree, unnecessary) risk.
Many organizations recognize succession planning as a corporate responsibility, but, says Michelle Knox, a consultant with consulting firm Novations Group, "Many companies find themselves in a never-ending cycle of recruiting, which costs a great deal in terms of dollars, engagement and productivity."
Many companies, the RecruitSmart Insider finds, believe they're not susceptible to risk because they may have updated their succession plan at some point within the past two to three years. But given the pace of business, the evolution of competition in many markets, and the changing nature of talent and succession needs, that's simply not enough.
Knox concurs: "Companies think that because they have a plan they're all set, but the challenge is broader and needs to fit into a process that supports ongoing talent development, not only the need to quickly fill an empty slot."
The Novations survey of more than 2,500 human resource professionals finds that while three-quarters of companies report they have a succession plan, there is disparity of viewpoints about its effectiveness and stage of development.
Two-Thirds Of Companies Ignore Majority Support Of Shareholder support for the advisory vote on executive compensation — commonly
known as 'Say on Pay' — is growing, according to a recent report by The Corporate Library, which tracks corporate governance and executive compensation.
The median shareholder votes for 'Say on Pay' proposals rose to 42 percent in 2008 from 41 percent in 2007 based on the 76 proposals that have come to a vote so far this year. 'Say on Pay' proposals received majority support at a total of 15 companies in 2007 and 2008, but only five of those companies have adopted the vote.
While shareholder support for 'Say on Pay' is growing overall, The Corporate Library found, support decreased at 17 companies. Somewhat surprisingly, eight of these companies were in the financial sector, including companies such as Citigroup, Wachovia, Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo.
At the same time, these companies have new CEOs, and CEO compensation has typically decreased, sometimes significantly. Says report author Damion Rallis: "It is possible that these facts have played a role in the decreased shareholder support for 'Say on Pay' at these financial institutions."
"We commission search firms, negotiate with candidates, hire executives we need, and two years later they leave. What happened?"
Employee retention is the most vexing of all people-management issues because each employee is idiosyncratic. And executives bring their own unique needs based on decades of ambition, independence and success.
Join retention guru Dick Finnegan as he presents the Retention GPS model from his upcoming book, Rethinking Retention. Dick will present a comprehensive retention strategy, spotlighting those areas that apply to executives and then offer real solutions.
Can't make one of our live events? No worries, all ExecuNet events are recorded and available to download and listen to at your convenience. See Recorded OnDemand Events.
2008 Executive Job Market Intelligence
Our 16th Annual Executive Job Market Intelligence Report captures the latest trends and developments in senior-level hiring, compensation and executive search.
"Wanted to let you know that we have had great success with the candidates that applied for the position of VP of Operations through ExecuNet. We have extended an offer to one of your members and another may well be offered a position down the road as the company grows. We have been able to close this retained search in three weeks. Thanks."
- VP, Boutique Retained Executive Search firm
Executive recruiters expect a 17% increase in assignments in 2008. They will be networking to locate the best talent, reports the ExecuNet 16th Annual Executive Job Market Intelligence Report.
