Month: March 2021

Another month, another edition of “On The Spotlight Series”.
Lothar Grünewald is this issue’s guest and we couldn’t be more flattered to have him onboard. Lothar is the Managing Partner of our INAC Germany office.
Besides being an executive search consultant since 1999, Lothar is particularly engaged with his community and is an enthusiast when it comes to helping and advising local entrepreneurs. He is also committed with other organisations, such as the Association “Die Familienunternehmer” (family owned companies), in which he is the regional board member and responsible for the Niederrhein region.
Lothar is also a member of the “Industrie-Club Düsseldorf”.

Why did you choose Executive Search – and if you hadn’t chosen it, where would you have ended up instead?

I am passionate about bringing employers and candidates together in order to plant the seeds for a lasting fruitful collaboration. The selection part of the search process is what I like most about Executive Search. Depending on the procedure, you get much more revealing insights about a candidate, for example by in-depth interviews. They are well suited to bring the guiding motive to the light which is crucial for career development. My interest in this profession might be partly inherited: I came into contact with this profession at a very early age, late 1960s, since my parents had also worked in the Executive Search business. Otherwise, I might have become a stock trader since the equity market’s high dynamics fascinate me. But I can also imagine myself as a journalist or politician. Getting to the heart of things, being critical and taking part in controversial discussions is kind of my thing.

Executive Search is all about meeting and establishing a connection with people. With so many years of experience, do you have any advice for the younger generation that is now starting to create their own path?

Nowadays, networking in Executive Search is extremely important. A stable network supports an effective and continuous acquisition for new assignments and is always a helpful sourcing tool whenever advice is needed. As a talent pool, a network helps find the right talents for job vacancies. It’s important though to offer added value to your network, keeping up with the status quo and provide the members with relevant news. My general career tip for the younger generation would be: Define your understanding of work-life-balance independently of supposed societal guidelines. Life and career planning are both highly individual, so everyone should consider their appropriate proportions by themselves and not by general external specifications.

In just one year, the world has changed drastically. Businesses and people had do adapt rapidly and acquire skills they didn’t have before. Which, in your opinion, are now the mainly required skills in order to thrive in the Executive Search career?

Change management skills primarily comprise resilience, openness for changes and the ability to implement permanent change. Ideally, these are accompanied by creativity, the willingness and capacities to learn fast and to think outside the box. Last, but not least, in times of digital transformation, you can no longer get by without digital skills and affinity to the topic.

“Dein eigenes Ladenlokal” (“Your Local Shop”) is a competition that you started together with the “Gründer- und Technologiezentrum Solingen GmbH” (“GuT”; Founder and Technology Center Solingen GmbH). How did this idea start, and what has been the outcome so far?

In November 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic, I bought an empty store in Solingen, the town where I moved to three years ago. My idea was to show commitment to my new homeland and its retailers, since they suffer a lot from digital commerce. City centres must be attractive, but the fewer the stores are, the lower the quality of life is. So, to encourage start-ups in times of deep crisis, the “GuT” and I started a competition: Who would have the most attractive and sustainable idea to run the store? The winners were a local couple, opening an “unpacked” shop as we call it in German. It’s a store that sells daily use products without packaging. Apart from the location, the competition prize included one year of rent-free shop use and individual start-up coaching.

In your day-to-day life, you end up meeting top tier executives and highly motivated professionals with an impeccable track record. Given the current circumstances, do you believe that we may be facing a shift in terms of what companies and organizations are looking for in a candidate?

I am pretty sure that the profiles required now and in future times will change more and more. Small or big, companies are drastically altering their business models, for example by entering new segments or by avoiding disruptive risks. Some also enter into strategic alliances with upstream or downstream business partners along the value chain. I think the shift is most determined by interdisciplinarity: For example, even in the chemical industry, profiles of electronic technicians or app developers are in demand. Boundaries between business areas soften, so it’s the candidate’s personality that becomes highly important. Plus, as I pointed out earlier, change management skills are needed in times like these.

You have helped so many finding their dream job, do you feel that they have helped you find something in life as well?

