This will be a year of increased diversity, reverse board placements and risk awareness,
plus the drive to deliver intellectual challenges.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., January 25, 2018 – Calibre One, a global boutique executive search firm specializing in building diverse leadership teams for technology innovators and companies undergoing digital transformation, today announces its take on 2018’s top hiring trends. Based on first-hand experience and its data collected in recent months, Calibre One’s leadership says that 2018 will be a year of expanded reverse board placements due to the successes companies have experienced in adopting this strategy. Meanwhile, experts at the company also anticipate increased diversity placements, risk awareness, and the need provide intellectual challenge along with salaries and benefits.
“Calibre One has forecasted top trends, based on our broad view of the market, in close collaboration with customers and partners who are assessing and implementing hiring strategies in their companies and industries,” said Dan Grosh, Managing Partner of Calibre One’s San Francisco office. “We have been at the forefront of major hiring shifts over the years, and Calibre One believes 2018 will mark an important phase in the industry as technology organizations seek to hire the best talent while meeting their business strategies.”
According to Calibre One, the Top 2018 Hiring Trends will be:
- Expanded Reverse Board Placement Strategies – As a practice that has gained widespread acceptance in recent years, the strategy of implementing reverse board placements – where executives are placed on the boards of other companies — has hit its stride as its benefits are recognized, and we will see a significant increase in the practice in 2018, with Calibre One offering the unique expertise to perform board-level searches that meet the needs of all involved. Research since 2015 has shown that companies that encourage their executives to serve on the boards of other companies reap the benefits of a more well-rounded team as well as positive exposure among the broader market along with improved networking. This is why, Calibre One predicts that, in 2018, we will see ever more interest in this practice.
- Increased Diversity – Today’s chief executives and directors are a growing mix of genders, ethnicities and professionals with a broader, more global vision. However, there are challenges to hiring diversity candidates for executive roles: the lack of a deep candidate pool, gender bias (often unconscious or inadvertent), fear of hiring a candidate without ample experience, and the reality that sought-after, high-performing diversity candidates are often more expensive than their peers. “Committing to a thoughtful search process for diversity candidates can be a tough path,” according to Diane McIntyre, Senior Partner. “However, Calibre One works with its clients to develop and implement a holistic hiring strategy to enable diversity searches to move faster, with more economy, and with top candidates.” This goes well beyond simply identifying prospective candidates — to helping companies demonstrate a proven culture of diversity, and expanding evaluation criteria outside vertical expertise or educational credentials to include invaluable soft skills such as emotional intelligence and problem solving. McIntyre adds, “More often than not, the cumulative impact of these critical soft skills are more vital for sustainability within the organization than expertise.”
- Risk Awareness – Companies would do well to pay attention to and plan for risk in 2018. Topmost among the potential risks companies are facing are pay equity and sexual harassment issues. To curb this, companies will need to justly compensates new hires and effectively communicate a company culture that has zero tolerance for harassment.
- Intellectual Challenge – Intellectual challenges will drive leaders as much as compensation will. Competitive salaries, benefits, stock options and other perks are viewed as automatic givens that are simply expected. In 2018, hiring companies need to keep in mind that executive-level leaders are highly motivated to make a difference in their companies and in their industries. Therefore, a significant trend in 2018 is the need to intellectually challenge company leadership, primarily with purposeful goals.
Calibre One promotes workplaces that embrace cultures of diversity and inclusion – with a blend of culture, background and perspectives. It champions a well-balanced leadership team, and works closely with its clients to curate a diverse pool of talent.
“As the only boutique executive search firm with global scale, Calibre One offers the unique combination of high-touch, partner-led service along with access to a global network of the best talent in the world. As such, we are poised to guide our clients through all of the above trends and more,” adds Grosh.
About Calibre One
Founded in 1999 by some of the executive search profession’s most experienced recruiters, Calibre One is a global boutique executive search firm specializing in building diverse leadership teams for technology innovators and companies undergoing digital transformation. Its team members bring an exceptional level of knowledge, integrity and tenacity to everything it does. This is underscored by Calibre One’s transparent, consultative approach and proven methodology. Calibre One’s team doesn’t just understand the technology industry and digital transformation – it has invested in the advanced technology platforms that enable it to offer a 360-degree view to the entire process, along with the analytics to help identify the right candidate and reduce risk. Calibre One’s sister company, Arete Partners, is a specialist in executive search services for director, manager-level and other high potential positions. Through its relentless pursuit of excellence, Calibre One leaves no stone unturned. For more information, please visit https://www.calibreone.com.
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Contact: Donna St. Jean Conti, APR
Public Relations Manager
Visual Identity Group
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donna@visualidentitygroup.com