Team-building is under attack! There is a proliferation of articles casting doubt on the concept. A study conducted by two teachers/researchers has set things alight. The participants interviewed, young graduates of the prestigious universities, described moments that were judged to be in turn absurd, grotesque, uncomfortable and even humiliating. Employees felt manipulated and infantilised by “orchestrated fun”. The authors make no bones about it: “In the tradition of bullshit jobs, team building also contains its share of bullshit¹“. So should this exercise be condemned to oblivion? Absolutely not. As long as there is a clear understanding of its purpose and prerequisites.

RESPOND TO AN IDENTIFIED PROBLEM

Let’s clear up a misunderstanding: team-building is not about celebrating success or rewarding employees. An end-of-year event based around a cookery class, a good dinner and a thank-you speech may contribute to a good atmosphere in the company, but it is not team-building.

As the name suggests, the aim is to build a team. There are several possible typical situations: the installation of a new or renewed team following a reorganisation; or the malfunctioning of a collective, with recurring misunderstandings, opacity, a lack of cross-functionality, employee fatigue, etc. It can also concern a team that needs to be strongly aligned or re-aligned, to successfully carry out a transformation or get through a crisis; or that needs to strengthen itself further to perform better. In all cases, the challenge is to strengthen the feeling of belonging to the same team, cohesion, operating methods and the resulting commitment.

The consulting partner must therefore first endeavour to understand the customer’s precise needs and unique situation. This will enable them to design a programme that meets the company’s specific needs. This is why, in reality, there is no such thing as “turnkey” team-building: a proposal formulated in this way comes under the heading of events, not strategic consultancy.

CARRY OUT IN-DEPTH WORK

What is criticised about team-building is the cosmetic dimension that some people have unfortunately given it.

But “real” team building involves subjective, deeply human processes that are anything but superficial or purely sensational. Its aim is to create not just a good time, but a lasting positive energy, and to ensure that it is properly allocated according to well-defined and well-understood priorities.

First of all, the approach requires an effort to align the participants on a common base: a shared vision, an agreement on the image we want to project. This means looking at the most structuring elements of the company, its culture and its operating methods. Sometimes it even involves questioning the manager’s own communication.

In addition, it is essential to identify the sticking points and assess their recurrence, so as to be able to tackle these situations differently by redefining the roles of each person, beyond their functions. Quite often, the issues addressed are by no means minor: the loneliness of the executive is brought out into the open, and potentially deep-rooted conflicts need to be purged. The aim of this very delicate process is to free up the floor to restore fluidity and confidence.

Finally, team-building is not a one-shot deal. It’s a long-term approach: you can’t build a team in a single seminar. It is therefore essential to make commitments by drawing up an action plan. It can be followed up over time, which is just as vital, with “anchoring” sessions lasting a few hours at regular intervals to take stock of the situation.

INTEGRATE FUN WITH RELEVANCE

At the end of the day, we’re a long way from an accrobranche course, which is not team-building as such, or even a key stage in such a process.

But can a fun event still make sense? Yes, to bring work sessions to a close with an informal moment. Or to create a rhythm, provided that it fits in well with the approach, by highlighting and dealing with points of dysfunction by analogy. The aim is to get the participants to react and find an appropriate solution that can be applied to their day-to-day team life.

It is also important that these lighter sessions are designed to be consistent with the levels of responsibility and profiles of the participants. From this point of view, the sack race is probably not the best idea for management or executive teams…

Properly designed and run, team-building can be a tremendous asset to a company. In many situations, it is even essential, particularly at a high level. This is particularly true of the Executive Committee, which has a considerable impact on the other teams in the company through mimicry and modelling.

1- From laughter to tears: when team building goes astray, by Xavier Philippe, lecturer and researcher in the sociology of work at EM Normandie, and Thomas Simon, assistant professor at Montpellier Business School (MBS). The Conversation, 27 November 2023.

Read the article on FocusRH

Between the highly sensitive issue of pay and that of generational breakdown, Alban Azzopardi looks at the reasons why older French people find it so difficult to find work or stay in work. ion.

While the employment rate of 55-64 year-olds in France has risen significantly to 57%, it still lags behind the European average by more than 5 points, and even Denmark by almost 15 points.

