Companies that need support in crisis management or need to fill a vacant management position on a temporary basis often resort to so-called interim mandates. One area of application is project work, when the capacities or project management expertise of the respective company are insufficient. Other possible applications include, for example, special topics for which a company does not need to have one or more experts on its permanent staff.
But how willing are specialists and managers to accept such interim positions? The HR experts at HR Consult Group asked this question in a survey of over 10,000 candidates. The aim of the study is to gain a better understanding of the wishes and needs of candidates in order to tailor the services offered by recruitment consultancies as precisely as possible.
Back to the initial question: Do candidates even want to accept temporary leadership positions?
Yes, they do!
When asked about interim mandates, the vast majority of participants (60 percent) indicated their willingness to take on such positions. Of these, slightly less than one-fifth of respondents (18 percent) stated that they are fundamentally willing to fill an interim position. In doing so, they consciously accept the short-term nature and specific challenges that such jobs entail. At 42 percent, the majority of participants would accept project-based interim positions, thereby establishing a clearly defined (thematic) framework for the role from the outset. However, 40 percent of candidates would not want to take on such a position.
Interim positions often involve rather difficult and sometimes unpleasant tasks, such as restructuring or even closing and liquidating a company. It is therefore not surprising that many of the candidates surveyed are not interested in such a position. However, particularly ambitious job seekers may find fulfillment in these often tricky problems. Once the case is solved, the next challenge in the form of another interim position awaits the candidate.
After completing his studies in automotive engineering and industrial engineering, he began his professional career in the automotive industry in the areas of sales, development, and marketing, and also spent a year in Japan with one of the largest automotive suppliers.
He then moved to a world-renowned premium car manufacturer, where he was responsible for product marketing for Japan and South America as well as marketing strategy for North and South America.
In 1994, he decided to become self-employed and founded a personnel consulting firm in Munich, where he has been driving development and expansion for over 20 years. As managing director, his industry focus is naturally on the automotive world as well as mechanical and plant engineering.
His doctorate in the field of aptitude diagnostics ideally complements his areas of expertise, particularly in relation to human resources and management consulting. His dissertation deals with the identification and verification of typical personality traits of engineers and the definition of areas of development for a successful career.
These are scientifically derived and presented in the book "Eignungsdiagnostik im Praxiseinsatz" (Aptitude Diagnostics in Practical Use).
At the same time, he focuses on establishing networks and cooperation models as well as the continuous development of systems and processes in HR consulting.
Over the past 20 years in HR consulting, he has developed several brands that continue to operate successfully on the market today.
It is not only technical knowledge, such as qualifications, professional experience, and industry expertise, that is crucial for successfully performing a job. Above all, soft skills, professional interest, motives, values, and social behavior must be taken into account.
The thesis was put forward that successful members of a professional group are almost identical in terms of their personality traits and soft skills. Each standard or best practice profile forms its own specific image that is typical for the respective professional group.
The following phenomenon was observed when defining personality traits for typical area managers:
A well-known car manufacturer had staffing needs in its sales department. This raised the question of how to fill the vacant positions.
Contrary to the usual procedure for personality tests, which involves comparing new candidates with a demographic group or focusing on specific characteristics desired by supervisors, a reference profile of people in the same profession was created here. This allows for a comparison that yields far more meaningful conclusions.
For further optimization, a best practice profile has been created so that it is not only possible to determine whether a candidate has the characteristics required for the position, but also whether they are highly likely to be successful in the role.
To verify this revolutionary approach, HR Consult Group AG tested the top 10 percent of 1,400 salespeople from the same premium car manufacturer and created a best practice profile (BPP). Surprisingly, this BPP was also very clear. The characteristics of the key competencies and thus the profiles of the best salespeople are identical, regardless of age, region, ethnic origin, or nationality.
To obtain further evidence of the accuracy and success of this approach, the most successful salespeople at another premium car manufacturer were surveyed. The corresponding BPP shows that even the best salespeople at this manufacturer were almost identical.
An example of an almost identical match in terms of key criteria can be seen in the following figure:
Therefore, there is a conviction—and evidence has been provided to support this—that successful members of a professional group exhibit personality traits that are highly consistent in terms of key competencies. These traits are further crystallized in the best practice profiles. They represent the personality traits that are actually decisive for professional success.
