Culture shock
Says LeaderShape’s Danielle Grant: With the remuneration for a role at this level set at well over £100,000 per annum, executive search fees were more than £33,000. Targeting front-end investment on this important hire has shown real benefits for the company and the individual, resulting in stability, growth and returns that have now exceeded initial expectations.”
In 2005 a United States owned household name discount retail chain recruited a new Senior Vice President from another American-owned entertainment retailer. The move was to a firm that looked similar in terms of its cultural fit. The culture shock for the new hire, however, was profound; the role was much more American-focused than the more autonomous UK-centric culture they had known. Also, their function was seen as less pivotal to the overall business strategy than had been the case previously.
Says executive LJHad it not been for the mentoring provided by LeaderShape in those early days, it is unlikely that I would have stayed beyond 12 months at most. I had an exceptional coach with a deep ability to deliver the right combination of challenge and support to top executives. The process was highly commercial with a strongly honed sense of how to maximise individual potential.”
This Senior Vice President used the mentoring opportunity to identify ways to understand and navigate the political waters of the new organisation, making quick wins that would build their stock and that of their department. An added benefit was they found the mentoring provided them with improved energy levels and a sense of resourcefulness. Three years on, they have now moved to the U.S. to take up a global role with the same company – proving the power of precision support at the vulnerable new-hire stage.