Insights

In a “candidate’s market,” compensation is being driven sky-high, while individuals, rather than employers, are dictating terms of their new deals.

Adam joins Amanda Lang on BNN Bloomberg to discuss senior executives’ reluctance to change roles due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

HELLO 2021! As we turn the page on a most unusual year, we are already seeing positive signs for 2021.

As you might imagine, over the last month, we have been engaged in a series of conversations with clients, candidates and business leaders around the country. While the topics vary greatly, one theme that has emerged above all others is the need for preparedness for an uncertain future.

How Executive Recruiters Maintain Secrecy

If it seems like CEOs are departing in droves lately — they are. 2019 has been nothing short of tumultuous among the senior ranks of some of the world's most recognized companies and 2018 set a record for the highest US CEO turnover since the last recession.

Less than a year ago, cannabis was illegal. Now, it’s the fastest-growing sector in Canada.

Executive searches are a lot more nuanced than people think and the most confidential mandates require special approaches that might surprise you.

We have a saying in search: Hunting for a Unicorn. It’s a reference to the inevitably difficult-if-not- impossible-to-find, transformative candidate whom our client desperately wants. But how exactly do you find these magical creatures?

You’ve worked long and hard to canvass a variety of industries. You’ve had initial interviews with potential candidates, and conferred with your search firm to narrow it down to an outstanding short list. Today is Final Rounds day – after this, there’s nothing left but to extend an offer to your favourite. So how do you close the deal?

In our last piece, we explored the pitfalls in executive search processes, and the associated impact on clients and candidates alike when searches aren’t managed with client interests in mind. So, you may be asking yourself: now that I know all of this, how can I run a top-notch process?

It is an amazing thing – and a privileged position – to be an adviser on a search. You’re helping to build a company’s team and shape its future. But along the way, both clients and advisors are invariably going to face a huge number of obstacles during a search.

Conflicts are nothing new in the world of executive search. They typically go something like this: Search Firm X works for a large bank on a critical hire. That bank is attracted to talent that resides at their biggest competitor, but when said bank indicates as much, Search Firm X divulges that they are doing a similar search for that very competitor, thus making the competitor’s talent off limits.

My client, a large player in Canadian private equity, recently lamented the state of the search industry. Unprompted, he said “You know, Adam, I used to be a big proponent of search firms, but I now feel that the big-firm model is broken.”

As many of you know, I believe passionately that the executive search industry isn’t doing enough to put clients first. Clients are frustrated by conflicts that keep top talent off limits. Not to mention long, purely transactional search processes and recycled candidate lists served up by complacent providers who feel no need to innovate.