search-consult Issue 13

The International Executive Search Magazine

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Paul C. ReillyExclusive Interview withthe CEO of Korn/FerryInternational

F E A T U R E F E A T U R E F E A T U R E F E A T U R E

The GlobalSearch Firms -

2002

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New York

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Financial Services

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COMING UP

IN FUTURE

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

Exclusive Interview withthe CEO of Korn/FerryInternational

Paul C. ReillyThe European Executive

Search in France

Executive SearchAssociations

The European Executive

Search in France

Executive SearchAssociations

S E A R C H - N E W S

3ISSUE 13 2002 search-consult

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Front Cover: Paul C. Reilly, CEO, Korn/Ferry

International. Photography courtesy of Korn/Ferry

International.

© Copyright 2002 Dillistone Systems Ltd

TMP WorldwideRevenues Drop61% in SecondQuarter

TMP Worldwide reported a 61%drop in the firm's second quarterearning ending June 30, 2002. . TheNew York City-based firm recordedadjusted earnings of $15.7 million,compared to earnings of $40.9million one year earlier. On anunadjusted basis, TMP reported a netloss of $504.1 million compared withnet income of $19.8 million a yearearlier. Total revenue for the quarterwas $291 million, a decrease of 24%from total revenue of $383.6 milliona year ago. Quarterly revenues for

Executive Search fell 45% to $18million.

Jim Treacy, President and COO ofTMP Worldwide, added, "During thisdifficult time, our focus has squarelybeen on further reducing costs andinefficiencies throughout our globaloperations." Within this context, thecompany said it is cutting another250 jobs worldwide and closing 40more offices. These figures willincrease the total number of layoffsfor this year to 1,000 and the closureof 102 offices.

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D.E. FOSTER PARTNERS INC, THENew York City-headquarteredexecutive search firm and alliancefirm of KMPG, reports that revenuesfor the first half of 2002 were downabout 20%. "The first and secondquarters have been very challenging,"stated Dwight Foster, Chairman of D.E.Foster Partners. Mr. Foster noted thatthe retailing and financial servicessectors have been particularly slow.Within the financial services industry,investment banking has struggledwhile the demand for riskmanagement executives and chieffinancial officers has been muchstronger. He also expects the need forsenior credit officers to increasewithin the next few months. In aneffort to reach profitability by year'send, Foster Partners has cut coststhrough layoffs. For the year, Mr.Foster anticipates search activity andrevenues to increase in the thirdquarter and to hopefully get back tonormal by the fourth quarter.




4 search-consult ISSUE 13 2002

Foster PartnersRevenues Drop20% For First HalfOf 2002


THE RESULTS OF A SURVEYconducted by ExecNet,com, a careermanagement firm, reveal that demandfor senior-level talent has decreased19%, when compared to last year'sfigures for the second quarter. Resultsof the Executive Talent Demand Index(ETDI) survey depicted demand in thepharmaceutical/healthcare/biotechindustry increased 21% while no otherindustry sectors recorded positivegrowth. The high technology andmedia/creative/publishing industriessuffered the worst decline, as eachsector decreased 36 % in the secondquarter. Executive demand in thenatural resources/base materials andbusiness services sectors alsoexperienced declines, showing 24%and 23% respectively. "The executiveemployment market appears to havebottomed in the fourth quarter of 2001,but the road to recovery has beenfilled with speed bumps," said DaveOpton, CEO and founder ofExecuNet.com. "Until CorporateAmerica is absolutely convinced thatthe recession is over, few companieswill be in a hurry to hire."

ExecutiveDemand Down19% In SecondQuarter


Steven Ast Forms Boutique Search FirmFocused on Non-Profit Sector

STEVEN AST HAS FORMED Ast Partners Ltd, a boutique search firmfocused on the non-profit sector. Mr. Ast,who has worked in executive search formore than 20 years, is the former Chairman

and co-founder of Ast/Bryant. His new firmis headquartered in Connecticut andcontains a staff of recruiters trained in non-profit management, fundraising andexecutive search. Mr. Ast, Chairman andCEO of this new firm, declares,"Philanthropy is now a $212 billion

industry, fueled by the extraordinaryincome and wealth of generous Americans.The institutions and organizationssupported by philanthropy all need 'star-quality' fundraisers to lead theirphilanthropic efforts. Ast Partners' expertiseis in recruiting those quality fundraisers."


HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES REPORTEDrevenues of $93.5 million for the secondquarter that ended on June 30, 2002.These figures depicted a decrease of24% from last year's revenues. Thenumber of executive searches as well asthe fees per search remained essentiallyflat. The firm has reduced the number ofheadhunters it employs by 22% to 383.On a sequential basis, comparing 2002second quarter performance to the thisyear's first quarter, net revenuesincreased by 2% The firm reported aquarterly net loss of $3.4 million,compared to a net loss of $4.0 million ayear earlier.

Revenues allocated by region depictthat North America made $52.2 million,a decline of 28% from last year. In LatinAmerica, the firm reported revenues of$2.6 million, a decrease of 27% fromrevenues the prior year. Revenues inEurope dropped 17% from $39.5 millionin 2001 to $32.9 million in the secondquarter 2002. In Asia Pacific, thecompany reported revenues of $5.8million, a decrease of 22% fromrevenues of $7.4 million for the sameperiod a year ago.


Heidrick &Struggles RevenuesContinue to slide inSecond Quarter

Slayton International On Target for 50%Revenue Increase

SLAYTON INTERNATIONAL, AMONGthe leading Chicago-based search firms,reports retainer fees of around $2 millionfor the first half of 2002. Based on thecurrent trend, chairman Richard Slaytonanticipates his firm's revenues will endup at $3.8 million for the year, depictinga 50% increase over 2001. Newly

launched practice groups in financialservices, consumer products and retailhave bolstered Slayton's revenueturnaround as the heads of these newsectors are generating lots of business.In fact, while many search firms arelaying consultants off, SlaytonInternational is still hiring top recruitersand is very optimistic about the secondhalf of the year.

Business Cards: Executive Research Firms

CORNERSTONE INTERNATIONALannounces a new member firm, Harvey A.Meier Company, based in Spokane,Washington. This firm will provide generalmanagement consulting services as well asspecialized human resources consulting. Dr.Harvey Meier is Managing Director andfounded this firm over 30 years ago. Thefirm's success has been based on helpingclient firms avoid business and financialsurprises by improving their strategicplanning, hiring, and cash flowmanagement processes. CornerstoneChairman and Founder, William Guy, reports"the addition of Harvey Meier personallyunderscores our commitment to the veryhighest standards of professionalism andethics, so needed in the consulting servicesoffered in the 21st Century, especially inlight of Enron and other scandals soprevalent in recent news coverage."

Cornerstone opensa New Office inWashington



Savoy Partners Revenues for First Halfof 2002 Surpass 2001 Total Billings

SAVOY PARTNERS, A WASHINGTON, D.C.-based boutique generalist search firm, reportsretainer fees for the first half of 2002 havealready surpassed revenues for the entire yearof 2001. Robert J. Brudno, Founder andManaging Director, is confident his annualrevenues in 2002 will end up 50% higherthan the firm's 2001 calendar year. In fact, Mr.

Brudno states, "We're far beyond the will tosurvive stage." Contributing to the firm'ssuccess has been business from clients in awide variety of industries, includingmanufacturing, auto parts distribution,strategic security/homeland defense andaerospace. Mr. Brudno remarks there has beena "return to quality, not quantity, in executivesearch" as "recruiters have no choice but tooffer quality and really earn our fees."


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Simon Stephenson of Stephenson Research

Associates has recently been appointed Chairman of

the Executive Research Association (ERA). Mr.

Stephensen takes over from Gerda Smith of GSA

Associates following her two years in tenure. Mrs.

Smith will still serve on the committee.

Korn/Ferry International announces the following

appointments. Steve Strain joins as Global Managing

Director of the technology market in the firm's Silicon

Valley office. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Strain

worked for TMP Worldwide's executive search

division as President of European operations. Mr.

Strain had previously been Senior Director at Spencer

Stuart. John A. Griffin is welcomed to the Houston

office as a Senior Client Partner on the firm's Energy

team. Mr. Griffin formerly served as a Managing

Partner for TMP Worldwide's executive search

division, where he ran the Houston office and focused

primarily on growing and overseeing the company's

energy practice. Until recently, Mr. Griffin had been a

Partner with Heidrick & Struggles. Lee Artimovich is

renamed Managing Director of the firm's Minneapolis

office, replacing Jeremy C. Hanson, who left to join

TMP Worldwide's executive search division in

February. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Artimovich

headed his own firm Artimovich & Associates.

A.T. Kearney Executive Search welcomes Jonathan

Darcy and Scott D. Williams to its team. Jonathan

Dancy joins as Managing Director in the firm's London

office and head of the firm's european financial

services business. Mr Darcy comes from BNB

Resources PLC, where he was a member of the

Operating Board and CEO of Norman Broadbent

International. Scott D. Williams joins as Vice President

in the firm's Texas office. Mr. Williams most recently

served as a Partner and practice head of the IT and

professional services practices for TMP Worldwide's

executive search division. Prior to TMP, Mr. Williams

spent seven years with Heidrick & Struggles.

TMP Worldwide names Kristin Herbert and Latham

Williams as co-leaders of the legal practice group. Ms.

Hebert, based in the firm's San Francisco office, will

focus on executive search assignments for senior-level

attorneys and executives for clients throughout

California and the West Coast. Ms. Herbert most

recently owned Kristin Hebert Associates, a San

Francisco-based legal search consulting firm. Mr.

Williams, based in the firm's Chicago office, becomes

a member of the legal search practice group, global

healthcare sector and the global insurance practice

group that concentrates on placing senior executives

for corporations and law firms. Mr. Williams previously

served as an equity Partner with the international law

firm of Sidney Austin Brown & Wood.