A few days ago, the French Minister of the Economy said he was in favor of lowering the duration of unemployment benefits for the over-55s to bring them into line with those of other unemployed workers. But will this really solve the problem?

It’s a fact: on average, company directors and HR directors recruit few older employees, often preferring younger profiles. Yet they say they have no objective reason to disadvantage them, and even recognize their many skills.

How can we explain this paradox? Recruiters cite two main reasons. The first is the sensitive issue of remuneration. In fact, we seem to consider that advancing in age should automatically be accompanied by an increase in salary, as if it were justified to remunerate past experience rather than current added value. Similarly, a younger employee has no fewer needs than an older one. This is even truer in France than in other OECD countries: in France, the average salary of over-55s is 17% higher than that of 25-54 year-olds, compared with 11% in Germany and 3% in Denmark.

Breaking with this line of reasoning would mean, on a case-by-case basis, aligning a senior employee’s remuneration with the tasks actually entrusted to him or her. Although possible and legitimate on a case-by-case basis, this solution cannot be applied across the board: it would be neither fair (higher salaries may also reflect, in part, greater productivity), nor even desirable in view of the decline in purchasing power. In order to preserve purchasing power, we would have to compensate for any reductions in remuneration with new exemptions from charges linked to age or type of contract.

The second reason has to do with day-to-day corporate life. In the face of generational disruptions, linked to technological upheavals and societal changes, some people – wrongly – doubt that a senior employee can adapt to the profound and rapid evolution of the world of work, and integrate into younger teams.

Which brings us to another question: what if the employment difficulties experienced by older people reflect our particular relationship to work, leisure and retirement? This is in a state of upheaval. On average, we’ll be living and working longer and differently. Beyond a post-covid effect, we’re convinced that we’re only at the beginning of a revolution that should push us all to evolve.

As far as employees are concerned, the change is well underway, with the questioning of an approach that distinguishes between well-defined periods: studies, then employment (valuing the sacrosanct CDI and career advancement) and finally retirement, materialized by the psychological cut-off age of 60, which has changed little despite successive reforms. More and more working people – and not just young people – are planning to move back and forth between training, employment and career breaks, seeking a better balance between personal and family life, and changing companies and even professions more frequently. From this point of view, the last years of a working life can be seen as a period of transition during which people wish to “take their foot off the accelerator”, while remaining active and giving their employer the benefit of their experience and skills.

Ultimately, companies have a crucial role to play! It’s not a question of encouraging them to “take the risk” of recruiting a senior employee, but of helping them to profoundly change their approach to the issue. They need to integrate intergenerational skills into the company as an inescapable and beneficial fact, and give their senior employees the right place, the one in which they will flourish most, in the interests of the whole company.

Whether we act on remuneration or the content of the assignment, we won’t be able to do without overhauling the professional framework, giving more space to agility, with, in particular, more short contracts linked to precise assignments, remunerated according to the work produced and not the CV of the holder. The fact that France is lagging behind in the employment of older workers reflects our psychological, organizational and legal rigidities. It is by tackling these issues without taboos that we will meet the challenge of a society where fulfillment can become a reality at any age.

Read the article on la Croix website

After the euphoria of the post-Covid period, when many executives were looking to move and were putting themselves on the job market by flaunting their mobility, the situation is now very different. Many of us, recruiters in recruitment agencies and in companies, have recently noticed a persistent tension in the executive job market, reflected in a high level of volatility. In a position of strength in a market where recruitment difficulties persist (see Apec’s 3rd quarter economic report), executives who enter this market have more and more choice. But the attractiveness of the job is no longer the main criteria, and more personal criteria are now being taken into account: the balance between work and personal life is now a major factor. And in this search for a better balance, geographical mobility has become a stumbling block, generating high volatility and recruitments with uncertain outcomes. Here are a few keys to understanding the phenomenon.

THE MAGIC OF TELEWORKING

Firstly, many executives have realised that it is no longer necessary to change employer to change region. Telecommuting, generalized from 2021, has led many executives to question their plans to change jobs, preferring to keep their benefits and seniority, even if it means spending 2/3 days a week in Paris. The immediate effect (in the space of a year) has been a drop in the number of applicants for jobs in the regions, and an explosion in property prices in many towns located 2 hours from Paris.

