AESCís Third Annual HR Executive Survey Foresees Impending Talent Shortage

HR faces a major War for Talent; this was the consensus of 141 HR Executives surveyed by the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) for their Third Annual Retained Executive Search Survey (July 2007). While respondents held a conservative view on overall search activity for 2007, they did indicate an upcoming shortage of talent across all functional areas.

Of the HR executives surveyed, 49% had commissioned between one and four retained executive searches in 2006, and 52% felt that by the end of 2007 they would have commissioned about the same number of searches this year. Sixty percent of respondents felt that the acquisition of senior level talent was more difficult than it was two years ago.

When asked to specify the functional areas in which they expect to see a talent shortage, the top four areas were Finance and Accounting at 39%, followed by Information Technology/CIO and Sales, Marketing, PR; both at 36%, and Engineering at 29%. Respondents indicated that this lack of talent would be seen globally, with 70% expecting a shortage in the US, 30% concerned about a shortfall in China, 23% in the UK, and 19% in India.

Peter Felix, President of the AESC, commented, ìWe are in the early stages of a major talent shortage that is set to continue for the next 10-15 years, and companies are already struggling to replace their most senior, and critical, leadership. With baby boomers retiring (in the US a generation of 77 million will be replaced by one of 44 million), companies will need to become more creative in their senior hiring. Retained executive search can help organisations face this challenge by planned, proactive recruitment of the best executive talent. This phenomenon is hitting different parts of the world at the same time, with varying levels of intensity.î

A full copy of the AESC 3rd Annual Retained Executive Search Report is available upon request to the press, AESC members, and all Hiring Organisations who participated in the survey. Please contact Natasha Renton at nrenton@aesc.org.