TITLE | HR MANAGEMENT But then I wonder, why do they have to go and get married? Companies let people go, and people leave companies. How do you know when it's the right time? When you see continuing success. What do you mean? Failure would seem to be a better reason. Sure. But by then it's usually too late. The best time for the supervisory board to >Some industries appear to lead a charmed existence. Even in the darkest of times, they prosper and thrive. HR consultants the world over know exactly what we're talking about. Whatever happens in the economy, the sun almost always seems to shine on the glamorous executive search industry. When things are going well for companies, business also booms for HR consultants. When things are going badly, companies more than ever need good quality managers who can weather the storm. No surprise, then, that in 2010, in the midst of the fi nancial crisis, when the world was teetering on the edge of a global economic catastrophe, HR companies recorded their third-best results worldwide since records began, according to data from the Association of Executive Search Companies (AESC). Revenues were up 28.5%, at around USD 9.6 billion, just 13% below their alltime high of 2008. The strongest growth was seen in the Asia-Pacifi c area (up 31%), followed by North America (27%) and Europe (17%) – where the UK, Germany and France led the pack. Even the beleaguered fi nancial industry experienced growth, albeit at just 0.9%. According to a study by the Federal Association of German Management Consultants (BDU), companies are particularly on the lookout for engineers, designers, IT directors, IT specialists and members of control and supervisory boards. Some 87% of the HR consultants surveyed expect to see particularly strong demand for middle managers with 10 to 15 years' experience. Two factors are driving the business: demographic think about who should take over in top management is during the success phase. I'm not saying that there must then necessarily be a parting of the ways. But I do think that this is precisely the point where you have to have a discussion. The departure will come, sooner or later. By the way, it doesn't always have to be about replacing current managers with new ones. There are also more moderate ways to make personnel changes, such as by hiring new people. THE SUN ALWAYS SHINES Whatever happens in the economy, the sun almost always shines for headhunters change and the expected generation shift in business. Money also plays an important role: Two out of three managers change jobs in order to increase their pay packet and boost their retirement funds. But money is by no means the only reason. Many managers are looking for a better work environment or to escape from challengers. Of course, there is no such thing as a perfect manager: In the fi rst place, there is no reliable way of measuring what makes a good manager; and in the second place, fi nding the top people actually means looking for the most suitable candidates currently available on the market. Plus fi rms often overestimate how attractive they are. What remains is always a compromise – and sometimes simply a matter of luck. Are there other indicators? Yes. There are indicators that have to do with the success of the individual, and others that have to do with the company as a whole. For instance, when the business model changes and you have to ask yourself if your team can really handle the change. This applies to, say, the brutal transformation in the media industry, the radical changes in automotive manufacturing or a new dawn in the fi nance sector. There is another indicator for the individual: How many new ideas do you get from your immediate environment? Or how often and with how much enthusiasm do your people still come to you? If you take the time to give this careful thought, you'll notice differences over the years. In the end, you might discover that you're rarely being inspired anymore. That means something is seriously wrong. There's a certain amount of evidence that companies have an easier time letting people go than the other way around, although the reasons are usually the same. Why is that? It's diffi cult for individuals to recognize when they are at the apex of their careers and now need to ask themselves if they're ready and in the right place to change course. Is this difficulty explained by the fear that they can no longer define themselves by their position or function, but are instead "just" a person? Naturally, nowadays we rate people based on what they've achieved professionally. Our jobs defi ne us, unfortunately to the extent that we hardly ever ask: How much of that is truly me? And what is left over if I no longer have this job? If you could give companies one piece of advice about letting go, what would you say? As an HR consultant, I would say: If companies could manage to let go of the idea of recruiting what they know and start recruiting what they need, then they would defi nitely be making progress. 32 <strong>COO</strong> <strong>Insights</strong> | 01.2013
WORKSHOP 14 % | FACT | >Intelligent risk management boosts corporate results by up to 14%. More about this and other studies on the following pages.
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