Two key rules follow from these reminders.

THE RETURN TO REASON

By the summer of 2022, things have calmed down. Gone are the days of ultra-mobility among executives, who no longer leave their employer on a whim and start thinking twice before changing jobs, and three times if it means moving their family. The international context is not very positive either (inflation, war in Ukraine…), so managers have become harder to attract, asking for much more information than before to reassure themselves before embarking on a recruitment process. As a result, companies have started to struggle to fill their vacancies, finding themselves forced to rethink their processes and their employer brand.

THE IMPACT OF RATES

As a result, executives found themselves increasingly in demand, sometimes with 2-3 opportunities at one time. But at the same time, property lending rates have soared, and banks have tightened their lending conditions. It’s impossible to consider moving in this context: you can’t be sure that you’ll be able to find a new home in your destination town, even if you’ve managed to sell your property properly. Nor would renting be a solution: the supply is insufficient or exorbitant.

BALANCE SHEET: PRIORITIES HAVE CHANGED

So it seems that it is the tension of the executive job market, combined with the property crisis, that is leading to unprecedented volatility: many recruitments are being restarted after a profile has been withdrawn. And when we look in detail, geographical mobility is often the reason given. It’s tempting, when you’re approached several times, to accept an offer for the 1st position that’s successful, even if it means moving house. At least, “you’ve already got that”, and there’s nothing to stop you seeing what happens with the other offers, which take longer to sort out. And if one of them is also favourable but avoids the need to move, you can withdraw from the 1st project. And too bad if you’ve signed a letter of employment on this 1st project, after all “it’s an offer you can’t refuse”. This sends out a disastrous message to the market: in order to preserve their chances and make the most of the market that is favourable to them, candidates end up reneging on their sense of commitment and their word of honour. And recruiters are dismayed, especially when the phenomenon becomes frequent and affects all job levels, right up to management level…

HOW TO LIMIT THE RISKS?

There can be no question here of discriminating on the basis of geography. But until the job market turns around, and to avoid being repeatedly turned down, recruiters will have to be particularly vigilant, and validate the real motivations of the profile that expresses mobility in principle, right from the first exchanges.

Once recruitment has been finalised, nothing is set in stone and anything can still happen! We advise our clients to keep a close eye on the future employee during the notice period, before he or she takes up the post: the employer can always buy him or her out, as can the appearance of the famous “offer you can’t refuse”! A few phone calls at regular intervals to check in or discuss administrative matters, a meeting with future colleagues in an informal setting… These are all good reasons to stay in touch and keep motivation high.

It’s vital that the new employee feels welcome, and that the induction process is perfectly organised. The more he or she feels expected, the more important it will be for him or her to integrate successfully and to plan ahead…

As recruiters will have realised, this profound change in the job market requires us to adapt our practices, to be agile and creative. In the same way, our role at Grant Alexander has become more than ever an advisory one. As well as finding the right profile, our job now is to explain, make our clients aware of the issues and support them.

For candidates who are entering the market with plans to move (to follow their spouse, bring in their family…), the aim will be to reassure potential recruiters by explaining the reasons for this mobility as early as possible. While companies are wary of a mobile profile “on principle”, they will be particularly interested in a profile whose mobility is justified and targeted.

In addition to this “mobility” aspect, it’s worth highlighting the resurgence of the value of “reliability” in the eyes of recruiters: honouring commitments, taking responsibility, being transparent… these are all qualities that will make the difference in the recruitment process!

A few weeks ago, expert members of InterSearch Worldwide’s Industrial Practice Group met in person in Paris, hosted by the French member of InterSearch, Grant Alexander to make a global assessment of the industrial recruitment market, sharing thoughts and views. Here are the main findings of this analysis we performed and to which other InterSearch industrial experts from around the world also contributed:

Candidate-Driven Market

This may not be a reassuring thought for the reader, but the candidate-driven market is not a phenomenon limited to 1 country or 1 region. Across the world, all experts make the same assessment: candidates have more options and are therefore in a position of strength, to demand higher salaries as well as other perks related to work-life balance. They are also way pickier when it comes to company culture. This leads to growing difficulties in filling positions: senior management roles in industries like engineering and technology are particularly affected, as well as middle-management roles across all subsectors. Johanna Horn, at InterSearch Germany, observes:

“For the younger generation (candidates up to the age of 40), values have changed. Relocation, frequent business travelling requirements, the number of office days etc. have become show stoppers, as work-life balance or just more time with the family have become more important.”

