Connections Briefing

The COVID pandemic has caused many personal and professional changes for all of us. Among these are career and life changes based upon the experience of working from home for over a year or being laid off and unemployed because of businesses that were shutdown due to the global COVID pandemic.

Both employees and employers were forced to make significant changes in how work was performed and this has led us to the present time where many changes are taking place as business offices are reopening nationwide.

Darcy Bevelacqua, one of EC’s Managing Directors, has authored a timely article entitled “The Great Resignation Trend” and we are featuring this message in this month’s issue. With talent in high demand and short supply in several sectors, it’s a time for improved employee engagement and greater flexibility on the part of employers in order to attract and retain top talent.

EC’s new “Inside-Out” personal branding program is quickly gaining traction as many executives are proactively making career and life changes following the pandemic. Sydney Warren has authored a timely follow-up article on how the “Inside Out” is proving to be a game changer for top executives.

As always, we invite your input and feedback and appreciate your support.

Best,
Jeff Gundersen

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The Great Resignation Trend Has Begun

By Darcy Bevelacqua, Managing Director – Executive Connections LLC

We are just about to enter the time of “The great resignation” when employees are going to start giving their notice and switching jobs. The current surveys show anywhere from 25% to upwards of 50% (sources: EY, Accenture, Deloitte) of workers are thinking about quitting their jobs. Microsoft found that 54% of Generation Z workers, 41% of the entire global workforce could be considering handing in their resignation. The COVID pandemic changed how employees think about their jobs, and how employers are treating employees. So both sides have had a chance to rethink what they want going forward into the future. What is causing this disruption is:

1.    Employee’s and employers’s expectations about working from home have shifted. It’s no longer necessary to have to commute for long hours to show up in the office 5 days a week. In fact, most employees only want to be on site 1 or 2 days a week at most. 

2.    Skilled labor is hard to find and more companies are willing to hire remote workers. This means being able to live and work where you want. 

3.    The pandemic changed people’s priorities so they are now focused on asking – is this what I want to be doing with my time? Employees are considering part-time, full time and contract work. They are also asking about flexibility in hours so they can spend more time with family and on their hobbies.

4.    Employees are considering switching careers. During the pandemic, they had time to think about business volatility and many decided they didn’t want to continue working in jobs that could be so easily disrupted (e.g. hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, etc.). They also balked at working so many additional hours. Instead, they would work in other industries, start their own businesses or go someplace with more flexible work schedules. 

5.    Employers are having a hard time finding workers with the qualifications they need. This has enabled many workers to ask for large pay raises and to get promoted to new jobs as the economy is opening up and they want to retain their best talent. Businesses that are growing in fields like computer security, fintech, pharmaceutical, and artificial intelligence are attracting more talent because the long-term future looks positive. 

Firms can’t hold onto employees who want to switch fields. But human resources may be able to retain some workers by offering flexible working hours, bigger bonuses, more work/life balance, better training, and more variety in their EAP (employee assistance plans) programs.  Now is the time to build your employee branding and start to cultivate new hires who may want to join you in the future.

 

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The Inside Out Personal Branding Program is Proving to Be a Gamechanger for Top Executives

by Sydney Warren

The buzz is OUT on Inside Out! The addition of Inside Out to the existing personal brand program has proven to be an instant gamechanger for top executives and entrepreneurs whether they are looking to make a career transition, level up within their existing role or attract new opportunities. They take your personal brand to the next level!

While Covid may have been the catalyst for change, one top c-level executive in the technology sector shared the desire for a career and lifestyle change. “Jessica and Lola have come into my life at the perfect time to help me rebrand and prepare for my next role. Inside Out showed up just when I needed it most!” She shares that Inside Out is already helping her gain the clarity and confidence to help take the next steps in her career. It also has instantly squashed the nagging feelings of being ‘stuck’.

“Two months in and this program is transforming not just my career but my whole life.” Our founder Jeff Gundersen could not agree more. He personally experienced the entire process. “Inside Out takes personal branding to a whole new level. You have these little aha’s every time you meet with Lola and Jessica. You gain a strong awareness on many different levels that better guides your future decision making.”

Jeff continues to say the Inside Out experience helps you present yourself powerfully. “Just like your resume and your profiles such as LinkedIn, your branded materials and your brand image is important. They all make a first impression. The outside is just as important as the inside and how you present yourself looking for new opportunities and career changes.”

Jessica Papineau and Lola White are offering 30-minute complimentary discovery calls for Inside Out, with limited spots open due to the high touch approach. If you would like more information on the Inside Out process, text INSIDE OUT to 941-525-4656.

Right now, it’s more important than ever to have a growth strategy. Just a couple of years ago, we thought transforming enterprises would take a decade, now it is taking less than 5 years. There are huge opportunities now as everyone is re-imaging everything – rebuilding industries, rebuilding economies, and doing it with new business models. Growth opportunities are being pursued and achieved in every sector….delivering on the promises of technology and human ingenuity. 

We commented recently on the enormous growth of digital commerce and DTC businesses fueled the COVID pandemic as consumers shifted to online shopping and companies doubled down on creating digital commerce and DTC capabilities. Companies including Amazon, Netflix, Google and Tesla among others have continued double digit growth rates and technology consultancies including Accenture Interactive, Deloitte Digital and Publicis Sapient are leading large and mid-cap businesses to develop growth strategies and new technology capabilities by shifting their business models.

Companies are finding new ways to grow by:

•  Designing New Growth Strategies: Assessing and levering natural advantages and unique selling points; identifying new customer needs and aligning them with emerging market trends to drive revenue growth and differentiate the company from its competitors.

•  Venturing & Incubation: Creating the right structure, capabilities, assets, teams, governance models to get pilots off the ground; and positioning them for rapid scaling and growth.

•  Gaining Market Traction: Determining the best ways to drive continuous innovation at scale, serving new and existing customers.

Effective Chief Growth Officers (CGOs) are driving growth strategies and business transformation from ideation to execution across industries by setting strategy, building the business/brand/experience path, and acting as a sherpa throughout the journey. This role requires a human-centered approach to discover and drive new ventures, propositions, and business designs for companies – in either new adjacent markets or by re-inventing their core business.