I sometimes compare connecting candidates with companies to what a dating agency does. If both parties are happy with each other, the broker is happy as well. My best reward is positive candidate feedback, proving the talents felt well during their whole candidate journey. I get a high degree of satisfaction out of that. What I learned during the years is that a great number of candidates look for a job that they really, really enjoy. If there is no joy at work, they completely concentrate on their leisure time. This sometimes makes me realize how important it is to keep a bit of flexibility and how thankful everyone can be of a fun job and a fun private life at the same time.

INAC has been part of your life for so many years now. How has this “relationship” shaped your professional and personal path or growth?

For me, INAC proves that the whole world – as huge as it is physically – is actually pretty small, and that, in certain situations, we are all in the same boat. To have colleagues and allies all around the world, to be able to reach out to them and to connect gives me the feeling of bonding. Especially in these very hard pandemic times.

What has been the biggest life lesson you have learned so far?

Yesterday’s success is fleeting. You have to reinvent yourself over and over. Each year marks a totally new start. That’s a big challenge, but also a very great opportunity to grow.

In this unexpected but, already somehow, familiarized context of work and remote connections, the issue of effective time management certainly took an important role.

The huge number of meetings is an issue that teams and managers of organizations have been fighting, often without too much success. “Meeting-itis” syndrome is the order of the day. Unproductive meetings and huge amount of time invested, or spent, in endless sessions that, in addition to being inefficient, drastically drain the energy of the teams.

According to a survey we did a few weeks ago, 80% of the respondents said that “Meeting-itis” syndrome worsened during quarantine. While the “home office” imposed by the current situation surely resulted in organizations, leaders and teams having to accommodate the new reality in record time and in the best possible way, the loss of energy and efficiency is always a matter of concern.

Today in many cases the whole work itself works “in meeting mode”, and that is why its proper functioning is key. A good meeting generates action, commitment, and inclusion, helping to build a healthier culture.

It is time for better meetings. Meetings that are worthwhile and have impact.

Some key points that I think are important to consider when dealing with the issue, and gradually address its reversal:

• Is the meeting necessary or could it be avoided with an e-mail, message, or direct call? The meeting begins when planning, so the first issue that arises is your REAL need.
• Who to invite to the meeting? Choosing each participant’s roles well is critical. Let’s make sure that those who are going to attend really make sense.
• What is the real goal? Will it be a decision-making, informative… Sending a clear agenda and materials 24 hours before, gives everyone a chance to get aligned and prepared.
• Who will ensure that the meeting flows in time and objectives as planned? The organizer of the meeting owns the meeting and must ensure these two key objectives. Ensuring not to deviate too much in conversations and define timekeepers is a highly recommended practice.
• Does everyone here have an opinion? A meeting is a powerful inclusion tool. Giving voice and opportunity to everyone present ensures integration and different points of view to the same issue.
• What actions will be taken after the meeting? Securing actionables is critical. In short, it’s the very meaning of the meeting. Without this, the meeting loses its meaning.

Undoubtedly, quarantine accelerated a process that was already being developed at different speeds according to each organization, but which came to stay to a greater or lesser range. That’s why, the Home Office and collapsed meeting agendas need to evolve and adjust to become more efficient.

Being respectful of one’s own time and others’ time is key.

Let us always remember that the transformation of organizations arises from people who are part of it. It’s the agreements between people that generate change and evolution, which undoubtedly impact a virtuous circle.

By Esteban Calvente – INAC Argentina

A strong onboarding process will improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%, according to a study by Brandon Hall Group/Glassdoor (“The True Cost of a Bad Hire”). The study also shows that companies with weak onboarding programmes are twice as likely to lose new employees within the first year. Current circumstances, with social distancing and employees working from home, are putting even greater demands on you as an employer to successfully retain your hires and get as much as possible out of the investment you made in recruiting them.

Once the recruitment is done and the contract signed, most everyone breathes a sign of relief. Now all you have to do is wait for the new employee to start, right? These days, as much as six months can go by between the date the contract is signed and the first day on the job. A lot can happen in the intervening time, both to you as the employer and to the candidate. Onboarding really does have to start at once. To avoid the risk of your new employee being swayed by “counter-offers” from their current employer, it is vital to act immediately to ensure the new hire continues to feel good about going to work for you. Stay in regular contact, inform them of events in the workplace and invite them to attend any social activities you arrange. By doing this, you will facilitate the actual onboarding. You will have already begun building the relationship and your new colleague will be included in the flow of information before they actually start. The person who has decided to switch jobs is probably thrilled and will want to tell others about their new position. The more information and knowledge they have about you, combined with  good first impression, the more this will strengthen your brand as an employer.

