demand is not only for Replacement Hiring – to find a leader for a position that has fallen vacant – but also for growth hiring, for new roles being created by companies through expansion. “What used to be 90% replacement hiring and 10% growth hiring earlier is now 70% replacement hiring vs 30% growth hiring. Ronesh Puri, MD, headhunting firm Executive Access India, said a significant increase in growth hiring is a positive sign.
Pankaj Arora, MD, management consulting firm Russell Reynolds Associates, said executive hiring is primarily driven by growth that has come with liquidity and a post-Covid rebound effect. The firm has also seen a boom in executive hiring. “Over the past year, we have focused heavily on technology/digital-based business roles and sustainability roles, for which there is a good demand,” Arora said.
There is a great demand for leaders in startups that work around virtual reality, the metaverse, education and health, said Jyoti Bowen Nath, managing partner at leadership search and advisory firm Clarisent Partners. “Since the talent pool for such functional roles is limited, we want to fill them with mentors. In Crypto Blockchain Roles In Logistics Companies, There’s Almost A War senior talent,” Nath said.
However, the high demand is not only because of the ‘great resignation’, but also because companies are said to be exiting CXO Talents who don’t meet their performance goals. “Out of the 10 mandates we get for executive hiring, 3-4 are where people have been asked to leave for performance reasons. This is happening for many reasons also. Productivity has become very important – companies have to protect their bottom lines and there is cost pressure due to inflation,” Puri said.
Sonal Aggarwal, managing partner of CXO search firm Accord India and global chairperson of AltoPartners, said the high cost certainly prompts companies to keep a sharp eye on performance parameters and take quick calls. “In the hiring frenzy following the great resignation, it is possible that companies and candidates have been by-election as to fit. ,” said Agarwal.
Aggarwal said PE-funded companies have a three- to five-year horizon for a price-release program, and there is a demand for very high-performing alliance teams. These companies are more willing to ax under-performers. “Also, with the softening in the funding pipeline, we are starting to see some layoffs even at CXO levels due to the business pivot,” Agarwal said.
James Aggarwal, MD, BTI Executive Search, said companies across sectors are looking for leaders to meet the new business dynamics created by fast-paced challenges. “With increasing business opportunities, companies are building their human capital aggressively. Yet global geopolitical issues, currency depreciation and disruptions to global supply chains continue to put pressure on business fundamentals operating in an already depressed economic environment. This results in increasing challenges for senior executives working in volatile and uncertain environments with performance issues beyond their understanding,” said Agarwal of BTI.
What hasn’t changed, however, is the delta that commands executives in the job market — that is, an average 20% increase in compensation — when hired.