Author Archives: John Nimesheim


Solving the Talent Drain Problem by Building a Bench of High Potentials

Projections indicate that in the near future, and even well past the 2030’s, the US is likely to see a mass exodus of upper level management and at the C-suite as the Baby Boom generation journeys into retirement.  Because of this, there will be a drastic increase in the number of executive-level management positions, creating vast opportunity for the remaining Gen X and Y-ers while presenting vacancies at both mid and entry-level level positions.  Without a robust bench of candidates with strong potential, most organizations will be left unable to fill these crucial positions.

Maintaining the appropriate depth and skill of management-level bench personnel is both a crucial task and a significant area of concern for many companies.  Nearly 60% of organizations report that they are experiencing a leadership shortage right now, an increase of 40 percentage points from just one year ago; of these, 76% are less than confident they will be able to adequately fill these positions[1].   Inevitable as the talent drain seems, corporations must create and cultivate an effective bench of qualified resources to ensure economic survival.

Removing an executive from a position at which he or she shined for something new is a risk that could jeopardize performance and longevity.

Building incendiary talent into the bench can be a time consuming and expensive task, but is one that will pay dividends in the long run.  Successful bench planning requires a strategic approach predicated by a significant recruiting investment.  Developing a bench management process to identify, cultivate, and track candidates will ensure your talent inventory is both current and optimized.  Most companies remain reactive, and fill openings only as they become vacant.  An ongoing planning process that addresses staffing needs across business units can significantly help when developing strong candidates with leadership potential.  This type of active planning and review can greatly impact an organization’s succession management to quickly identify talent gaps.

In addition to building onto technical capabilities, cultivating soft skills will give candidates a polished, professional edge that many lack. While it may seem elementary, focus on the basic elements of effective communication and build on to them.  Many executive-level candidates with impressive backgrounds fall behind when it comes to basic writing skills.  It is not uncommon to read a company-wide email from a C-level executive peppered with spelling and grammatical errors, which can have an immediate detrimental effect on his or her credibility.  Articulate communication and a professional appearance are both critical when overall impressions are based heavily on the first few minutes of the interview.   Image coaching may be appropriate to build onto technical skill to construct the ideal overall package.

Internal succession planning that aggregates and assesses the company’s talent pool should also be part of an effective bench management strategy.  As senior-level executives approach retirement age, many companies will be hard-pressed to replace that talent and could end up making costly hiring mistakes.

It is no surprise that jobs that require high levels of education and skill pay higher wages than jobs that require fewer skills and little education.  Statistics from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that the unemployment rate among people who have a professional degree is significantly lower than that of people who have a high school diploma or less than a complete high school education[2].  In light of this, it is imperative, specifically for executive-level candidates, to ensure education is strongly emphasized.  Effective bench management should place special emphasis on furthering a candidate’s education.

Conversely, individuals who possess very high levels of education may inadvertently put off prospective job seekers.  Presenting a PhD-level or multi-degreed Master’s candidate for a mid-level management position may actually present a red flag to hiring managers.  Unless a degree beyond that of a Master’s is required, such as in doctoral-level teaching or research positions, extreme levels of education could put a candidate out of contention for a position.

Educational planning has always been a consideration for effective bench management, and while effective, is no substitute for on the job experience.  Keeping up technical and occupational certifications can be accomplished while on the bench, but ensuring candidates are continually challenged and exposed to new environments in their assignments will add to their marketability.  Challenging your staff forces them to develop secondary and tertiary skills that will round out their background, increasing their marketability and enabling placement with a broader range of clients.

Most companies reward star performance by promoting a person out of the very role in which he or she has excelled. Taking a high-performing executive out of his or her current role potentially creates a gap that is two-fold:  one in the vacated position and one in the new position. Removing an executive from a position at which he or she shined for something new is a risk that could jeopardize performance and longevity.  The remaining vacancy may be filled with yet another individual new to the position who may unfortunately flounder.  Though a pessimistic outlook on promoting top-performers, it’s a possibility that should not be overlooked.  Expanding the existing role rather than promoting to a new role may enable the employee to continue his or her success while tackling additional, more rewarding duties without creating new job vacancies.

Identifying, cultivating and selecting future leaders are all critical to an organization’s long-term growth and success. Many organizations, however, put little rigor into managing the talent drain by putting investment into their bench. Strategic planning and acute foresight make successful bench-building challenging if not daunting. Working with a professional retained search firm like Slayton Search Partners greatly increases the likelihood of success when cultivating talent with flexibility and longevity. Get started with an assessment on your current talent matrix and how to financially optimize your bench for successful growth.