This tight market makes it difficult for companies to find suitable candidates, sometimes forcing them to simply give up and think of other ways to achieve a project.

Focus on Sustainability and CSR

Companies across multiple regions are increasingly prioritizing sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Candidates, especially the younger generation, consider a company’s attitude towards sustainability and values when making career decisions. This shift emphasizes the need for companies to integrate sustainability into their business plans and actions and communicate them effectively to attract and retain talents. And since all companies are now moving on the subject, those with the most visible commitment will make the difference. Fortunately, governments are also stepping up their commitment to sustainable development. Micheál Coughlan, at InterSearch Ireland:

“Our country is making a strong push towards sustainability, with initiatives to reduce carbon emissions, invest in renewable energy, and promote green technologies. This trend is expected to continue and create opportunities in the clean energy and sustainability sectors.”

 

See InterSearch’s article on Sustainability-related recruitments, here.

Impact of Digital Transformation

Digital skills and IT expertise are in high demand across industries, which have seen an increase in automation, robotization of their processes, globally. ERP, CAM, WMS software have become widely adopted, even in the most traditional industries, and call for experts to ensure maintenance and developments. The shortage of talents in this field favors the growth of parallel businesses, which provide industries with a wide range of IT-related services: training, software development, externalized maintenance, cyber-security…

Sector-Specific Trends

In addition to local specifics (slowdown of the Technology sector in the US, high growth potential of the semiconductor industry in India, Aerospace rebound in France…), most markets witness a significant increase in the Renewable Energies sector, encouraged by government policies (see above).

“In Korea, the battery industry’s upstream and downstream sectors, including materials, manufacturing processes, and recycling, are experiencing growth, leading to a substantial demand for related experts” comments Jay Yoo (InterSearch South Korea).”

The same observation can be made in many countries in Europe (Norway, France, Ireland…), where numerous projects of wind farms, PV fields, hydrogen production facilities are deploying, arising the need for engineers and experts.

Outlook

Unfortunately, there is no sign of a calm-down in the coming months, and the war of talent will probably intensify. Most InterSearch partners expect a structural talent shortage in all traditional roles, which will worsen with the emergence of new roles (digital, cyber, CSR…). Frequently engaged in several recruitment processes at the same time, the candidates will remain unpredictable and highly unreliable, leaving the outcome of your process uncertain until the end of the onboarding!

“In this context, the value of Executive Search firms has never been so clear. Our role has shifted somehow: it’s not only about finding the right talent and assessing hard-to-find soft skills such as Initiative, Adaptability, Engagement…, but it’s also about advising our clients on how to react, training them on the best way to lead a recruitment project and to discuss with potential employees, whatever the level.” – summarizes Godefroy De La Bourdonnaye, Head of Industrial Practice Group of InterSearch Worldwide.

 

Here are some tips from InterSearch partners:

• Once you have a candidate secured for a 1^st interview, be fast and give information on the process. According to Greg Harper, from InterSearch USA, “if the client is not prepared to move quickly and transparently, candidates quickly lose interest” and dropout. Frequent touch points are essential to keep the candidates involved in the process.

• Rethink your recruitment processes: be ready to tailor the job for the candidate, adjusting the content and the prospects to his/her expectations, and not the other way around. Improve the candidate experience and make the difference, including a visit of the plant / headquarters at some point during the process, or even offering a 1-day immersion! Stick to the WYSIWYG motto: What you See Is What You Get!

• Give an international dimension to the search, don’t limit yourself to your own territory. Some countries (i.e. Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates) are already used to go looking for expatriate profiles, worldwide. Ask your local InterSearch contact for more information on our cross-border solutions!

• As an employer, be ready to state your company’s Why? It does make a difference with candidates looking for a purposeful job.
• Work on your onboarding, to secure your new employees. But the job of securing the employee’s future begins even before he or she takes up the position, during the notice period with his or her previous employer! During this period, anything can happen: the profile may be bought out by the employer, he/she may change his/her mind, he/she may accept a better offer… Find excuses to stay in touch!