Lay a solid foundation with a formal plan that you use consistently with all hires. The plan can be relatively detailed and cover the first 100 days. This should go beyond the practical: it is important to think about what you want to convey in terms of culture and what you expect from each other and in terms of performance. If possible, set 30, 60 and 90-day targets and key milestones such as deliverables, internal training/education and, if possible, expected outcomes. This makes what you are offering – and what you expect – clear to the new employee.

Apart from this, you must of course make sure all the practical details have been taken care of before the first day. The employee must have access to their computer, phone, accounts and the access privileges they need to do their job. All of this is essential for them to feel really welcome. If everything is in order and you have been in regular contact, you can count on your new employee feeling inspired to immediately begin contributing to their new workplace.

Day One – Instead of spending time reviewing and signing piles of formal documents, make sure you can easily manage this digitally and, to the greatest extent possible, before the first day. It is better to spend the time introducing your new colleague at the workplace, giving them a live or virtual tour of the office, setting up an initial meeting with the team, giving a simple presentation over coffee, on-site or virtually. Go over the onboarding plan so the new hire understands what the early days will involve. The goal here is for the new employee to leave at the end of their first day feeling welcomed, appreciated and eager to come back the next day.

How should you arrange that?

Keep a simple division of the process, 70-20-10, in the back of your mind. The line manager and other members of the team should spend 70% of the time sharing the right knowledge with their new colleague. The new employee can spend 20% of the time getting their bearings, building networks and getting to know the company culture. It is a great idea to appoint a mentor who can help with all of this. So many things cannot be learned by reading, they have to be experienced, which is why it is so important that the culture is communicated in action, for example. A small chunk, about 10% of the time, should be devoted to the formal aspects, such as learning systems and procedures.

All of this shows that onboarding is not only an HR matter. HR can provide the formal plan and the process, but whether your new colleague will feel truly welcomed and actually be able to contribute to the business as soon as possible is up to the line manager and the efforts of the team.

A few more points to consider… There are lots of good ways to inform everyone that the workplace family is growing – via your intranet, digital bulletin boards, and so on. It is also a brilliant idea to draw  attention to the new colleague by inviting others to a “get-acquainted get-together” where they can introduce themselves while you all enjoy coffee or tea and pastries.

Many of us are working from home under the current circumstances, which puts new demands on us when it comes to delivering a strong onboarding process. Instead of the obligatory meet-and-greet at the office, this will have to be done virtually. Perhaps you could record a video from the office in which your CEO introduces themselves and welcomes the new employee? Instead of the traditional first-day lunch together, could you order food for home delivery to the new employee and then lunch together virtually?

We can do much of our work remotely these days, and often actually use our working hours more efficiently. But we should remember that we are social beings and we need relationships and to be able to interact socially with others. For that reason, you should make sure you can meet virtually and that the new employee can easily get in touch with their line manager or mentor in the early days. When you are new on the job, it would be unfortunate indeed to sit there at home with no sense of belonging and fellowship!

Follow-up is another key component of the onboarding process. The line manager needs to devote time to following up progress and identifying any needs for support. This is also a good point to take stock of the targets set at the beginning and, of course, talk about the conditions that you, as the employer, have provided. There is valuable input to gather here for improving the process – especially if it is being carried out remotely!

Wrapping up… Social distancing is an aspect of fighting the pandemic. Most employers have had to switch over  to remote working, wherever possible, and this will probably become part of the “new normal”. It has also meant that some of the people who have changed jobs during this period have neither been to the physical office nor even met their new boss or colleagues “in real life”. A structured onboarding plan makes it possible to also carry this out using digital technology. By focusing as much, or more, on culture and the social interplay as on the tasks themselves, you will gain a colleague who is happy and at home with the team, delivers in their role and stays with you longer.

If you would like help preparing a structured onboarding process or a “First 100 Days Plan” for your future executives and employees, our INAC network is at your service!

By Cecilia Ahlqvist – INAC Sweden