[1] Corporate Leadership Council, https://clc.executiveboard.com/Public/CurrentResearch.aspx, Creating a Talent Management Response to Urgent Leadership Shortages, 2012

[2] Department of Labor Statistics, http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/wages/educational.htm,

The Chief Diversity Officer and Why You Need One

The C-Suite is getting bigger.  Recently, the Wall Street Journal published the article Firms Hail New Chiefs (of Diversity).  As it’s fittingly articulated in the WSJ piece, 60% of the Fortune 500 has a Chief Diversity Officer or Diversity leadership position.  As recently as ten years ago, the thought of a dedicated Diversity leadership role did not exist.   We continue to see a growing trend in companies turning to diversity to improve the workforce (recruiting & retention), the workplace (company culture & employee morale) and the company’s reputation in the marketplace.  And as it turns out, this is a good thing for business and the bottom line.

According to Rick Slayton, CEO of Slayton Search Partners,

“While some companies undertake diversity initiatives to drive increased employee involvement or better their ability to attract talent, there is almost certainly a profitability motive as well.  Major corporations recognize that their customer base is rapidly changing, especially with the major population increase of the Spanish-speaking community.  The companies must be able to understand and address their customer’s needs”.  

Companies have finally realized that their core customers are changing and diversity initiatives can serve to:

  1. Lower Employee Turnover
    Turnover is a drag on business. When there is a poor perception of opportunity (i.e. the glass ceiling), minorities and women will leave the company to pursue careers where they can flourish. They may even be drawn to the other company’s own diversity leadership or diversity initiatives. Furthermore, distributing the job functions of the exiting employee puts strain on the shoulders of other employees within the company, which results in more employees leaving.
  2. Boost Employee Morale & Stimulate Engagement
    CDOs play a key leadership role in recruiting, mentoring, and maintaining this diversity and inclusion within the company. By having an effective diversity and inclusion program, companies will see morale boosted by an enhanced culture and less turnover. And vice versa, improved morale leads to less turnover and strain on employees.
  3. Improve the Company’s Brand and Ultimately the Bottom Line
    Minority employees are taking on increased leadership positions and playing a critical role in teaching and training new employees – a very valuable aspect to the overall sustainability of any company.All companies invest large sums of time and money to train their employees. As employees gain more experience, they are given more responsibilities and rise up the ranks to middle management. If minority and women employees are leaving because they perceive this road to be a dead end, the cost to recruit and train a suitable replacement can be substantial.
  4. The Consequence of NOT Having Diversity Leadership
    What happens when a company is not fully embracing the benefits of a diverse workforce? Companies will likely experience higher turnover rates (in comparison to companies with Chiefs of Diversity) in women and minority employees who leave their respective company when they see no opportunity for advancement. Unfortunately, many companies hire diverse candidates for the wrong reasons.  Typically, the human resources team is tasked with hiring people from diverse backgrounds, but they aren’t responsible or accountable to lead diversity and embed it into the culture of the organization.

Finding the right CDO

As is the case with any C-Level search, finding the right CDO is likely to be the difference between a successful diversity program and a poorly designed one. Start by looking at your current employee talent pool and the makeup of your customer base. What business or strategic goals will be impacted by hiring the right CDO?

At Slayton Search Partners, we begin by understanding the business, the leadership team, and the marketplace in which the company operates and determining the right combination of skills and experiences for that particular situation.  Our experience and professional networks give us access to the right diversity leadership for the position of CDO.

By hiring a Chief of Diversity, you are creating a position and an environment where diversity is recognized as a key driver in the long-term success of the business like any other business-critical decision. Simply having a diverse workforce is not enough; companies need to embrace and embed diversity that starts with finding the best diversity leader.

The 5-P’s to Your Next Job

While the macro economic situation is still recovering from the financial crisis, companies are increasing their demand for leadership and executive talent – though still at a lower rate than pre-2008 levels. This is still positive news for executives who have been active in the job market for an extended period or for those who have recently started a job search.

The reality is that the talent pool is rich with an abundance of candidates and standing out in the crowd is a must.

Several years ago, I authored a piece about the 5 P’s to a successful job search. This approach continues to be viable, so I thought it would be worth summarizing. Follow these 5-P’s to be active in successfully landing a new opportunity.

Positive
This is not the time to let your emotions get the best of you. Show your contacts, former bosses, peers, subordinates, associates and others that this market does not scare you. Dig your heels in and face the bear head on!

Bring an open mind. Be willing to work with, and learn from coaches or mentors who can help you adjust your experience and skills in a way that will drive value for your new employer.

Proactive
Much in the same way we’re in continual, meaningful dialogue with our clients about the changing nature of their needs, so too, must you engage with your network of peers, colleagues, friends and contacts to leverage and grow your network. Stay visible!

Leadership candidates with the best sense for the transferability of their skills and experience to new industry environments are in the best position to surface new career opportunities. (Especially true for those of you in commercial banking and financial services)

Is it time to get your passport ready? Consider overseas opportunities.

Passionate
If you plan to stay in your current industry, you have to gain a handle on the changing requirements of management leadership in that space and market yourself passionately to that opportunity.

Show those around you that you still love what you do, no matter how battered your industry has become.

If you want to cross the industry lines, seek one in which you can easily find passion. Look to your personal interests, desires, and dreams.