This month EC is highlighting a new Managing Director, Senior Growth & Business Design career opportunity for a global digital technology consulting firm client. In this role, our client is seeking candidates with the following:

• Experience selling and delivering business innovation programs for Fortune 500 clients in complex, global, matrix companies.
• Proven experience selling and driving transformational Experience-led initiatives across an enterprise.
• Demonstrated ability linking functional expertise with operational know-how and understanding of technology to drive digital solutions and positioning for clients around key platforms.
• Ability to translate human needs into tangible value to drive growth.
• Understand business drivers relative to improving operational performance while removing cost.
• Identify marketplace trends, pain points, competitive landscape, and be able to conceptualize and articulate differentiated offerings leveraging the firm’s experience/expertise.
• Ability to bring together and galvanize multi-functional teams to build new businesses – designers, industry strategists, venture architects, technologists, ecosystem partners.
• Outstanding oral, written and interpersonal communication skills; strong presentation skills necessary to communicate, and persuade, a wide range of audiences.

We are especially interested in speaking with executives with successful startup experience leading to successful exits, serial entrepreneurs, angel/venture investors, and corporate executives in large enterprises who have led successful business transformation initiatives. In addition to these experiences, 5-10+ YRS of business strategy and growth consulting experience is highly desired.

Please review this position specification for this exciting new career opportunity and let us know if you either have the background required for this role and are interested to be considered or if you can refer someone you highly admire and recommend. As always, we appreciate your input and feedback.

Best,
Jeff Gundersen, CEO & Founder

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Exclusive Announcement: Create a Powerhouse Personal Brand Presence That Delivers High Level Results With Executive Connection’s New “Inside Out Program”

Executive Connections is excited to announce our most powerful and all-inclusive personal brand program yet, the Brandity and CSJ developed “Inside Out Program”.  Whether you are looking to strategically position yourself for your next move, transition your brand, highlight your relevancy, attract the right high-level role, or gain clarity and understand how to better leverage opportunities online and offline, the Inside Out Program is able to guide you to your goals.

In the Covid pandemic recovery period, there is an increasingly tremendous demand for talent that you can capitalize on by strategically positioning what you have to offer. With many companies headed back to the office in the latter half of 2021 either full or part time, executives are not just returning to ‘business as usual’. Workplaces may look very different, with many companies adopting the increasingly popular hybrid model of full/part time presence in the office. After over a year of very casual work-from-home style, it’s prime time to update your personal wardrobe to put your best foot forward returning to the workplace. 

The Inside Out Program is uniquely designed to help you create a powerful brand presence that covers everything in your brand from ‘the Inside Out’ with your team of experts, Personal Brand Strategist& Career Transition Expert Lola White and Personal Brand Stylist Jessica Papineau. Lola and Jessica collaborate to combine the best of the Brandity and CSJ program offerings in one comprehensive program, exclusively offered through Executive Connections. 

Your program begins from the Inside mindfully developing and positioning your personal brand with Personal Branding Strategist, Lola White including:

• Comprehensive personal brand and image consulting – starting with a brand audit of how you are packaging yourself presently both online and offline to determine areas of opportunity and change
• Creating clarity and direction to uniquely position what you have to offer and attract desired opportunities. 
• Branded materials Redefined-Rewriting, updating and communicating your brand in a suite of new personal brand assets starting with your resume and LinkedIn, ensuring you have the desired presence you need where you need it most. 

Next, comes the Outside, working on your brand image with Personal Stylist Jessica Papineau to help you to take your brand one step further. You’ll receive:

• Personal style consulting and guidance for the visual aspects of your brand. 
• A full virtual closet edit creating a ‘look book’ of styled outfits.
• Photo shoot consultations
• Customized Style Boxes specifically researched and prepared for you based upon your needs and desires. (Including clothing, accessories and skin care options for you to select to augment your current wardrobe.) 

At program’s end in a short 12 weeks, you’ll step out with an interest-generating, comprehensive, and succinct authentic brand presence that will put you in the driver’s seat for the next steps of your career path. The Inside Out Program was created out of high demand, and we have already begun working with a number of clients with a limited number of opportunities to add given the comprehensive and fully dedicated approach. 

Please reach out to us to schedule a complimentary consultation with Lola and Jessica today. Contact Lola@brandity.com for more information.

Brandity.com division of Executive Connections, llc.

While most businesses are suffering downturns in 2020 due to the shutdowns and layoffs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many e-commerce and DTC businesses are gaining market share and growing rapidly as consumers (and businesses) order more products and services directly online. With the impacts of the pandemic expected to continue throughout most of 2021, companies in several sectors are investing in hiring Global Head, Digital Commerce positions with the goal of building young, entrepreneurial COE teams to grow digital commerce sales (and profits) through leveraging e-retailer and e-commerce platforms.

Our firm is currently managing an exclusive retained search for a Global Head, Digital Commerce for a global CPG client and it leverages similar assignments our firm has managed in other areas of digital transformation. If your business is seeking to raise it’s game in digital commerce and DTC distribution, pls. reach out and we will look forward to scheduling a call to discuss.

Best,

Jeff Gundersen – Founder & CEO

Dear Friends:

We trust everyone is staying safe and staying healthy during this crisis!

As you know, the economic impact of this COVID-19 pandemic has been far reaching, leaving 30 million+ people newly unemployed, with many highly regarded executives furloughed or laid off in several hard hit industry sectors (i.e., Retail, Travel/Hospitality, Advertising/Marketing Services).

While nationwide the economy is starting to slowly reopen, it will realistically take 6-9 months (and possibly longer) before several industry sectors return to levels of pre-crisis sales and profitability. So in the short-term, it’s best to look for flexible project/consulting work (in addition to full-time positions), draw upon government assistance programs and emergency savings, and reduce discretionary expenditures over the next several months in order to ride out this storm. 

