How do you maintain culture, loyalty, and relationships when communication takes place primarily at a distance and via online meetings – and often with fluctuating technical quality?

Several of our clients have embarked on completely new managerial challenges which require them to find new and innovative ways of creating, and maintaining, a dynamic and motivating workplace.

In the world after Corona, the pressure on management is rising.

While we are slowly returning to a world that resembles what we knew before Corona, it has become clear to many that it will never be quite the same in terms of ”going to work".

Many of our clients have recognized that the virtual workplace has come to stay. Covid-19 has driven a development leading to major and radical changes in the way we will function in a workplace of the future.

It is the management that is responsible for the strategy and therefore the consequences of their decisions. Management must show the way while also acknowledging that many employees now prefer working from home and enjoy being able to plan their time independently.

It has also become harder to motivate employees to meet physically in the workplace and feel part of a physical work environment.

Some challenges our clients face:

• An Account Executive in a wholesale company, could not see any reason to meet physically at work anymore.
• A CFO in a transport group has become accustomed to being in self-isolation in his holiday home, and still wants to isolate himself, even though the CEO wants a closer physical dialogue.
• A key employee in an IT department could not help his colleagues as the employee had no computer access because he was on a shopping trip during his lunch hour.
• A director from an insurance company, quite surprisingly, received 2 resignations, from talented employees who at online meetings had seemed highly motivated.

In all the above situations, I must conclude that management has simply not been in close enough contact with the employees. At this time HR departments and management have had to be proactive to ensure that all employees are satisfied and motivated.

Three inspiring solutions where management has been creative and dared to explore new avenues:

1. A large financial company held social events which were only available to those who have been physically at work.
2. A larger real estate company delegated to middle managers that they, together with their employees, could decide who and how often employees worked from home
3. A production company chose to offer 3 optional models regarding how often the employees worked from home and how often they were physically present in the workplace. Employees were allowed to decide for themselves which model they found optimal to enhance their Work-Life-Balance.

Which management skills are in demand?

Corona has forced us to think of other and increasingly digital ways of working. Experts estimate that by 2023, 2/3 of the world's economy will be digital – this is a development that puts future leadership roles under huge pressure.

We have noticed that our clients have started to demand more of these 5 personal competencies:

1. Innovative leaders who are able to lead others without being physically present
2. Communicative leaders who can retain a strong personal dialogue
3. Empathetic leaders with a focus on high employee satisfaction
4. Enterprising leaders who can go new ways
5. Leaders who are willing to take risks and can make innovative and proactive decisions.

These observations alone cannot answer my initial question, but maybe they will prompt you to think outside the box in managing your post-Covid business.

Susanne Becker Mikkelsen
Partner Denmark     

The most effective way to grow is to hire diverse executive talent.

Is it better to hire someone who’s a good match for your culture, or someone who can make it better?

Smart organizations are paying lots of attention to their culture, and for a good reason. There is a lot of evidence that  organizational culture is a top driver of employee engagement. But due to human nature, hiring managers are often unintentionally biased and work with a definition culture fit - favouring candidates who would fit in well with the current team based on personal attributes. Feelings of “we can have a beer after work” may play important part in the selection process.

But as more companies strive for diversity and inclusion, the term “culture fit” is falling out of favour.

In contrast to the culture fit mindset and seeking to hire more of what is already working well, "culture add” focuses on gaining what the current culture lacks - it looks for people who value an existing culture, but also bring something different that positively contributes to the company.

Assessing for culture fit works well in small businesses but leads to homogeneous culture and at some point, the company needs people who experienced larger and more complicated systems and team members who look at the same problems in a different light - and with different ways of thinking emerge different interests and personalities.

With that of course comes more discomfort - but in the same way that exercise without discomfort does not lead to growth, a team without cognitive discomfort limits its own potential.

Diversity in viewpoints and ability to take different perspectives allows to debate different strategies and come to better outcomes. It is well documented that:

• Companies with diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues.
• Diverse companies are 1.7 times more likely to be innovation leaders in their market segments.
• 67% of job seekers say diversity is an important factor when considering a company.
• 85% of CEOs say that having a diverse workforce improved their bottom lines.

The most effective way to grow is to hire diverse executive talent.

Adding people with same ideas and approaches can create an environment where everyone thinks and acts in the same way.

Diverse teams may at first feel less comfortable, but that is why they perform better.

Andrea Chladkova, Partner
Mary Keane, Partner
Czech Republic

We spoke with Agata Jach, Group HR Director, who joined InPost in March 2021.