Russell Reynolds Associates welcomes the following

Consultants to its firm. Richard C. Perkey joins as

Managing Director of the New York office and Area

Manager in the Atlantic office where he will focus on

searches for the consumer financial industry. Mr.

Perkey previously worked for Spencer Stuart, where

he directed the consumer financial services practice

and e-financial services practice. Charlotte Rush has

been named as Director of Global Marketing and

Communications and will be based at the New York

office. Ms. Rush previously served as strategic

relations Director for Softbank International Ventures.

Lisa Dun Coleman joins as Managing Director in the

Houston office and will concentrate on executive

search assignments in the retail and consumer sectors.

She comes from a venture capital firm, Mayeron L.L.C.

Heidrick & Struggles hire Pascal Smith and Harold

"Hal" Johnson. Pascal Smith joins as a Principal in

charge of equities in the financial services search

practice in London. Mr. Smith previously worked at

Armstrong International. Harold 'Hal' Johnson, based

in the firm's Denver office, is named as Managing

Partner of its human resources practice. He recently

worked for TMP Worldwide's executive search

division.

Ray & Berndston announces that Sandy Iwata, after

15 years of service to this firm, has been promoted to

Vice President of human resources.

The Directorship Search Group, the Connecticut

based search firm, announces that Carter L. Burgess,

Jr., has joined the firm's New York office as a Vice

President in its financial services practice. Previous to

this appointment, Mr. Burgess had been a Principal in

the global financial services practice of Egon

Zehnder.

Whitehead Mann Group, U.K.-based executive search

and leadership consulting firm, welcomes Dona

Roche-Tarry, Michel Coucke and Mike Goldstone to its

team. Michael Coucke joins as Co-Manager of the

global TMT practice in London, with Dona Roche-

Tarry in an equivalent position in New York. Coucke

was Managing Partner of Heidrick & Struggles

European communications practice at its Belgian

operation, while Roche-Tarry was Managing Partner

of Heidrick & Struggles North American

communications practice in its Greenwich office. Mr.

Goldstone joins as Chairman of technology and media

and be based in Hong Kong. Mr. Goldstone previous

experience includes running his own search firm,

Goldstone & Company and serving as Managing

Partner for Heidrick & Struggles.

Sheffield Haworth, the London-based financial

services headhunter, has opened a legal search

practice and hired Siobhan Lewington to be its head.

Ms. Lewington joins from TMP Worldwide, where she

was head of the legal team for banking and finance

appointments. It has also announced the appointment

of Toby Crosthwaite as Managing Director to the

newly opened Hong Kong office to drive the firm's

expansion in Asia. Previously, Mr. Crosthwaite worked

at Whitehead Mann.

Richmond & Co, the London-based financial services

search firm, announces the appointment of John

Denny as a Senior Consultant to help develop the

firm's fund management capabilities. Previously, Mr.

Denny had been Managing Partner of his own firm,

Beetle Paris.

Kapient, a leading South Asia search business formed

by a joint venture between KPMG Consulting

Singapore and DP Search, welcomes Ibrahim Boztepe

and Robin Tan. Mr. Boztepe joins as Manager of the

Executive Contracting Practice. Mr. Boztepe recently

worked at TMP Worldwide in interim executive

contracting. Robin Tan joins as Commercial Practice

Manager. Mr Tan most recently served as Senior

Staffing Manager with Dell Computer Asia and has

also had extensive senior level search experience with

Korn/Ferry International's Advanced Technology

Practice.

Chicago-based executive search firm Martin Partners

adds Paul W. Schmidt as a Partner. Mr. Schmidt will

focus on recruiting C-level executives for industrial

and consumer product manufacturing companies,

with a specialized emphasis on private equity funded

buyouts, and closely held businesses. Mr. Schmidt

previous experience includes Vice President at A.T.

Kearney Executive Search and a Partner with

Korn/Ferry International.

New York City-based executive search firm Hunt

Howe Partners LLC names Elizabeth McCabe as a

Senior Consultant in its global healthcare practice. Ms.

McCabe previously served as a Consultant at Heidrick

& Struggles.

HR Quest S.A., the Athens based executive search

firm, names Athanase Psychas, one of the firm's

Founding Partners, as Head of Board Services.

Key moves in Executive Search this month

Keep us up to date with any corporate announcements! Email [email protected]

S E A R C H - P E O P L E


ofAtheoretical example; say your client isn'thiring; under a transactional model, yourrelationship will get stale. However, if youare providing services such as coaching,assessment and so on, your clientrelationship is maintained and the client ismore likely to use you for the next search."

To make this type of CRM model work, itbecame vital that the top performingconsultants were retained within thebusiness. From the end of 2000 into the firstthree months of 2001, a number of topperformers left the business. To fight this,Reilly introduced a bonus system designed toretain the leading producers; under thisscheme, the top 100 performers earned ahigher percentage payout than the lowerperformers-in effect protecting them from the

downturn in the market. Less wellperforming consultants were not entitled tothis protection. That said, all the consultantswere guaranteed a minimum 50% payout ofwhat they would have earned during arobust year.

"With all the strategic change that we aregoing through, it is imperative for ourshareholders that our top people are focusedon the market. Let us worry about theoperations. In the longer term, we areworking with Towers Perrin on thedevelopment of a model for compensation inthe future."

Another part of the business which Reillybelieves is important for the future is

Technology (it should be pointed out at thisstage that search-consult is published byDillistone Systems, who provide IT solutionsto executive search firms includingKorn/Ferry).

"I honestly think that one of the things thatattracted me to Korn/Ferry was internaltechnology. It's absolutely incredible. I amexcited about the opportunity to usetechnology to interact with the outside world.For example, we did some work with theDepartment of Transportation looking forFederal Security Directors. We put up awebsite which handled more than 38,000registrations and got us to a shortlist in fourweeks. We use technology to trackeverything we do to build customerintimacy…. Imagine a scenario where aclient is looking for a CFO… they enter thesystem and can immediately understand thetype of deals being done in that sector, for thetype of position. Through knowledge, youare getting people to come to youautomatically - and helping them do a lot ofthe specification work in advance….. Duringthe process, our people can click on and say- here's the process, here's the shortlist, andthis is where we are. If you can get yourcustomer tied to you through information,they do not leave."

Reilly has been at the helm of Korn/Ferrynow for little over a year. Times are still hard,and the business recently announced a lossof $0.12 per share for the fourth quarter of its2002 financial year. However, the businessappears healthier - operating expenses aredown and cash is on the up. Reilly and anumber of his management team recentlydecided to invest in the business through thepurchase of stock in the open market. At thetime, Reilly commented, "We believe thecurrent valuation of the stock does not reflectthe full value of our business. We have greatconfidence in our brand, our world classconsultants, the services we provide toclients and our long-term growth prospects."It will be interesting to see if the next year ismore predictable than the last.

S E A R C H - C O M P A N Y


S E A R C H - C O M P A N Y


Korn/Ferry International:

Yearchange

By Jason Starr

Paul C. Reilly

On May 24, 2001, Korn/FerryInternational named Paul C. Reilly as thefirm's new Chairman and ChiefExecutive Officer. Reilly left the positionof CEO at KPMG to join a business,which he described as having "thebrand, client base, global reach andprofessional expertise to continueleading this growth industry goingforward". Unfortunately, the productwas not as it had been described on thebox; Reilly joined the firm as the Searchindustry fell of a precipice. Instead ofbuilding a rapidly growing business,Reilly was to spend the year cuttingback, fending of bankers and dealingwith an ever more challenging worldeconomic recession.

Today, however, the worse seems tobe over. Reilly and his executive teamhave been talking up the future, and,earlier this summer, as a group themanagement team invested heavily incompany stocks.

In an exclusive interview with search-consult, Paul C. Reilly talks about his firstyear in the search industry, his newstrategy and his plans for the future.

Paul Reilly's conversations withKorn/Ferry began early in 2001 and,initially, revolved around a CEO

position at a Florida-based technologycompany. Reilly declined the position,explaining that he would only leave KPMG fora "global firm in a service industry which wasgoing through change". The Korn/Ferryconsultant to whom Reilly was speaking wasCraig Dunlevie, head of Korn/Ferry'sProfessional Services Market sector and amember of the CEO search committee. Hepaused before saying "That's funny…. I'malso looking for my boss!".

The Korn/Ferry role intrigued Reilly. Hewas to come on board "as a strategic personwho would put in place plans to grow a $650million business to well past a billion".However, as he signed up for the post, theindustry collapsed and "by the second day, Irealized my job was very different."

The job was indeed different. Over thenext few months, the business closed its "JobDirect division", reduced marketingexpenditure (ending a relationship with theWall St Journal which was costing $1 milliona quarter), cut the work force by 30% andrenegotiated its bank facility with the Bank of

America. On an annualized basis, $100m inoperating costs were cut.

Meanwhile, the rumor mill talked of anapproach from TMP Worldwide who - it wasalleged - were considering a reverse takeoverof Korn/Ferry. Other rumors suggested thatthe firms' cash situation was critical. Reillyrefuses to comment on these - or any other -rumors, but does state, "Prior to the AESCConference this year, I had never met anyonein senior management from TMP Worldwideor any other search firm."

The cut backs made by Korn/Ferry grabbedthe headlines but, in truth, were no moresevere than those taken by many of the firmsin the industry. Meanwhile, while working toensure the short-term survival of thebusiness, Reilly was putting in place a newmanagement team and a new strategy.

The Strategy was announced on December6th, 2001. In a videoconference feed fromLondon, Reilly spoke live to more than 100Korn/Ferry offices and outlined his vision forexpanding the business from "a traditionalmanagement search firm to a relationshipdriven provider of executive human capitalservices."

"Our clients around the globe have told us

unequivocally that they want and need astrategic partner to help them contend withthe dramatic technological and demographicforces that are reshaping the demand fortalent. We will meet that demand byevolving our business model in a three stageprocess that starts with traditional searchservices, evolves to larger client relationshipsand ultimately emerges as a true solutionsprovider."

