Attracting the Best Executive Talent - The View from Europe
Mario Ceretti, managing partner of TRANSEARCH Italia in Milan, says an organisation"s recruitment brand has to be an extension of its consumer brand. Further, he says, it has to speak to the kind of opportunity great business leaders might find there."Executives in Europe and around the world, for that matter, want to see the company described in a way that clearly spells out its long-term strategy," Ceretti says. "The best management candidates also expect to be held accountable for their performance and have the tools to hold others accountable for performance as well. That kind of clarity about expectations is often part of the attraction for top leaders."
Beyond a compelling strategy and clearly defined accountability, international executives may be swayed to explore new opportunities because of the reputation of key executives already on a company"s leadership team and their track record of retaining and promoting other top managers.
Companies need to consider external viewpoints to measure the true reach and potential of their employment brands and external executive search programs. While executives expect to be compensated fairly based on their experience, know-how and past performance, they are more often attracted to new career opportunities by things like a company"s market position, its financial health, modern structure, products and location.
If a company has a reputation for "excellent management," Ceretti adds that"s a major advantage in the executive talent marketplace. But if a company is known more for "unclear strategy, a lack of career development and bad atmosphere," most of the best candidates will likely ignore or dismiss a recruiter"s repeated overtures.
As the late management thinker and author Peter Drucker once said, "The ability to make good decisions regarding people represents one of the last reliable sources of competitive advantage, since very few organisations are very good at it." Making those good decisions is about attracting the right field of talent in the first place.