InPost is the largest logistics company in Poland operating in the e-commerce industry, offering courier services and deliveries via the nationwide network of Parcel Lockers. The company plans to become the leading European provider of automated 'out-of-home' e-commerce solutions and counts on significant growth opportunities, both in Poland and in key European markets, where recognition of parcel machines is growing rapidly as the e-commerce market grows significantly. InPost’s debut on Euronext has opened up the next phase of its international development, especially in Great Britain and Italy, and it is also considering expansion in France and Spain.

What makes a passionate HR leader with 18 years of experience in strategic and operational management in global corporation such as Sanofi or AXA join a Polish, privately owned company?

“Honestly, the fact that it was Polish, privately owned with a strong footprint of Private Equity was the biggest hook. After years of being a part of global organisations, mainly involved in reorganisations, optimisations, cost cutting run with accordance to some highest targets, and big not totally revealed plans, I really wanted to try something different. I wanted to be part of something I can truly co-create with my business partners.”

What do you like the most about InPost?

“Its corporate culture(!) -its speed, decisiveness, innovative approach, and its openness to learn and adjust according to the market changes. With this kind of approach the sky is the limit. The company plans international expansion and wants to become a significant international player, InPost is one of the fastest growing companies in Europe! It is great to be part of it."

Such a fast growth, development must create certain challenges for HR, am I right?

“Oh, yes! Bearing in mind the speed of the changes and need to adapt we have to work constantly on developing our competencies in terms of, for example, change management or leadership but also in terms of our knowledge, technical solutions and tools which are rapidly developing. We have got to be more tech and data savvy, use modern technology, and make decision basing on data analysis. We all, like many other companies these days, have to learn how to improve our action from quality, accuracy but also from a speed point of view. Thinking about international expansion we need to ensure we are a competitive and attractive employer.”

How about the planned expansion - what would be the main driver of it?

“E-commerce is growing, and that is good news for us. We want to grow in the market where e-commerce is well-developed. We still are not sure what the final governance framework for scaling-up our business might look like as we are still working on the details, however we know that well planned internal succession and access to external talent will be a strategic driver in HR. On one hand developing our skills, knowledge sharing, increasing our competencies thus building our potential internally, on the other we have to focus on top talent from outside and so Employer Branding will be extremally important. Fortunately a very important dimension of our business is a sustainability and we do limit our carbon footprint as we have parcel lockers which limits the “last mile”. We genuinely care about ecology and our planet. So, as you can see there are a lot of things which need to be taken care of.”

We would like to thank Agata for a very interesting conversation, and we wish you good luck in your new role.

Dorota Serwińska, Partner
Poland

Why would any business engage an Executive Search firm?

Surely there is plenty of information just waiting to be looked up on the internet? Finding the ideal person for a senior appointment should simply be a matter of entering the right keywords into Google and then calling them - shouldn’t it?

The internet has disrupted many things, and done so with such rapidity and to such an extent, that it is only reasonable to ask why Executive Search seems to have been immune. In truth, it hasn’t. If anything, it has changed more fundamentally in the last ten years - and beyond all recognition over the last 25 - than any of the other professional services.

In the 1990s, before the internet (yes, I was in Search then) clients delighted at the detailed sector analysis, market intelligence and candidate profiles that the Researchers of Executive Search firms collated in the initial stages of every Search. A veritable ‘Who’s Who’ of their world would be compiled as part of our work and land with a thud on the desks of clients eager to know more about their competitors, to be pored over and marvelled at. However, it was the discussions with the Search Consultant that defined the direction of the Search, to focus on those who would be the best fit and bring the greatest experience to the client’s boardroom. Numerous discrete telephone calls, several confidential discussions and often some considerable time later the Search Consultant would recommend a shortlist of just a handful of candidates to the client, and submit reports highlighting issues to cover at interview.

But now, all that data, all those profiles, all that market intelligence, all analysed in every possible way on a plethora of webpages is all free. Accept a few cookies onto your PC and you will know in mere seconds what any diligent Researcher at a reputable Search firm would have previously taken weeks to garner from telephone calls, professional journals, newspaper articles, public records, trade publications, conference papers and confidential references. So, why have Executive Search firms not just winked out of existence? How do they justify their fees, which are just as much as they ever were?

