BUSINESS FIRST INNER 3-38:Layout 1 9/6/08 16:31 Page 19
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BRITAIN’S
“These companies can excel at what they do,” says Alex Steele of
A. Steele Associates, one of the executive search firms moving in to
fill this demand. “But often they lack a properly resourced,
experienced HR department that understands how to go out and
GOT TALENT.
look for the right talent to fill the top jobs. New challenges demand
new ways of doing things.”
It may sound fanciful to suggest a firm in rural Hampshire or
Oxfordshire could compete with major league companies for
HAVE YOU?
talent, but Alex Steele believes it is completely doable.
“Business today is much more fluid than it ever was. People don’t
stay with one firm all their life, collect the gold watch and that’s it.
They use jobs like stepping stones to achieve their professional and
personal goals. If a provincial company makes a convincing case
that it is a major player and that the combination of location,
A tidal wave is coming, one that will engulf
lifestyle and professional satisfaction would suit the brightest talent,
businesses that are not ready for it. It stems from
then why couldn’t it attract it? All you need is the right person to do
the growing shortage of vital skills in this country,
the looking.”
and every business, no matter what size, needs to
have a strategy in place to cope.
Good Recruitment, Good PR
The secret is in the looking. Alex Steele has 30 years experience
There is a rather charming, possibly nostalgic, myth about business
servicing a range of b2b clients across the UK and Europe mainly in
in the provinces that says life can run at a different pace from the
the intellectual property and financial services industries as well as
craziness of the big metropolitan centres. There certainly was a
some retail and manufacturing companies.
time when that was true. And it is interesting to see businesses that
still believe it gradually wither on the vine.
“No matter what sector I have helped, the imperative is in
identifying individuals with the right talent to meet the client’s
For the urgent fact of business life today is that businesses outside
needs. I have long-standing relationships with proven research
London have the ability to compete with all bar the very largest city
professionals who, once thoroughly briefed, know how and where
firms and often carry distinct advantages that give them a positive
to look. I then make the discreet approach.”
edge over the competition, namely lower overhead and more
nimble operating styles.
Both functions are pretty much beyond the scope of any business
that lacks a proactive and experienced HR department. And there
That is the upside. The downside is that being in the provinces no
is a certain delicacy about the process that can backfire if
longer shields them from global competition; they are in the same
handled badly.
marketplace as not only the big boys but also their opposite
numbers overseas, so in order to compete they must attract the
right talent. And with the talent pool shrinking as the booming
“I believe executive search is as much a part of a company’s PR
economies of developing countries start to drain the brightest
and marketing portfolio as anything else,” Alex says. “Potential
brains abroad, smart businesses know they must adopt big business
candidates generally swim in the same business pool as the client.
recruitment strategies.
Make a clumsy approach and not only does it result in a wasted
opportunity but also the client’s reputation is potentially at risk. Get it
Call it headhunting or executive search, the fact is that talent is like
right and even approaches that don’t work out can enhance the
gold dust and it takes an expert to find it.
client’s market standing.”
The Search
The deterrent for smaller companies is often the cost of hiring a
That this is becoming an increasingly important issue was illustrated
search consultant, usually based on a percentage of the
by a recent seminar arranged by accountants Smith and
candidate’s first year’s salary package , and Alex knows it.
Williamson, whose Southampton director Richard Green said
“Of course it is difficult to persuade companies that the cost of
afterwards, “As difficult as it is, firms must recruit people they want,
getting executive recruitment wrong can be devastating, much
not people they can get.”
higher than the cost of a successful search,” Alex says. “But when I
demonstrate to smaller companies the ROI to be gained from
And that is the way that smaller businesses outside London have
working with a dedicated outsourced servicer like me, they
traditionally operated, either using recruitment agencies to find their
understand. As part of the process I conduct a thorough analysis of
staff or local knowledge/word of mouth, the former to fill lower
the business that is often something of an eye-opener for the client.
grade jobs, the latter for management positions. For as long as
And to be fair, the fee structure we adopt in the provinces is much
they were protected from the ferocity of global markets, this system
more flexible than in other marketplaces, precisely because we
worked. Survival now demands a new way of doing things and a
know cost is such a major concern to smaller companies.”
new market in executive search for smaller, provincial companies
is emerging. Sources: Alex Steele, A. Steele Associates.
www.asteeleassociates.com
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