If you have been laid off, or are fearful of potential company layoffs, continue to maintain a positive attitude during this pandemic and utilize this timeframe to be pro-active on behalf of your long-term career objectives. A good action step is to update your personal branding materials (resume, bio, headshot, LinkedIn profile, use of social media). EC’s Personal Branding practice is currently assisting several clients with re-branding and then providing targeted outreach support to EC connections to help clients identify new career opportunities. As Lola White, EC’s Chief Personal Branding Strategist, says, “No one should miss the opportunity to take advantage of a good crisis.” 

While many companies/sectors are contracting (or in some cases filing for bankruptcy), there are several sectors (i.e., DTC, E-Commerce, Supply Chain/Distribution) that are expanding and adding thousands of new positions (i.e., Amazon, Fedex, Omaha Steaks). If you have modern digital marketing and e-commerce skills and experience, we encourage you to connect with businesses that are currently growing and hiring based upon their excellence in DTC, E-Commerce, and Customer Service operations. 

I’m attaching an article written and published recently by my colleague, Darcy Bevelacqua, titled “5 Things You Should Be Doing Now To Enhance Your Long-term Career During Covid-19.” Darcy’s article contains sound advice that you can draw upon and utilize immediately.

As an executive search/placement firm, we made 2 executive placements in May during the “shelter in place” period, and we are aware of active search assignments at several other executive search firms. In fact, this crisis has made senior executives more accessible, since they are working remotely as well, so targeted communications are reaching CEOs directly. Our firm is helping clients to upgrade talent in specific areas (i.e., GTM Bus. Dev./Head of Partnerships, Customer Acquisition) that can accelerate growth and recovery plans. So get into action and explore parallel career paths (internal and external) during this crisis.

Looking ahead, economists project a strong recovery once the spread of the virus is contained and a vaccine is developed, which is almost a certainty within the next 12 months. We urge you to take proactive steps now to be best positioned to capitalize on this impending economic resurgence.

As always, we look forward to hearing from you and catching up and assisting you in anyway we can. 

Stay safe!

Best,

Jeff

 

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5 things you should be doing now to enhance your long-term career after Covid 19

by Darcy Bevelacqua

1.Plan for the future

Rethink your current business plan to understand what needs to change to make your company more competitive. Do research to identify innovation ideas you could test Be the solution to identify ways to improve productivity and the long-term growth of the company.

2.Build new digital skills

In the future there will be more need for digital skills ( SEO, content marketing, ecommerce, social media, etc.).Take some online classes while you are at home to build these skills. There are great classes at LinkedIn, Coursera, Udemy, AMA, etc. Most of these virtual classes are self-paced so jump in and move forward to build new knowledge and skills.

3.Be more visible

Post on social networks, schedule calls with co-workers and associates to check in. Do more virtual networking. Attend some on line conferences and meetings to meet new people and keep up with new trends.

4.Engage your team

You may not be an expert at managing remote teams but now is the time to step up and learn. You don’t want to lose your best employees because they didn’t feel valued or engaged. Reinforce their purpose and your appreciation for their unique contributions .Connect via go to meeting or zoom to encourage collaboration and sharing. Don’t forget to celebrate and share good news, 

5.Prepare to Pivot

Step up to the plate to take on new roles or lead agile teams trying new things or launching new offerings. Building new skills will make you more marketable in the future.

We are an execuitve search firm who also offers career planning.Please comment or connect with me at Dbevelacqua@executiveconnects.com

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LeadingResponse Builds Out Leadership Team

Tampa, Fla. – LeadingResponse, the national leader in client acquisition for the professional services industry, announces the hiring of Pamela Girardin as vice president, marketing and the promotion of John McCloskey to vice president, elective medical sales.

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Career Opportunities

Senior Director/ VP Business Development

We hope this e-zine message finds you working remotely and staying safe during this “highest risk” stage of the global COVID-19 virus pandemic!

COVID-19 is presenting unprecedented challenges to companies and citizens around the world. However, despite mandated business and office closures, “stay in place” orders, and social distancing, businesses and executives in career transition must continue moving forward!

As a “virtual” company since 2003 with consultants working nationwide from home offices, we offer this advice to our clients and friends while working remotely:

1. Use video conferencing – EC has used Skype, Zoom, and other video conference tools for decades to connect with people worldwide. Use videoconferencing to stay in touch with family, friends, and business partners. On a social basis, many friends/families are meeting for virtual “happy hours” via “Houseparty,” FaceTime, and other mobile apps. Maintaining personal contact is important especially during April 2020 when most of us are staying in and social distancing to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

2. Learn new skills – while conferences, schools, and other learning events are shuttered, there are many online blogs, webinars, and books available to support remote learning. Select a couple of new topics/skills that will enhance your personal brand and spend time reading and attending selected online programs to learn new skills that will expand your knowledge and capabilities.

3. Polish your brand – with layoffs happening in several hard-hit sectors, this is an ideal time to review and update your resume, bio, LinkedIn profile, and use of social media. Either on your own, or with a personal branding consultant, Google yourself and see what comes up. Then proceed with an action plan to update your personal brand materials to position yourself powerfully for new career opportunities when the global economic recovery arrives. EC is working with several clients currently on these updates.

 4. Keep a positive attitude – while this is a devastating situation, keep a “glass half full” attitude and remain positive knowing global solutions are underway that will resolve this crisis within the next several weeks and months.   

As a trusted executive search consulting and career transition management firm, EC consultants are offering clients 30 minute complimentary conference or video (“Zoom”) calls to connect and catch up, and offer our firm’s support/advice related to their biggest current brand/business challenge. 

If we have not already connected with you, pls. reply to this communication with dates/times and we will schedule a video call to catch up.

Stay safe!

Best,
Jeff Gundersen          

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Addendum – Current EC Executive Search and Career Transition Projects  

EC Advises Staying In Action 

EC is advising our clients to continue actively pursuing their long-term career objectives knowing the global economic impacts of the virus pandemic are forecasted to improve substantially by early in the 2nd half of 2020. With most of us working remotely, this is a great time to reconnect with past colleagues and friends, and use telephone calls and video conferences as a way of social networking and discussing new business and career opportunities.

