Ana Ber, Managing Director of Pendl & Piswanger Romania, describes the challenges and opportunities for managers in 2022 in an interview with Intersearch.
Excerpts from the interview:
2021 is about to end and we are still under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. How do you see 2021 versus 2020 from a business point-of-view?
Ana Ber: After the inevitable drop of first 2 quarters due to pandemic in 2020 when several projects were placed on hold, since Q3 2020 our executive search and interim management businesses showed a continuous recovery and growth. The fact that we were digitized long before the pandemic started was of much help, the transition to the “new way of work” was very smooth and fast.
Digital Transformation is on every CEO’s agenda these days. How is Digital Transformation changing executive recruitment processes?
Ana Ber: Executive search remained one of the most traditionalist and conservative industries but, lucky us, Covid-19 changed dramatically the way industry works, from almost entirely based on personal contacts, assessments, and face-to-face interviews to almost entirely online, with video interviewing becoming the primary communication mean. The online tools have broadened the horizons for executive recruiters and have allowed all executive candidates (local, national, global) to be evaluated consistently against each other through virtual interviewing.