The announcement was a huge departurefor Korn/Ferry. Reilly's predecessor, WindlePriem, had told search-consult in June 2001that "...Our strategy then evolved to generatemultiple revenue streams from the graduatelevel right up to CEO…. Korn/Ferry could bea business that manages careers. We willbegin working with you in your universityand continue throughout your career."

Under the new strategy, Korn/Ferry was torefocus on the boardroom. They would lookto cement relationships with key clients andwith the aim of taking on more of their searchwork - and introducing services likemanagement assessment and coaching.

Reilly likens his Key Account Managementplan to a project that he undertook at KPMG.

"When I introduced a similar program atKPMG we began from a situation where wehad 36 key accounts. Each account hadmultiple managers each of whom wasfocused primarily on protecting his or herown territory. The value of each account wasunknown. After some research, wediscovered that the clients were doingbetween $3 million and $50 million with us.After 3 years, we had 107 key accounts. Thevalues ranged from $10 million -$100 millionand client satisfaction had gone through theroof. That is what I would like to achievehere."

In practical terms, this is achieved bytaking on more of a clients work.

"We have clients with whom we havegreat relationships. In practice, however, wemay be doing only 20% of their work - 20other firms are doing the other 80%. Thequestion is: how do you raise your share to40% or 50%? Well, it's partly about superbexecution, but it's also about relationships. Ibelieve that you can have a betterrelationship with a client if you provide abroader range of services. Let's take a


For more information, contact:

Web: www.kornferry.com

(92% versus 79% of the men), and lessBritish executives (60%) and executiveswho have had a long career (only 74%of the executives with more than 15years seniority feel attracted to thissector). Lastly, in the utility goods andenergy sectors, as well as thetransformation of raw materials on theother hand, opposed trends areobserved depending upon the countries:British and French executives areunder-represented among theexecutives attracted to utility goods andenergy (47% and 55% of them,respectively, are attracted to thesesectors, versus 65% on average), and tothe transformation of raw materials(37% and 41%, respectively, versus 47%on average). On the contrary, Germanexecutives are slightly over-representedamong the individuals interviewedattracted to these two sectors: 68% ofthem are attracted to utility goods andenergy (i.e. 3 points more than theaverage), and 50% to the transformationof raw materials (3 points more than theaverage, once again). Thesepreferences are in part due to the"industrial fabric" of these countries andthe position of these industries in theirnational economies.

I.D. A gap between the preferredfactors to attract top executives andthose pinpointed for oneself.

I.D.1. The importance attached tothe company's economic and financialsituation to attract top executives.

According to the top executives, theexternal factors most likely to attracttheir peers to a company, break downinto four categories, based on theimportance attached to each one:- factors deemed important by 90%or more agents: the financial weight ofthe company (95% view it asimportant), the image, position, andstability of the company in its market(94% view it as important), the qualityof management for the top executives(94% view it as important), and thecompany's global presence (90% judge

it to be important). One should note that62% of the executives judge the qualityof the management to be "veryimportant", versus only 54% whoconsider the company's financialweight, along with its image, position,and stability in its market, to be veryimportant, and 52% who considerglobal presence to be very important.The company's economic assets are thusclearly deemed most important.- factors deemed important by 80%to 90% of the executives interviewed:the line of business (88% judge it to beimportant), the company's ethics andvalues (87%), and its corporate culture(86%).- more secondary factors, deemedimportant by 60% to 80% of thepopulation interviewed: the size of thecompany (73% of the individualsinterviewed judge this factor to beimportant), its geographic location (71%)and its ownership - public, private,subsidiary.- a factor deemed important by lessthan half of the individuals interviewed:the company's sustainability and history(41% consider this factor to beimportant, versus 58% who thinkotherwise).

Upon closer observation, we observethat Austrian and German executives arethose who differentiate themselves mostin their appreciation of the externalfactors likely to attract European topexecutives: German executives generallyattach less importance to the company'simage characteristics than the overallexecutive population. In particular, alesser number of them insist on thecompany's ethics and values (72% versus87% on average), its corporate culture(78% versus 86%), or its sustainabilityand history (37% versus 41%). Thecompany's size is the only factor onwhich German executives tend to insistmore than the overall population ofexecutives interviewed: 83% consider itto be an important factor to attract a topexecutive to a company, versus only 73%of the overall population of top executives interviewed.

S E A R C H - F E A T U R E




TheEuropeanExecutive

Arecent survey by EuropeanSearch Firm H. NeumannInternational and UK Associate

Howgate Sable investigated differencesbetween European Executives. Here,search-consult summarises the keypoints.

I. FACTORS LIKELY TO ATTRACT TOPEXECUTIVES.I.A. Top executives still favor contactsvia a professional or a directapproach.

Among the various executiverecruitment options available, thepopulation interviewed is mostly infavor of head hunting consultancies:96% of them would turn to such a firmto find a top executive. Direct contactwith people is also extremelyappreciated: 72% of the executivesinterviewed would use that approach.Job ads (23%), alumni associations andprofessional networks (13%), theInternet (10%), and dedicated databanks

(7%) come far behind.Head hunting consultancies are used

in a slightly less systematic fashion forDutch and Belgian (90%), and forCentral European (88%) executives. Agreat number of Dutch and Belgian(84%), Austrian (83%), and British(83%) executives mentioned that theywould resort to contact with individuals.However, this approach is adopted byonly 60% of Central European topexecutives, and by 52% of Italianexecutives . Lastly, job ads are veryfrequently mentioned by Britishexecutives (57%), and far less by Frenchexecutives (14%).

I.B. A clear hierarchy of the variouslines of business in terms ofattractiveness, with a clear preferencefor services.

The line of business judged mostattractive by top executives is that ofnew technologies / the Internet /Telecom: 78% find it attractive, versus

only 20% who consider the contrary. Itis followed by the banking / insurance /finance line of business (76% find itattractive, versus 22% who find itunattractive), and the health /pharmaceutical products sector (75%find it attractive, versus 23% who find itunattractive). The latter is the onepreferred by top executives (37%).

On the contrary, three sectors arejudged negatively by the majority: hotel/ tourism (it is deemed attractive by 45%of the sample, versus 52% who thinkthe contrary), building construction(29% find it attractive, versus 69% whofind it non attractive), and, above all, thepublic sector (11% versus 87%).

The Netherlands and Belgium are thecountries in which top executives makethe biggest distinction in the evaluationof different sectors: far more executivesin these countries are attracted to health/ pharmaceutical products (82% versus75%), consumer goods and retail (74%versus 68%), engineering / materials

processing and assembly (71% versus57% on average), transportation /logistics (61% versus 52% on average),and building construction (51% versus29%). On the other hand, Belgian andDutch top executives are, far less thantheir European peers, attracted to newtechnologies / the Internet / telecom(49% versus 78%), banking / insurance/ finance (60% versus 76% on average),media / communication (63% versus72% on average), and aerospace (57%versus 70% on average).

I.C. Attractiveness within theindustrial sector is also veeringtowards services.

Regarding the attractiveness of theindustrial sector, one can observe verydifferent results depending on the linesof business involved: the mostappreciated industrial activities actuallyare those most downstream of the rawmaterials transformation process, suchas the assembly or manufacturing offinished products (85% find this activityattractive, including 34% who find itvery attractive) and industrial services(80% find this activity attractive,including 31% who find it veryattractive). These are followed by theutility goods and energy sectors (65%find it attractive, including 23% whofind it very attractive). Lastly, the onlyline of business which is judgednegatively by the majority - the actualtransformation of raw materials- seemsmore controversial (only 47% of topexecutives find this activity attractive,versus 52%).

If we expand on this, the topexecutives most attracted by finishedgoods assembly or manufacturing arethe Austrians (93% are attracted to thisactivity, versus 85% on average), whohave less income than the otherexecutives interviewed (89% of theexecutives whose income is less than100,000 euros per annum). Regardingindustrial services, there areproportionally more Italian executives(94% are attracted to this activity,versus 80% on average) and women





As for Austrian executives, theypresent a profile which is nearly theopposite: all in all, they attach moreimportance to the external perception ofthe company than top executives fromother European countries. In particular,a greater proportion of them, ascompared to the overall populationinterviewed, attach importance to suchfactors as image, position, and stability(97% versus 94% on average), globalpresence (98% versus 90% on average),line of business (98% versus 88% onaverage), ethics and values (93% versus87%), or corporate culture (95% versus86% on average).

I.D.2. The company's image remains akey factor when one is about to makea personal choice.

When top executives are asked aboutthe external characteristics likely toattract them personally to a company,the results achieved are markedlydifferent from those achieved whenthey are being asked more abstractquestions about the externalcharacteristics of a company likely toattract a top executive. For themselves,they give less priority to financialcriteria, than to image or reputation.

The most important factor in theireyes is the line of business, mentionedfirst by 22% of the executivesinterviewed. Next comes the image,position, and stability of the company inits market (19%), along with the qualityof the management of top executives(16%). Far behind is the company'sfinancial weight (7%): this factor comesonly fourth here, while it ranked firstwhen the executives were being askedabout the external characteristics mostlikely to attract top executives in generalto a company. On the contrary, the lineof business, which is the mostmentioned here, only ranked fifth whenthe population interviewed was toappraise the more general factors ofattractiveness for top executives.

If we go further in detail, Austrian,German, Belgian, Dutch, and Britishexecutives are those who mention the

line of business first. The greaternumber of Italian and Central Europeanexecutives mention image, position, andstability first. As far as Frenchexecutives are concerned, they alonemention the quality of the managementof top executives first: 29% of themmention that item as the factor mostlikely to attract them to a company. Thisanswer probably reflects theirdissatisfaction regarding the current topmanagement of companies.