The advantages of continuing to be in action now include: 

• With the majority of people working remotely for the next 30-60 days, people are actually easier to reach (and connect with) right now.
• For companies with talent/hiring needs, executives in hard hit sectors (i.e., travel, hospitality, retail) are more likely to consider a job change currently since layoffs are pending/happening in many sectors.
• For executives in career transition, senior leaders (CEOs and other C-level executives) are more accessible now since they are working remotely and traveling less than usual.

New EC Executive Search & Career Transition Assignments 

Our firm, Executive Connections LLC, is continuing to provide both retained executive search consulting services as well as career transition management services for displaced executives. 

Here are 3 current EC assignments that demonstrate EC business is still ongoing during the current COVID-19 crisis:

1. One of our clients (public company providing technology solutions) hired EC to recruit a Sr. Director, Business Development (Head of Partnerships). We advised our client the business slowdown in certain sectors (i.e., travel/hospitality, CPG, retail) might make highly desirable business development candidates more interested to explore new career opportunities.This assignment started on March 17 and the position description can be found on EC’s website under “New Career Opportunities.” EC has quickly reached and screened several qualified candidates who are beginning interviews currently with our client.

2. Another client is an ex-Chief Marketing & Chief Digital Officer of a regional banking company who recently accepted an exit package as part of a merger and subsequent corporate restructuring. EC is assisting our client to execute a targeted C-level outreach program to CEO in various sectors as well as PE firms. This campaign is scheduled to launch after the upcoming Easter holiday and the regional bank is paying EC to provide transition coaching and consulting services for this executive.

3. Another client is ex-Chief Marketing & Communications Officer of a global life insurance company who recently accepted an exit package as part of a corporate restructuring and is starting career transition. EC is assisting the client to execute a targeted C-level outreach program to CEOs in the retirement sector as well as related consulting firms, associations, and PE firms. This campaign launched recently and EC is acting as “exclusive talent agent” for this executive. The global life insurance company is paying for the career transition services via their outplacement benefits program.

Career Opportunities

Senior Director/ VP Business Development

One of the most fascinating things about the corporate branding world is just how durable the top brands are. In the annual survey of the top brands from branding consultancy InterBrand, the perennial No. 1, Coca Cola, has been around for more than 100 years, and most of the Top 100 are more than 60 years old. Across economic ups and downs, vast structural changes in the global economy, and sometimes even changes in corporate ownership, the value of branding persists and grows.

We see a corresponding leverage in personal branding as well. Developing a personal brand puts more of your career and personal destiny in your hands. It’s the key to not being buffeted by what the economy is doing, or being at the mercy of corporate maneuverings, but instead seizing control of your own fate. There is great personal power, no matter where you are in your career, in knowing that your fate is no longer in the hands of others, but under your own control.

But while the idea of branding is something we all understand as it relates to the corporate world, what’s hard to “get” sometimes, is that we all already have a personal brand. The issue isn’t whether to create a personal brand, but how to go about refining and maximizing the value of the one we already have.

You Are A Personal Brand, Like It Or Not

“Everyone has a personal brand, whether they like it or not,” says Peter Montoya, a personal branding expert and author of The Brand Called You. In Montoya’s words, a personal brand is “the powerful, clear, positive idea that comes to mind whenever other people think of you.” It’s the values, abilities and actions you stand for, or, as he puts it, your personal brand is “who you are, what you do and what makes you different or how you create value.”

The value of personal branding is a little easier to see as it relates to small business owners or solo entrepreneurs – for whom personal branding and corporate branding tend to blend together – and this is where much of the personal branding literature is targeted.

However, we find that it is C-level corporate executives who, in many ways, have the most at stake in developing (or not) their personal brands. Senior level executives get so caught up and tied up in their day-to-day responsibilities, that they often don’t build strong personal networks or take time for personal development.

The Personal Branding Process

Consider the first steps that go into the strategic branding process. Here, the goal is to identify and articulate a company’s core promise (or the core promise of a product or service) that it makes to its customers, employees, business partners, investors, stakeholders and to itself. This process, as it unfolds, must result in clear answers to the following questions: What does the company stand for? What are the distinctive characteristics of the company’s products or services? How relevant are these to the needs of the marketplace?

The personal branding process is very similar, only you start with…you. Beginning with a personal brand assessment, you have to essentially go through a personal SWOT analysis, honestly assessing what you offer your organization, how you are perceived beyond your organization, and where opportunities exist for further strengthening your brand.

Building upon that, you define who you are, what is truly important to you and what makes you unique—and then you build your brand around that core set of values and focus areas. In marketing terms, you uncover your “unique value proposition.” From there, you can more easily define what segment of the “market” you want to serve, both in terms of your current job and career, and your life goals.

Where Is Your Personal Brand Heading in 2020?

As you approach yearend, it’s an ideal time to assess where your personal brand is heading in 2020 and beyond. Perhaps you are finishing an assignment and will be transitioning out to begin a search for new career opportunities. Or perhaps you are secure in your position, however, changes in company leadership or strategic decisions have caused you to feel less committed to this company for the long term. You may also have added new skills (i.e., Analytics, CX, MarTech) that make you ready for a higher position along your career path roadmap.

EC works with many executives annually who decide to be proactive about personal branding and developing/implementing plans to make strategic career changes. If you are one of these executives, pls. reach out to us and schedule a call to discuss your career plans and learn about EC’s personal branding and career transition programs.

Best,

Jeff Gundersen

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Career Opportunities

To see the complete position descriptions for our additional career opportunities, please use the following links:

Our rapidly growing client is one the earliest publicly traded companies serving the legal cannabis industry.  We are assisting them in completing their merchandising, supply chain, and marketing organizations.  This is an entrepreneurial environment that is looking for B2B and B2C talent to mature business processes while supporting continued rapid expansion.  Candidates will be self confident and able to operate in a dynamic environment while leading or participating in establishing and hardening merchandising, supply chain, and ecommerce processes. 

• Product Manager, Cannabis Industry
• Purchasing Manager, Cannabis Industry
• Merchandise Planner, Cannabis Industry
• Merchandising Manager, Cannabis Industry

This client has been around more than 10 years with a product that helps auto dealers convert phone leads into sales. They’ve invested in upgrading the product, which has enabled them to take market share. Looking for qualified candidates anywhere in the US who have automotive sales experience working with dealers, franchise  owners and OEMs. Need to have SAAS experience as well. Company is located just north of Baltimore, MD. Looking for experienced sales leaders who can help grow the business with a 3-5x multiple.

