2012 Inno-luxury Summit has opened a new luxury chapter by means of highlighting series of brainstorming luxury innovation in luxury market. In the wake of ten-year rapid and mature development, high-end Chinese luxury customers become more and more rational and start to focus on their real needs.

Different from that in the past, luxury innovation in the form of creative material utilization, digital marketing, experimental luxury, cross-boundary cooperation, brand extension, on-line luxury retailing have be inevitable trend and issue to be emphasized.Thus, 2012 Inno-luxury Summit was held in Shanghai in the Gran Mélia Hotel to show a whole picture of luxury innovation with the official supports from ESSEC MBA business school, and associations of Walpole and Fondazione Altagamma.

The summit was presented as an interactive platform designed for our industrial friends to share their critical insights, discuss the common interests and form effective networks.

AIMS International industry specialists have years of experience which allows AIMS International to understand the dynamics and trends providing clients with clear insights into this competitive market. AIMS International sponsored this summit to get new first hand information.

Our consultants are active in the following sector segments:

• Fashion/Luxury
• Jewelery/watches
• Lifestyle
• Multichannel Retail
• Specialty Retail
• Private equity

The Norwegian Amrop team joins AIMS International Norway AS

After 10 years of operation in the Norwegian market, AIMS International Norway AS has decided to make some strategic changes to strengthen their position.

Effective February 1st the existing partners of Amrop Norway, which has been one of the leading Executive Search companies in Norway for more than 25 years, have terminated their cooperation with Amrop. The two teams of AIMS International Norway AS and Amrop have established a new local company called Neo Group. Neo Group will be working in cooperation with AIMS International on all international projects.

Thus, in terms of capacity, the local AIMS International partner will be AIMS International Norway AS, with the new team of 14 consultants.

Please contact Birger Svendsen for more information about AIMS International Norway AS

The English Version of the interview with Richard Joly, President, Leaders&Co, Partner of AIMS International in Canada

For Richard Joly it is necessary for public enterprises to change their culture and they have to trust in leaders who go out and compete in the stock market

From Claudia Paan

This is not a trend unique to a country. There is always a government that thinks it’s time to make some of their companies compete in the stock market.

This time it was Petro-Perú in Perú. How can they have a successful going public without trying? Richard Joly explains.

One of the major challenges for public enterprises is to attract top executives – but how?
It is not easy to attract them. And while private enterprises have to make money, companies in the public sector are serving the people. Your values ​​must be aligned with it. You need people with a social agenda. There are those people with much experience in the private sector who are attracted by the public sector.

Is it difficult to find people with this attitude?
Not all have it. Many people think of themselves first before thinking of others. But there are some. And more of them should be brought into these companies. If organizations are competitive, efficient and stable, you are really attractive to executives.

But governments change and the opportunity to learn is limited.
It is a challenge. Because the government has an agenda and seeks leaders representing the governments strategy in the companies. Many times these companies are economic instruments for the government and why would you need an executive if you only want him to do what you want.

Does this not be an obstacle for business?
There is not much independence between organizations and the government, this should change. Public enterprises should have a board of directors and its own objectives. But this never happens.

What do you think is the most important point that the company should do before going to market?
Hiring the right CEO. This person must have high ethics, communication skills and the ability to make administrative changes. Should be a good leader also.

In view of this, are most public enterprises ready to go public?
When a company goes public the pressure from investors is huge. They expect the same returns as from other companies and that influences decisions. So an important question before you go public is: why are we doing this? In 10 years this company will not be the same. It will look like a private and may fail. That happened to Petro-Canada twenty years after going public. It was finally acquired by another company.

Is it common for public companies fail at the stock market?
Not always. It depends on whether it is easy or not to take the cultural challenges of the company. You need executives who take risks to make necessary changes happen and to become a more competitive company. This was what made the general manager of Canadian National. And today this is one of the most important companies in the U.S.

Changing the culture is the first step to succeed at the stock market, what would be next?
You must bring in executives who have worked in the private sector. It can be difficult to integrate them and people can take it as a challenge. You need smart leaders who understand how to influence. If they are only focused on results, people will not follow.

How long can this process take?
Changing the culture is a very difficult thing. Until you begin to notice differences it may take three to five years. After 10 years you can see the today´s culture as “history”. And 20 years later, it is another company.

What common mistakes are made during this process?
Companies may underestimate the difficulty of changing culture. They think people understand these changes before they really do. They assume that changing processes is enough to change peoples thinking. This is not so. You need to repeat the communication, and the culture.