I.E. The job content remains a keyfactor. Top executives appear to bevery concerned about theircompanies' future prospects.

I.E.1 The content of the jobs andthe level of compensation are keyfactors when recruiting.

Among the internal characteristics ofa company, two are almost unanimouslyconsidered by the populationinterviewed as important in terms ofattracting top executives: 99% for theresponsibilities involved in a position -including 78% who consider this to be akey factor that can convince a topexecutive to join a company - and 98%for compensation. Two other internalcharacteristics of a company are viewedimportant by over 90% of the topexecutives interviewed: the company'sstrategy and development projects(95%), and the autonomy of the position(95%). On the contrary, two items areonly perceived by less than two thirds ofthe interviewed population as importantto persuade a top executive to join acompany: financial and legal coverage(61%), and international mobilityprospects (59%).

More specifically, British executivesdiffer from other top executives in theimportance they attach to these internalcharacteristics of a company to attractexecutives: more of them consider thatthe company's strategy anddevelopment projects (98% versus 95%on average), the autonomy of theposition (98% versus 95% on average),the opportunities for personal and

professional development (95% versus88%), the management mode (93%versus 85%), the balance betweenpersonal and professional life (88%versus 80% on average), therelationship with management (91%versus 78%), stock-options and otherlong-term incentives (93% versus 76%)are important.

I.E.2. Special attention granted to thecompany's prospects for oneself.

Like external characteristics, whenthe top executives are asked about theinternal characteristics likely to attractthem personally to a company, theresults achieved are relatively differentfrom those achieved when they areinterviewed more abstractly about theinternal characteristics of a companylikely to attract a top executive.

The four items most mentioned are,indeed, the same, but in a differentorder. Here, the company's strategy andits development projects are mentionedfirst, rather than the responsibilitiesinvolved in the position: 23% of theexecutives interviewed mention thisfactor as the most important to attractthem to a company. Then come theresponsibilities involved in a position(19%), the compensation level (13%),and the autonomy of the position (7%).On the contrary, no top executivementions the legal and financialcoverage, or the various benefitsgranted, as the most important factors toattract them to a company. Thishierarchy probably reflects the currentperception of the economic and laborcontext, including the gap betweenextremely attractive offers and theuncertain future of the companiesinvolved.

II. FACTORS LIKELY TO RETAIN TOPEXECUTIVES DIFFER FROM FACTORSLIKELY TO ATTRACT THEM.

II.A. The relevance of past experienceaccounts for part of these differences.

In the mind of some of the topexecutives interviewed, retention

pertains to a different logic. They taketheir experience into account toconsider the quality of the topmanagement as their first factor (93%),as they probably believe that it isaccountable for a number of topexecutive resignations. At the sametime, they also consider the futureprospects of a company to be essential:92% for the financial weight of thecompany, 91% for its position andstability in its market.

However, the same items have thelowest priority levels as for recruitment:attractiveness, the company's type ofownership (40% consider this to be animportant factor), its sustainability andhistory (26% view it as an importantfactor), don't seem to be deemeddecisive by the population interviewedin terms of factors likely to retain topexecutives.

The main difference observed,regarding the external characteristics ofa company, between the factors likelyto attract and the factors likely to retainexecutives, lies in the appraisal of thecompany ethics and values factor:while it only ranked sixth as anattractiveness factor, it now ranksfourth as a retention factor.Furthermore, this factor is the only onethe executives interviewed consideredto be as just as important for retentionand attractiveness: 87%. All otherfactors seem less important to retainexecutives than to attract them. Thispaticularly applies to the globalpresence (90% consider it to beimportant for attracting an executive,versus only 75% to retain him), the lineof business (88% versus 64%), the size(73% versus 47%), or the type ofownership - private, public, subsidiary- of the company (61% versus 40%).

Upon further study, we can observethat Belgian, Dutch and, once again,British executives, differ by a largenumber of factors they view as moreimportant than the average. The caseof the United Kingdom is the moststriking: the executives interviewedfrom that country attach more

importance to the following factors thanthe average in terms of their ability toretain top executives: the quality of themanagement (100% versus 93% onaverage), the financial weight of thecompany (98% versus 92%), the image,position, and stability of the companyin its market (95% versus 91%), thecompany's ethics and values (93%versus 87%), its corporate culture (95%versus 84%), and its size (55% versus47%). The only exception, which onceagain demonstrates the unique natureof British executives relatively to thosefrom the continent: they are lesssensitive (67%) than the overallpopulation of top executives (75% on

average) to the company's globalpresence as a factor likely to incitethem to stay within a company.

When top executives are asked aboutthe factors likely to retain, thempersonally-instead of top executives ingeneral-the results achieved are onceagain quite different. Indeed, in bothcases, the quality of the managementof top executives ranks first (21% of thetop executives consider this to be themost important factor that would retainthem), ahead of the image, position,and stability of the company in its

market (18% consider this to be themost important factor). However, theindividuals interviewed considercertain factors to be less important toretain them personally than to retaintop executives at large. This is thecase, in particular, for the company'sfinancial weight (only 9% of thepopulation interviewed consider this tobe the most important factor). On thecontrary, the executives interviewedconsider the line of business criterionto be the most important forthemselves (12% consider this to be themost important factor to retain them,third rank) than for the overallpopulation interviewed (seventh rankonly).

If we go further in detail, the French(31%), British (24%), Central European(18%), Belgian, and Dutch (14% )executives rank the quality of themanagement of top executives firstamong the factors likely to retain them.Italian (51%) and Spanish (19%)executives, on the other hand, rank theimage, position, and stability of acompany as the first factor. Lastly,German (24%) and Austrian (22%)executives, tend to attach moreimportance to the line of businessfactor.

II.B. On the other hand, the internalfactors likely to retain top executivesare only slightly different from thosethat attract them in the first place.

The internal characteristics of acompany likely to retain top executivesare, according to the interviewees,roughly the same as those likely toattract them: the level of responsibilityis the most important issue: 97% of thepopulation interviewed consider that,to retain a top executive, the companyought to involve him more in thestrategic challenges for its future, and95% consider that he ought to havehigher responsibilities. Next comes ahigher level of compensation (93%),and greater autonomy (93%).

Likewise, the factors judgedunimportant to attract a top executive

“Austrian, German,

Belgian, Dutch, and British

executives are those who

mention the line of business

first. The greaternumber of Italianand CentralEuropean executivesmention image,position, and stabilityfirst.”



are not instrumental when it comes toretaining him: this is, in particular, thecase of the various benefits offered(71% consider that it would beimportant to have more, but only 18%consider it to be very important),international mobility opportunities(61% consider that it would beimportant to have more, but only 14%consider it to be very important), andmore comprehensive legal andfinancial coverage (53% consider thatit would be important to have more, butonly 12% consider it to be very important).

Here, Eastern European executivesare most specific: compared to theoverall executive population, a greaterproportion of them consider that thefollowing factors are important when itcomes to retaining top executives: animproved management mode (91%consider this factor to be important,versus 86% on average), quicker careerdevelopment (100% versus 84%), abetter balance between work andquality of life (84% versus 81% onaverage), a constructive and positive

relationship with their management(95% versus 80% on average),international mobility opportunities(70% versus 61% on average), and,lastly, more comprehensive financialand legal coverage (63% versus 53%on average, and 24% for Britishexecutives). On the other hand, arelatively lesser proportion of CentralEuropean executives consider that moreinvolvement in the strategic challengesfor the company's future is important(93% versus 97% on average).

Lastly, top executives mention thesame factors - and in the same order -likely to retain them personally in acompany: the company's strategy andits development projects (24% view thisas the most important factor), theresponsibilities involved in the position(18%), the compensation level (10%),the autonomy of the position (8%), therelationship with the management(7%), the balance between work andquality of life (7%), and personal andprofessional development (6%). On theother hand, none of the executivesinterviewed mentions international

mobility opportunities as the mostimportant factor to retain them in acompany.

More specifically, in three out of fourcountries where executives wereinterviewed, strategy and developmentprojects constitute the main factor likelyto retain them in their company: this isthe case in Central Europe, France, theUnited Kingdom, Italy, Spain, theNetherlands, and Belgium. OnlyGerman (30% think that theresponsibilities involved in the positionrepresent the most important factor,versus only 9% for the company'sstrategy and development projects) andAustrian executives (24% think that theresponsibilities involved in a positionrepresent the most important factor,versus 22% for the company's strategyand development projects) are anexception to the rule.



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Our unique access to search leaders in 26 countries ensures

that we are uniquely placed to help you manage your career.

We have clients who are recruiting now. In the first instance,

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more, the refree should independentlybe chosen and not from the list, thecandidate has presented. And mostimportantly the refree should be areliable professional, which is why weoften resort to those refrees who arewell-known, who would easily beregarded as someone who would notbias their remarks due to any personalrelationships with candidates and at thesame would hold the information tothemselves, thereby ensuing theconfidentiality of the candidature. As aresult, the refrees are invariably senior-executives from the organizations wherethe candidates were employed in thepast or former executives of the

organization currently employing thecandidate or 'independent referees whohave had continued years of businessinterface with the candidate.

2. WHO SHOULD CHECK ?A senior consultant of a search firm

who has the skill and diplomacy willcheck and probably leave room in theconversation for one more dialoguedirectly from the employing companythemselves. The consultant shouldclearly articulate the job in question andtrigger the conversation and not lead-outthe words from the mouth of the refree.Hence conversational effectiveness is ofparamount importance. Finally thesearch firm should verbatim convey thereference outcomes to their client-organization in a confidential manner.

3. WHAT DO YOU CHECK ? There are two broad parameters, one

the profile-reconfirmation, secondinsights into character andcompetencies (C&C). The profile-reconfirmation involves cross-verifyingthe academic and working career detailsarticulated in a CV and duringinterviews. This would involve religiouscalling and checking or eliciting therequisite documents from the candidate.Though this exercise sounds simple andprocedural, its worth noting that moreoften than not this is not considered tobe crucial.