• VP Sales, SAAS product, Automotive Dealer Sector
  

PE-backed, Niche Marketing Services Company: Our client is a specialized marketing services company founded in 1995. They have historically focused on customer acquisition for small- and medium- size companies in the financial advisory and legal fields, and are growing their business in the medical services and senior living space. The company deploys a variety of acquisition methods using digital (SEO, SEM, social media, display, video, paid and earned media, email and webinars) and traditional (direct mail and phone) methods that are supported by proprietary technology and advanced data analytics. The company has approximately 160 employees with offices in Tampa, Fl and Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX. The company is very profitable and is growing quickly. Longer term it is expected there will be a significant increase in growth as they enter new markets through organic growth and acquisition. The company is backed by a well know PE firm that has been investing in product development, executive talent, and analytics. 

• Vice President, Marketing – Marketing Services Provider

I look forward to connecting with you.
Best,
Jeff

by Darcy Bevelacqua, Managing Director, Analytics & CX

With the economy expanding, finding great talent is harder than ever. We’re seeing new trends that make it even harder to attract high quality talent. The power of recruiting is moving from the employer to the employee and we will need to adjust to retain and attract the best and the brightest.

1. Put the needs of candidates first

We need to begin our transformation by thinking about the needs of the candidates, not just the needs of the company. How do we nurture job seekers? Do we give them the same respect we give a potential customer? Do we make it easy for potential hires to find out about our job openings?

We have a new trend in recruiting called “ghosting.” This means a person who disappears, or goes missing in action without any explanation. According to NPR employees may not bother to tell you they are resigning, and they may skip on jobs without a text, email, or other communications. The same thing is happening with potential candidates. According to Cutch, a market insight firm, 50% of job seekers think it’s reasonable to ghost a potential employer, meaning they don’t show up for interviews, or work, and lose interest in the recruiting process.

No one is sure if this is because of the power shift in a tight market, or millennial malaise, or something else. Regardless, it’s a growing trend we need to avoid.

We need to start things off with new candidates on the right note. This means having a tight hiring process where everyone knows what to expect and candidates are constantly updated as things go along. Gone are the days where you can take weeks to get back to them.

2. Improving your Company Reputation

It’s also important to protect your company reputation. If you keep candidates in the loop too long, word spreads and it will come back to haunt you. Clear communications during the early stages are essential to avoid ghosting. 

94% of potential candidates  (ICMS study) will check out your company reputation on Linkedin, Facebook, Glass Door, etc.  They listen to the opinions of their peers. One third of potential candidates have not accepted a job based on the employer reputation ( ICIMS Modern Job Seeker Report).The only way to counter this, is to get your employees to share their positive workplace experiences on these platforms and to recognize that employees are a critical part of your long-term success. Build your brand reputation by showing the world what good you do and building a workplace where people are respected and valued.

Implement an employee referral program. Make it easy for employees to share open positions and job postings with their friends. Recognize and reward employees for bringing new employees into the company.

3. Improve your on boarding process

As an executive recruiter we find the onboarding process in the first 90 days to be critical to the candidate’s success. You need to take time to get the new employee up and running. Introduce them to people they need to know, build a detailed 90 day plan that outlines the expected goals and outcomes. Be sure management and the employee participate in the plan. Hold regular meetings to provide  feedback so the employee knows how to adjust their style to be successful. Look for some short-term wins to help the employee feel comfortable that they are making a positive contribution.

We think that all executives should have an executive coach for their first 90 days. This helps them make the required adjustment and get 360 feedback so they get off on the right foot. Making the right first impression can be  the difference between success and failure.

4. Invest in your employees and your culture

Employees need to feel that they are developing and learning new things along the way. An IBM study found employees are 12 times more likely to quit when they feel like they aren’t developing.  Find ways to challenge your employees and help them grow. This can be course work, attendance at trade shows, shadowing other employees, visiting with co-workers in other locations, special projects, time off for charity work etc.

Invest in your culture. This is a combination of your mission, values and work environment. On a regular basis be sure you are communicating your values and showing how you live those values every day. Employees want to be a part of something bigger then themselves, so think about how you want to reinforce your values. Ask employees what you could be doing that you are not. Highlight he values you want in your internal communications and be sure to celebrate your success and the employees who make it happen.

5. Think about your total offer package

Your total offer package is more than the salary/compensation people receive. It includes your employee benefits, your working environment, your cafeteria, educational opportunities, work-life balance, recognition, family leave policies, community service, etc.

One perk that is getting more attention these days is flexible work hours and the ability to work from home to help employees meet their family obligations. This enables employees to be more productive and increase their productivity while balancing their personal lives.

Recognizing employees and their teams for a job well done, so employees know your value their contributions. Gift cards for employee of the month, or those that have gone above and beyond.

Encouraging employees to take vacation is another important part of the work balance environment. Places who have unlimited vacation are finding employees may actually take less vacations. Be sure to have senior management take their full vacations so employees feel that taking their vacation time makes a positive contribution.

Summary

Make your company the place that people come to build their careers! Build an authentic culture and work to continuously improve it. With the market demand favoring candidates in high demand areas (i.e., Analytics, CX, MarTech), it is advisable to retain an experienced, well-regarded executive search firm partner to help find the right talent, shorten recruiting timetables, and assist in placed candidate transition support coaching/consulting. Pls. call our firm, Executive Connections LLC, if we can be of assistance in upcoming talent acquisition needs.

As we write this month’s e-zine the April jobs report was just released showing 263,000+ new jobs added in April and unemployment falling to 3.6%. In our domain and specialization building global marketing and marketing services organizations, we are seeing in 2019 the emergence of a strong “seller’s market” in terms of the demand, movement, and cost of executive-level marketing talent.

