Jeudi 13 février 2025 à 14h30 par QUINTESSENCE Finances

November 14, 2024

In this issue:

 

• Executive Search - Interview with Alexis de Bretteville Deputy CEO of Morgan Philipps
• Temporary work - Further decline in France
• Recruitment - Managerial hiring intentions on hold
• Evolution of workforce ecosystems by John Healy-Partner Quintessence Finances
• Interim Management - Comparison between the UK and French markets
• Quintessence Finances Expands into the U.S.
• CSRD Directive - Implementation approaches

 

As winter starts to set out its stall, welcome to a bright and breezy autumn edition of La Revue. Highlights include timely messages from our interview with Alexis de Bretteville, Deputy CEO of Morgan Philips, one of the top 10 global executive search firms, and some unique insight on evolving workforce ecosystems from our partner John Healy. Our latest edition also features a comparative study of FR-UK interim management, and our usual dispatches from the different markets and sectors covered by the Quintessence Finances network. Enjoy!

The Quintessence Finances Team

 

Executive Search : interview with Morgan Philipps Deputy CEO

Our recent interview with Alexis de Bretteville, Deputy CEO of Morgan Philips, covered a range of hot topics including the recruitment industry’s ongoing evolution, regional dynamics, the implications of a candidate-centered market, and generational challenges. Additional takeaways and insight on other topics are available on LinkedIn via links at the end of this article.

 

QF.
To begin, could you tell us a few words about the evolution of recruitment?

Alexis de Bretteville. The industry has seen minimal change, despite the rise of artificial intelligence, LinkedIn, the internet, and the frequent announcements of new revolutions, starting with Monster and web platforms in the early 2000s. Companies still rely on agencies for executive recruitment through a face-to-face approach. Though some technologies have advanced, especially for sourcing, processes remain relatively similar.

QF. What about the processes within recruitment firms themselves?

AdB. Technological innovation, AI and search engines have increased the speed of internal processes. This is undeniable. The consequence of these developments is also an explosion in the number of candidates to be processed. These are new challenges for recruitment agencies. Some are capable of doing this, while others are still managing their files with paper CVs and are unable to move up a gear. They are at risk of disappearing. What's more, we're seeing more and more small recruitment and headhunting firms for sale in France, but they are not finding any takers because their value is based almost entirely on the personalities and networks of their owners and managers.

QF. Has the balance among talent recruitment players remained stable?

AdB. Market shares between recruitment firms, staffing agencies, and RPOs (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) have barely changed. While RPOs were expected to dominate in Anglo-Saxon countries, this didn’t occur. Similarly, internal vs. external recruitment market shares have seen little evolution, even with new players like talent and freelancing platforms emerging worldwide.

QF. What do you think of "One Stop Shop" delivery models aiming at offering a whole ecosystem of solutions to companies?

AdB. Many players have tried to develop this concept with varying levels of success. What is certain is that combining headhunting, middle management recruitment, interim management, sourcing, RPO, and especially talent management consulting services, is the answer to the diverse expectations of companies.

Moreover, it’s essential to understand that the talent market is global. The challenge is, therefore, to have the ability to source candidates wherever they are. We have departments in different parts of the world that exclusively focus on sourcing and qualifying candidates to fill the funnels of large organizations. Additionally, we have the unique advantage of a globally developed in-house database, which gives all our consultants access to a comprehensive pool of candidates and clients located across the globe. Naturally, this is done in compliance with the various data protection regulations in effect in different regions.

Related to this database, we have an entire ecosystem of solutions covering profile ‘plucking’, filtering, and checking, all of which rely on AI. Our consultants use quite sophisticated search modules that are connected to our clients’ search criteria. These modules link candidates to client requests.

Finally, because candidates come from different countries, our developers design multi-platform and multilingual recruitment campaigns, again leveraging AI. The best online distribution channels in each country are automatically activated, and job offer promotion videos are automatically translated into the candidate’s language. It’s extremely powerful.

However, AI will never replace the human touch. The ability of our recruiters to determine if a candidate profile is a good match, particularly with regards to a company’s culture and management style, is essential, as is direct interaction with candidates and clients.

Morgan Philipps is an international group specializing in talent acquisition and management consulting. Operating in 20 countries on 4 continents, its 500 employees are involved in executive headhunting, permanent recruitment, interim management, executive placement and talent management consulting. It has 4 research centers specialized in talent acquisition on behalf of 6,000 active clients

 

Staffing industry in France : -6,7% over the last 8 months

The French Federation of Private Employment Agencies (Prism’emploi) recently reported a 6.7% cumulative decline in temporary employment from January 2024. Prism’emploi has also announced several commitments linked to responsible employment, including a focus on employment contracts, health and safety, integration of older workers, and AI adoption:

https://bit.ly/4eOm4b9

 

Recruitment France : Steady Executive Hiring Intentions

Despite uncertainties, executive recruitment remains robust. Hiring intentions for executives in Q4 2024 (10% of companies) are on par with Q2 2024 (9%). Year-over-year hiring intentions are stable, with a slight decline among SMEs.

https://bit.ly/4faVtVu

 

Workforce Ecosystems Evolution: With John Healy - Whrrr.work and Quintessence Finances Partner

A workforce ecosystem is a value-driven organizational structure that includes actors both within and outside the organization, working toward individual and collective goals, with interdependencies and complementarities among participants.

Workforce ecosystems offer a new way to conceptualize an organization’s relationships with various contributors to value creation. These ecosystems allow leaders and managers to rethink how they develop and execute strategic goals, integrating smart robots, HR service providers, third-party applications, freelancers, Gig Economy workers, temporary contracts, and full/part-time employees. As things currently stand, workforce ecosystems can be seen in the figure below.

 

Copyright ©️ 2022 Deloitte Development LCC. Study and data and findings ©️ Massachusetts Institute of Technology

These ecosystems will continue evolving with emerging AI-driven solutions for data, sourcing, and talent management. New players are appearing as "super intermediaries" in talent sourcing, offering diverse relational models and tools. We will expand on these perspectives with John in an upcoming publication.

 

Interim Management: UK-France Comparison

How do the UK and French interim management markets compare? While the UK market is more mature, the French market is showing signs of dynamic growth due to an increasing interest in interim management. Some of the stand-out differences include current market size, sectors covered, a higher proportion of older workers in the UK, and a larger female workforce in France.

 

Sources : France Transition & Institute of Interim Management

 

Quintessence Finances Expands into the U.S.

Already well-established in several European countries and in Latin America, Quintessence Finances is expanding into North America with a new partner based in the U.S. John Healy Healy brings over thirty years of experience in workforce solutions across global labor markets and advocates a renewed delivery model focused on creating attractive talent ecosystems through technology and partnerships across different actors.

 

CSRD Directive… on the Horizon

In a previous edition, we discussed France's transposition of the CSRD Directive at the end of 2023. At the beginning of 2025, large corporations already subject to the NFRD will need to publish their sustainability report. Companies meeting 2 out of 3 criteria (+250 employees, €40M revenue, €20M balance sheet) must report by early 2026. They will need the coming year to prepare, especially for social reporting (ESRS-S), while environmental reporting (ESRS-E) will be more complex, requiring GHG (Greenhouse Gas) reporting, materiality analysis, and a five-year decarbonization trajectory. Actors in the employment and recruitment arena who are covered by these new requirements will be kept busy!

Eleven European countries have transposed the CSRD, with eight more expected to follow soon.

Note: dark blue indicates countries that have already transposed the Directive.

 

Pour en savoir plus : https://www.quintessencefinances.com