ABOUT INTERSEARCH

InterSearch Worldwide is a global organization of executive search firms consistently ranked amongst the largest retained executive search practices in the world. InterSearch is currently operating with over 90 offices in more than 50 countries, able to operate in 70+. Established in 1989 in the UK, InterSearch carefully selects the best executive search firms to partner with as a member of a global entity with high integrity, transparency, and depth of experience. InterSearch prides itself on having a global reach with local impact.

>> Read the article on InterSearch’s website

Artificial intelligence (AI) is currently the talk of the town, and there is still no end in sight to the hype surrounding programs like ChatGPT. Can AI also replace jobs in executive search? Or if not replace, then complement and support them? If Henri Vidalinc of InterSearch France has his way, AI should do exactly that. He says artificial intelligence can already support the headhunting process, for example in the search for candidates or with tasks that do not require soft skills, but AI will not completely replace anyone, even in the long term.

“Our work is essentially shaped by our understanding of the client’s needs, providing advice and proposing tailor-made solutions, and this can only be done through a good, professional relationship between consultant and client, but also one that is based on proximity” Vidalinc says. “That’s exactly what AI can’t do.” For an executive search firm like InterSearch, he says, it is therefore important to train employees to work with an AI program like ChatGPT, but also to strengthen and empower them in their consulting role.

Young member of the global InterSearch network

With offices in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse and Nantes, as well as in Ivory Coast, Vidalinc and his colleagues have been part of the InterSearch network since 2022, making their firm one of the youngest members. The approximately 75 employees at InterSearch – Grant Alexander not only specialize in executive search, but also offer interim management, leadership development, and consulting in HR transformation. “We are already well positioned and have an excellent reputation in both France and West Africa, but we wanted to broaden our international reach,” explains Vidalinc.

Often, the tendency to work only with direct neighbors becomes entrenched, for example between France and Germany, Belgium or Italy, but due to the internationality of InterSearch with a presence in over 50 countries, one must now think outside the box, says Vidalinc. He cites a success story: a manufacturing company that operates in some 30 countries needed new managers not only in France, but also in Australia, Japan, Mexico and South Africa. This is precisely where the InterSearch colleagues based in these respective countries came into play and were able to successfully fill the vacant positions quickly.

“InterSearch Worldwide sets high standards that the partners in the individual countries have to meet. In the case of France, it was decided to choose a new partner and Grant Alexander, after a thorough selection process, was taken on board” adds Alexander Wilhelm, Managing Partner at InterSearch in Germany and Member of the Board InterSearch Worldwide. He was recently able to attest to the convincing quality of the French colleagues in the context of a search mandate for a managing director in France for a well-known medium-sized company from Germany.

COO for unification of standards

“There are of course small, subtle differences in approach within the various countries,” says Vidalinc, “but it is precisely this understanding that distinguishes InterSearch worldwide and contributes to our success and that of our clients.”

To further unify the approach and support for clients and candidates within the company, Vidalinc recently hired a chief operating officer in France. His task is to ensure that all parties have the same high level of understanding of how demanding clients and candidates are looked after, be it regarding position profiles, reports, interviews or candidate introductions, in order to offer the best possible experience. “Deviating nuances are of course desired, we are all humans, not robots.” And that’s how it should stay, says Vidalinc.

About InterSearch Executive Consultants InterSearch Executive Consultants is one of the leading personnel consultancies and specializes in the recruitment of executives (Executive Search) and systematic analyses of executive potential (Management Audit / Executive Diagnostic). Founded in 1985 under the name “MR Personalberatung”, the company is now represented in Germany with three offices in Hamburg, Frankfurt and Cologne and was a founding partner of InterSearch Worldwide in 1989. Today, InterSearch operates worldwide in the field of executive search with more than 600 consultants in over 50 countries with more than 90 locations.

>> Read the article on InterSearch.de website

In late April, the industrial segment experts of InterSearch Ww convened in the beautiful city of Paris, France for a two-day knowledge exchange.

This gathering provided an opportunity to share best practices in executive search, ensuring the delivery of the highest quality service to InterSearch Ww’s clients across the globe through international assignments.