The C & C checks are made through adirect conversation or through aquestionnaire with pre-selected refrees.Technical competencies, working style,behavioral characteristics, actual resultsachieved on the ground attitude towardsresults, processes and ethics are checkedthrough carefully crafted questions.

4. WILL YOU BASE YOUR ENTIREDECISION ON THE REFERENCE?

If the profile relevance & interviewoutcomes are positive and referenceoutcomes are moderately positive, thereis a tendency in the minds of the hiringorganization to take a favorable view. Onthe contrary, if the impressions after theevaluation is itself not too encouragingand reference checks confirms the same,invariably corporates drop the hiringintention. However independent ofresults of interview if the referencingthrows up extreme negative outcomes,such as does not walk the talk, personalbehavioral deficiencies, health issues,integrity and ethics, there is immediatetendency no to go ahead.

Even as the background checkingexercises are getting widespreadacceptance, what it has achieved iscertainly more truthful representationfrom candidates during interviewsleading to Right Hiring.

S E A R C H - T E C H N I Q U E S




Globally, the leadership ofcorporate organizations facedwith toughening markets, are per

force having to immerse deeper in theunglamorous part of strategicmanagement, which is, implementation.This calls for guts, personal involvement& teamwork on the part of CEO, theboard and top management to pursueactivities in a pre-set strategic direction.They are soiling hands in the process toachieve the desired outcomes. The'hiring mantra' doing rounds is toughtimes will not last for long, tough CEOswill. How does one know if thecandidates being interviewed forleadership assignments have toughnessand other implementability ingredients?In the past, the sleeker versions often getthrough any form of valuation processes

and after induction they managed to stayon top of the heap due to superiorcommunication and maneuvering skills.Of course, in few cases they weresuccessful in achievement of corporategoals.

The corporate hiring of today demandsthat the prospective incumbent passesthe 'test of implementability' as much as'strategic thinking' tests. This translatesto gaining deeper insights into how theperson in question has reacted to 'criticalsituations' in the past employments.Such an assessment, when structuredand deployed is termed as 'backgroundreferencing' or ' reference checking'.This serves answers to more queries onimplementability and the softer traits,than an interview based valuation.

We surveyed a sample of 100 top

management appointmentsaccomplished by Stanton Chase officesduring the last 3 years globally. Barring15% of the appointments, extensivebackground referencing was carried outfor the rest. In those cases where thereference exercise was not carried out,the reasons were one of the following; asmany as 5% instances were notamenable to comprehensive referencingas the incumbents were "Uni-careerists".(A term increasingly used for CEOcandidates who have grown through themanagement ranks into leadership rolesin one organization). Uni-careeristscannot be referenced within the onlyone organization they are part of due toconfidentiality issues. The balance 10%of the instances where referencing wasnot carried out the candidates had made

it a pre-condition barring 'referencechecks' until appointment, which hadthe approval of the hiring organization.

Of the 85% of appointments whereextensive probing was carried out, thesurvey highlighted that a sizeable 15% ofthe appointments were yet cleared byclients despite a clear 'no-go' flag fromus indicating that clients were preparedto risk. In almost all these risk pronecases, we were advised by our client toshare our findings with the candidates sothat they are aware of their perceivedshortcomings, which they may attempt toovercome. However the glaringobservation is that a hi-percentage (asmuch as 75% of appointments referencechecked) of the cases, our confidentialreference report had been vindicated bythe incumbent's post-hire behavior,emphasizing the importance ofbackground referencing as a potent toolfor right hiring.

SURVEY RESULTS : EFFECTIVENESSOF BACKGROUND REFERENCINGA Uni-careerists & hence no ref-

checkingB Candidate's pre-condition barring

reference-checkC Search firm advices no-go, but client

risks hiringD Candidate post hire behavior is in

line with referencing. E Referencing failures

Our study leads to the mute questionsof background checking which are: (1) Who do you check with? (2) Whochecks? (3) What do you check? (4) Willyou base your entire decision onreferencing?

1. WHO DO YOU CHECK WITH ? The fundamental criterion for

'selection of refree' is that he/she shouldhave a total understanding of thecandidate's competencies, working styleand results achieved, gained eitherthrough working in the sameorganization as the candidates past orcurrent employment or having dealt withthe person in a business context. Further

Reference Checking

By R Suresh R Suresh



Web: www.stantonchase.com

to

S E A R C H - C O M M E N T


S E A R C H - C O M M E N T




Web: www.search-consult.com

James Norton Partners, Inc

fromBoutique!

Behemoth

By Molly Epstein

One of the impacts of the slowdownon the search business has beenthe significant increase in start up

search businesses. Search has alwaysbeen a business with low barriers toentry and, in a time when the moreestablished firms have found it difficult tofully reward rainmakers or carry lossmaking junior consultants, there hasbeen a significant trend towards "going italone."

One well-known search practitionerwho chose to take this step was JimNorton, formerly a Managing Director atKorn/Ferry International and Director ofthe Americas Financial Services Practice.Jim established James Norton Partners in2001 and had achieved his twelve-monthrevenue targets within his first threemonths of operation. Molly Epstein askedJim and his team to provide an insightinto the difference between working foran established corporation and foundinga boutique firm.

CREATING A CORPORATE CULTUREWhile large, established firms have a

fully developed corporate culture,boutique firms must develop their own.The more well-defined a firm's cultureand objectives, the more effectively thefirm can carve out a market for itself. Buthow does a fledgling boutique firm createand implement a corporate culture? Theprincipals of Norton Partners came from avariety of the top-four firms, so they had

a breadth of experience - and corporatecultures - upon which to draw. Althoughhe enjoyed the leadership opportunitiesat Korn/Ferry, Norton missed workingclosely with clients. "Partnering with theclient and becoming part of their team iswhat excites me most about executivesearch," he said.

So far, clients are responding well tothe opportunity to work directly with theowner of the firm. Dowd Ritter, Chairman,President & CEO of AmSouthBancorporation values the interaction hegets from the firm. "When we do asearch, we work directly with JimNorton," Ritter says. "He takes the time tounderstand our strategic goals, so Jimidentifies candidates that are mostqualified to help us move toward thosegoals" Ritter credits Norton's listeningskills with the firm's ability to identifyqualified candidates.

In Norton Partners' case, the corporateculture and values became a recruitingtool. Managing Director Todd Strattonbelieved that a small firm would offermore rewarding opportunities for both hisclients and himself. "Seeing the impactthat the right candidate can have on anorganization is the most exciting part ofthe search process," admits Stratton. "In asmall firm we have the freedom to focuson the client organization - and that focusenables us to make an even greaterimpact on our clients' success."Similarly, Managing Director Dottie

Deviney sought an opportunity to work aspart of a focused, client-centered team."The synergy that results from a closeclient-partner relationship makeseveryone's job easier and moreproductive," Deviney adds.

WINNING AND RETAINING CLIENTSLarge firms have the luxury of winning

clients through full-page advertisements,high-gloss quarterly publications, andexpensive road shows. Small firms rarelyhave those resources, and NortonPartners is no exception. Rather, theteam must rely upon their contacts andexpertise to sell each potential client.Fortunately, each member of the NortonPartners team has been building strongcontacts throughout their careers in thediversified financial services industry.Elaine Jordan, Execution Manager, creditsthe consultants' strong relationships withtheir growing client base. "Our clientsgive us repeat business because of therelationship our consultants havedeveloped over the years - not because ofthe company affiliation," Jordan says."People make the company successful -not the other way around. Clients wantto work with Jim no matter what hisbusiness card says. They know that theyare dealing with a responsive partner -an actively involved professional whohelps determine the success of the job."

Instead of trying to create the image ofa big firm, Norton Partners sells its small

size as an advantage to clients. DavidKundert, Chairman and CEO of Banc OneInvestment Advisors, acknowledges thatlarge firms may cover a broad range ofsectors, but he confirms the boutiquefirm's benefits. "Because Norton Partnersis a small firm, we deal only with theprincipals, and the principals conduct thesearch. It increases our credibility withcandidates because we have high-levelpeople working on our search." Kundertalso thinks that smaller firms can be moreadaptable and responsive. Devineyagrees: "When clients speak to someoneat Norton Partners, that person has theability, the credibility, and the knowledgeto perform whatever needs to be done.We don't sell a search and then pass it offto junior staff members - we work closelywith the client for the entire search."

CREATING THE SYNERGY OF THE TEAMNo matter how talented the members of

a team are, they must work well togetherin order to be productive and efficient.This is especially important at a boutiquefirm where only a handful of principalsare responsible for the entireorganization. How do you create synergythat enables the team to contribute totheir maximum potential? NortonPartners has done so by making eachstep of the search process a teamendeavor. Todd Stratton explains, "Weare involved in every aspect of the searchfrom the initial research to the finalnegotiations."

Instead of making the consultants' rolesmore complex, Norton Partners finds thattheir small size simplifies the search. Forexample, they do not have to overcomepolitics, argue over revenue split issues,and become distracted by bureaucracy.Instead, the entire team participates inthe initial client meeting, candidateidentification, and ongoing conferencecalls, until the conclusion of the search.The small size also eliminates the needfor excessive corporate overhead andinfrastructure, enabling Norton Partnersto focus completely on search. "We wantour execution excellence to drive deeprelationships," Norton says. "We are not

looking for 'the next deal' in order toachieve an artificial businessdevelopment target. We will growalongside the companies that we serve."

ESTABLISHING NAME RECOGNITION One of the perceived challenges of

working for a small firm is that the lack ofname recognition may act as a barrier.For example, telephone messages from aconsultant at a top-four firm usually getan immediate return phone call fromprospective candidates. This may notalways be the case with upstart firms.Despite Norton Partners' upstart statusand limited name recognition, Stratton ispleased to note that candidates returncalls rather quickly. "The only differenceis that I spend a minute more on the frontend explaining that we are a retainedfirm and that we have been in thisindustry a long time," Stratton admits."But we gain credibility almostimmediately." Deviney agrees: "Ourphilosophy of putting the client firstcreates interest with appropriatecandidates."