Especially in “hot” areas including Analytics, Customer Experience (CX), and MarTech (Marketing Technology), current demand is far exceeding supply of qualified talent and this has led to top-tier talent being snapped up quickly at ever higher compensation levels. In 3 of our recent search assignments, qualified candidates we identified accepted new job offers (at significant compensation increases) even before we were able to schedule initial interviews with our clients. Now may be the time to review your hiring procedures to see if you can streamline your hiring process to reduce the cycle time from interview to offer. 

In this “hot” talent market, companies are well advised to place an increased emphasis on retaining their best talent while re-evaluating and adjusting target compensation levels for various “high demand” roles (Analytics, CX, MarTech) where market pricing has increased dramatically based upon market demand. It’s also important to invest in your company reputation to attract the best talent. Look at your Glassdoor reviews and your online social media to be sure the company is positioned as a great place to work. 

At EC, we advise our clients to emphasize selling the attractiveness of the company’s vision and culture, long-term career path opportunities, and the long-term financial rewards (i.e., stock grants, profit sharing) associated with joining their organizations with the expectation of a long, satisfying career run leading to mutual financial prosperity.

Executive Connections has recently completed analytics, branding, CX, digital, marketing, MarTech, and mktg. operations searches for clients including Accenture Interactive, Avenues – World School, Deloitte Digital, OneTouchPoint, Prudential, RRD, and Staples. We would love to assist you in upcoming talent acquisition needs, so pls. schedule a conference call with our team to catch up.

Best, 

Jeff Gundersen, CEO

Abby Spatz Joins Avenues as VP, Global Marketing 

EC is pleased to announce Abby Spatz has joined our client, Avenues – The World School, in the newly created role of Vice President, Global Marketing. In this role, Abby will be responsible for establishing and executing Avenues’ marketing strategy around the world to build their global brand, attract and engage all audiences and achieve key organizational goals, including full enrollment, in each country and market where Avenues operates. Abby’s career includes more than 20 years of integrated marketing expertise with global consumer lifestyle brands, including NYC Tourism, Hilton, American Express, Chanel, Coca-Cola and eBay. With experience on both the brand and agency side, Abby has developed a proven track record of success working across a broad range of disciplines including brand strategy, advertising, media, PR, experiential, engagement and partnerships, and has extensive experience with traditional and digital media, content and activation. Named one of Brandweek’s “Next Generation Marketers” for her work leading global marketing and advertising at Hilton Hotels, Abby has focused on brand strategy and strategic platforms and program development for domestic and international brand development and activation. Most recently, Abby worked with a number of smaller, high-growth companies to launch and build their brands, drive revenue growth and increase customer engagement. Abby holds an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, as well as a BA in English and Sociology, also from Emory University.  Abby will report to Peter Vaughn, Chief Experience Officer, a long-time EC client and friend from American Express prior to Avenues.

Executive Connections handled this exclusive, retained search assignment for Avenues. As part of Abby’s transition into this new global marketing leadership role, EC will be providing our unique, proprietary “Blended Solutions” offering including 6+ months of one-on-one confidential consulting/coaching to assist Abby in her successful transition into Avenues. We wish Abby continued success in this new career opportunity!

The Challenge of Hiring Experienced Talent in the Age of Full Employment

We are in a war for experienced talent. In our firm we see very high demand for people with Customer Experience, Analytics /Data Science and Marketing Technology skills.

Gone are the days of creating an online ad and expecting you will find hidden gems. Instead you need to change the way you address hiring in order to attract the high-quality talent you need. Today , people aren’t your most important asset , they are your only asset.

Step 1: Forget your current job descriptions. You need to rethink what is required versus what is nice to have. How many years of experience is enough? Does an MBA actually  matter? Do they need experience with  your particular platform or is knowledge of a similar product sufficient? Interview the staff to find out what is really important, gain consensus on the key mission of the job, and update the job description accordingly. You should be looking for people with experience and a continuous learning mindset who can learn the “new” thing in your environment because you are constantly evolving and you want a person who will grow with you. 

Step 2: Sell the job and the company.  A job description needs to sell the company and the position so put your best foot forward. Selling the company means thinking about how you are going to empower the potential employee. Are you giving them responsibility and authority to take on the task at hand? Do you have sufficient resources (money and people) to help the candidate succeed and thrive in this role? Will you provide an executive coach to help them make the transition and integrate quickly into your culture? Will you assign a mentor? Can they work remotely? Why is your company a great place to work?

Step 3: Update your salary ranges. You need to update your salary ranges to reflect market reality in your geographic area. Skilled resources are in demand and can work anywhere. Your first choice should be a local resource, not someone you have to relocate from another market and hope they will succeed. When you re-examine the compensation for everyone in the department you may find you are under-paying and are vulnerable to getting poached. Even if it seems expensive reconsider how you will get the team to parity with the marketplace. New Federal law prohibits discriminating (i.e., against women and other diversity candidates) by asking for a person’s current compensation, so be careful and state what the job pays. Don’t be afraid to pay someone a big increase if you feel they are qualified.

Step 4: Build your organization’s brand reputation. You should be building your organization’s brand reputation every day using online and offline methods. Today’s employees are interested in understanding your brand promise and your mission. State them clearly and then reinforce them. Prospective employees need to be convinced that you are a great place to work. You should be monitoring Glassdoor, Facebook, LinkedIn, other social media sites, and news to understand your organization’s reputation. Assign someone in HR to monitor and report on your organization’s brand reputation.

You should be surveying your employees and collecting their feedback on a regular basis. This will help you understand what issues need to be addressed. If you need help your marketing team and customer experience teams should be able to provide some guidance.

Step 5: Streamline your Interviewing and hiring process. In order to attract the best talent, you will need to create a seamless process that provides timely candidate feedback and  makes hiring decisions quickly. It is not unusual for Executive Recruiters like us to recommend a candidate only to have them take another offer within 2 weeks. If you are looking for great talent-so are your competitors. You need to:

1. Set up a formal screening process that is responsive to candidate flow so you can screen people in a few days.
2. Establish your internal criteria for how you will evaluate candidates and get all the interviewers on board. Require interviewers to provide feedback in 24 hours.
3. Bring people in for a day and get as many people as you need to interview them. If someone can’t be available on site, provide for Skype or Zoom or some other tool to make it possible to have a “face to face” meeting.
4. Work with the HR team so you can make an immediate offer without going through a lot of internal approvals that may slow down the process.