The differences between candidate profiles and standard profiles can be used to identify and implement personnel development requirements in the form of training or further education.
The key finding is that successful members of a professional group are almost identical in terms of their personality traits and soft skills. Each standard or best practice profile forms its own specific image that is typical for the respective professional group.
The next article in this series will describe how to create a best practice profile.
After completing his studies in automotive engineering and industrial engineering, he began his professional career in the automotive industry in the areas of sales, development, and marketing, and also spent a year in Japan with one of the largest automotive suppliers.
He then moved to a world-renowned premium car manufacturer, where he was responsible for product marketing for Japan and South America as well as marketing strategy for North and South America.
In 1994, he decided to become self-employed and founded a personnel consulting firm in Munich, where he has been driving development and expansion for over 20 years. As managing director, his industry focus is naturally on the automotive world as well as mechanical and plant engineering.
His doctorate in the field of aptitude diagnostics ideally complements his areas of expertise, particularly in relation to human resources and management consulting. His dissertation deals with the identification and verification of typical personality traits of engineers and the definition of areas of development for a successful career.
These are scientifically derived and presented in the book "Eignungsdiagnostik im Praxiseinsatz" (Aptitude Diagnostics in Practical Use).
At the same time, he focuses on establishing networks and cooperation models as well as the continuous development of systems and processes in HR consulting.
Over the past 20 years in HR consulting, he has developed several brands that continue to operate successfully on the market today.
As part of our series on internationally relevant topics by our author Sergey Frank, we are dedicating a three-part article to the extremely important question of how to conduct successful negotiations on the international stage.
Negotiations play an important role in every business, including at the international level, of course, and rarely proceed in a uniform manner. Complex situations often arise internationally, for example due to differences in the language skills of the negotiating parties or diverging cultural and value systems. Discussions usually take place in English or in third languages, often with the assistance of interpreters, as described above. In addition, there are differing priorities and time expectations.
These aspects are complex and harbor considerable risks that can result in misunderstandings, wasted time, and frustration. To prevent this and at the same time improve communication and understanding between the negotiating partners, certain rules of the game must be observed.
These rules include a clear four-step negotiation process: opening and setting the key milestones (part 1), communicating and exploring the interests of the other side (part 2), the actual negotiation (part 3), and agreement and, ideally, conclusion of the contract (part 4). The result of a negotiation may initially only be a partial agreement, before further issues are negotiated in another round. And the process of understanding, listening, and negotiating may also be repeated several times. Especially in people-oriented cultures such as those in the Middle East, Asia, or Russia, negotiations can drag on for a long time.
In many countries, the personal level is perhaps even more important than the factual level. To avoid serious conflicts, it is therefore important to separate the two levels. Often, the partner is not seen as a representative of a company, but as a person. Discontent about an unpleasant situation can lead to this anger being taken out on the other person. To avoid this, it is better to clearly separate relationship elements such as understanding, respect, affection, fear, and anger on the one hand, and factual elements such as prices, specifications, competitive advantages, payment, and delivery terms on the other. You can always negotiate your interests consistently, but at the same time treat your partner politely.
The goal
Personal appreciation and integrity are essential components of any business relationship, whether national or international. In this context, it is impossible to provide a magic formula for successful negotiation at the international level. Furthermore, it is not the intention to teach rhetorical tricks that could potentially "trick" or "cheat" the other party. The following section deals with conscious negotiation, i.e., how to act in a factual, rational, and structured manner. It is in the negotiator's primary interest to
negotiate effectively and professionally
avoid ineffective conflicts
to achieve appropriate results as quickly as possible
Achieving commitment even in an intercultural context.
After thorough preparation, including a clear definition of what you want to achieve, the actual negotiations can begin. Negotiations generally follow the pattern shown in the diagram below, whereby the process of understanding, listening, and negotiating can be repeated several times. The final contract is often reached in the form of partial agreements.
The above illustration clearly shows the overall constellation and also the dynamics of contract negotiations. In principle, these are based on good preparation for negotiations, the achievement of partial agreements, and then the continuation of negotiations. Ultimately, a comprehensive contract is concluded (or not).
