Companies more confident to hire top-level talent, survey finds

Jo Faragher

Organisations are becoming more confident about hiring for senior roles, according to an international report by executive search firm Boyden.

Its quarterly report, Boyden Executive Outlook, found that – particularly in key growth sectors such as energy and technology – CEOs are “looking to add talent and invest more in human capital growth”.

Chief marketing officer Gray Hollet said: “Companies of all sizes are focusing on attracting marketing and sales leaders who have been in larger companies earlier in their careers and have a background in data analytics. Leaders with experience in lean and efficient organisations are also being heavily recruited.” 

The report also found that there was increased concern that directors’ compensation should be closely tied to their performance, after news of some executive pay-outs and bonuses attracted negative attention in recent months.

The areas where executive recruitment is looking particularly buoyant included industrial and energy, which was described as ‘very active’. Boyden’s report found that chief operating officers, country managers and supply chain management roles were especially in demand in this sector. 

Hiring in consumer and retail companies “seems to be coming back at close to pre-recession levels”, according to Doug Ehrenkranz, managing partner at Boyden Houston, but companies are looking for executives with more experience in digital marketing and distribution channels than before. In European retail companies, the focus is on optimising management structures through recruitment, rather than creating new positions altogether.

Encouragingly, financial services companies are beginning to hire again at senior levels, with many companies looking to find executives that can help steer them through their growing regulatory and compliance obligations.

Demand for senior-level HR professionals has increased, according to Lisa Gerhardt, a partner in Boyden UK and the company’s Global HR practice leader. In particular, organizations are looking for HR professionals with social media expertise, to help improve communications both internally and externally. 

“In today’s age, internal and external audiences see social media as a proactive, multidimensional tool for companies to increase transparency, improve their employer brand, raise morale and actively communicate their mission and values,” said Gerhardt.

The healthcare and technology sectors are also hiring top-level talent, according to Boyden  – with a focus on senior-level finance and scientific talent in the former, and ecommerce, cloud computing and social media experience in the latter.