Industry in Motion

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Explore the evolving landscape of Executive Research and Organizational Development. Our articles offer hands-on strategies for, attracting top talent, shaping leadership, and driving meaningful change.

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Do we even still have steady job profiles?

Have you ever noticed how in Life Sciences it’s really hard to define specific job profiles? I notice it again and again when dealing with clients who need to find out who they are looking for. But also, in my own business I come across the real difficult task to define, who my client really is. I don’t have to explain why an up-and-coming startup from the biotech scene with less than 50 employees has very different needs from a big player in the pharmaceutical industry. Rightfully so!Job profiles and skill sets are very much in motion in Life Sciences: industries merge, n

Updated 4 years ago

What made you leave your last job?

Part of my job as an executive search consultant is a good eye or 6th sense for who is (and who is not) ready to move on from their current job. Some of the observations I make there are also relevant to identify what you need to do to keep your most valuable employees on board. Because in the end, what makes them leave and come to you, might also make them leave you.The usual suspectsIt might not come as a surprise: a lot of the reasons are obvious and remain stable over time. People leave their jobs because they a) hate their boss and/or their col

Updated 4 years ago

New Leadership with old principles

There is a lot of things being said and written around leadership every day. Rightfully so. Guiding companies and more importantly people through work life is a fundamentally important task that should ideally be done right. A lot of the “modern” leadership concepts seem to say that classical humanistic education can be neglected in favor of actual people skills. What I find interesting about that is: aren’t people skills at the basis of humanistic education? Ancient Greek philosophers got the world right, right?I can’t help but wond

Updated 4 years ago

Outplacement from a company’s point of view

Stephan Breitfeld speaks with Dr. Sousan Schah-Zeidi  Why should a company get involved in the topic of outplacement? Sometimes and for whatever reason, companies are forced to part ways with longstanding employees, who have delivered good results in the course of their employment. Personal realignment, also known as outplacement, is an effective means for a company to handle the separation in a responsible and socially acceptable way for the employee, who will not be left alone leaving the company. 

Updated 4 years ago

Are we heading towards a mass freelance workforce?

You might remember: some time back in the 2000s there was this ‘Digital Bohème’ (the way Holm Friebe and Sascha Lobo defined it in 2006), which referred to some kind of disruptive or even exotic form of working, primarily for ‘young people’,

Updated 4 years ago

Life Sciences after the pandemic – what’s gonna stick?

Despite bringing about a whole bunch of troubles, challenges and contradictions, the COVID-19 pandemic did manage to cause a few positive things. In the case of research in the Life Sciences industry new approaches and technologies are now boosting cooperation in increasingly diverse areas. And everywhere innovation slowly but surely reshapes work all across the fields. Nonetheless, experts agree that those positive (no matter how contradictory it may sound) consequences of the coronavirus will require considerable effort to ensure they stick aft

Updated 4 years ago

Diversity in times like these – luxury or must?

Diversity and Pandemic – probably the most popular topics of the year 2020 (if we skip the US elections of course). Do these topics have anything in common, or do they work in a mutually exclusive fashion? In other words, are diversity and its close cousin inclusion a necessity in these challenging times of global Pandemic, or are they nothing but a luxurious option relevant only for those who can afford it? Tricky.Diversity pays off<span style="background-col

Updated 4 years ago

Digital job interviews – what you look like to candidates matters!

These times have brought a lot of changes. Moving out business in digital spaces has become largely common now. It’s yesterday’s news. Even more surprising that there is still some work to do when it comes to establishing a level and professional playing field on the digital grounds. Let’s take a main component of our daily business: the job interview.As companies are adjusting to the new health and safety measures (by mostly turning their workforce into a ‘remote workforce’), human resou

Updated 4 years ago

What AI can (and can't do) in Executive Search

When looking for a high-level position in Executive Search, stakes skyrocket at a colossal speed. Obviously it’s a lot at stake when you need to find or replace, let’s say, the CEO of a company. The reality of the digital age is pushing us to delegate (if not hand over completely) some of the tasks to machines. Computers with their elaborate neural networks are already better at a lot of tasks that a regular human being with its short concentration span and flawed attention for detail may struggle with. Not to mention Artificial Intelligence, whi

Updated 4 years ago

Dirty divorce or good friends for life? Parting with employees with separation management

I’m sure you’ve had to let a lot of people go in your career. And you probably don’t associate all the best feelings with these experiences. Maybe you even kept an employee here and there just because you wanted to avoid the conflict. But there is a lot of potential in making these processes more amicable or even – yes, in a way – positive. It starts with seeing an employee not only as a wheel in the system but as the most valuable asset that stands behind every successful company, a brand ambassador of significant potential. However, retrenchmen

Updated 4 years ago