RESEARCHING CANDIDATESToday's competitive search industry

and nomadic executive population makesresearch even more essential to bothlarge and small firms. Some large firmsuse the research area as a trainingground, putting their most junior staffmembers in research positions. HilaryHansen, formerly with Spenser Stuart, isnow Execution Manager at NortonPartners. Hansen argues that while manyof these researchers are quite competentresearching on the Internet and indirectories, they lack the experience andexpertise to delve deeper into anorganization. This inexperience withresearch and lack of specialization withina sector may create a churned database.

Elaine Jordan, Execution Manager atNorton Partners, has over a dozen years ofexecutive search experience, specializingin the financial services sector. AsExecution Manager, she works with theresearch team throughout the entiresearch and participates in all client

meetings. The researchers at NortonPartners have specialized in financialservices search for many years. "We bringthe professionalism, knowledge, andexpertise of a big firm in a small firmwrapper," Stratton observes. "BecauseNorton Partners is small, we are bothmore focused and more engaged in theentire search process."

"We believe in fresh research for eachsearch project," reports Jordan. Inaddition to providing the most accurateand updated information on candidates,Jordan relies upon the strongrelationships that the partners haveestablished over the years. This processensures that no one's time is wasted,lending greater productivity and overallsuccess. Norton Partners believes thatresearch is the foundation of any search,so they invest the time, energy, andhuman capital in generating the bestpossible information.

GROWING THE FIRMBy the start of 2003, Norton Partners

plans to open another office, either inBoston, Chicago, or New York. They mayexpand their focus to include anothersector, as well. They will, however,remain small enough to maintain theirclient focus in order to form closepartnerships with clients and colleagues."We're not trying to be all things to allpeople," Norton states. "We just want topartner with our clients to provide themwith the best search services possible."

Small firms face challenges that aredifferent from those of the large firms.However, small firms have an agility,flexibility, and freedom to respond tochallenges in original ways. Their clientsagree that the Norton Partners approachto working with clients and candidatesreflects their unique culture of teamworkand client focus. By doing what they dobest, Norton Partners has found a formulafor success at a small firm.





The DemographicTimebomb

By Barbara Kwateng

'Ambitious, mobile, a team player with acapacity for learning new skills'. Is thisthe image you have of an over 50?

There's no question about it.Demographics are changing.According to OECD figures, in 9

years 40% of the working population willbe over 45. By 2021, those aged 60 andover will outnumber those in their 20'sand 30's for the first time. These figureswill be even more significant in view of adeclining birth rate. Add to that EuropeanCommission directives on agediscrimination to be introduced in mostcountries of the European Union over thenext 4 years and you have a labourmarket anticipating seismic shifts. But aresearch firms and their clients prepared tochange their outlook on the over 50's?Changing age demographics will alsomean a different make- up of candidates.Search-consult spoke to German searchfirm, Dr. Heimeier & Partner who recently

conducted a survey on the careersituation for managers over 50. The firm,founded in 1989 with its head office inStuttgart, Southern Germany, discussedthe current perceptions towards and ofthe over 50's.

The survey was conducted in thesummer of 2001. This acted as a follow upto one completed in May to August 1998when thousands of entrepreneurs,Managing Directors, board members,Human Resource Executives and SeniorManagers representing 11 Europeancountries were surveyed. Whenquestioned about which qualities theover 50's were held in high esteem for,respondents stated that they appreciatedthem for their experience. This may be anobvious characteristic of older workers.There may be certain careers andindustries where this is seen as anadvantage, especially among higherranks of a firm. Dr. Heimeier & Partner'sfigures found that respondents labelled

the public sector, energy supply firms andbanking / insurance as 'attractive'industries for the over 50's. When thesurvey was completed 3 years ago, over70% of German, Swiss and Italianparticipants felt that that there are certainpositions which are more suitable forolder rather than younger managers. Awhopping 77% of those surveyed inEngland believe that human resources isa suitable position for the over 50's whilstonly 33% of Poles feel this is the case.Dutch and Danish respondents were notconvinced that the over 50's belonged inthe legal department; less than 26%suggesting it as a 'suitable position'. Themore recent results showed that 81% feltthat general management was especially'good' for older managers. 57% ofrespondents believed that humanresources was the right direction for theover 50's whereas 55% thought that thelegal department of the firm was suitablefor the older manager.

Interestingly enough, this does notmirror what is done in practice. Whenquestioned about the positions in whichthey placed managers over 50, Dr.Heimeier & Partner found that 39% weredestined for general management.However, only 3% landed in the legaldepartment. Of course, there could beseveral reasons for this, not least thesupply of jobs in legal departments. Yetthe statistics become more interestingwhen looking at the positionsparticipants felt should not be filled byover 50's. A decisive 54% believed thatoperations and IT were unsuitable rolesfor the over 50's. Therefore, there couldbe a shortfall between perception andreality.

However some clients may beunwilling to recruit an over 50-year-oldmanager. This particular age group maynot always make it to the interview stage."The experience of the search consultantis that the majority of clients are notusually prepared to accept candidatesabove 50 years. Despite their experience,they are often eliminated from the firstrounds of the selection process," tellsClaudia Wacker, consultant at Dr.Heimeier & Partner. The statistics showthat the over 50's are favoured for theirexperience, routine (88%), diplomacy(69%) and consistency (68%). At theother end of the scale, few respondentsfelt that over 50's held characteristicssuch as capacity to learn (4%), dynamism(5%), mobility (5%) and innovation (10%).All required ingredients for competition inthe New Economy.

Yet the irony is that this is not how theover 50's perceive themselves. Founder ofDr. Heimeier & Partner, Dr. Heimeierexplains. "The startling thing is that theover 50's are prepared to make certainsacrifices which would surprise clients.83% are prepared to move to anothertown for an interesting job". Thereforethe 95% of respondents who would notdescribe over 50's as 'mobile' could bemissing an opportunity through holdingcertain stereotypes. "Equally 8 out of 10over 50 year olds would be prepared tolearn a foreign language and work

noticeably longer hours for the rightposition", continues Dr. Heimeier. Perhapsone of the biggest sacrifices is financial.One third of managers over 50 would beprepared to take a lower salary.Questionably even more surprising is thattwo thirds would only see their partner atthe weekend in the pursuit of a moreinteresting career!

Dr. Heimeier describes one reason whyclients may prefer younger managers."Those with experience are influencedand formed by their environment.Imagine a manager with several years atProctor & Gamble going to a mid- sizedcompany. Tensions would arise. Oldermanagers are no different. They may bemore likely to have longer periods ofemployment at say one or two different

firms during their career. They may preferto do things in the way they are used towhich creates perceptions ofinflexibility". He continues by saying "yetfirms should be weary of relying on theiryounger managers and 'young potentials'.They may bring innovation and flexibilitywhen times are good but when theeconomy goes through a bad patch, theolder workers may be just what's needed.These are managers who been therebefore and helped navigate companiesout of previous problems and recessions".

However, Dr. Heimeier believes theenvironment is equally important. "Whena younger manager with little seniormanagement experience is made a boardmember where the other 3 directors are

older and more experienced, then thedanger of things going wrong is reduced.There may be a 'coaching effect'. Yetwhen 3 inexperienced managers man theboard and a fourth comes along who maybe a perfect cultural fit yet equally new tothe game, serious mistakes can happen.The classic example of this was theInternet start-up company. Quicklymoulded together, bursting withinnovation, the fact was that when theyhit turbulence, the lack of experiencereally showed."

So this could be a case for placing over50's alongside younger managers. Yetanother reason making the over 50 yearold a less attractive candidate is theirremaining 'shelf life'. That is to say, howmuch longer they will remain working.The majority of over 50's planned to retirebetween the ages of 61 and 65. Only 13%of the participants had plans to keep onworking after the age of 65. 20% werestill not sure how much longer theywould have until retirement. Howeverthis could open up another doorbenefiting candidates and clients alike."70% of the over 50's could well imaginedoing interim management orconsultancy" tells Dr. Heimeier. Theadvantages could be that the clientretains flexibility to adapt to changingmarkets and benefits from the candidate'sknow how and vast experience. Thecandidate enjoys the opportunity tomanage their work-life balance yet stillparticipates in the labor market.

More than half of the over 50'ssurveyed would like to change theirposition but their opportunities may belimited. However things may bechanging. "We've noticed some distinctdifferences since we last conducted thissurvey in 1998. Whereas back then, our41% of our respondents claimed to havegenerally laid off over 50's over the lasttwelve months, today we see that thisfigure has dropped to 32%. Furthermore,in 1998, one in 10 of newly placedmanagers were over 50, the figure hasnow risen to 1 in 5", says Dr. Heimeier.The future may yet be bright for the older manager.

The DemographicTimebomb

“Therefore the 95% of

respondents who would not

describe over 50's as

'mobile' could bemissing anopportunity throughholding certainstereotypes”

inS E A R C H - M A R K E T


S E A R C H - M A R K E T




Web: www.b-associes.com

SearchBy Patrick James Bruneteau

The Executive Search trade is todaya profession which has receivedtotal recognition in France, and

even if the economic depression of theselast twelve to fifteen months is still oneveryone's mind, the fantastic, soaringInternet-boosted year 2000 had made ussomewhat forget that we depend on theeconomic situation and that we livethanks to our clients. And when they arehaving difficulties and decide to limittheir recruitments, we are directlyaffected.

Firms call upon an increasing numberof means and now use all thetechnologies at their disposal.

