Author: Joana Botelho de Sousa

Once again, the world faces a quantum leap in historical/global development. In the past, inventions such as the wheel, the light bulb, the steam engine, the atom and, as the last straw, the internet, have moved man to a considerable extent.

And now AI and the possibilities of artificial intelligence, which are currently rolling onto the world’s attention. Because it’s probably not right to call the phenomenon historical right now – over the past few years, AI has slowly “crept in through the back door” and has been used in several commercial contexts to collect knowledge and thus gain access to general human habits, ways of acting, ways of thinking both easily accessible and shareable on a large scale with others in the “public space”.

With the use of AI in the form of e.g. Chatbot GPT will allow humans to access an unimaginably large reservoir of knowledge, statistics and collected information of all imaginable kinds, which via the artificial intelligence is quickly paired and composed into answers and presentations to the user/questioner’s set up and submitted case. In this way, we reach conclusions and solutions to even completely complicated tasks quickly and receive qualified results.

AI, like so many other inventions, can be seen as a double-edged sword – positively as a progress that helps humanity – or negatively as something terrible that contributes to the end of the world – “a monster” that is out of control in the long term will be able to contribute to the downfall of the world and thus of humanity.

Based on the positive angle, we as a group think that we are dealing with a tool that will in many ways save humanity a lot of legwork and groundwork in everything that does not immediately involve physical work and presence.

In our industry, much of the administrative work will become easier (initial search, collection of contact information, preparation of job profile, job description, job advertisement and of course also calendar management and meeting invitations). All time-saving sub-elements – which would like to result in more time for the qualifying part of the process.

General impact of AI in world development:

1. Automation: AI has enabled the automation of many tasks that previously required human effort. This has led to increased productivity and efficiency in various sectors, including manufacturing, healthcare, finance, and transportation.
2. Decision process optimization: AI-based algorithms and machine learning techniques can analyze large amounts of data and extract important insights and patterns. This helps companies and organizations make better and more informed decisions.
3. Improved customer service: AI-based chatbots and virtual assistants can help enhance customer service by providing quick and accurate responses to inquiries. These chatbots can handle a wide range of tasks, including answering questions, providing support, and resolving issues.
4. Personalization: AI can be used to create personalized experiences and tailor products and services to individual needs. This is evident in e-commerce, where recommendation systems use AI to suggest products based on past purchases and preferences.

Impact of AI on the Executive Search industry:

1. Efficient screening and matching: AI can assist in screening and matching candidates to job openings by analyzing resumes, assessing skills, and identifying relevant experiences. This saves time for recruiters and enables the identification of the most suitable candidates faster.
2. Bias reduction: The recruitment process can be influenced by unconscious biases and prejudices. AI-based recruitment tools can help reduce such biases by focusing on objective criteria and skills rather than personal factors such as gender, age, or ethnicity.
3. Talent sourcing: AI can aid in identifying potential talent by analyzing public profiles, social media, and other data sources. This can provide recruiters access to a broader pool of candidates and potentially discover talent that might have otherwise been overlooked.
4. Automation of administrative tasks: AI can automate many administrative tasks in the recruitment process, such as interview scheduling, candidate communication, and document management. This frees up time for recruiters to focus on more strategic activities.

P.S.: The information generated were sourced partly from ChatGPT.

Authors:
Jon Gordon – INAC USA
Leo Brosbøl Sørensen – INAC Denmark
Jiří Hůla – INAC Czech Republic
Jean-Yves Lecoq – INAC France
Santiago Silva – INAC Columbia

Have you been hearing the term executive board chair more frequently? The role has become more ubiquitous, likely partly due to Amazon’s high-profile announcement that Jeff Bezos would be moving from CEO to Executive Board Chair. How does an Executive Board Chair differ from a board chair?

According to Spencer Stuart’s 37th annual Board Index, 15% of the S&P 500 board chairs are listed as executive board chairs. A recent Harvard Business Review article examined data over the last 20 years to see how the board chair’s role has evolved.

Historically, board chairs are responsible for board leadership, organizational oversight, and providing strategic advice. If the board chair is also the CEO, they are more involved in the strategic responsibilities, whereas a board chair who is not also the CEO will pay more attention to board leadership and oversight.

In looking at what makes an executive board chair different, most often, it is their relationship with the company. Like Jeff Bezos at Amazon, they tend to be a previous company leader. According to the article, 40% were the company’s retired CEO (but not a founder or member of the founder’s family), 35% were the firm’s founder, and 11% a member of the founder’s family. This prior leadership level means that executive board chairs have significant institutional knowledge about the company.

