Executive leadership is typically portrayed as a high stress, fast paced career path where only the highest performers survive, and with the tough economic times over recent years it’s easy to understand why. Although some research has suggested that job tenure for executive positions is above the national average, our own feedback from the current market highlights some interesting and surprising trends.
Since mid 2013 as many as 80% of incumbent executives we have engaged with, including those who have been in their current position for less than two years, would strongly consider a change of employer for the right opportunity.
This reflects a marked change in attitude from most of the pre 2013 period. In what was a hazy economic time, there was a lack of movement from both an employer and employee perspective. Employers were risk averse – not looking to make significant changes to their senior leadership teams and going through periods of consolidation. From the employee perspective, not only were the opportunities not there, there was also hesitation to move given the instability and unpredictability of the economy.
With 2014 upon us, attitudes from both sides are changing rapidly. The number of C-Suite opportunities are rising, and based on discussions with executive professionals to date, there is a clear shift in interest levels. Candidates are moving from a highly passive, risk averse state towards a more open and active attitude to career opportunities. This is great news for the executive search industry, as well as executive candidates in the market who are actively pursuing their next career step. However its not good news for employers trying to retain their incumbent executive talent.
There is still a need for employers to focus on bottom line performance across many sectors and organisations. Employers also need to ensure they don’t compromise on their value proposition for employees and offer a strong culture, engagement, empowerment and value to their teams. Even more importantly, they need to ensure that their executive hires are the right ones, as a poor recruit at that level can be extremely costly.
Arete Executive is an executive search specialist, utilising a proven performance-based recruitment methodology, utilising best-practice candidate identification and attraction techniques complimented by an extensive professional network. Arete offer executive search solutions from 5% of base package remuneration. For more information on how Arete can assist with your next critical senior hire, contact Richard Triggs on 0403 588 517 or [email protected] .