How to communicate?
In an organization like this, you must have your first line managers working with their team members. They are the agents of change. They’re going to challenge, influence and educate others to achieve the change. But it is important to project the performance which you want to be achieved. Then, you need to “change agents” at all levels and areas of the company.

What´s next?
The next step is ‘freezing’ the organization. That means, find reasons for people to change. Because if they don´´t have these, they will not. The employees may not care if the company is at the stock market or not, as long as they have their work.

An article in SEMANA económica, the top business magazine in Peru
Feature Article ‘Nuevos Projectos’ – “New Projects”

The English Version of the article about Richard Joly, President, Leaders&Co, Partner of AIMS International in Canada

Executive Agenda
The AIMS International AMERICAS Meeting in Lima took place on February 3rd/4th.

In the top business magazine in Peru they write: “Richard Joly, President, Leaders&Co, Partner of AIMS International in Canada, and Fernando Fernandini, General Manager of Acumen Perú met in the Welcome Reception of AIMS International Perú for all interested companies in Perú and the AMERICAS Partners of AIMS International”.

Richard Joly was also interviewed by Rodrigo Acha, SEMANA económica. Find the summary hereafter.
How to build a good directory

To elect the board of directors is an extremely complex task. These people are ultimately responsible for the good performance of the company, and they need to satisfy the shareholders. AIMS International, a global headhunter, conducted a study to find out what were the skills most valued among members of a Board. Richard Joly, managing partner of the Canadian branch of the company, shared with the Semana Económica which competencies need to be found when selecting these members. These key criteria should be prioritized, of course they count more than close friendship with a possible candidate. A uniform directory will without any doubts impede to make the best decisions.

Questions in the survey focus on past, present and expected business conditions, going back the last 4 months and forecasting the next 4 months. The information provides a very useful trend analysis in 7 major business segments.

“Every issue of the ABCA delivers interesting insights for me, as EVP AMERICAS at AIMS International and as an owner of a company with international business relations” comments AIMS International Vice President John W. Poracky.

The ABCA 2011/12 shows the following results compared to the ABCA 2011/08:

1. 41% (Δ -6%) of the AIMS International partners and consultants evaluate the current state of business as good, 39% (Δ -1%) as middle and 20% (Δ +7%) as bad. Compared to the ABCA 2011/08 the perception of business conditions is slightly worse. This follows the trend which already started in 2011/04.
2. Allowing multiple answers, 68% (Δ -8%)  of the polled companies experienced significant business loss in the Industrial, Engineering and Logistics segments, 63% (Δ -15%) in FMCG, Retail and Luxury Goods industries 26% (Δ -15%) and in the Pharma, Health Care and Life Science segment 20% (Δ -8%). In the IT and Telecom field business grew to 34% (Δ +12%). Analyzing the information shows there has been a significant increase in Executive Positions filled in the field of IT and Telecom, but significant decreases in the fields of Industrial, Engineering and Logistics, the FMCG field and the Pharma, Health Care and Life Science sector.
3. Following the answers, 41% (Δ -6%) of the companies increased their additional revenue during the last 4 months, 34% (Δ -13%) see their revenue as stable, 25% (Δ +19%) as decreased. This shows that the positive dynamics in the revenue development has turned around since the last ABCA 2011/08.
4. Only 64% (Δ -6%) of the AIMS partners evaluated their number of current projects as large or sufficient, 36% (Δ +6%) as not enough. We view this as that the satisfaction of the entrepreneurs who take part in the poll sank another 6% after decreasing 20% in the last period.
5. As for the forecast for the next 4 months, 82% (Δ -9%) expect their business as stable or better, 18% (Δ +9%) as worse. Another sign of less optimism. Also, there has been a reduction (Δ -6%) of optimists who expect their business to be improving in the next 4 months (36%).

The outlook for the first quarter of the year 2012 is stable.

Corporate Communications

Christian Schulte +49 178 2854744

About AIMS International (www.aims-international.net)

Incorporated in Vienna, Austria in 1992, AIMS International is an international executive search organization of independently owned and managed executive search firms who work collaboratively to execute executive search assignment for global clients around the world. AIMS International is represented by over 350 consultants in more than 90 offices in over 50 countries throughout all continents. It was ranked the largest executive search partnership in the world by Search-Consult Magazine.

