Who's winning on the Global Executive Search Market

Interesting article for those in the Executive Search business in Asia available here from Alan Shipman at Finance Week. Alan explains how the top Executive Search firms and have protected themselves by diversifying into outplacement as well as riding the global market for talent. Asia in particular has been a growth area for many executive search firms including market big boy Heidrick and Struggles who Shipman profiles in detail.

There are several really useful points in the article including a mention on H&S's partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit to launch a Global Talent Index. And also H&S's plan to release a book next year on, "The Secret Lives of Chief Executives". I love the idea of a Global Talent Index, I wish it could be combined to show individual companies who leverage that talent best. More often than not those firms transcend country boundaries and they deserve to be recognised for that. It would certainly be a killer recruitment strategy to be included on an index like that.

Also check out the end of the article for a few choice points on how to hold onto talent!

Comments

[Mike Nacke]

I like this global talent index too.

And I think that a good supplement to this study would be some data about firms who are altering the talent landscape by accessing and relocating talent from one country to another.

Here's another thought ...

Could a talent index like this reveal opporunities for global headhunters?

And also, why is Brazil slipping so far down the talent ladder? Last time I looked, they were leading the way in the renewable fuels industry ... I always thought that said a lot about their country as a "leader" in a progressive economy.

[Steven Kempton]

I agree Mike, it'd be a touch proposition to cover so many companies, but certainly large cap firms would easily be able to display the movement of it's talent. In Asia, for a long time there has been a push towards hiring locally, but there is still a fair amount of transferring of talent from other parts of the world internally. Although perhaps that transfer is less driven through Executive Search firms than in the past.

My opinion is that the key point with work talent is that even though a country may be higher in the Global Talent Index that another, it doesn't necessarily mean an individual talent in one is better than one from another. It's not like the NBA where if you're good enough in European basketball league then you'll move "up" to the NBA. That's why I don't think the Global Talent Index is particularly useful for headhunters on a search by search basis. Although I think it can identify countries that need help holding on to their talent and that need to create some of the factors that are present in the top countries.

In India and China's cases they have both maximized opportunities for talent at home meaning less people are leaving and more are returning. That doesn't particularly point to a drop in US competitiveness, just an increased focus by India and China on creating an environment where talent can succeed and build businesses over the last 20 years.