2/26/2020
Take me to a leader - Corporate headhunters are more powerful than ever | Briefing | The Economist
REAL ENERGY DELIVERS
Lacking objective measures on which to judge headhunters’ performance, board members often rely on their own impressions. And although some praise the service they receive, among others frustration is mounting. Plenty of the things that hamper the industry are no fault of its own. Many companies make exasperating demands of headhunters and candidates. Some, for instance, want would-be ceo s to have a tête-à-tête with each member of the board, which in America and Britain typically numbers at least ten people. They may also demand regular testing of in-house candidates, which can poison a rm’s internal politics. Others request assessments that seem bizarre to candidates. After being asked to take a graphology test, one contender for the top job at Alstom, a French engineering giant, asked sarcastically if he would also be subjected to an intrusive medical examination, recalls a recruiter. Another problem stems from contracts that bar headhunters from poaching people from rms they have previously recruited for, usually for at least a year. As the Shrek rms grow, in other words, their hunting-ground shrinks. It is clients who demand such clauses, but it does not stop those shortchanged by them from getting irate. “They tell me the candidates aren’t there,” fumes an executive who has chaired several companies. “Then I nd there’s an ideal candidate at PepsiCo, but they already work for PepsiCo so they can’t touch it.” Some of the big recruiters’ problems, though, are of their own making. Growth, especially at the Shreks, also leaves senior partners with less time for any one client. They jet around to sign contracts, but leave underlings who have less
https://www.economist.com/briefing/2020/02/06/corporate-headhunters-are-more-powerful-than-ever
10/16
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