For more information, please visit www.aims-international.net or contact:

Executive Summary of the Interview with Katsusuke Yokota, Representative Director, President, AIMS International Japan Ltd.

Executive Search Firm with a global partnership around the world
“Human Associates Inc., which was concentrating on executive search for foreign companies starting from the establishment of the firm, was hardly hit by Lehman Shock and started developing Japanese clients as a new client base. In the process, we realized more and more Japanese companies are expanding their business outside of Japan, especially in emerging countries such as China and India.

Without overseas network, it was getting difficult for us to respond to their recruiting needs. That is why, when we were approached by the president of AIMS International, we responded ‘We are very interested in joining AIMS international group.’ After several months’ communication, the president of AIMS International Australia came to Tokyo last August to interview us and we were accepted as a member of AIMS International representing Japan. AIMS International is one of top 10 executive search firms in the world, which has 90 offices in 50 countries with 350 consultants in Europe, Middle East, North & South America and the Asia Pacific region.”

Recruitment of Local Executives of Japanese Companies abroad and Executives of Foreign Companies in Japan
“In order to develop business with foreign companies in Japan, AIMS International’s partnership is very useful. When I attended the annual meeting of AIMS International in Brazil last September, I heard a success story from the president of AIMS International Brazil.

AIMS Brazil was appreciated very much by a Brazilian Company, their important client, when AIMS Brazil assisted their overseas recruitment in several counties at the time of their establishment of overseas offices utilizing AIMS International, and they got 50 domestic assignments afterward.

What we are doing now is finding clients of AIMS International which have offices in Japan utilizing information on AIMS International’s intranet in order to contact with them. We want to contribute to other AIMS International members by providing our retained search service to their clients in Japan.

AIMS International Japan Ltd. will provide retained search service, normally charging 1/3 of total fee at the time of signing the agreement, 1/3 at the time of the first interview with prospective candidates and the remaining 1/3 at the time of signing an offer letter.”

Targeting Local Companies planning to expand overseas
“Taking the opportunity of joining AIMS International, we are going to approach Japanese companies in the local area which are planning to expand overseas. We want to assist them in recruiting their local executives overseas and Japanese executives for their overseas departments at the head office.

Our business goal is to achieve 200 million Yen sales for the next fiscal year. We hope to host an AIMS International’s Asia Pacific meeting in Tokyo and hold a seminar for Japanese clients inviting APAC members to provide firsthand information of overseas labor market in each APAC country.”

Applicant control is a series of techniques designed to ensure the candidate views your spot as a career move. Recruiters do this by asking the right questions at the right time, not taking “No” for an answer, and persisting until the prospect has the correct information to decide if the opportunity should be considered. A key aspect of this is recognizing that the pace of the discussion with a passive candidate is much slower than when dealing with active candidates.

Here are some key points to consider when making the shift to recruit passive candidates:

1. Switching jobs for a top-notch, fully-employed person is a long-term strategic career decision. This means they’ll go slower, require more information, and can’t be pushed too fast.

2. The decision to accept an offer will only be made if the new position offers more significant long-term upside in combination with short-term job stretch plus a reasonable compensation bump. Most company processes are designed to fill seats, offer lateral transfers, minimize comp, and hire people quickly. This won’t work for passive candidates.

3. It’s unlikely that your current opening will represent a perfect fit when contacting a passive candidate the first time. Therefore, calling and presenting your current opening is not how passive prospects should be approached. Instead you’ll need to engage in an exploratory discussion, find out the candidate’s current job situation, and then craft a job that represents a career opportunity. It’s hard to do this with traditional requisition-based recruiting, but going slow helps you figure out if what you have is even close. After meeting a top-notch person, companies are often more willing to modify their original requirements.

4. The hiring manager is critical to pacing. It takes a series of discussions with the recruiter and hiring manager to convert a prospect into a candidate, even without modifying the position. If hiring managers are unwilling to do this, or are unwilling to flex the requirements, you won’t be able to hire very many passive candidates.

5. Recruiters must implement a multi-step game plan that ensures that the person gets the needed information to move from casual interest to serious consideration.

