Utilizing Executive Search Services

By Jamie Ferguson, VP of Global Business Development, Maxwell Drummond

A recent survey by Lloyds’ Banking Group indicated that the strained supply of talent in the oil and gas industry is having a detrimental effect on future growth with 46% of respondents deeming the skills shortage as a hindrance if companies fail to overcome it. As these shortages continue, surges in demand, the need for niche and highly specialized experience and an aging workforce have forced companies to implement new talent acquisition strategies to overcome the present deficits. A common element in many strategies is partnering with retained executive recruitment firms to aid in the search for certain types of talent.

Companies use executive search consultancies for various reasons. Recruiting for unique mixtures of characteristics and skills and for executive leadership positions can be very cumbersome. The time that it takes to properly research prospective candidates, generate interest and qualify them for the position is often more than hiring managers are able to spend on one role. The extensive research involved in executive recruiting ensures that the most highly qualified individuals are not over looked. In a recent study from the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), HR executives surveyed conveyed that they were most likely to use retained executive search for confidential searches, cross border searches, when they are seeking market intelligence and when there are strict time constraints. Executive search is also heavily relied upon to conduct the most challenging and important searches to a company and the practice is highly regarded among leading HR executives, especially for roles in the higher compensation ranges of $200,000 and above. At this level, if the wrong candidate is hired there is a potential for a catastrophic effect on the company’s position with its shareholders or their position in the market place.

Oil and gas companies are beginning to look internationally for talent. Australian companies are looking at the Canadian workforce for skilled workers; companies with unconventional operations in international markets are looking to the US for experience. With the globalization of the industry, the workforce is becoming globalized as well, and streamlined immigration and visa policies are allowing this to continue at a rapid pace. Executive search consultancies with global capabilities can offer companies a more international slate of candidates with various skill sets and experiences.

Deloitte’s TalentEdge 2020 report indicates that recruiting hard-to-find skill sets as a top area of concern for the coming years. With the development of new technology and more innovative methods of extracting hydrocarbon reserves, niche technical skill sets are becoming increasingly important. The networks built by search consultants allow them to quickly identify these types of individuals and build relationships with them. If there are 10 qualified individuals for a certain position in the world, chances are that an executive search firm has access to the majority of them through their internationally developed networks.

Utilizing executive search services takes the guess work out of recruiting for these positions and offers shareholders and company leaders peace of mind that due diligence is being paid to the task.

About the author
Jamie Ferguson joined Maxwell Drummond’s Aberdeen team in 2006 and by July 2011 was promoted to Vice President of Global Business Development. Jamie has extensive experience managing executive level searches for clients spanning the oil and gas value chain and has deep industry networks developed from working on assignments in over 20 countries on 6 continents.

Maxwell Drummond International is a world leading retained search consultancy offering professional search services to clients in all sectors of the energy and natural resources industries.