Recruiting the Eastern Euro-executive.

• Author: Mueller-Maerki, Fortunat
• Position: Selection and assignment of corporate executives to posts in Eastern Europe - Chairman's Agenda: Acquiring in Eastern Europe

For those seeking to fill posts in Eastern Europe, the search for talent requires a different |modus operandi.'

It's like Europe suddenly doubled in size," remarked one observer, when barriers between Eastern Europe and the West began to crumble. Indeed, it seems like the answer to a marketer's dream in the highly competitive '90s -- a newfound land in an era of overcrowded markets.

But in spite of initial predictions that companies would rush in to gain footholds in Eastern Europe, there instead has been a slow-and-steady trickle of activity.

What is holding them back? Companies whose long-range plans might include manufacturing or distributing products in Eastern Europe realize that to succeed in this vastly different market, they need a new breed of executive: one who can operate comfortably and knowledgeably within the local culture and evolving business environment but who possesses a Western orientation toward doing business.

While the search for the Eastern Euro-Executive is a relatively new challenge for all executive-search consultants, our firm has a solid and growing track record in this area, with our first Eastern European search going back to 1978. Based on our experience, we would like to offer some observations and suggestions to those seeking to fill executive posts in Eastern Europe.

Different Priorities

There are many factors that make the search for executives for Eastern European posts particularly challenging. Our company is known for its target-driven, systematic approach to search, but, clearly, the search for talent for Eastern European requires a far different "modus operandi." In a more conventional search, we would focus primarily on identifying individuals with knowledge of a certain industry or specific functional skills. These "hard" factors are ordinarily the backbone of a systematic search.

The geographic dimension and cultural roots might be secondary factors, to be appraised in a face-to-face meeting, along with personality fit. In the conventional search, these "soft" qualities are used to separate -- later in the search -- the outstanding candidate from the just "qualified." In Eastern Europe searches, however, familiarity with local culture and language will rank alongside professional skills in importance. Cultural fit becomes the "must have" criterion, and knowledge of a function or industry becomes the merely desirable dimension.

Rather than searching for potential candidates in an orderly, deductive, and systematic fashion -- through...