Hosted by Godefroy De La Bourdonnaye, Head of Industrial Practice Group of InterSearch Ww, the event also featured a round table discussion with representatives of clients of Grant Alexander -InterSearch Member of France: Charlotte Delmas, HR Director at Datawords and Alain Everbecq, Senior Executive at Poclain.

In the course of the discussion, InterSearch delegates from 10 countries across Europe, Middle East & Africa provided market intelligence while the guests present also shared their perspectives, current challenges and expectations resulting in a dynamic exchange of insights and ideas.

InterSearch Worldwide is a global organization of executive search firms consistently ranked amongst the largest retained executive search practices in the world. InterSearch is currently operating with over 90 offices in more than 50 countries, able to operate in 70+. Established in 1989 in the UK, InterSearch carefully selects the best executive search firms to partner with as a member of a global entity with high integrity, transparency, and depth of experience. InterSearch prides itself on having a global reach with local impact.

More : www.intersearch.org

For over 30 years, Grant Alexander has been a partner in the performance of organizations and their leaders, providing them with comprehensive support for all their skills management and development needs, always with a tailor-made response. A multi-specialist HR consulting and services group, with 4 activities (Executive Search, Executive Interim, Leadership Development, HR & Organization Transformation), it operates in all sectors, on all functions (managers/experts /rare profiles), throughout the world. It has several offices in France (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse), an office in Abidjan for Africa, and is an active member of InterSearch, of which it is the exclusive partner in France. A socially committed player, Grant Alexander is Lucie 26000 certified.

More : www.grantalexander.com

>> Read the article on InterSearch website

This year the InterSearch community held the annual global conference in the historic Old Town of Cartagena, Colombia – a Unesco World Heritage Site much beloved by the Colombian Nobel prize writer Gabriel García Márquez.

On the three-days agenda:

• The excellent results of the InterSearch organization, which in 2022 consolidated 190 million USD in revenues, 25% growth in comparison to 2021
• industry trends and insights with a thorough analysis of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion made by award-winning “Diversity Headhunter” and author of Diversity and Inclusion for Leaders: Making a Difference with the Diversity Headhunter Raj Tulsiani, CEO of Green Park – the InterSearch member firm in the UK
• the election of the new Board of Directors: Leslie Cooper (Chile), Alexander Wilhelm (Germany), Jyorden Misra (India), Peter Waite (Australia), and Frank Schelstraete (Benelux) whose chairmanship was confirmed for another two years
• the InterSearch Excellence Award won by Alexis Pariset, Partner and Regional Director at Grant Alexander, the InterSearch member firm in France
• the introduction of the new InterSearch Associated member in Brazil, Weplace
• the unanimous ratification of 5 new Shareholders: Colombia, France, Mexico, Singapore, UK.

“We thank our member in Colombia and exquisite host CMC – Career Management Consultants and especially Juan Felipe Cadavid and his team for the excellent venue, leisure time and team building programs that made this conference a memorable event for all participants” said Frank Schelstraete, Chairman.

All InterSearch members already look forward to the next in-person events, which will include the Industrial Global practice group meeting in Paris (France) in late April, the Academy Training in Copenhagen (Denmark) in the Autumn followed by the EMEA Regional meeting, and the global conference 2024 that will be held in Barcelona, Spain in May 2024.

BUSINESSES TEND TO TURN A BLIND EYE TO IT, BUT A COMPANY DIRECTOR RETIRING IS A WATERSHED MOMENT. IF NOT PROPERLY PREPARED, THIS TRANSITION CAN BE HUGELY DAMAGING, NOT ONLY FOR THE MAIN STAKEHOLDER – WHO WILL BE SEEKING THEIR NEW PLACE – BUT ALSO FOR THEIR TEAMS. A GOOD SUPPORT STRUCTURE CAN HELP KEEP POTENTIALLY HARMFUL BEHAVIOUR AT BAY.

WHEN A MANAGER IS APPROACHING RETIREMENT, PREPARATION IS KEY.

When do managers need an offboarding process? For someone who has been committed – perhaps overly so – to developing their company for several decades, retirement constitutes a sensitive transition period. Most managers go through different stages – more or less consciously – the closer they get to the big day. A sense of flight, for example, may be followed by a rebound in energy which, in turn, can give way to simply letting go. While sometimes not clearly in evidence, their discomfort is nevertheless damaging. Realisation will start to sink in that retirement means they will no longer be ‘in the spotlight’. And yet the need for recognition and the desire to be impactful are often what provide managers with their source of mental strength.