If you need help finding and hiring senior marketing talent, reach out to Executive Connections LLC. We are experienced marketing practitioners who are focused on executive recruiting. We are happy to help with improving the employee experience and helping you hire the talent you need.

Darcy Bevelacqua, Managing Director – Analytics/CX/MarTech – Executive Connections LLC DBevelacqua@executiveconnectionsllc.com

Happy New Year!

At Executive Connections LLC, our executive search/placement business is a leading indicator of business activity, either upward or downward, based upon the intentions of global CEOs.

We are pleased to report we see continued strength on the horizon with many signs of strong talent acquisition demands on both the marketing and marketing services sides of our business.

Marketers, and their CMOs, are focused on reimagining omni-channel customer experience, in addition to branding, communications, and marketing. This has resulted in CMOs transitioning to Chief Experience Officers, heightening demand for talent in Analytics and Customer Experience (CX), in addition to traditional Branding, Communications, and Marketing.

Marketing Services firms (Agency Holding Companies & Technology Consultancies) are increasingly focused on assisting CMOs, CIOs, and CXOs in transforming global omni-channel customer experience, and the market share gains and inroads over the past 5-10 years by technology insurgents (including Accenture Interactive & Deloitte Digital) have led many industry analysts to the conclusion the technology consultancies are setting the tone for the future.

We are including in this month’s issue an interesting article published last week by Allison Schiff at AdExchanger, an interview with Andy Main, CEO of Deloitte Digital, titled Deloitte Digital: We’re Setting The Tone For The Future, Not Trying To Invade And Take Over Agencies”

We wish all of our clients and friends a safe, prosperous New Year…..and we look forward to working together as talent acquisition needs arise in 2019!

Best,

Jeff Gundersen
CEO & Founder

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Deloitte Digital: ‘We’re Setting The Tone For The Future, Not Trying To Invade And Take Over Agencies’
by Allison Schiff // Wednesday, January 2nd, 2019

Andy Main, head of Deloitte Digital, is a little tired of hearing people say consultancies are trying to muscle the agencies off of Madison Avenue.

“I’d actually say the agencies are trying to copy the Deloitte Digitals of the world,” Main said. “And when someone copies you, I guess you should be flattered.”

Unlike Accenture, which launched its own programmatic services unit in May, Deloitte Digital isn’t much enamored of the media game. Leave that to the duopoly, Main said, and, well, the media agencies.

“We actually work with a ton of media agencies and placement companies, and we partner with Facebook and Google, to bring that part of the repertoire to the client,” he said. “We think that focusing on owned media is a much better use of marketing spend than paid, because you can capture first-party data and use it for personalization.”

AdExchanger chatted with Main about agency mergers, digital transformation and the changing role of the CMO.

AdExchanger: Deloitte Digital describes itself as a “creative digital consultancy.” How’s that different from, well, an agency?

ANDY MAIN: When we started, we were focused on helping businesses compete on customer experience and customer relationships. A lot of that was on the creative front-end. We bought Magnetic in September for analytics and algorithms to feed into the experience, and that required the confluence of technical design, business skills and creative. We scaled our creative and digital consulting to reflect that. It’s about business model innovation and enabling businesses to come up with new value propositions.

In a way, Martin Sorrell is copying that model with S4. He bought a programmatic business [in MightyHive], but if you look more closely, it’s really about technology plus design, marketing and experience all wrapped together.

Any plans to acquire a programmatic media company of your own or launch a programmatic service unit like Accenture?

We place media through Facebook and DoubleClick. It’s not as if we don’t do it, it just hasn’t been a focus on the business, and that’s because the margins in media are so poor. Why would I enter a market others want to get out of?

We also thoroughly believe in the notion of ecosystem. If you don’t have an asset yourself, but you have a friend who does – like media, for us – why not simply partner?

When brands bring you in, I assume you sometimes find yourself sitting around a conference room table with people from their agencies. Does that ever get awkward?

It’s usually quite friendly. We’re not really adversaries. We’ve all got one common interest and that’s to serve the client we’re working with.

There’s a narrative out there that consultancies are pretty much trying to steamroll Madison Avenue, though. Fair?

I’d actually say we’re setting the tone for the future, not trying to invade and take over agencies. The media business has essentially already been taken over by Facebook and Google, and they’re the ones eating the agencies’ lunch, not us. Agencies with a media-heavy bias to their business model are struggling to shed that as a main source of revenue, but they can’t change quickly enough.

What do you think about the recent spate of agency mergers, like Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R?

It’s inevitable. It makes total sense to merge these assets together, and I would do the same if I were running a holding company, because the market needs greater versatility from agencies. One way to get that is by combining the bits you’ve already got.

But big companies haven’t been taught to work this way, and agencies within a holding company are often competitive on the P&Ls and generally suspicious of each other. Culturally, this sort of thing is very hard to pull off. It’s not as easy as it might sound when it’s being described in a press release.

Seems like everything’s in flux. How about the CMO role? How has that changed over the last year?

CMOs are more like chief experience officers now. Their job description is being redefined, because there has to be messaging at all touchpoints, not just when someone is buying something. Smart CMOs have realized that they need to care about the entire customer experience, not just marketing, awareness and demand generation.

We’re also seeing a trend toward more moments-based customer experience design as opposed to linear progressions and journey maps, which are outliving their usefulness. People don’t operate conveniently in sequential steps – they operate in moments that best suit their lives.

Now’s probably a good time to talk about digital transformation. How are you helping brands through that evolutionary process?

Digital transformation is about discovering unmet human needs to help a business win for the future, and that means figuring out what needs to be transformed across experience and services. Marketing agencies aren’t doing that, because they only really focus on marketing, awareness, influencing me to buy a new product.

Marketing is the thing you do at the end of business transformation, once you’ve figured out what you’re transforming to. For a life insurance company like Transamerica, that means helping them rethink the intersection between health and wealth, while for a Starbucks or a Chipotle, the unmet need might be enabling people to order ahead so they don’t have to wait in line.