This is an excellent alternative for companies abandoning the CEO chair in favor of a better balance between management and oversight. The executive board chair has strategic knowledge about the company but is now independent. And the position is paying dividends. Companies with an executive board chair average 33% higher profitability.

Having an executive board chair has its challenges too. There are blurred lines for responsibilities between an executive board chair and the CEO. The report suggests boards answer the following questions when determining if they need an executive board chair.

How Powerful Is The CEO?

Powerful CEOs tend to make more unilateral decisions. An executive board chair can provide oversight and monitoring due to their previous involvement in strategic decision-making.

How Complex Is The Organization?

As companies become more complex, they become harder to manage. This is especially true for companies that grow through acquisition(s). An executive board chair involved in strategic decisions could be one voice too many if the person doesn’t allow the CEO unity of command.

How Demanding Is Board Leadership?

Board chair responsibilities are growing. In addition to recruiting and developing directors, they are responsible for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and have more of a public eye on them than in the past. With executive board chairs’ involvement in strategy, they can quickly become overwhelmed. If this sounds like your company, a non-executive board chair may be a better fit.

Whether the executive board chair is a way to stay close to the company or an interim role during a CEO succession, there are different considerations to ponder. Understanding how the role is different can help determine when you need an executive board chair.

By Jon Gordon – INAC USA

Recently I read a poem of the famous American Pulitzer-Prize winner poet Elisabeth Bishop (1911-1979) and it made me think about “The art of losing” in our lives and especially on the labor market today.

Experience with “change management” is very welcome on the labor market, but are we really prepared for changes? Are we prepared for losing colleagues, for losing jobs, for losing market segments?

Recently I got several calls from managers who lost their jobs because of market changes/changing company strategies, and they stay shocked in front of unexpected new situations of becoming job seekers from one day to another. Some of them have been at the same company for such a long time that they need advice how the job market works today.

On the other hand, when I call potential candidates, I often get to hear “thanks, no intention for changes for now”, not even a curiosity what a new position can offer.

Of course, candidates get nowadays a lot of offers, not all of them would fit to their working experiences and situation and it’s also not so easy to screen all possibilities.

But are we not a bit too lazy on our current workplaces to look around at least every 6 – 7 years? Or is it not rather the fear of unknown situations which leads us to keep the status quo? What happens when the world around us changes?

Among my acquaintances are people who plan only for the next 6 months in their private life because they mean everything is so uncertain that they are better off to stay so flexible. This kind of life attitude might be in minority, but in my opinion something in between these extremes would help us to react to unexpected changes more easily – like learning the art of losing. Take a change as a chance!

How about you? How flexible are you?

By Dominika Kelemen-Raths – INAC Germany II

For those who want to light up their day with some poetry, please find the mentioned poem below:

One Art

By Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster: places, and names, and where it was you meant to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster, some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent. I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

— Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident the art of losing’s not too hard to master though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

Simply because they believe the external recruitment consultants tend to be more objective, thus creating higher trust during the recruitment process.

That has been one of the points discussed in the Regional conference of the International Headhunting Association INAC held end of September in Malmö, Sweden. The meeting was organized by the Swedish INAC partners People Impact and Re Source. Central and Eastern Europe was represented by TARGET Executive Search, Klemens Wersonig and Gilles Huart from Austria, Mariana Turanová from Slovakia, Jiří Hůla from the Czech Republic and Anikó Soós from Hungary.

As we talk nowadays about the “candidate market”, the candidate experience during the selection process is key both for Employers and Executive Search Consultants. The candidates claimed, they are missing not only detailed feedback, after the selection process is over, but even more, they are missing selection process guidelines, enabling them to have a clear picture of the timeline, and decision-makers involved. We all take for granted getting process-related information from Amazon or actually any e-shop, and even though a selection process naturally has nothing to do with buying goods via e-shops, the modern digital tools should be applied across industries and it is up to us recruitment consultants to make the best use of the technology available.

In further discussions, it has been clearly stated, that employers tend to retain people rather than hire new ones. Rising uncertainty in the job market, high inflation, wage pressure, and the hunt for talent put high pressure on employers. Further, the employers claim there has been a clear lack of technical competencies in the markets around Europe. And that in a time when huge change agendas and new processes need to be implemented to be able to support the business over time. There has been a big shortage of Change Managers, Controllers, Business Analysts, IT architects, Power BI, and MS Azure experts, just to name a few examples.

Another highly engaging topic discussed has to do with Board Members’ hiring. The INAC members explained that nowadays, after so many scandals in the boardrooms, it is crucial to probe thoroughly not only the career track record, experience, and references but the focus should be on making sure the candidates fulfil society’s expectations such as professional ethics & personal values.

By Mariana Turanová – INAC Slovakia