Can you find a suitable successor for management positions in your own company? Or is it about allowing new ways of thinking?

Dieter Albeck, Managing Partner of InterSearch Executive Consultants, explains why family businesses in particular are rethinking now.The fact that those involved know each other speaks in favour of an internal promotion. Everybody involved knows how the other party “behaves” and can assess each other. “Nothing will go wrong there” one might think. One thing is clear: “revolutionaries” are unlikely to get a chance here, but rather those who continue the legacy in a proven style. I often observe these processes, particularly in family businesses.

Prevent employee churn through promotion

Another plus point: an internal appointment offers the opportunity for further development. The company retains good employees and prevents highly sought-after specialists to leave the company. In addition, such an approach keeps costs under control.

But it’s also quite possible that someone is “over-praised” (for fear of loss) because you have nothing else to offer him or her. However, this can only be crowned with success if the person is happy to take on the task otherwise a promotion makes no sense.

It is not uncommon there are no suitable internal candidates for the job. The emphasis is on “shining”. Some companies may send two of their internal candidates into the race, but then they expect to receive proof from us as personnel consultants that they are not suitable. If the corresponding judgments have already been made, the personnel consultant has little influence at this stage.

Promotional measures that pay off

It happens there are internal candidates who could develop their skills in line with the vacancy. However, the company management and HR want to know whether the market offers better ones. Anyone who, after examining the external candidates, realizes they are not higher qualified than the internal candidates is better advised to invest in supporting the internal ones with appropriate measures.

Especially family businesses nowadays realize that new approaches have to be developed although this is often more difficult with internal employees than with external employees.

Externals think differently than the already-integrated employees and can shake people up, bring a breath of fresh air into the company and thus initiate necessary Change processes faster.

For some larger corporations, such changes already belong to their system. They regularly renew their structure or, for example, appoint the Sales manager to the head of Human Resources. This approach should help to tackle tasks from a completely different perspective and to experience different departments. It’s not about having the highest professional competence, but about having a personality. It’s almost as if you would fill in the position with external candidates.

Dieter Albeck

Based in Frankfurt, Dieter Albeck is Managing Partner of InterSearch Executive Consultants, a member of the InterSearch Worldwide organization.

In particular, he supports and advises clients from the manufacturing and automotive industries, plant engineering, automation technology and leasing. His focus is on mandates in the context of filling executive positions for national and international clients.

Dieter graduated from the Technical University of Darmstadt with a degree in general mechanical engineering. He has many 25+ years of experience in the search and selection of executives and has held management/shareholder functions in well-known international executive search organizations since 1995.

+49 (0)6196 – 777160 d.albeck@intersearch-executive.de