The enormous impact of technology can be incredibly disruptive for European businesses and their usual business models, even impacting the talent they need in their executive positions. Combining this with fading geographic boundaries in talent search, a global executive talent market is arising, in which diversity will become more crucial than ever before. The crossover of insights from more innovative market segments towards more traditional business areas, such as banking and retail, is showing added value in achieving more competitive positions in a changed market model.
These evolutions are impacting how the CEOs of the next few decades will be building their careers, and what the expectations of shareholders and boards will be with respect to such executives. European CEO spoke to Tom Goorman, Vice-Chairman of Stanton Chase International, a leading executive recruitment firm, on the major trends and challenges that technology poses to business today, how this impacts global executive search, and how Stanton Chase is at the forefront of providing innovative services to the ever-demanding business world.
With social tools such as LinkedIn, Xing and Viadeo, the identification of talent is no longer the most crucial element
What impact is technology having on businesses?
We view the impact of technology on businesses across sectors as a disruptive one. Business, as we knew it yesterday, is not the same today and the time to change is now – the most adaptable businesses will be the most competitive ones. Technology is not only a topic on the CTO’s or CIO’s agenda, it is strategic on the business agenda of every C-level executive in the organisation. Every industry has felt the impact of innovative technologies, be it cloud evolution, social media or analytical software. Banks are moving away from their traditional business models, while struggling with the balance between digital interaction and personal relationships. Consumers of retail stores will be experiencing the client process differently, with more person-to-person information exchanges.
How has talent search changed in recent years?
The talent market has felt the influence of technology tremendously. With social tools such as LinkedIn, Xing and Viadeo, the identification of talent is no longer the most crucial element. With our current access to executives worldwide, we have shifted our focus to the match between the organisation and the personality and attitude of the candidate. The new C-level executive is a global professional with a diverse mindset, showing adaptability and alignment with the organisation’s culture.
What are the benefits of a more global executive talent market?
The first benefit is the enlargement of the talent pool when facing the increasing scarcity of leadership. A second benefit is that it creates more awareness of cultural influences in the different markets in which a company operates. More boardrooms are composed of cross-continental nationalities, and this deepens insights into export markets. A third benefit is the improved career potential of the executive. It creates increased growth paths for career development within the company, along with the potential to develop a career in a broader job market.
How can individuals stand out in the new market model?
Successful executives need to show strong adaptability and openness to change. In the past, companies looked at the career track and experience of the candidates. Now, they are looking to hire the right mindset and competences. Abandoning comfort zones has become more important, as well as investing in continuous learning, diverse thinking and intrapreneurship. Diversity is a crucial issue for the new generation of executives. The most successful companies are hiring C-level executives from outside their sectors, favouring those who show high integrity, entrepreneurship, leadership and vision.
How can CEOs rise and adapt to the future environment?
A CEO will only rise if he/she creates leadership teams that are more diverse, more global, and more agile. These teams do not only care about the money anymore. Corporate ethics, social involvement and employer branding are crucial in attracting the new competences required to carry an organisation into the new era. Future CEOs will need to understand and act on this in a global economy, with a rapid information exchange and a global war for talent. However, our recent industry survey among CEOs shows that this is still underdeveloped on their priority lists.
How does Stanton Chase incorporate these developments?
One example is the creation of our diversity practice, where we help companies develop a sustainable and realistic diverse recruitment policy. Adapted services, such as proactive diverse talent mapping, allow us to screen the global market for scarce talent. Another example is that we made our client teams more specialised, diverse and international. Our practice groups bring expertise to the table with an industry expert, a functional expert and a cultural expert. A new trend in our leadership practice is helping boards to understand the importance of the creation of a chief digital officer, and to put the digital revolution on the agenda. We recently developed several white papers for our clients through our global practice groups, sharing insights across industries and across borders.
What makes Stanton Chase stand out from rivals in the space?
We have broadened our insights into the impact that the digital revolution is having on the competences needed in boardrooms. How can we match technical, cultural and innovative competences in a business that is confronted with the fast pace of new competitors? By recruiting out-of-the-box, we bring the required talent to the table. For instance, last year, we appointed a corporate marketing and development director, Franz Rois, who has digital innovation high on his agenda. When it comes to the topic of diversity, we were one of the first to act on this need. This early adaption has already reaped rewards, seeing Stanton Chase recently named Top Global Search Firm as an innovator for diversity recruitment at Corporate Vision’s Global Product and Services Awards.
Additionally, we have implemented an annual diversity award, given to companies with outstanding achievements in this area, to prioritise the topic on their agendas. And, finally, we are investing heavily in internal cooperation as a global family, where we know each other personally and work together to leverage our international expertise for clients, globally and locally, in a diverse, specialised and, most of all, client-driven manner.