Over the last few years, newexpectations and greater demands havebeen expressed by clients, concentrationstrategies are continuing - admittedly ata slower pace than two years ago, butthere is a decided determination tocontrol the field - diversificationoperations are still being implemented,particularly in the field of human resourcestrategies in companies, in the moresystematic and professional assessmentof management team members, ofrecruiting activities, of executing andmanagement coaching, as well as of less-favored populations who neverthelessrepresent a vital human and economic

potential for our society.It is certain that not only do we need to

follow through with and accompany ourclients in their development, but we mustalso anticipate what they will one dayrequire. To do so, we need to prepareourselves for change, upgrade ourworking methods and our attitudes in ourtrades, where, in any event, theconsulting services that we provide andwill keep on providing our clients with,will have to adapt all at once to theactivity's context, to the company'sculture, and to the mutual expectations ofall parties.

In France in 2002, the head huntingtrade has become an organized,structured profession the existence ofwhich is recognized by all, even itsfiercest opponents. The market is nowrecovering, but there is no doubt that thisallows for a healthy levelling out after the2000 highs. Executive search is aneconomic activity the pulse of whichbeats in rhythm with cycles, like anyother industry, with occasional growthcrises, or which is prey to therandomness of financial markets,particularly in delicate sectors such asTelecoms, the Internet and Banking.

Head hunting in France is a promisingactivity. The fact that only 35% of

companies rely on executive search firmsmakes one appreciate how much marginis left in terms of potential business. Asfar as the 35-hour week is concerned, wedo not think it has had much impact onExecutive Management recruitment, but ithas slightly reduced the use ofrecruitment firms for Middle Managementand sometimes even Middle Toppositions. The concept of the 35-hourweek is a typically French illusion,worthy of the best comedies, regrettablyremembered in history, which will haveenabled hundreds and even thousands ofindividuals to rack their brains to find away to apply the same mold to society'sdifferent working classes in the uncertainhope of possibly creating jobs.

As the French executive search marketis far from being saturated, which is notnecessarily the case for some Anglo-Saxon countries, it draws in foreigncompanies seeking to exploit theavailable opportunities. If thesecompanies display good marketing sense,abundant creativity, immediate reactivityand bewildering adaptability, then theyhave a good chance of succeeding andopening the way for new services andjoining the family of success stories. Thearrival of British, German, Swedish andAmerican firms with structured,

organized and professional teams onFrench soil is a precursor of futurefratricidal wars in the Paris microcosm(95% of the head hunting activity isconcentrated in the French capital), butalso of radical changes in the typology ofexecutive search structures. It must beobserved that French firms are growingold and will perhaps find it difficult tokeep their pool of customers in the future,as their Managers are going to leave inthe coming 3 to 5 years. Having failed toorganize their succession by recruitingyounger Consultants, having failed toopen their capital to steadfast associatesworthy of the calling, they will one dayface a structure that has been drained ofits substance, and the firm will disappearalong with them when they retire. By ourcount, there is a score of hunting firms inFrance which will have to find asuccessor or be taken over by anothercompany within the next 4 or 5 years. Itis a difficult thing to leave a professionthat one has learned to like, to love orthat one has simply got used to.

Among the major present trends ofsearch in France, there is thissegmentation and specialization infunctions and in sectors. The complexityof some professions and sectors forcescompanies to limit the risks they take andnaturally leads them to look for the bestConsultants, in other words the mostcompetent and those who are mostcapable of finding the right candidates forthem for the required positions. Firmsspecialized in banking, stock-exchange,finance, legal as well as human resourcesectors should have a promising future.Firms specialized in Healthcare andBiotechnology sectors are increasinglysought after by clients who are verydemanding when it comes to theConsultants' real skills and to the type ofsuccessful experience. Some have grownwary after hearing the speech ofConsultants or/Partners in largeprestigious firms, part of impressiveinternational networks, that havenevertheless had a hard time finding theResearch & Development Manager theyneeded and for which they were ready to

consider a European, Anglo-Saxon orAsian application with a geographicallocation adapted to the candidate'sexpectations, topped off by a highlymotivating compensation package.

It seems to us that firms on a humanscale (from 4 to 12 Consultants) arepreferred by French Groups. "Boutiques"with 4 to 8 Consultants are appreciatedby medium-sized companies and by largeinternational French groups. Firms likeEric Salmon & Partners, Groupe Mercator,Jouve & Associés, Maesina InternationalSearch, Rossignol Tod & Associés,Vendôme Associés or Whitehead Mannare perfect examples of small or medium-sized boutiques with or withoutinternational networks. We notice thatsome firms work just as well on aninternational basis without any structures

abroad, as is the case for firms like Cyrias,Floriane de St Pierre SA, Jouve & Associésor Lang, Boyer & Associés.

What changes can we expect in Franceduring the next five years? A return ofMiddle Top and Top Managementrecruitments is to be expected and the"Grandpa Boom" effect will not be astranger to that. Ten to twelve gloriousyears before us to face budding butgrowing needs that most of the time havebeen purely and simply ignored by mostcompanies until now. The retiring ofthousands of 50-and-60-year-olds in thecoming years should open the way for the

rising generations of 30-to-45-year-oldmanagers, eager to be given newresponsibilities.

In the forthcoming years, late as usualcompared to our Anglo-Saxonneighbours, we will probably witness thedevelopment of communication tools inexchange, contact and follow-upprocedures. Soon, we might even be ableto pre-interview a candidate on line onthe Internet, backed up by an audio-video recording, which would save agood deal of time and expand ourknowledge of potential candidates,undeniably contributing to the qualityand number of our services for ourclients.

French/English bilingualism isbecoming absolutely essential for allEuropean or International positions. Themastery of a third language (German,Arab, Russian, Japanese, Chinese orSpanish) is also increasingly desired.

In conclusion, it is not unthinkable thatour current job may be hundreds ofleagues away from the one that the nextgeneration will have, different in itsenvironment, in its presentation, in itspractices, including its codes of goodpractice, and therefore its ethics. It is notimpossible that 3 to 8 years from now,85% of our Executives and Managers willbe recruited via the Internet, through aconnection during which Consultant andCandidate will interact via Internet video,with face-to-face meetings beingreserved for the 3 or 4 short-listedcandidates when they meet the clientafter his having first viewed part of therecording of the interview between thecandidate and the consultant. Thesemodern means of communication,exchange and discovery must not letanyone forget the very important work ofthe Consultant which is to contributeconsulting, this added value that makesall the difference between tworecruitment professionals.

Patrick James Bruneteau

FranceBy Patrick James Bruneteau

SearchFrance

meet critical criteria.

BRIEFING THE CLIENTThroughout the entire process it is vital to

keep track of your activity and the detailedand exact results of the variousconversations. It goes without saying thatyou will have obtained details of relevantand interested candidates and be able tomake comment as to their suitability for theposition. Your aim is to be able to preparethe client for the first conversation that theywill have with these individuals. You willhave noted any questions that they willhave about the role, issues as to location,salary etc. This sort of critical informationwill maximise impact of the clients meetingwith the candidate.

Alongside this information should be areport as to why others on the long list arenot interested in a particular position, Doesthe company have a poor reputation in themarket, is the salary too low, are thererumours of a possible take over? All of this isinvaluable market information. Good searchconsultants will want as much feedback aspossible and will be impressed by theextent to which you have been able to readthe situation.

CONCLUSIONAll researchers will enjoy different phases

of their work, but without doubtapproaching the candidate brings togetherthe requirement to use a number of differentskills. The ability to put together a coherentand convincing brief, the requirement tolisten carefully and to interpret what isbeing said are part of your stock in trade.You must be in control of the conversationand turn it from a situation in which you areinitially selling something, to one where youbecome an inquisitor thus ensuring that youhave sufficient information to make a fullyreasoned decision. It is time to stop being aresearcher when you fail to get a buzz as toyou put down the phone having identifiedanother suitable candidate.







Email: [email protected]

T he approach to the target candidateis probably the most challenging andinteresting phase of the research

process. This is when desktop research atlast brings you into contact with someonewhose career indeed whole life style youmay be about to effect. You must rememberthree important points.

First, you are an ambassador for yourclient. So the way that you deal with thecandidate will be seen as a direct reflectionof that client. Do remember also that initialimpressions count and the candidate willremember your personal method ofapproach for some time to come. Aprofessional approach will always securemore information.

Second, you must remember that your callto a candidate will have a considerableimpact on them. They are after all likely tobe doing very well in their current role,which is why you are contacting them. But,your call is uninvited and will almostcertainly be putting them under a degree ofpressure by asking them to consider apossible life changing situation, albeit forthe better. Your call will be disruptive andunsettling; however even seasonedcandidates will be hard pushed not to drivehome imagining themselves throwing awaythe BMW Series 3 car keys and picking upthe Series 5 keys and adding another 10%to their salaries. The researcher musttherefore handle every call with discretion,not raising false hopes and always beinghonest.

Third and finally, remember that theintention of every call is to have a mutually

positive outcome. Your target may be aninterested and relevant candidate, butequally they may be neither ready for amove nor correctly qualified, in which casethe minimum achievement should befinding out about them for the future. In allincidences everyone should be viewed asan opportunity to secure a useful source ofinformation for your assignment. Thereshould be very few occasions when youcome away from a call completely empty-handed.

THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENTWhen making the call you need to

establish the right atmosphere for bothyourself and the candidate. Place yourselfsomewhere that you can listen intently towhat is said and, equally important what isnot said. Do bear in mind that you are fullyprepared and have your game plan to hand,whilst your target will be less wellprepared. Being asked to go from thinkingabout next year's budget or how to dealwith sacking someone to discussing yourown career issues is a jump in thought thattakes most people a moment to handle.

Listening to the tone of voice will revealhow old the candidate may be, their level ofseniority and their degree of initialenthusiasm or otherwise, for the proposalthat you are putting to them. As always usesilence effectively in your questioning.