It is useful to consider the following points regarding the individual steps:
Preparation
Before the actual negotiations begin, you should try to get to know your partner. The more you know about them, both professionally and personally, the better. It is therefore very important to create a positive atmosphere at the beginning of a negotiation.
Politeness and hospitality are a given in this context. In addition, it is important to show interest in your partner as a person, communicate openly, make friendly eye contact, and, last but not least, use humor. National customs also play a very important role in international negotiations.
It is generally advisable to allow sufficient time for negotiations. Time pressure often leads to negative outcomes. Lack of time is often used as a means of exerting pressure, especially in international negotiations.
If you determine the specific topic for a negotiation in advance, you can assume that the negotiation will proceed as planned and not get out of hand. One way to do this is to divide the topic into main topics, secondary topics, main arguments, and secondary arguments. This structures what may initially appear to be a complex issue and makes it understandable, both for yourself and for your partner. The following points should be noted:
Agenda – structure the topic of negotiation
Definition of key terms, because it is often important to define terms precisely, ideally in collaboration with the other party.
Developing a negotiation strategy and preparing for your own goals, but also reflecting on the priorities of the other side
Flexibility – searching for options and reconsidering possible concessions
A step-by-step approach – from smaller to larger issues as negotiations progress
In addition to personal aspects, the procedural approach is also relevant, and a clear structure for the discussion is essential. With regard to the argumentation, care should be taken not to start the negotiation too coldly and soberly. This form of negotiation with high initial positions and negative statements such as "this far and no further" is considered too demanding in many countries. You also risk losing face if you give in to your expectations during the course of the discussions.
It is therefore important not to establish positions that are too high from the outset, but rather appropriate ones. Factors such as saving face and interest in the culture and personality of the other party are generally of great importance. Therefore, negotiate less about positions and more about upstream interests. Those who succeed in summarizing the other party's position and then explaining their own point of view significantly improve their chances of success.
Clear and consistent arguments should be well prepared. This preparation usually takes some time. It is advisable to check the consistency of your own point of view and any changes to it. At the same time, as many options as possible for the negotiation goal and strategy should be developed in advance.
It is equally important to consider the other party's objections, insofar as they are foreseeable, in order to be able to respond quickly and appropriately.
In reality, such preparation is often lacking, especially due to time constraints. The parties usually go into negotiations ill-prepared and with a solution that they believe to be correct and therefore infallible; conflicts are then inevitable.
Please remember: there are few other areas where so much can be gained or lost so quickly as in international negotiations. In the next part, we will focus on the right structure and show how helpful a change of perspective can be in this regard.
Recruitment consultancies constantly receive new and interesting job offers from their corporate clients and then check which candidates from their career pool might be suitable. If the candidate's qualifications match the requirements of the company looking for staff, it's a match. The more accurate the information a candidate provides in their profile, the better the match will be in the end.
It is essential that the stored data is up to date. If, for example, a candidate has indicated that they are willing to change jobs, but this information is not up to date, this ultimately has disadvantages for both sides. On the one hand, the recruitment consultant contacts the candidate in the hope of placing them, but is unsuccessful. On the other hand, the candidate receives unwanted calls or emails from the recruitment agency.
To ensure that candidate pools remain up to date, it is therefore essential that candidates cooperate. The HR experts at HR Consult Group AG investigated the extent to which candidates are willing to do so in their study involving over 10,000 participants, among other things.
More than half would like to receive reminders by email
In principle, the majority of respondents (57 percent) are willing to review their candidate profile regularly and update it if necessary. More than half would like to receive a reminder by email, while 17 percent would update their profile every six months. Thirteen percent of candidates said they would update their profile once a year. However, 13 percent are not willing to refresh their data themselves.
We are delighted with this positive feedback from respondents. The timeliness of the data in our candidate pool is one of the keys to our work. Only with up-to-date data can we guarantee perfect placements and thus help both our clients and our candidates take the next step in their careers.
After completing his studies in automotive engineering and industrial engineering, he began his professional career in the automotive industry in the areas of sales, development, and marketing, and also spent a year in Japan with one of the largest automotive suppliers.