Here’s a checklist you can use to begin implementing this type of pacing program:

• Offer to engage into an exploratory career discussion.
• Get the prospect to describe his/her background, providing only a vague description of the possible opportunity. It is important to be vague since the recruiter will need to reposition the job on the fly in order to ensure it represents a potential career opportunity.
• During the first call, be in a position to instantly create a job that represents a career opportunity for the person. From this, obtain some level of candidate interest. You can do this by expanding or contracting the actual job, have multiple jobs in mind when contacting the person, and/or look for voids in the person’s background your job fills in.
• Once the candidate expresses some level of interest, set up a time to have a more detailed discussion. Conduct the phone screen and use the push-and-pull to reinforce the career opportunity. A key step here is to get to the person to begin trying to convince you why he/she is qualified to continue the evaluation process.
• Introduce the idea of a formal decision-making process covering all short and long-term career issues including growth, stretch, team, manager, culture, total rewards, family, etc.
• Get the prospect to agree to an exploratory conversation with the hiring manager. If the prospect accepts, you’re half-way there in the conversion process.
• Coach the hiring manager into shifting the conversation from an exploratory discussion into something worthy of serious consideration. Then, if the prospect is interested and qualified, the hiring manager needs to invite the prospect to an onsite meeting. This is a critical step, and if agreed-upon represents about 70-80% of the required shift from prospect to-candidate conversation.
• The objective of the onsite interview is to assess the person, and complete the conversion to a serious finalist.
• At the end of the onsite, use a formal process to assess interest covering all decision-making parameters. If the person agrees to come back and become a finalist in the process, you’ve successfully converted the person into a full-fledged and serious candidate. Collectively, this is what pacing and applicant control is all about. It’s known as the Performance-based Hiring certification process.
• You’ll need to go slower with the sole purpose of increasing the number of great passive candidates you get into your recruiting funnel. This is a far different process than finding and hiring active candidates, and it takes more skill, effort, and resources. But it’s worth it if done right. Since passive candidates represent 82% of the market, it’s not only worth it, it’s essential.

 The Key Tipping Points for Recruiting Passive Candidates – aka “The 6Cs”

1. Compelling: You must be able to capture the candidate’s intrinsic motivator in your voicemail or email. If you don’t know this, don’t bother making the call.

2. Control: Make sure your opening questions require the prospect to tell you about him or herself before you tell the person about the job. This is the essence of applicant control, and if you drop the ball here, you’ll need to make 5-10X as many calls to get one sendout.

3. Career: During your first call you must be able to convert your open position into a career opportunity on the fly. That’s why it’s critical that the candidate tells you about himself before you tell him about your opening.

4. Connect: The best passive candidates are typically only one degree of separation from your current prospect. Tapping into these candidates’ connections is the best way to get high-quality referrals. Even better, they’ll call you back!

5. Conviction: Persistence is key. You must understand your job opening, why it offers a career opportunity, and you must not take “No” for an answer. If you’re not convinced that what you have to offer is great, neither will your candidate.

6. Close: You’ll never have enough money in the budget to pay the best prospects what they want. You can minimize the blow here by selling and closing on the career opportunity your position offers, not the compensation it pays. If you miss this critical “C” the others won’t matter.

The article has been prepared by Lou Adler – The Adler Group Team

Companies looking for high marks for their candidate care program should be prepared to answer the following questions about their interviewing and hiring process:

❑ How do you define or describe your company’s brand equity?

❑ When candidates are scheduled to visit your company, what documents do you send candidates before their visit?

❑ What “story” does this package tell the candidates?

❑ Does the agenda clearly state the name and title of each interviewer?

❑ Are interview times beyond normal office hours—evening or very early-morning meetings, weekends—considered in the scheduling process?

❑ How and by whom are candidates greeted when they arrive?

❑ How long can candidates expect to wait to be “processed” to gain entrance?

❑ Is there a seamless transition from the time candidates have completed security check-ins to their first appointments?

❑ Have the interviewers prepared their questions prior to the interview?

❑ What is the value proposition for prospective candidates?

❑ How are candidates made to feel comfortable? Is the physical setting appealing?

❑ What percentage of the time allotted for interviewing is spent on small talk? Do the interviewers talk excessively about themselves?

❑ Who is responsible for leading the assessment of candidates’ functional and cultural fit, and for coordinating the feedback?

❑ Is there seamless transition between interview times?

Robert D. Hennessy is president of The Hennessy Group, Managing Partner at AIMS International US – Pharma, and GLOBAL Practice Team Leader – Pharmaceuticals, Health Care and Life Sciences at AIMS International. He can be reached at +1 [267] 984 – 9916. 

© Reprinted from PHARMACEUTICAL EXECUTIVE, April 2005 Printed in U.S.A.