Here's why:

• Good information is still a vital foundation, of course
• Search is not (and never was) just about the research process
• The real value of Search is in the consulting

A database cannot ask penetrating questions of a client, cannot challenge misplaced assumptions, nor can it help inform and shape the precise requirements of a client’s need. Later in the process, it cannot make a compelling case to a potential candidate. An algorithm cannot listen carefully and note the nuanced responses, inner hopes and career aspirations of those approached. It certainly could not confidentially and professionally consider and advise on whether there is likely to be a meeting of minds between a candidate and a client. It would be very unlikely to suggest innovative and ‘different’ options. Because, people are not just keywords and data points.

It is noteworthy that consulting-led Search firms are in rising demand, despite all that free access to online data. Interestingly, the stereotypical ‘Headhunters’ with their ‘little black book’ of names and numbers of ‘contacts’ in any given marketplace are noticeably on the wane.

The value of an Executive Search firm is no longer simply ‘who we know’ in our network, but in ‘how we work’ as trusted advisors.

Andrew Guy
Partner, UK

Perhaps I should say it quietly, but things are starting to look much better for the UK economy.

Many larger companies are holding up well anyway, but more upbeat news cannot come quickly enough for the number of small and medium firms who are still struggling.

The last year has given us all a chance to reassess what is important in our lives. And so it is not surprising that so many people, including those in senior roles, are for one reason or another tempted to seek greener pastures - a new job, new challenges – a new start in this new normal. But why look to move when their current role is rather good?

• The company seems to be stuck in a paralysis of inactivity and they feel stifled. Due to financial constraints or a fear of overreaching nothing new is happening and it feels like things are moving backwards.
• They don’t feel appreciated having worked incredibly hard over the past year with little recognition.
• Aside from a lower-than-desired salary, boredom is the primary reason most say they want a change. They don’t want to go back to the same old boring commute. They don’t want to go back to same endless and pointless meetings - they need a new challenge.

In 2021, outstanding leadership has never been so important to the success and growth of an organisation.

When people look to those in charge and need them most, outstanding leaders act swiftly, decisively, and confidently without ego, undue emotion or public gnashing of teeth. They actively want to build a culture where mistakes are simply challenges to overcome, not opportunities to point fingers and assign blame.

I was chatting with a CEO last week who said, in a rather downbeat way, that just as he needed everyone to step up a gear, he was actually seeing a lack of motivation and productivity. Outstanding leaders don't pretend to know everything – I would argue that they actively hire people who know more than they do, because they instinctively ask questions. I suggested that it could be because his workforce had lost the connection between what they are doing and why. When there is a lull in motivation, he simply needed to remind them of the big picture and how they fit in. Communication is key. Outstanding leaders explain and then they listen--because the most effective communication involves way more listening than talking.

• Outstanding leaders quickly weigh, assess, decide, and then immediately act -- because decisiveness and action build confidence and momentum. Making a bad decision can be ok, mistakes can almost always be corrected and let’s face it, we all make bad decisions. What matters is what we do after we make those mistakes.
• Positive reinforcement is really the key. Leaders often do a really great job telling their employees what they do wrong, but forget to tell them what they do right. Saying thank you and recognising achievement is vital. No one gets enough praise, so truly outstanding leaders see expressing thanks, giving praise, and providing recognition as one gift that can never be given often enough.
• Outstanding leaders create broad standards and guidelines and then challenge their employees by giving them the autonomy and independence to work the way they work best transforming work into an outward expression of each person's unique skills, talents, and experiences. Accommodating work-from-home days /flex time can actually enable people to function better and get more done -- even if they’re actually working fewer regular hours. Performance should be measured in work done well and deadlines met, not how long it took to get the job done.

We know that firms are starting a phased return to the office, securing more new business and of course with that comes certain people challenges. I have always thought it noteworthy how businesses spend so much time figuring out how better to engage with customers, and so comparatively little time on how better to engage with their own management.

Having the right people at the top has never been so important. Employees are an organisation's most important asset, so taking care of them is essential if you want to retain and attract great talent.

Lorri Lowe,
Partner UK

Can a career while juggling a family ever be 'strategically' planned?

In my conversations with successful women, I always ask to what extent they have strategically planned their careers and whether that is even possible.

Most of them never really got the idea and reflect that perhaps they could have reached their goal faster, could have taken all the salary increases and saved themselves detours.

And then there are those who were very ambitious in school and chose subjects that gave them the best opportunities on the job market. A closer look often shows that they had really noteworthy female role models.

Their chosen life partner also plays a major role. So many recommend looking carefully to see if this partner can actually live with a successful woman. If children are planned, the question arises whether both a career and children will be compatible for both parties.

I found that, especially among those women with children, they actually needed to be given the idea of

We spoke with Nevena Nikolova, from our office in Bulgaria, to hear her Friisberg story.