Make the candidate feel important. Theyshould not consider that they are one of 20calls that you are making that day. Theyshould feel that they are one of very fewcandidates being approached for that

particular role and that they have beenspecially selected and highlyrecommended. Flattery at this stage goes along way to getting people to talk. The realinquisition comes later.

GETTING THROUGHAlways remember that you should not be

placing the candidate in a difficult position,especially if this could be in front of theirwork colleagues. They are most unlikely towant others to even think that they areconsidering another appointment. Theymay be in an open plan office, they mayhave their calls recorded on tape, you willnot know at this point. It can help tovisualise their situation as much as you can.Are you using the main switchboard phonenumber? Is a PA filtering you? Are youcalling to a mobile? Are you using a directline number? Are they senior enough orworking for a company who will have openplan or personal offices? Just spend amoment thinking what you are headinginto.

Avoid leaving indiscreet messages anduse instead such phrases as "personalcall" or "returning their call". If you leave amessage on the ansafone or on e-mail, beaware that their secretary or someone elsemight pick it up. You will always come upagainst the fearsome gatekeeper of asecretary at some stage; remember thatthey are probably acting in this mannerbecause their boss trusts them to filtercalls. Honesty is the only policy with thissort of situation and taking the secretaryinto your confidence, more often than not,

ensures that the barrier comes crashingdown.

THE FIRST 30 SECONDSOnce you have established the

candidate's ability to talk privately, you onlyhave a short period to capture their interestabout the proposition. These first 30seconds are vital and a carefully craftedsound-bite is required to set the scene as towhat you are looking for or seeking todiscuss. Never read out verbatim your pitchas it sounds much too contrived. (Rememberthose double-glazing sales calls you get athome!) From this initial period you will getone of four principle reactions. From the'search virgin' you will get enthusiasm andexcitement. From the old hat, the claim maybe that this is the third call they have hadthis week. They will need to be quicklypersuaded that yours is either not the sameor is at least the more exciting opportunity.

Some seasoned players will play the 'hardto get line' they want you to feel that theydo not want the whole process to be tooeasy. It is a subtle play that even at thisstage is setting down the rules of theimpending deal making process. The nexttype is the one whose immediate reaction is"Not interested in even considering a move",resist the temptation to quickly put downthe telephone but persist and turn them intoa source. There are few people who canresist the challenge of at least thinking for amoment of whom they know who might beinterested. It is often all about networks; 'I'llpass on my approaches if you do the same',especially if the approach has been welldone in the first place. Finally you will getthe researchers favourite candidate, thesupreme professional who will listencarefully, give a considered opinion andoffer advice if they can.

With interest captured, but before youprogress any further, continue to confirmthat they are really in a position to listencarefully and speak privately. If you are inany doubt offer immediately to call atanother time. Coded conversations in anopen plan office are not conducive to gettingthe right message across and the candidatemust be able to concentrate, just as much asyou, in order to make a considered decision.

THE BODY OF THE CONVERSATIONWhen presenting you main pitch you

must be a complete master of your brief andfully up to speed on the facts. You mustavoid having to resort to reading the basics,although some hard statistics do sometimessound better when read from your notes. Ifyou do not know the answers do not guessor waffle, say you will check and find out.Keep on checking on their level of interestand whether what you are saying isrelevant to their experience. Keep onlistening to the candidates' reactions andmaintained enthusiasm. Look out for anysigns of boredom it should be easilydetectable in the tone of voice.

The secret then is to time the point whenthe sales pitch becomes a more inquisitorialconversation and to a situation where thecandidates start to sell themselves. Do notfeel frightened to push for information, afterall the candidate will want to feel that youare not going to be wasting their time byensuring that they have all the right skillsfor them to be realistic candidates. Alwaysbe prepared to cut things short if thecandidate is not right or not interested.

CONFIRMING SUITABILITYPrior to making your call you must have

identified 3 or 4 key points that a candidateshould possess if they are to be relevant toyour research. Whilst you will always findcandidates from left field, i.e. those whohave an unusual skills set which make thempotentially relevant to the appointment,your check list of key points will ensure thatyour discussion will be structured andrelevant. You must ask for evidence ofcertain events, i.e. "when have you led achange management project and whatwere the results" rather than "have you everdealt with change management".

The fault that many novice researchersmake is to feel that any willing candidate isa good one, conveniently forgetting theneed to ensure that they are properlyqualified. Whilst there will always be theodd individual who will have to be referredto the consultant for final selection, it is farbetter not to raise expectationsunrealistically that a person is suitable for aparticular appointment when they fail to

ResearchApproaching the Candidate

By Simon Stephenson

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


Name www. Tel Contact No members

Membership type Benefits

AESC Association of Executive Search Consultants, Inc.

Region:USAWorldwide

www.aesc.org +1.212.398.9556 Shannon Kelley Director of Marketing [email protected]

Over 101 Retained Search

Firms

- Regular Meetings - Newsletters/Magazines - Discounts on products/services - Training - Legal representation / Political lobbying - Exclusive and free access to global database of executives - Free client referral service - Free inclusion in online directory of search firms, with consultants bios and photos

ESKSwedish Association Of Executive Search Consultants

Region:Sweden

www.esk.se +46.8.412.66.45 Lars-Ove Akesson Chairman [email protected]

62 Retained Search

Individuals

- Regular Meetings - Newsletters - Training seminars

ASSORES Associazione Italiana fra Società e Studi di Consulenza per la Ricerca e Selezione del Personale

Region: Italy

www.assores.it +39.02.8915.0302 Vittorio Anfossi Chairman [email protected]

Over 101 Retained Search

Firms

- Regular Meetings - Newsletters / Magazines - Discounts on products/services - Training - Legal representation / Political lobbying

RCSARecruitment & Consulting Services Association Ltd.

Region:AustraliaNew Zealand

www.rcsa.com.au +61.3.9663.0555 Julie Mills [email protected]

584 Retained Search, Contingency Search, Other Recruitment, Other Management Consultancy, Onhired service providers,Contract service providers

Firms/Individuals

- Regular Meetings - Newsletters / Magazines - Discounts on products/services - Training - Legal representation / Political lobbying - Occupational Health and Safety

ESCA Executive Selection Consultancies Association

Region:Ireland, Europe

www.esca-ireland.com +353.1.605.1500 Brian Ward Chairman [email protected]

6 Retained Search, Retained Management Selection

Firms

- Regular Meetings - Promotion of Code of Practice - Website Links

NPANational Personnel Associates

Region:Canada, USA AustraliaAsia Pacific UK

www.npainc.com +1.616.455.6555 Richard Shaw [email protected]

Over 101 Retained Search, Contingency Search

Firms

- Regular Meetings - Newsletters / Magazines - Training - Database software

APSCAssociation of Personnel Search Consultants of Russia

Region:RussiaBelarus UkraineKazakhstan

www.apsc.ru +7.95.930.1432 +7.95.787.8561

Michael Bogdanov [email protected]

51-100 Retained Search, Contingency Search, Other Recruitment, Other Management Consultancy

Firms

- Regular meetings - Newsletters - Discounts on products/services - Training - Legal representation / Political Lobbying - Active PR promoting the profession

FWS – FRS Federatie van Wervings- en selectiebureaus

Region: Belgium

www.fws.be +32 9 241 5717 Anne Soenen Director General [email protected]

51-100 Retained Search, Other Recruitment

Firms

- Regular Meetings - Newsletters / Magazines - Discounts on products/services - Training - Legal representation / Political lobbying - Website

BEXSA Belgian Executive Search Association

Region:BelgiumLuxembourg

www.feb.be +32.2.374.9672 Robert Brodsky Director – [email protected]

Below 25 Retained Search

Firms

- Regular Meetings - Newsletters / Magazines - Lobbying

KESCA Korea Executive Search Consultants Association

Region:South Korea

www.kesca.org +82.2.551.0367 Kang-Shik Koh [email protected]

15 Retained Search, Contingency Search, Other Recruitment

Firms

- Regular Meetings - Training - Legal representation / Political lobbying - Regular invitation to the professional executive search related seminar - Effective mass media PR activity and/or workshop

Subscriptionsand back issues!Recent and upcominginterviews include:• Paul Reilly, Chairman and CEO,

Korn/Ferry International• Ulrich Dade, Chairman, Amrop

Hever Group• James Norton - From Korn/Ferry

International to James NortonAssociates

Back IssuesCopies of back issues of search-consult are available for £15 perissue. E-mail [email protected] for further information

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ISSUE 1● Dr Jürgen Mülder -

Heidrick & Struggles● Executive Search and

Management Appraisal

ISSUE 2● Steve Potter -

TMP Executive Search● Executive Research -

The Outsource Option

ISSUE 3● Jeff Christian -

Christian and Timbers● Focus on the

Whitehead Mann Group

ISSUE 4● Windle Priem -

Korn/Ferry International● Chris Clarke -

Boyden Global Executive Search

ISSUE 5● Paul Ray Jr -

Ray & Berndtson● Search in Germany -

The Law

ISSUE 6● Pat Pittard -

Heidrick & Struggles● Germany's top 25 Search Firms

ISSUE 7● Russell S Reynolds Jr. -

Directorship Search Group● Search in South Africa ● Corporate Governance

ISSUE 8● Hob Brown Jr. -

Russell Reynolds Associates● Global Leaders● Maintaining Quality in Search

ISSUE 9● Gene Shen - A.T. Kearney

Executive Search● Competition from within -

in house executive search

ISSUE 10● Dr Jürgen Mülder -

Heidrick & Struggles● Executive Search and

Management Appraisal

ISSUE 11● Alain Tanugi -

TRANSEARCH International● Interim Management● Search in China, Hong Kong and

Singapore● The Future of Search

ISSUE 12● Ulrich Dade, Amrop/Hever

Group - exclusive interview● The War for Talent 2:

Update from McKinsey● Search in Switzerland:

Market Review

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search-consult Issue 13

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