Patient
Employers have the luxury to be picky right now. The timeline will be extended – be prepared to wait it out – be strategic!

In order to make a move in this environment, you have to demonstrate flexibility and adopt a long-range view. That’s how your performance will be measured – not in the short term.

Persistent
The worst of the financial crisis may be behind us, but the current climate still demands exceptional leadership. You have to ensure that you are doing everything in your power to remain on top of reaching out to your network and follow ups. Keep it going day in and day out. Take a break to catch your breath, but be ready to jump back at a moment’s notice.
Follow your strategic plan and do not stop.

It’s important to remember how today’s environment reinforces the idea of building your network during better economic times. Maintain the 5-P’s and you’ll be on the path to another successful opportunity.

Recruiting Beyond Today’s Needs

It’s been well documented that the workforce is aging and the baby boom generation, now just beginning to retire, has exposed a substantial glut in the quantity of talent at the mid career level.

But while quantity may be one concern, the bigger issue is the quality within this shrinking pool of talent. There are signs that companies, particularly large ones, that are being most impacted by the aging workforce, have been taking a much deeper look into their bench. And they do not like what they see.

Increasingly, these observations have moved our client conversations away from the traditional search engagement (replacement or growth hires) to more strategic, long-term talent initiatives. Many large global organizations see the weakness in multiple functions across their organizations and are engaging us to help build talent initiatives to fill these gaps and build a talent pipeline for the future.

These very strategic discussions around building bench strength with external talent are intriguing, but have taken place before. Companies always want to think about and plan long term talent strategies, but when push comes to shove, these plans get pushed to the side whenever there is a hint of an economic downturn or a bad quarter.

This time around it’s different. Companies are feeling cornered. They have no other option, but to come out fighting for the talent. Even though they may not be ready to hire today, these conversations revolve around pipeline hiring, or what we term “external succession planning”.

It is really quite simple. Rather than looking only on the inside to fill future needs, why not build a slate of external succession candidates that have been identified, qualified and queued up for these future roles. Yes, it is a huge commitment and a significant cost for companies to execute these programs, especially because they don’t see immediate results. However, those that are in front of the pack, are going be the first to finish in the race for talent.

Attention Employers: If You Want Top Talent, You Are Going To Pay For It

Despite the apparent softening of the U.S. economy, and the broad labor market, demand for top tier executive talent continues to be high. An increasing number of employers are awakening to a startling realization: with the increased executive movement over the last year or so, their executive bench strength is simply not deep enough.  Although many can rely on emerging leaders within their own organizations to grow into these key roles, many others will have to target exceptional, external talent to push performance higher, and navigate through the uncertainty of today’s economic environment.

The search for high-demand, low supply talent is growing far more complex and costly than ever before.  Many companies incorrectly assume today’s talent market is a buyer’s market, and thus can expect to recruit this talent with minimal or marginal increases in pay. Not so.  This year we experienced a significant increase in year-over-year hiring at the executive level, driven much by a demand to bring in higher caliber talent and build the bench. It has always been a challenge to identify and attract the top ‘A’ players. But what we have found is how many are not aware how expensive it can be to successfully recruit them.

Top-tier candidates willing to explore new opportunities generally have an array of roles from which to choose from; perhaps not to the level we saw in the late 1990’s and in early 2000, but there are still an exceptional number of opportunities.

Once the ideal candidate is identified, the hard work begins. There is a very narrow window of opportunity to capture the interest and the heart of that candidate.  If the employer doesn’t go the extra mile to accommodate a top recruit or promotion prospect from the outset, there will undoubtedly be another opportunity waiting in the wings.

My suggestion to employers actively seeking top candidates for significant roles in their organizations: acknowledge the market reality that top performers’ compensation programs are quite generous in today’s competitive market, and be prepared to pay the market rate.  A less-than-market compensation plan presented to an “A” player will almost certainly send you back to the well for another candidate.

How the Market is Fueling the Search for Healthcare Leadership

Companies touching nearly every facet of the U.S. healthcare market are banking on two certainties at a time when consumerism and other market forces are making the challenge of long-range planning increasingly complex.

Healthcare costs are projected to climb steadily now through 2015, when a $4 trillion healthcare market is projected to account for 20 percent of the U.S. economy and the cost of providing care for Americans will reach $12,320 per person, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Leading companies that recognize both the potential risk and return on their strategic investments are already subjecting their systems, processes and people to a significant dosing of internal change to drive innovation, change the culture of their workforces and redefine the search for exceptional senior-management performance.

This paper explores what three companies – Phillips Healthcare, a global provider of healthcare products, services and solutions; DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA), a leading provider of kidney care services in the United States; and Aetna (NYSE: AET), the diversified healthcare benefits company – are doing to position their businesses to serve and lead the healthcare markets of the future. Slayton Search Partners also adds to the perspectives of these three industry leaders as it relates to innovation and macro-level leadership trends in healthcare and life sciences.

To read the full article, please download the paper here.