He then moved to a world-renowned premium car manufacturer, where he was responsible for product marketing for Japan and South America as well as marketing strategy for North and South America.
In 1994, he decided to become self-employed and founded a personnel consulting firm in Munich, where he has been driving development and expansion for over 20 years. As managing director, his industry focus is naturally on the automotive world as well as mechanical and plant engineering.
His doctorate in the field of aptitude diagnostics ideally complements his areas of expertise, particularly in relation to human resources and management consulting. His dissertation deals with the identification and verification of typical personality traits of engineers and the definition of areas of development for a successful career.
These are scientifically derived and presented in the book "Eignungsdiagnostik im Praxiseinsatz" (Aptitude Diagnostics in Practical Use).
At the same time, he focuses on establishing networks and cooperation models as well as the continuous development of systems and processes in HR consulting.
Over the past 20 years in HR consulting, he has developed several brands that continue to operate successfully on the market today.
"The world has changed—it will never be normal again—and that's exactly what you have to love!"
All companies are facing this changed world. Buzzwords such as digitalization, flexibilization, globalization, competitive corporate management, communication on equal terms, and changes in values and culture—to name just a few—are haunting all departments.
In order to deal with these issues in all their complexity, a new mindset is urgently neededamongcompany managementandhuman resources departments.
The process of change in the labor market has been noticeable for years—demographic change is not something that has only become apparent recently.By 2020, there will be a shortage of 6 million people due to the low birth rates in the 1970s and 1980s. Closely linked to this is the aging of society. This poses just as great a challenge for companies. These facts should be a wake-up call for all companies, because it means that those who do not act now, those who do not change their mindset now, will lose a decisive competitive advantage within the next three to five years: people, plus the opportunity to find and develop them for a company.
The age of "post and pray" is long gone—it has been a long time since standard job advertisements attracted the desired number of applications. It is therefore essential to break new ground—one of many options is to establish strategic talent relationship management. This can be summarized in one sentence:
"Discover tomorrow's talents today."
But how? This is precisely where "out-of-the-box" thinking comes in: finding talent—and that means all potential candidates, whether active or passive—where they are. Surely you're not spending all your time on online job ad platforms. Finding talent doesn't mean spending all day online or at your desk. It means getting out there, visiting trade fairs, actively networking, being active in the market, taking advantage of events, etc.
"Be brave and creative."
Go where the talent is. For example, with the help of a "talent scout." Where can you find young, innovative fashion designers? The best places are the various fashion fairs in Berlin, Amsterdam, etc. The talent scout's sole task is to approach these talents directly on site and establish contact—not to approach them for a specific position. Their job is to build a long-term/strategic relationship – to get the talent excited about the company today so that when a suitable position becomes available, they can offer it to that talent. However, this also means that intensive contact with the talent should be established over time. A one-time birthday card is not enough – you have to stand out and stay in touch with the talent individually. When implementing such measures, it should never be forgotten that in order to build and maintain a strategic talent relationship pool, there must be sufficient acceptance of the talent scout position at the top of the company. It is equally important that the underlying processes in a talent relationship management pool are supported as effectively as possible with a well-functioning tool, e.g., embedded in an existing applicant management system.
Building a strategic talent relationship management system takes time—but saves money in the long run—because it results in tailor-made recruitment.
Now is the time to break new ground, implement these innovations, and thereby generate an absolute competitive advantage.
Petra Carl is a fully qualified lawyer specializing in labor law. She has been working in human resources for 20 years and learned her craft from the ground up, heading up HR departments in various companies and consistently developing them in line with the challenges of the labor market in recent years. As a long-standing human resources manager in the fashion and lifestyle industry, she has in-depth knowledge of HR processes. Her expertise covers the entire employee life cycle.
The five key areas of her further development are employer branding, candidate journey, social media-based active sourcing, direct approach, and strategic talent relationship management.
At Senator Executive Search Partners, Petra Carl is responsible for HR process optimization. She offers the following services for your HR department:
Customized, forward-looking HR solutions
Support and guidance for transforming your current human resources system into a state-of-the-art system
Development of 'HR 4.0', with particular emphasis on its five key areas
