The Boyden agency presents its 2nd barometer survey, conducted in association with the IFOP market research institute
“WHAT DOES THE NEW GENERATION OF SENIOR EXECUTIVES WANT TO CHANGE WITHIN THE COMPANY?”
focusing on professional mobility within Europe:
Europe, favoured by young executives wishing to expatriate
KEY FINDINGS:
- 88% believe that their company is changing, a feeling that has grown stronger since 2018 (+ 6 points)
- 69% claim to be optimistic about the future of their professional situation (- 3 points compared with 2018)
- The ‘search for meaning’ at work is the value they wish to promote first and foremost as a manager (47%)
FOCUS ON EUROPE: 3/4 (74%) of senior executives are contemplating a relocation and Europe remains their preferred continent.
- Top 4 destinations chosen for professional relocation:
1. Europe (66%)
2. North America (48%)
3. Australia/Oceania (33%)
4. Central or South America (25%)
- Top 4 European countries favoured for professional relocation:
1. Spain (29%)
2. Germany (21%)
3. Italy (18%)
4. United Kingdom (17%)
This barometer survey* aims to analyse the expectations of young French executives and understand how they see themselves as future managers. *conducted amongst 712 senior French executives aged 35 to 45 years, derived from a global sample of 3009 people, representative of managers working in companies with 50 or more employees
Between fulfilment and optimism!
- 82% of the young executives are satisfied with their professional situation (=).
- However, they are increasingly concerned about their future: fewer of them are optimistic about their future professional situation (69%). The opportunities for professional development also appear to be less satisfactory (62% share a positive outlook in this regard), with greater concern being felt in public corporations.
- The same applies regarding their work-life balance: when considering their chosen career, the young executives, more than a third of them (35%), share fears about their ability to maintain this delicate balance as they continue in their careers.
Focus: there is still a gender distinction regarding the work-life balance...45% of the women fear that the balance between their professional and personal lives will be disrupted as they progress in their career (compared with 31% of the men).
Transforming the company: a real opportunity for young executives
- Innovation (94%), collaboration (91%) and agility (86%) come out on top among the terms that evoke something positive when talking about the transformation of companies.
- Almost a quarter of the senior executives reject ‘uberisation’ (25%) and termination (23%), confirming that their expectations in terms of transformation tend towards the collaborative.
- The feeling that their company has embarked on a transformation is largely shared and has grown stronger this year: 82% of the senior executives believed that their company was transforming in 2018, compared with 88% today (+ 6 points). Furthermore, the majority of them associate the company transformation with an opportunity, if not a necessity. 98% think that the transformation is already underway or is about to take place.
- Today, they readily believe that the main driving behind their company’s transformation is still digital transformation (33%, -8 points), but this is less and less the case: changes in management style (35%, +5 points) and the customer relationship (31 %, +3 points) appear to be playing an essential role in the transformation of companies.
Focus: senior executives in the public sector have significantly less confidence than those in the private sector…While 69% of senior executives in the private sector are optimistic about their professional situation in the future, this applies to only 63% of senior executives in the public sector (-6 points). Regarding their opportunities for professional development, the latter are also less optimistic (57% compared with 64% of those in the private sector, i.e. -7 points). Ultimately, they are less confident about the transformation of their company in the next few years (71% of senior executives in the public sector compared with 83% in the private sector).
The key areas for senior executives as future managers
- 55% of the senior executives surveyed wish to progress to a managerial role, primarily by becoming a manager in their current company (46%, +3 points), but also for some by setting up their own company (26%, +2 points) or joining a start-up (23%, +5 points).
- The transformations they would initiate as a priority in a managerial role are associated with human resources and the optimisation of human capital: dialogue/collaborative development (40%, +5 points), training/skills training (36%, +2 points), changes in management style (31%, -5 points). Compared with 2018, dialogue/collaborative development not only remains at the top of their list of priorities, but has also grown in importance (35% in 2018 compared with 40% in 2019). The emergence of workspace organisation is also clearly a key priority (16%, + 7 points).
- The value that almost half of those surveyed (47%) wished to promote as a manager was the meaning given to work. This meaning given to their work may be defined as the ability of managers to deliver a promise that goes beyond that of one’s own company. However, the values that identify the company are less prominent: pride (12%), equality (9%) or youth (3%) are hardly mentioned.
Professional mobility: Europe, a relevant space for senior executives
- 74% of the senior executives surveyed are considering a professional relocation.
- Their main motivating factors for professional mobility are a career boost (59%), discovering different cultures (45%), and changing their career path (39%). Some gender disparities are to be noted amongst the factors mentioned, with the men being more highly motivated by changing their career path or business sector than women (42% versus 32%), and the women being more motivated by being closer to family than men (15% versus 11%).
- In the context of professional mobility, the ‘Western’ continents are preferred by senior executives.
TOP 4 PREFERRED DESTINATIONS
1. Europe (66%)
2. North America (48%)
3. Australia/Oceania (33%)
4.Central or South America (25%)
- Europe is by far the favourite continent with senior executives. More than 75% of them would be prepared to accept a transfer to another European country if it was offered to them by their employer.
- Asia and the Asian countries are less likely to be considered: China comes in 7th place with just 14% and India comes in 8th with 10%.
TOP 4 PREFERRED EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
1. Spain (29%)
2. Germany (21%)
3. Italy (18%)
4. United Kingdom (17%)
- The United Kingdom, which is in 4th place, would have scored higher if it were not for Brexit.
- The level of company transformation does not appear to be a decisive criterion when it comes to professional mobility, as evidenced by the
countries they consider to be more advanced: Germany (68%), Belgium and the Netherlands (46%), and the United Kingdom (38%), with Spain only in 4th place (11%).
Frédéric Dabi, Deputy Director of the IFOP, explains: “This study shows the high expectations that young French executives have with regard to company transformation. In their eyes, this is an opportunity, if not a necessity, for their company, but also for themselves. Change and agility in their career are an integral part of their state of mind and many of them would be prepared to consider transforming their lives and moving abroad to pursue their career.”
Anne Raphaël, Associate at Boyden, adds: “On the eve of the European elections, it is clear that young French executives feel a deep sense of attachment to Europe. Europe offers a good synthesis between their desire to improve the quality of their personal lives (wishing to live in Spain or Italy) and their desire for professional development (Germany or United Kingdom).”
Anita Pouplard, Associate at Boyden, backs this up, saying: “This study reaffirms what we are seeing on a daily basis with our candidates, namely that they are looking for corporate projects that are aligned with their personal values and in which they can make a real contribution. There is a dissonance between the countries where there is a real need for talent and those that attract candidates. This new generation of leaders is very concerned about maintaining a good work-life balance.”
About Boyden France
Specialising in executive search, executive consulting and transition management, Boyden France is one of the main offices of Boyden International. Each of the partners at Boyden France is specialised in a specific business sector, covering all aspects of the French market. Their expertise and knowledge of the talent pool makes Boyden France one of the leading agencies in the field of global executive search.
In 2014, Boyden France set up the Fondation Boyden, a foundation that aims to contribute towards the development of social business initiatives. Its members support social entrepreneurs in their decision-making in terms of human resources in order to help them build effective and long-lasting development models.
Press contact
Agence Albera Conseil – +33 (0)1 48 24 04 50
Thien-Anh Dang-Vu – tadangvu@alberaconseil.fr