A positive influence - executive search

With increasing complexity and challenging times ahead, the need for good leadership in our societies is becoming more pressing. At the same time, concerns are being raised about the profiles of those leaders in power and in positions of authority. It is worrying that so many senior level placements are still affected by gender, ethnicity, age and geographical location. Acting behind the scenes of top executive placements, are often executive search firms. Executive search firms are in a prime position to take larger responsibility for helping to ensure executive placements that better represent the interest of their organisation’s entire community. As the market for C-level and senior leadership profiles is rapidly evolving, can the executive search industry keep up?

Working within executive search, we see that our clients are increasingly becoming aware that they need certain leadership competencies to help them navigate the complex challenges of our post-pandemic world, help drive sustainable growth and succeed in a digital age. We also experience a larger understanding for how diversity in leadership leads to better business outcomes. As recruiters within the executive search industry, we have a vital role and can be a positive force in influencing the type of leadership promoted in organisations and help push for progress in the DEI agenda.

Much work still to be done

“Our industry needs to ensure that data sets used in AI algorithms have broad and diverse representation. We can also work much better across our industry at combatting bias in decision-making, by pushing for professional and improved interview techniques, support industry standards and continue to educate and build more awareness around different types of bias.”

There is great complexity around measuring progress in regard to diversity goals within our industry. Having to adapt our hiring processes to fit into legislation across a global candidate market is one aspect, but also many times to comply with legislation, questions around age, gender, disabilities and ethnicity are voluntary as to not risk discriminatory hiring. The result is oftentimes that we lack reliable data to track progress.

In our digital age it may surprise many that more executive search firms have not come further in leveraging data and also integrating AI tools. Besides concerns around maintaining a valuable human essence in the hiring process, there is the potential for inherent bias in using AI models for recruiting. Our industry needs to ensure that data sets used in AI algorithms have broad and diverse representation. We can also work much better across our industry at combatting bias in decision-making, by pushing for professional and improved interview techniques, support industry standards and continue to educate and build more awareness around different types of bias.

We are always looking to improve our ways for working, striving to ensure that our industry has a positive impact in the societies in which we operate in. Whilst broad diversity data may be difficult to measure in a reliable way, what we can track is our own progress and our own performance. As final placement decisions are not left to us alone, we can for instance do a better job of tracking the demographics on the shortlists we present to our clients. We can also improve the business intelligence we have around our own database.

Better business outcomes

It is very positive to see that more and more of our clients are actively investing in DEI training and initiatives to create more inclusive workplaces. There is still much progress to be made however, in translating this positive trend into C-suite and board level. At Alumni we aim to be trusted advisors, having the courage to challenge our clients’ candidate profiles and help raise the bar within our industry. Alongside our advisory services we aim in our search assignments, to go beyond the norm, looking to find leadership profiles in more unconventional places. Finding leadership with different backgrounds from those already represented, in for instance the management team, is something we strive to do. Sometimes this means widening the geographical scope, sometimes it means looking at alternative educational backgrounds and experiences and other times looking in entirely new industries.

Ylva Bäckström

Chief Marketing Officer, Alumni

“For us diversity means not just gender, ethnic background or age, but also diversity of thought. It is not so much about placing a group of opposites in a management team, as it’s about identifying individuals with experiences and capabilities that complement each other. ”

— Ylva Bäckström, Alumni

Many of our clients already have gender diversity high on the agenda. But we aim to add value also beyond just surface level diversity. For us diversity means not just gender, ethnic background or age, but also diversity of thought. It is not so much about placing a group of opposites in a management team, as it’s about identifying individuals with experiences and capabilities that complement each other. Diversity is about creating ideas, curiosity, learning and true dialogue between individuals with different perspectives. Working with our clients we offer to improve decision-making, identify optimal team dynamics and performance. We do this through for instance in-depth interviews, 360- evaluations and personality-and aptitude assessments.

Executive search - not an off-the-shelf solution

“Working with often very bespoke solutions, tailor-made to the unique context of our clients, a thorough understanding is key to be able to engage as our clients’ ambassadors in the candidate market and help attract sought after leadership potential.”

Our aim in any assignment is to find a best possible match that adds true value, for both parties. Success in executive search often depends on the initial qualitative analysis of the client organisation, to ensure understanding of the context, strategic direction and key stakeholders in the role. As executive search professionals we help advise our clients on the candidate profile and are able to benchmark their needs against our insights into the current candidate market. An open and transparent dialogue with our client helps us successfully take the role to the market and allows us constructive and valuable dialogues with potential candidates. These are often sought after individuals and our goal is to be able to quickly target the right candidates, avoid wasting anyone’s time, and secure candidate motivation throughout the hiring process. Working with often very bespoke solutions, tailor-made to the unique context of our clients, a thorough understanding is key to be able to engage as our clients’ ambassadors in the candidate market and help attract sought after leadership potential.

Our approach, and that of many in executive search, is based on long-term ambitions, where we wish to partner with our clients over time. Our services span a broad range of talent management needs, and we tailor solutions to the unique context of our clients. Whilst our clients increasingly desire speed and efficiency in the hiring process, this does not equate to ambitions of a quick business deal or placement. Working with executive search and senior level placements, candidates are not actively seeking a job and notice periods oftentimes stretch over many months. As professionals within our field, we can promise quick results in terms of identifying the type of candidate and desirable profile, but the end placement is dependant on so many factors beyond our soul control as recruiters.

We are committed to be a positive influence in helping our clients reach their DEI goals, bring awareness to what good leadership can be and help our clients achieve business success. This can only be done in a sustainable way through long-term ambitions and long-term relationship building. The repeat business we have and our consistently high NPS score speaks to the quality of our delivery. Innovation and growth will be key to staying in tune with times, but we can never lose sight of the fundamentals of our industry – in-depth human relationships that determine the context and set the agenda. Progress and success is not always measured in data. Just as good leadership is not necessarily inherent to any specific gender, we believe that good leadership is based on a set of competencies and behaviours that can be nurtured. Furthermore, at Alumni we have developed processes to identify good leadership and tools to assess and develop good leadership in individuals.

Do reach out to learn more about our process and framework to help build sustainable leadership in organisations.