Pharmaceutical companies reach out to many people through their hiring practices. The following are recommendations— some strategic and, some tactical— that pharmaceutical companies can use to enhance and optimize their candidates’ interview experiences: 

Describe your history and opportunities accurately. The best people will have researched your company and have done their due diligence.

Develop an offer-closing strategy early. Know what you can and can’t do to close gaps. Would you consider using COLAs (cost of living adjustments), stock options, and/or sign-on bonuses? Can you offer an early performance review? What are the details of your relocation and healthcare packages, 401K/savings programs, etc.?

Be prepared to sell the opportunity. Explain why a best-in-class executive would consider leaving a worthwhile current assignment to relocate his or her family and join your company. Share with candidates why you decided to join the company.

Limit the number of people on the interview team. Use only people who can really sell the company.

Keep self-serving “politicians” off the interview team (if you have them).

Manage the total interview process so it does not take so long that candidates are no longer motivated.

In a timely manner, have senior management available to discuss feedback.

Listen. These people are offering free market insight. But it’s a lost opportunity if the interviewer monopolizes the discussion.

Avoid interruptions, especially telephone calls. Turn off your cell phone.

Start on time!

Robert D. Hennessy is president of The Hennessy Group, Managing Partner at AIMS International US – Pharma, and GLOBAL Practice Team Leader – Pharmaceuticals, Health Care and Life Sciences at AIMS International. He can be reached at +1 [267] 984 – 9916. 

© Reprinted from PHARMACEUTICAL EXECUTIVE, April 2005 Printed in U.S.A.

By Robert D. Hennessy

World-class talent seeks its own level, so hiring companies should make sure that those involved in the interviewing process are strong employees who represent the company as leaders in their own rights.

A decade ago, management gurus, the business media, and business schools chastised corporate executives and boards of directors for their cavalier attitudes and, in some cases, complete lack of attention toward succession planning. Today, those same executives and boards should direct their attention to candidate care—an even more pervasive and serious issue—to avoid another managerial faux pas. This article will illustrate the importance of making candidate care a part of corporate strategy—not only to attract and retain top talent, but also to augment corporate image, branding, and marketing efforts.

Serious Business

Candidate care is the process by which a company staffs a position, from the announcement of a job opening to the results new hires deliver throughout the years of their employment. Multiply by several hundred or several thousand over time, the expense and effort that goes into finding, retaining, training, and maintaining that one hire, and the potential impact of candidate care becomes clear. Too often, candidate care is overlooked by a board’s agenda. But, securing the flow of intellectual capital should be one of the company’s highest priorities. Today’s environment is defined by global markets, restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, quantum changes in productivity, mobile talent, and changing political climates—all of which has created an unprecedented thirst for intellectual capital. The demand for talent will become even more intense and will continue unabated into the foreseeable future. That is why candidate care must become a mandatory and ongoing segment of the strategic planning process, at the very highest levels of pharma companies and their boards.

Just as a company’s raw material supply is an integral part of the strategic planning process, so, too, are the supply of human raw material and the sources of leadership. But, whereas there are usually substitutes for scarce raw materials, there is no substitute for intellectual capital and leadership.

If a company is slow to recognize the strategic value of candidate care, its competition will do the job for them; they seek the same skills and the same leadership qualities in many of the same people. Considering that the supply of intellectual capital is finite at any given time and in any geographic area, inattentiveness to candidate care will place companies at a distinct disadvantage.

Create Ambassadors

“Individuals being recruited into an organization, whether successful or not, become ambassadors for that company for a period of time,” says William S. Poole, past president of Novo Nordisk (US) and of Biovail US. “As every sales person will tell you, all it takes is one unhappy customer to undo the good of having 100 happy customers. To this point, I believe it is essential for the hiring company to move quickly, methodically, and on time throughout the hiring process. Having candidates hanging in limbo or being kept in the dark about decisions, meeting times, or feedback for weeks, or perhaps months, after first being contacted is simply inexcusable and just not good business.”

Pharma companies interview many people but hire only a few. “Companies turn down 98 percent of the people who apply,” says Lou Manzi, vice president of human resources at GlaxoSmithKline.

Manzi emphasizes the consequences of the “tell ten people of a bad experience rule.” It’s what happens when someone has a bad experience; they tell ten people and then those ten people tell ten more people, and so on. Thus, many people are negatively affected by one person’s bad experience. Companies can avoid having to fix their images if they would take better care of them in the first place.