Our job is to flip these unmet needs into an offering and put it into the market quickly and successfully. To do that, you need to be super adaptive and have strategy skills, innovation skills, creative skills, digital technology skills and human-centered design all under one roof. Marketing is an integral part of transforming a business, but it comes in toward the end of the journey, and it’s far from the only thing a business has to solve for.

How do you approach hiring talent?

Our hiring is tied to the agency world. A lot of people have come to us from Sapient and Razorfish, in particular, because they’re looking for more of a confluence between technology and creativity. That’s appealing to a lot of creatives.

“Cagency,” “consulgency,” “agencelcy” – all of these are terrible, but what portmanteau should we use when the line between agency and consultancy gets completely blurred?

Ha. I’ll have to get back to you on that.

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Congratulations, Taylor!
EC wants to acknowledge Taylor Patchen, Director of AR/VR Brand Strategy at Vertebrae, for recently being named one of the “Top 30 Under 30” in Marketing & Advertising by FORBES magazine. Congratulations Taylor, who was an EC “Rising Star” in 2013 at the outset of her marketing career.

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Current Career Opportunities

• Global Director of Marketing Private School
• Director Digital and Media Analytics
• Marketing Manager, Cloud-based Legal Practice Management
• Senior Full Stack Engineer

To Our Clients & Friends,

The Thanksgiving season is a time for us to reflect on our gratefulness for the family, friends, and many blessings we have been fortunate to receive and experience throughout the current year.

To all of our clients, connections, business partners, family, and friends, we thank you for your support throughout the year and we send our best wishes to all for a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and upcoming holiday season!

Jeff Gundersen

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Improving Employee Experience through Digital Transformation

by Darcy Bevelacqua, Managing Director – Analytics & Customer Experience

Forrester says 56% of companies have official digital transformation projects underway, but many don’t realize transformation will be a permanent state of being. 21% of businesses think they are “finished” with digital transformation but they are just past the beginning phase.

We all know that as a company leader we are constantly being asked to do more with less resources. We have to manage our people and our culture to make it a great place to work and a great experience for our customers.

How do we facilitate innovative and flexible working practices to keep us moving forward? We need to work with our management team to create tech-based solutions and tools to allow employees to be productive, creative, and engaged at any time, in any place.

Even though the pace of change is very rapid, technology innovation has transformed the way we live and work. We need to be able to communicate, collaborate, share knowledge, and engage each other on demand. If we can’t do this, it will have a profound impact on our productivity and innovation no matter what size organization we work in.

Our workforce is more diverse (more cultures, languages, generations) and we need to be able to work with each other, other companies (partners), and outside contractors effectively. Teams can be assembled on demand from all over the world. However, they all need to work together closely communicating and collaborating. We need to enable an accessible digital workplace that is responsive to globalization and technology change. We are in the middle of a talent deficit where the average tenure of US employees is shrinking from 4.6 years in 2014 to 4.2 years in 2016 (Deloitte). However, getting the employee experience right is a challenge. It can have crippling effects on productivity, employee engagement, security, and the pace of innovation.

The real challenge is enabling our workforce to function in new ways when we are in the middle of a talent crunch. We need to find ways to engage with openness, equity, community and purpose. When the world is driving people apart – organizations need to find a way to unify and engage. These 6 steps should help.

1. Create knowledge management and work product management solutions: This is a secure place to retain information and knowledge across the enterprise. This is a place to store information, look up policies and procedures, and find the right internal contacts.
2. Communication and Community: We need to connect people across all platforms – including countries, languages, and departments. Let people review, persuade, check in, and engage with one another. Empower people to express themselves and share news.
3. Collaboration: Enable co-authorization, file sharing, calendar coordination, in order to bring people together physically and contextually. Create “gathering” areas for employees to share and discuss.
4. Social Engagement: Allow employees to manage their own profiles, share their opinions and knowledge, and comment on what is going on. This lets employees connect with other people and get to know them on a more personal level.
5. Security: User authentication, identity management, data loss recovery, encryption, and employee privacy protection.
6. Tech Support & Flexibility: Be able to grow and evolve your technology platforms to integrate with other systems such as Salesforce, HR, IT, ticket management, Office 365, Google Suite etc.

We know that the coming year 2019 will bring us success and challenges. Preparing to be the best to attract and retain the right talent will only make it easier to achieve your goals.

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Chris Hendren – Managing Director – Analytics, Retail & Technology

EC is pleased to welcome Chris Hendren who recently joined our firm as Managing Director – Analytics, Retail & Technology.

Chris is a business strategy, digital transformation, and technology professional with more than 25 years experience leading clients as they redesign and re-architect their businesses leveraging data and technology to transform operations and customer experiences. As a former member of IBM’s exclusive Industry Academy, Chris is a recognized retail thought leader, innovator, and speaker with deep experience in all aspects of the consumer industries.

Chris has spent the last 15 years at IBM in a variety of executive sales and consulting leadership roles having joined IBM as part of IBM’s acquisition of PWC (Price Waterhouse Coopers). Most recently as Vice President Analytic Solutions, Chris led sales and delivery of IBM’s Watson and Advanced Analytics portfolio. Prior to that he led an incubation unit in IBM software group focused on advanced analytics and AI (artificial intelligence). His skills span business, technology, and organization strategy, solution design, implementation, and technology and sales consulting, having held senior roles in global solution sales, software and offering management, and technology consulting.

Throughout his career Chris has assisted his executive clients achieve outstanding results having led some of the most strategic transformations and sales programs for leading retailers in big box, food, food service, entertainment, luxury & fashion apparel, discount, and department store segments. He’s especially proud of his leadership of IBM’s industry solutions strategy & sales enablement during a critical period in IBM’s transformation from products to solution provider. In addition to his technology breadth, Chris brings deep functional expertise having held officer roles in finance, operations, and supply chain for progressively larger retailers earlier in his career.

Chris is a long-time supporter of children’s welfare causes and serves as executive advisor to the CEO of organization serving underserved youth. He is a former board member of a charitable regional mental health organization and is an advocate for the support of the homeless.