You have been a Partner in Friisberg since 2009. What was the career path you took to get to where you are today?

It all started with my curiosity for understanding people - my willingness to understand what we are made of.

I graduated with Master's degree in Consulting Psychology, exploring for a while a career as psychotherapist, before I realised that I was more interested in exploring the nature of talent and how it could be identified, harnessed and further developed.

My career in the field of HR began when I joined the TGS team at the establishment of its HR consultancy practice, holding consecutively the positions of consultant, senior consultant, Search & Training Department Manager and Executive Director.

From April 2006 - 2008 I was elected as a Management Board Member of the international HR consulting organization PSI (People Solutions International), registered in London with Headquarters in Brussels. From 2009, following the merge between PSI and Friisberg, I became a Partner in Friisberg Bulgaria and was elected as a Management Board Member of the international Executive Search organization FPI (Friisberg & Partners International). I am glad to be part of a great international group that is more and more able to show its unique face and have its special voice heard.

What has been the biggest change in Executive Search over the last years? 

The use of technologies is changing the modus operandi of the Search companies, but the very essence of the service and its value proposition remains the same. Executive Search is less and less transactional and more and more a transformational service and the headhunters are growing towards becoming trusted advisors of the client companies.

What qualities do you look for in a new consultant when joining Friisberg in Bulgaria?

• Drive, passion and a winning spirit (persisting through difficult challenges and not giving up). 
• Capacity to learn, to unlearn and learn again.

What do you enjoy most about being part of Friisberg? 

Friisberg is constantly evolving and the enthusiasm of my colleagues is inspiring.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time when you are not working hard?

I love theatre and I enjoy performing monthly scene performances.

Creative writing is the other activity that makes me feel great – I create poetry, short stories, plays, and scripts. Maybe one day I will dare to share those with the world…

Nevena Nikolova, Partner
Bulgaria

A Pineapple?

It is what first came to mind, probably because the sun is shining and I am hoping for summer. There is probably an extended metaphor in there somewhere (not judging on appearances / digging beneath the surface…), but here I am actually referring to 3 ways you can find the right Search firm with whom to work.

We know that, due to the pandemic, many companies have been forced to reduce staff and freeze recruitment in an attempt to cut costs, but advertising and crossing your fingers hoping that the right candidate will apply, simply does not work for executive level hiring.

It’s not just about tapping into existing networks either – i.e.. who the exec team or the board might already know – they know who they know, but have no idea who they don’t know.

That's why for companies looking to change or add to their existing leadership team, engaging with a reputable Search consultant really matters.

But who can you trust?

• Choose a reputable consultancy firm with whom you can build a lasting partnership – a relationship built on trust, understanding and shared appreciation of strategic and cultural goals. 
• Choose a firm who will seek to fully understand your problem and only then deliver tailored solutions. Define together what success looks like in the role and make sure they will uncover the person behind the résumé.
• Choose a firm with an established understanding of the market, rather than just one industry or market segment. Make sure that they can describe an effective process and demonstrate the ability to provide an exceptional candidate experience. 

Successful hiring is the most important thing you will do in growing your business, so invest in outside professional help, but make sure you invest in the right professional help.

Lorri Lowe,
Partner, UK

When you think about sustainability, you don't think of the financial sector first. This is a mistake.

Meltem Ay spoke with  Reinhard Pfingsten, CIO Bethmann Bank & Global Head Asset Allocation ABN AMRO Private Banking, about sustainability in the financial world, sustainable banks, regulations and the potential returns on sustainable investments.

What influence does the financial sector have on sustainability?

The range is huge. Money makes the world go round! The financial sector is an intermediary between money and companies and to that extent it plays a very important role.

How long have you been dealing with this topic?

For a long time, because sustainability is not a new topic and sustainable products have been around for decades. What is new, is that it used to be the niche product of a large supplier, but it is now the core product. In the past few years there has been gigantic growth in the institutional sector. Sustainable criteria are moving more and more into focus. What is also new is that private investors have discovered the topic for themselves and are also being steered in this direction by providers. The supply creates the demand. The growth among private investors is now also very strong, but of course it comes from a very low level. On the one hand, this is due to social change, which is certainly also related to generational change, and the political change that is causing companies to set sustainability goals. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change plays a major role here, but also a regulatory change.

What is a sustainable bank?

The EU has recognized that the financial industry is important to move sustainability forward. It takes companies and the financial sector to close ranks. The regulatory pressure ensures that our industry is moving. The first question is whether the institute also offers sustainable products, among other things. If there are only niche products or one product among many, then it is not a sustainable bank. It has to sell First Choice sustainable products and it has to deal adequately with sustainable issues such as corporate social responsibility and being a social employer. Topics such as ecological building management and the company car regulation are just as much a part of this as a corresponding product range.

