Stay Ahead in Executive Recruitment: Key Trends and Insights from 1H24.

With the first half of 2024 behind us, we took some time to analyze the global executive recruitment landscape trends to identify shifts in strategy and key insights that can help inform your executive recruitment decisions well into 2024.

INSIGHT #1 THREE FUNCTIONAL AREAS ARE IN HIGH DEMAND.

• Supply Chain. Similar to last year, companies continue to solidify and crisis-proof their supply chain. In previous years, this was primarily caused by pandemic-related disruptions, rising global political tension, and general uncertainty, which have led to an increase in nearshoring as companies look to shorten and secure chains.
• Finance. Finance-related positions remained in high demand during the first half of 2024. As companies continue to shore up their financial strategies and mitigate potential risks associated with the dynamic global economic outlook.
• Manufacturing and Operations. The demand for manufacturing and operations roles surged due to companies accelerating their digital transformation efforts, the aforementioned nearshoring and reshoring initiatives, and a focus on operational efficiency.

Manufacturing replaced “Sales” as the third most sought-after job function in this year’s insights, marking a shift in the mindset of several companies. In 2024, we have seen clients adopt a more conservative approach with a focus on cost savings and efficiencies in the face of geopolitical tensions and uncertainties. 

INSIGHT #2: PRIVATE EQUITY SEARCHES HAVE INCREASED EXPONENTIALLY OVER THE PAST YEAR

Interestingly we have seen a flurry of activity in HVAC as firms look for stable and consistently in-demand businesses with opportunities for organic value creation, optimization, and growth.

Despite declining deal activating in the 1H24, we took on several searches for private equity firms at the board, parent, and portfolio levels. Private equity firms exist to maximize returns while minimizing risk. They are quickly catching onto the value that a digital, dynamic, and performance-based, executive recruiting firm adds to their recruiting success. 

INSIGHT #3: IN-PERSON WORK BEATS OUT REMOTE WORK FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE PANDEMIC

creating a huge opportunity for companies willing to maintain flexible office strategies. We recently published a newsletter that explores the pros and cons of both remote and in-person office formats, which you can read here. Spoiler alert, there is a huge gap in the supply and demand for remote work, meaning companies with remote and hybrid strategies are much more likely to attract top talent.

INSIGHT #4: WE SAW SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY AT THE BOARD LEVEL

Companies are actively looking to diversify their boardrooms and see value in adding younger generations and fresh perspectives to their boards. Recognizing the lack of board solutions in the market, we launched a board mapping and liaison service earlier this year that is complimentary for existing clients. You can read more about it here.

INSIGHT #5: SEARCHES WITH DIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS STILL MAKE UP OVER HALF OF OUR ENGAGEMENTS

In 2024, the global diversity initiative has not been as prominent as in prior years. In fact, A June 2024 report by British Retail Consortium and the MBS Group found the percentage of white-only boards of non-executives rose from 30% in 2023 to 35% in 2024. Despite these setbacks, many of our clients continue to champion diversity recruiting, as evidence continues to emerge that shows that diverse companies consistently outperform their non-diverse counterparts.

We hope these insights can help guide your firm in its executive recruitment decisions for the rest of 2024 and beyond, we are happy to discuss in more detail anything in the above email and would love to hear your opinion. Have you noticed any trends that we haven’t?

Feel free to reach out to discuss how we can help you navigate the ever-changing recruitment landscape and hire the best possible talent for your company. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for helping make the first half of our year a great one!

Tim Wilkins

Commercial Director - TXT International