SOMETIMES IRRATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

To compensate for this loss, the most enlightened managers will make plans to take on company directorships or throw themselves wholeheartedly into their own personal projects. But for those who don’t, this emotional roller coaster constitutes one of the most dysfunctional behaviours possible for the company, especially for the team who will be remaining in place and who have no other option but to contend with their manager’s discomfort. It is not unusual, for example, that some outgoing managers are unable to cope with the idea of the company continuing without them. In the most extreme cases, they can even behave irrationally: their ego bruised, a retiring manager may unconsciously sabotage their successor in an effort to assert their authority one last time before making their final exit.

This strategic issue, largely concealed by the company, must then be handled by the HR department or even the general office staff. At the very least, they are expected to alert the manager and suggest to them that they focus not only on the handing over of their position but also on their own personal transition.

LOSING ‘STATUS’ CAN BE A HARD PILL TO SWALLOW

When retirement cannot be envisaged as a happy prospect but, rather, is a source of internal turmoil, then a support structure is needed. Implementing a plan for succession within a company is a first step from an organisational point of view, but it does not help the manager in question come out of denial. Because, at this point, they will be questioning their entire identity, not to mention their place in an environment where they have no decision-making powers. Coaching will offer them the individual support structure that they need. This option allows them not only to accept the transition but to prepare it and safeguard it. The future retiree will have the opportunity to reflect on their new role going forward, the steps they want to take to continue creating value and the legacy they want to leave behind when it is time to say goodbye…

Given proper support – provided by good partners a year, or even two, in advance – the retiring manager will be able to turn their departure into a constructive changeover, transitioning more gradually and hence less ‘violently’. A company with the foresight to prepare for its manager’s retirement ahead of time and, therefore, to avoid potential disruptions, will also have everything to gain from this support structure.

Article by Anne-Laure Pams, Director at Grant Alexander – Leadership Development, Executive Coach, Co-president of the Coaching Commission of Syntec Conseil. 

In our post-Covid world, this ‘new normal’, where uncertainty rules supreme and change is a constant, the ability to adapt quickly (read: very quickly) is key.

Responsible purchasing, digitisation, innovation, more expensive raw materials, disruptions in the supply chain and renewal of skills are just a few of the many issues that require you to quickly readjust and enhance your business agility in order to embrace change sustainably. So what about opting for new sources of flexibility?

By Brice Malm, Purchasing Practice and Supply Chain Director, Grant Alexander, expert in human capital and purchasing transformation

IN-HOUSE SOURCES

In order to create favourable conditions for sustainable change, you must first be open and honest with your teams: discuss reasons for pride with them, certainly, but also broach any problems encountered, and what impact they may have on change. Your people must understand where the transformation is leading and be encouraged to be more flexible.

In this respect, successful purchasing managers have made agility a strength. Trained in the ‘agile method’, every sprint brings its own batch of decisions and the necessary adjustments, including in terms of human resources, in order to achieve the desired goals. When all is said and done, they focus more on the results and the ability to exploit temporary market circumstances than on the number of team members. Indeed, they simplify the reporting structures and prefer teams that can be built and unbuilt at great speed.

EXTERNAL SOURCES

Relying on in-house teams is undeniably a very good thing. However, to achieve sustainable results you no longer have to have an in-house resource for every skill. By taking advantage of the operational expertise of freelance or interim experts and managers, you can become more agile.

As a first example, let’s take the director of a medium-sized healthcare company who, having done some skills mapping, has come to the conclusion that his team was spending 85% of its time on traditional purchasing activities. Only 15% of their time was being devoted to new projects. So he decided that for every one of these new missions, he would assign an in-house project leader who would be supported by outsourced expertise.

Another example would be a company listed on the SBF 120 stock exchange that needed to fill in for a happy event. They decided to make use of an interim purchasing director, whose initial goal would be to take over the management of a dozen buyers and ensure the continuity of operational projects. Thanks to this naturally overqualified interim manager, it was possible to analyse the synergy between commodity purchasing and regional purchasing departments… Which an in-house team member would perhaps not have been in a position to do and especially in such a short space of time. 

