Executive Employment: A Market Full of Opportunities and Challenges!

Godefroy de la Bourdonnaye, Regional Director for the Grand Ouest and Executive Search Consultant, answered questions from the National Association of HR Directors (ANDRH), sharing his perspective on the post-crisis executive employment market.

What are the key success factors for recruitment? How has the crisis changed the behavior of executives and companies? What is the current state of the executive employment market, particularly in the Grand Ouest region?

An interview published in the latest Pays de la Loire Special Issue of Personnel, the ANDRH magazine.
“Despite the crisis, the executive employment market remains dynamic and full of opportunities. However, it also presents challenges for HR to secure recruitment and support the development and transformation of their company. Here is the perspective of Godefroy de la Bourdonnaye, Grand Ouest Regional Director and Executive Search Consultant at Grant Alexander.”

Current State of the Executive Employment Market
Despite the health crisis, the executive employment market remains dynamic nationally. Recruitment levels are even slightly higher than last year, reflecting confidence among company leaders. At the level of senior roles addressed by Grant Alexander, this trend is also seen in the Grand Ouest region, particularly around Nantes. Recruitment mainly addresses turnover management rather than pure development. Even at this level, executives remain attentive to the job market and seize opportunities, creating a “musical chairs” effect. While still fragile, the market is healthy, with good trends and confidence indicators present.

How Has the Crisis Changed Executive and Company Behavior?
The first lockdown and partial unemployment gave employees time to reflect on their aspirations and careers. Many felt a need for change and sought new projects aligned with their sense of purpose and motivations. Some Paris-based executives even relocated to the provinces, benefiting the Grand Ouest region, particularly after the first lockdown. For companies, the crisis revealed both strengths and weaknesses among employees. Leaders realized that, in this unprecedented situation, they might not have the right people in the right positions to support transformation or future projects. This context has been favorable for recruiting new skills, with growing use of interim management.

Interim Management: A Growing Activity
Executive Interim allows a company to bring in an experienced expert for a defined period to drive change, manage a crisis, or lead a specific project for which internal skills are lacking. The current crisis generated simultaneous needs in all three areas. Interim management, already growing, has further democratized in companies in the Grand Ouest, especially in finance, logistics, and HR roles.

Key Success Factors for Recruitment
Key points for successful recruitment, especially during this period, include:
Employer brand: With remote work, company culture and values are harder to perceive. New hires need reassurance about the employer brand.
Company project: Executives seek meaningful work and are sensitive to company values and leadership projects.
Candidate motivation: Understanding what drives the candidate, why they want to change, and what interests them in the role is crucial. According to Apec, one in two recruitments fails within the first 18 months due to poorly validated motivations.
Onboarding: Properly integrating new hires prevents isolation, especially in remote work contexts.

Athlete Thinking Tool
Athlete Thinking is a proprietary development tool that helps candidates succeed in integration and fully deploy their potential by leveraging the mental attributes of high-level athletes. Candidates complete the Athlete Thinking questionnaire upon joining, identifying strengths and mental dimensions conducive to success: self-awareness, motivation, teamwork, resilience, etc. Results are shared with both the employee and HR for a tripartite reflection supporting development and well-being.

Current HR Priorities
Discussions with HR in the region highlight three main priorities:
Developing employee skills to support sustainable company evolution.
Transforming organizations to withstand future crises and meet market needs.
Re-engaging employees. Remote work has impacted company atmosphere through cycles of confinement and office return. Companies need to ensure employees remain motivated, engaged, and aligned with company values.

Contact:
10, rue de Bois Briand, 44300 Nantes
06 59 55 18 54
g.delabourdonnaye@grantalexander.com

In Short:
For over 30 years, Grant Alexander has supported organizational and executive performance globally across all competency management and development needs with customized solutions. A multi-specialist HR services group, it operates in four areas (Executive Search, Executive Interim, Leadership Development, and HR & Organization Transformation) across all sectors and functions (executives, experts, rare profiles), worldwide, with offices in France (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Toulouse), Abidjan for Africa, and an international partner network.