Charles Aris Suggest Seeking Change Agents to Fill a Talent Void

This article was originally written by Sarah Becker, Practice Leader at Charles Aris Inc.

When the Dot-Com Bubble burst and the U.S. stock market crashed from 2000 to 2002, many businesses in the United States had to decide how to constrict to their lower revenue stream. Naturally, companies typically retained the “seasoned experts” with experience across multiple functional areas – and employees with less experience or expertise were often released.

While this impacted various consumer-facing sectors at the time, it had an outsized impact on industries such as home furnishings, where history and legacy are passed down from generation to generation. Fast-forward 15 years and we find ourselves with a “missing generation” – and a dangerous lack of high-potential professionals trained to carry organizations forward.

When speaking with clients, we regularly face questions such as:

• How do we attract high-potential, next-generation leaders who will not be intimidated by our industry’s historical constrictions?
• When do we look outside our industry to attract “new” talent? And how do we ensure that those outsiders will be able to acclimate to our industry’s history and legacy?
• How do we attract talent with the ability to breathe fresh experience and innovative thinking into our organization, all while ensuring that they have the skills to influence our seasoned experts to effect change while respecting their experience?

Of course, my first response is “Hire me.” This is where the right executive search partner can provide expertise and consultation to both the client and candidates to find the perfect match for specific organizational needs.

From a broader perspective, here are a few pointers for hiring authorities attempting to navigate this challenge (to view the full article, visit www.charlesaris.com/the-missing-generation)