In general, the flexibility achieved through the use of freelancers generates a higher ROI for public companies and organisations who thus see their projects accelerate and achieve results faster.

In France, this new source of skills began emerging a little over a decade ago, with some rather highly skilled people initially destined to take on crisis management. Today, the use of such interim managers and freelance experts is growing at the same pace as the increasing need for flexibility in business. These rigorously selected independent experts, very often former operational staff, bring a highly complementary approach to the work of in-house teams. They offer companies agility and are particularly committed to ensuring the success of their missions. Given that many of them are able to pick and choose the missions they want to invest in, they focus more on the goals and the execution of the defined plan than on political and personal career aspects. They enjoy sharing their knowledge and enriching the experience of the people working in hybrid teams. And as a result, those teams will be inspired to emulate the experts in the pursuit of the company’s projects.

The essential thing to bear in mind: it is very complex for one single company to have all the skills they need available at any given time. Today’s companies have understood the need to turn business agility into a competitive advantage by having a network of outsourced expertise at their disposal to complement their in-house skills sets.

Article by Brice Malm, Purchasing Practice and Supply Chain Director, for the Conseil National des Achats’ Profession Achats Magazine. 

Performance appraisals in the business world

Used for the first time during the first world war, performance appraisals became a widespread tool in the business world in the early 1980s.

‘Patronising’, ‘disrespectful’, ‘humiliating’… You feel a shiver go down your spine as you listen to how some senior managers describe their experience of appraisals. Veritable poor sibling of HR consulting, it is a practice that is bound by no rules. There is no ethics charter to provide a framework for the work of HR consultants claiming to be appraisers. No regulatory body to put a stop to their artisanal, or perhaps even questionable, methods. And no training to establish a common ethical foundation. And the problem is that companies, both large and small, have made massive use of assessment since the Covid-19 crisis forced them to reallocate their resources. In the most extreme cases, the process is rather like a ‘talent-crushing machine’: senior managers must willingly pit themselves against difficulties during their appraisals, which essentially hark back to the recruitment interviews of 20 years ago, when destabilisation was the primary goal.

What is a ‘good’ appraisal?

As happened with coaching several years ago, appraising, as a practice, requires urgent regulation if companies are to successfully retain their talent. Employers’ unions, HR associations and the players in HR consulting must step up and provide the structure for this practice, which is certainly not a new one. In the meantime, companies must tread very carefully when they plan to use appraisals as a means of talent development. Getting a clear explanation of the entire process is a good place to start. Questioning the objectivity of the assessment is another. Because, contrary to what we see in the market, a good appraisal requires more than simply putting a manager on the spot in a single exercise or conducting just one interview. Any appraisal must be multi-dimensional; in other words, it must involve several people, such as a coach, a consultant and perhaps an industry or sector expert. Psychometric tests should be part of the process for the assessment to be as objective as possible.

The process should comprise several steps that should include at least two interviews, possibly a simulation and, absolutely, another interview to go over the results of the psychometric tests. The process should examine both the senior manager’s professional skills and his or her personality. As for the findings, certain safeguards are necessary. It is important to bear in mind that an appraisal should serve as a basis for reflection taken in context with any other information gathered about the person being appraised. As such, findings should be drafted in hypothetical verbiage as opposed to being indelibly stamped on the appraisee’s career path.

A demanding but compassionate attitude

Appraisals are often a crucial step in a senior manager’s career, so it is even more important to ensure that good standards are applied when conducting them. This, therefore, places considerable responsibility on the HR consultancies and recruitment agencies operating in the field today. They have the careers of these men and women in their hands. Consequently, their approach to the appraisals must be irreproachable. Their attitude must be demanding, but always compassionate.

Of course, their role is to pick up on shortcomings, but they must also be respectful of the person they are appraising. At the height of the talent war, when companies need to be increasingly mindful of their teams, mistreating them or shaking their confidence by putting them through a sloppy and unscrupulous appraisal is unlikely to be a recipe for success. Quite the contrary… The responsibility lies with you to ensure that your appraisal process is a good one, providing your talent with a strong incentive to remain in your organisation.

Article by Anne-Laure Pams, Director at Grant Alexander – Leadership Development, Executive Coach, Co-president of the Coaching Commission of Syntec Conseil.