Job candidates can become important spokespeople for the companies they seek employment with, because they gain specific and intimate knowledge of the organization and its employees during the interview process. This is particularly true at the executive level, because these people are often well known and their opinions are respected. Whether they get the job with a company or not, they are still valuable consumers of its products and services and can speak favorably about it when given the opportunity. Hiring companies should consider, too, that they may want to re-approach some candidates as future potential hires, so they should take particular care when developing these relationships and not burn any bridges.

Enhance the Brand

In the pharmaceutical industry, a company’s products are the key components contributing to the company’s overall brand or image. But, the best brand awareness programs involve more than products alone. The company itself—and its reputation—also help to define the company’s brand. For example, think of the many products and brands offered by General Electric. Yet, its most notable brand is the company itself, GE. It is apparent that successful candidate care programs can have a positive impact on a company, its reputation, and its brand.

Feedback from the market suggests that most companies have significant room for improvement in their candidate care programs, as one top-five global pharma company learned when it conducted a three-year survey of its interview process.

“It generally took two weeks to build an itinerary and schedule the first interview,” reports a company representative. “It took up to a month between interview rounds. It generally took up to one month from the last interview to make an offer. Almost half of all interview schedules were revised twice, and the majority of schedule changes were requested by the company.”

Most candidates feel that process takes too long. Fortunately, this company could improve its process if it had a better understanding of candidate care.

From the Top

All companies need leaders and specific skill sets to accomplish their missions. It is management’s job to ask the following questions:

» Where is the future talent base, and is the supply sufficient?

» What is our strategy for securing tomorrow’s leaders?

These may seem like simple questions, but they have difficult answers that must be addressed.

A myopic school of thought suggests that candidate care is the sole responsibility of human resources. A parallel can be drawn with the marketing function. Certainly it is axiomatic that a company’s marketing strategy must transcend the marketing department and be a total corporate concept. So must candidate care, because once an issue involves a total corporate effort, it becomes a board priority.

The commonly accepted premise that all business activities are directed toward increasing profits and shareholder value obviously includes candidate care. In support of this view, management and the board of directors must continually evaluate the talent involved in candidate care, from interviewers and search firms to trainers and human resources specialists.

Companies seeking to increase profits and enhance shareholder value should remember that world-class talent seeks its own level. It behooves them to ensure that employees representing them in the interview process are strong leaders in their own rights. Otherwise, prospective leaders might be turned off, which no company can afford.

Employee Buy-In

Once the strategic value of candidate care is recognized, it takes strong leadership to explain it to employees and to make it an effort ingrained in the corporate culture. Overcoming resistance to the idea that the company must make efforts to attract and retain top executives may require aligning candidate care with profits in the minds of employees. If they understand that executive leadership has a direct influence on profits, and that profits, in turn, are key to enhancing shareholder value, then most employees will understand the importance of candidate care. In fact, the board should challenge management to educate all employees on candidate care and the impact it can have on shareholder value and the company’s reputation.

Still, some people may resist because they fear new talent and new skills, or because they feel that change takes too much effort. In such cases, management should communicate that improvements in compensation, benefits, and the working environment are linked directly to executive leadership, a sustainable pipeline of talent, and, therefore, candidate care. More often than not, executives can identify pockets within the company where resistance to change is prevalent and take action. As resisters to candidate care are identified, they should be mentored and/or removed from the candidate care pipeline.

Assume everyone buys into the significance of candidate care. Keep in mind that candidate care is not a one-and-done exercise. It is ongoing because the talent pool is always changing, becoming more mobile, and developing new skills. In addition, other companies may be poaching your talent. So who has final accountability? Because it is strategic and affects shareholder value, the board of directors is responsible.

When done right, candidate care programs have a positive impact on both a company’s brand and its profits. They require a high degree of professionalism from many different employees. So, once a board establishes candidate care as a strategic priority, management should promote the right internal behaviors. Companies that fail to understand this will not only lose the opportunity to hire the best leaders, they will have to compete against those leaders when they are hired by the competition. It’s just one more case where doing right by people is simply good business.

Robert D. Hennessy is president of The Hennessy Group, Managing Partner at AIMS International US – Pharma, and GLOBAL Practice Team Leader – Pharmaceuticals, Health Care and Life Sciences at AIMS International. He can be reached at +1 [267] 984 – 9916. 

© Reprinted from PHARMACEUTICAL EXECUTIVE, April 2005 Printed in U.S.A.