Hunt Scanlon's latest 2018 recruiting industry sector report, 'State of the Industry: Finding Transformational Talent in the Workplace of Tomorrow'. The report marks another milestone being the 28th consecutive year of compiling the very best data on trends in Executive Search and talent acquisition. This year's report is one of the most in-depth and thought-provoking where they explore the phenomenal growth taking place inside the international Executive Search and leadership Talent Advisory space, offering insight, guidance and recommendations from key industry specialists.
Our Executive Vice President Richard Moore was asked to share his thoughts on "The Effect of Globalization on the Recruiting Sector".
Globalization has had a massive impact on recruiting talent. And that means big changes have taken place within the executive recruitment sector. According to Richard Moore, EVP at Executive Search firm MU, lots more change is on the way. In this interview, Richard explains the effect that globalization is having on the recruiting sector – and, more importantly, what is to come in the next 10 years. In his current role, the team he leads works to build the capabilities and performance of consultants and leaders within MU. Additionally, Richard develops and implements Executive Search, Professional Recruitment and Talent Advisory solutions for clients worldwide.
Well, for us, as a business the impact of globalization has been very positive. Having operations worldwide is a huge attraction to our new Executive Search and Talent Advisory consultants. More generally the impact is rather simple; Our clients expect us to work wherever they need us, and that means to search for executives or assess or coach leaders in several countries simultaneously. Our people want to work globally, our clients have global needs and increasingly our executive candidates tell us they are open to roles in multiple countries. As I see it, borders between countries simply exist in one's mind. Borders are not reality any longer. Globalization has leveled everything.
Basically, the main impact comes through the use technology – from remote cognitive testing, to predictive media sourcing, to global candidate networks and to video based delivery. It is now faster to solve our clients' global needs and match internationally available candidates to the right executive role. What has not changed is the vital value in having true global reach, expert consultants and executive researchers 'on the ground' around the world – people who bring that necessary knowledge needed to get the right result. So now, technology enabled international teams handling a global assignment is just as straightforward as handling a local one. The big change for search firms is that they need to stand ready, wherever and whenever their client calls them to action.
Whenever I consider questions of the future it brings to mind Nassim Taleb's book, 'The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable'! As he wrote: "What is surprising is not the magnitude of our forecast errors, but our absence of awareness of it". Predicting the future carries the almost certain risk of being wrong! What I would say, however, is that what is happening now, and what is changing now, may give some indication of the future. Job stability is very low – roles, tasks, and strategies are changing faster than ever. The drivers of this are likely to continue. One important meaning is that even if people stay in a job with the same title, their job still changes. This means companies, headhunters like us, and employees need to be flexible. Identifying the most suitable talent and matching them to a role will get even more demanding as the framework these decisions operate within, the future workplace, is in flux. Add to this the global dimension, and we would expect to see more talent moving internationally, with less barriers to working in other countries. And in a digital world, moving work may mean to stay where you live and simply work remotely with colleagues worldwide. So, we can expect a more global workplace, a more digital workplace – and the same unpredictable changes that have formed the world of work over the last decades. My personal bet is that in this fast changing and exciting workplace of tomorrow, top talent will be at an even higher premium than today.
Source: Hunt Scanlon´s report 'State of the Industry: Finding Transformational Talent in the Workplace of Tomorrow'