Talent Management

Executive talent is at a premium in today’s fast changing business world. One of the key challenges for business leaders is to identify, develop and retain outstanding individuals, who are able to deliver superior performance, both individually and as part of a team.

Consultants at Egon Zehnder International recognized this emerging trend several years ago and pioneered a professional service to address the need. The result was the development of our Management Appraisal practice to evaluate the “human capital” in organizations. We do not have a special Management Appraisal group. All our consultants are trained to conduct these engagements, having acquired high-level evaluation and benchmarking abilities from their regular recruitment work. This allows them to calibrate managers against their peer group, which has consistently delivered exceptional value to our clients.

In the last five years alone, we have completed more than 1,000 engagements and have evaluated about 20,000 senior executives worldwide. These engagements have covered all major industries and have been conducted in every geographic region of the world. Management Appraisal also serves to evaluate teams following the appointment of a new chief executive, in the context of dramatic change or to calibrate leadership teams as an integral part of managing the human capital in organizations. They have added value to clients in many situations, including mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations and pre-investment due diligence for private equity and venture capital investors.

The objective of every engagement is to provide our clients with a comprehensive analysis of their management resources. This enables leaders to take decisive action on appointments, to embark on longer-term strategies for individual or team development, or for example, to decide whether to complete an acquisition. They can also play a key role in culture change programs. Every Management Appraisal uses a proven methodology based on fifteen years of experience, which is tailored to the specific requirements of each client situation. Each project consists of several important and distinct but integrated phases, which are necessary to ensure a successful outcome.

The first phase of a Management Appraisal establishes the competencies and standards that will be used to evaluate the managers. We found this proven model enables us to very quickly help clients define the appropriate competencies which should be used for assessing their executives. Typically our model is refined and adapted to the circumstances of each individual client. Leveraging the model provides the real advantage that output results can be “benchmarked” in detail against relevant comparative organizations around the world.

Our independent assessment process has been developed to ensure the most reliable and accurate evaluation of senior executives. The objective is to predict the likely future performance of each manager as precisely as possible. Each manager is appraised on the basis of three main sources of information. First, their academic and professional background; second, a structured interview conducted by two Egon Zehnder International consultants; and third, a reference-taking exercise. This is carried out by the consultants who interviewed the executives and includes confidential discussions with superiors, peers, subordinates and occasionally external references, where appropriate.

The results of the evaluation are presented in a decision-oriented format, which allows the client to assimilate the information rapidly and comprehend fully our insight into each executive. This permits swift, decisive action based on the assessments and recommendations. Our report is typically in two parts.

The first is a written document and oral briefing on each of the executives. Each individual is assessed against the agreed evaluation framework, benchmarked against the market and assessed in terms of future potential. Recommendations on relevant appointments, promotions and development needs are included. A summary of key findings for the whole group appraised, highlights skill gaps and critical competency issues. It may also identify opportunities to reassign key executives, or suggest programs to improve the performance of the organization. The summary may also compare the relative strengths and weaknesses of different divisions or functional teams, suggesting a change in the deployment of human capital across the client’s organization.

Providing feedback is a key element for a successful Management Appraisal and is an essential part of the process. Receiving feedback ensures all individuals benefit from the exercise and maximize the opportunity for their own professional development. All our consultants have been trained in the special skills associated with giving feedback as a result of this process. Most clients find that the value of the assessment process is further enhanced if we are involved in giving feedback to the individuals.

More and more we actively assist companies with change management as part of management appraisals. We support our clients in drawing up and introducing development programs for executive management, working with concepts for methodically supported personnel development. Especially requested are customized evaluation and development processes for future-oriented talent management.