We’ve seen how a growing number of private equity firms have increasingly added staffing companies to their portfolios, which clear indicates a clear sign of confidence that these firms have in such staffing corporations.
Investing in hiring or partnering with such staffing companies is a decision well-taken because such corporations have the capabilities to deliver strong returns. Nevertheless, this trend of partnering with staffing companies has also generated a leadership challenge for the human capital industry.
Human capital industry and culture
One question that arises here is whether it is possible for a thoroughly people-centric business to be led by executives outside the industry. Talented leaders undoubtedly have a flair for adaptation and learning, which allows them to quickly and rapidly grow and succeed in new and challenging roles. The right leader/executive can learn, lead, and succeed at the head of a staffing firm, no matter the sector or industry they come from. However, culture is the human capital industry has more influence over bottom-line success than can be in any other industry. That’s because filling up senior-level job roles is quite a difficult task. It is a deadline-driven, competitive push that requires passion and resolution to get the right people on the job.
Why cultural insight is important
Filling up senior-level leadership roles plays a significant role in the recruiting industry; and this is why the culture of the staffing firm shapes how people work. After all, filling that one challenging role require immense amounts of efforts to bring in a great hire. That’s why it is essential that any organization seeking a staffing industry leadership makes keen cultural insight a litmus test for any senior-level appointment. The best leaders in the human capital industry have a cultural understanding and charisma, which reaches down to essential front-line workers who make successful human capital connections; and the staffing leaders who can't connect with them have a tough cultural stumbling block right in front of them.
Personality traits to look for in a staffing firm
With that said, you may now want to know how you can screen for cultural insight. Well, there are certain personality traits that align with cultural insight, mentioned below three of them that you must look for in a C-level staffing executive.
- Listening skills – Decisiveness is always an important trait for a leader, which can come right only after every kind of information and insight is heard. Only after hearing and analyzing every viewpoint can the right decision be made. A leader should always be willing to take into consideration perspectives from the front lines as part of their decision making.
- Ownership – Mistakes happen everywhere and by everyone, but what’s important is taking ownership for the mistakes made, accepting it, learning from it, and moving ahead. Strong leaders are those who accept ownership of both the good and the bad, and are great at communicating the ups and downs of the staffing industry life cycle.
- Humility – Humility is one leadership asset in the human capital industry that is quite crucial. After all Humility, it is important to know what it feels like to be at the bottom, before reaching to the top. Arrogance here can be a certain setback.
With all these aspects, you can analyze whether or not a staffing firm has the assets required to achieve the full potential. So, when you’re planning to hire a staffing firm, look for all these qualities before signing a partnership. WalkWater Talent Advisors is one of the top executive search firms in Bangalore who you can blindly trust for this matter, because the staff working here have a great sense of connectivity which results in a culture that thrives. You can rely on this cultural connectivity strength to fuel people-driven work.
