Executive Search in Eastern Europe

 

Eastern Europe is enjoying significant growth and is attracting many international companies.  Many countries have emerged from undemocratic regimes over the past 15 years and are now members of the EU, with others following close behind

As multinational corporations have established regional headquarters in Eastern Europe, executive search consultancies must not only cover local markets in depth, but also the neighbouring markets as well.  To find a senior manager for Poland, the firm must be able to source Polish candidates working in other locations such as Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Russia or further afield in Western Europe, or even the US or the Far East.  Often candidates who have worked abroad have gained experience which enables them to adapt to working in different and developing markets.

Client expectations are changing as well.  During the nineties recruitment exploded and companies grew too large, with the inevitable cut-backs that followed.  Now the approach to recruiting is more cautious, job profiles tend to be better defined and the use of psychometric assessment has increased.  There are also big differences between individual countries.  In Poland the search process is well understood and it is relatively easy to approach and persuade candidates, whereas in Russia, generally there is a lack of understanding of corporate culture and so a difficulty in motivating the candidate.  The most stable markets are the Czech Republic and Hungary, followed by Poland. The new markets include Romania and Ukraine as they aim towards EU membership.

There have been many new developments over the past few years, especially Eastern European nationals who joined multinationals in the early 90s developing their careers very rapidly, often achieving senior management status in four to six years.  Other companies allowed locals only to achieve certain levels within their organisations. A further trend was for expatriates to see opportunities in Eastern Europe as stepping stones for their own careers, to the detriment of local staff development.

In today’s market companies know they will only succeed through the right management, which may be purely local or a combination between expat and local.  Increasingly we are seeing high value nationals promoted to senior management positions in developed markets, local skill levels being upgraded and investment in local management.

The region has undergone and continues to undergo significant change, providing a strong market for executive search.

 

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