Can maximum profits be achieved with sustainable funds / stocks?

I am not saying that sustainability can generate additional returns, because there is no reason to do so. Results vary from year to year. It is the same with sustainable products as with all others. But in any case, so much money is now flowing into sustainability that companies take the topic very seriously and better performance can be derived from it. On the other hand, there are studies that suggest that unsustainable investments can generate additional returns. From my point of view, one should not assume a systematic excess or reduced return on sustainable investments. Over the year, however, things can look very different, but for me it is the wrong question because this is about non-financial returns. If you want to be part of the change and help companies reduce CO2 emissions, then invest in sustainable products!

How much do you have to convince the customer to invest here?

In fact, we offer sustainable products as 'First Choice'. It is important to explain the advantages, but also the challenges, of sustainable investing to the customer. But the discussions have changed. In the past, we had to have a lot more fundamental discussions at this point.

When is an investment really sustainable?

The necessary orientation is at least provided by the classification of a product in accordance with Article 8 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) of the European Commission. It is important to have a policy that highlights the sustainability risks. That means: which exclusions do I see? What am I not responsible for if a company is active in an area that does not meet the requirements? At Bethmann Bank we also have an advisory board that can anchor sustainability in line with current discussions - they can make policy decisions and impose restrictions.

Do you personally invest your money in sustainable funds?

Partly. Since I only invest in funds, I can answer the question in the affirmative for active funds; for ETFs, these do not yet meet all the requirements of Article 8 of the new regulation.

What investment goals can be pursued with an ESG portfolio?

We offer sustainability reporting for mutual fund customers and asset management customers. There are three blocks of sustainability in which the effects of sustainable products are discussed. We manage best-in-class products and show the best and worst values.

1. ESG risk rating in the portfolio
2. CO2 footprint of the portfolio (measured in tons)
3. Impact on the UN Development Goals (17 UN Sustainable Development Goals).

Sustainable products have to be made much more transparent and the purpose of these systems has to be brought closer to people.

Meltem Ay, Principal Consultant
Frankfurt

The big 'WHY?'

Why do you want to change your job?

Many candidates primarily consider what they know against the job description. Having the right expertise is an important requirement, but it is not enough. In addition, we must look more closely at what might motivate a candidate. Many of the requirements specified for a candidate can be nuanced in order to provide room for a new employee to grow into a role.

As advisers, we do not force a job opportunity onto candidates. We ask open questions and listen carefully when discussing a possible job change. We listen for answers about why the candidate wants this job. What are their ambitions? Is the candidate driven by 'push' or 'pull' factors?

• Pull motivations which draw you to a job could include its content and growth opportunities, an opportunity to apply your expertise in a new sector, or greater leadership challenges.
• Push motivations concern reasons why you want to escape from your present position. Candidates might be fed up with their current job, want to be better paid, have a bad relationship with their boss, or be generally critical about their present working environment.

The right motivation is an important requirement for thriving and making a difference. If you have anything to gain from a change of job, it is easier if you have a commitment, make an extra effort and contribute to good internal collaboration.

Pay is seldom a sufficient motivational factor by itself.

Cultural match is both crucial and under-appreciated.

What can you do yourself?

Enterprises have different purposes and ownership. Organisations vary in culture, size and structure. Some companies have a totally commercial DNA, while other workplaces are more balanced, driven by new insight, or contribute directly to social progress. Being conscious of your own motivation and taking ownership of the process are important success factors when changing jobs. Awareness of 'what triggers and what drives me', combined with an ability to explain why exactly this role could be right for you, will be important. By obtaining information about relevant employers, the candidate also takes personal responsibility for testing their match with a new workplace. This is particularly critical if you have been with the same employer for a long time, because it can then be difficult to assess what you take for granted in today’s job – and which could be lost.

Choose an adviser who understands the significance of motivation.

Where an enterprise is concerned, the value of making the right appointments is considerable. And the choice of employer will be crucial for an employee’s career development. That makes it vital to have good advisers who both understand and can provide input to both sides. Our job is to search out environments and candidates who possess a good baseline for both wanting and contributing to a new role. The ability to think openly around motivation together with relevant candidates is an absolutely central part of the adviser role, and crucial in ensuring that the right choice is made – for both clients and candidates.

Hild Kinder, Partner
Benedikte Stiff, Partner
Norway