Nov 28 2013
The ABCA Q3 2013
November 28th, 2013 – Vienna, Austria – AIMS International, a preeminent global Executive Search and Talent Management organization, has launched the 8th issue of its Business Climate indicator. The ABCA delivers a global insight into the executive search business.
This analysis of the Executive Search Market surveys past, present and expected business conditions in 7 major business segments. It approaches the last 4 months and forecasts the next 4 months on the basis of interviews with AIMS International partners and consultants in 44 countries. The first ABCA was published in Q2 2011.
“Every issue of the ABCA delivers useful information for any business leader. AIMS International covers the whole world and as trends in Executive Search firms are very early signs of changes – good or bad, the ABCA analysis provides concise information about these trends. It is a good indicator of where the future is heading”, says Daniel Ekberg, President of AIMS International.
The ABCA Q3 2013 shows the following significant results:
1. 34% (Δ -2%) of the AIMS International partners and consultants evaluate the current state of business locally as good, 50% (Δ +1%) as middle and 16% (Δ +1%) as bad. This shows there have been small changes to the evaluation of the business situation in the local markets which is a small mark for a stabilization of the local economies which had been visible already in the Q2 2013 ABCA. Solely evaluating the situation in the EMEA Region, the local business situation is worse as only 26% evaluate the situation as good.
2. Allowing multiple answers, significant differences in the development of important business segments during the last 12 months have become obvious: business in Industrial, Engineering and Logistics, as well as the Automotive, the Financial Services, the IT&T and the Energy segment show a decrease of -8% as an average. Only the two business sectors FMCG, Retail and Luxury goods, and Pharmaceuticals, Health Care and Life Science are relatively stable in comparison to the ABCA in 2013 Q2.
3. Following the answers to the questions about revenue development in the last 4 months, stabilization has taken place. There is a shift from companies with decreasing revenues to stable and increasing revenues (Δ +10%). However, global markets in the 7 industry segments are still in rough waters but trending upwards.
Solely evaluating the situation in the EMEA Region is worse, as 19% evaluate the turnover as decreasing in this region.How is the revenue development in the last 4 months?
4. The strongest market for Executive Search in EMEA seems to be Finland, in the AMERICAS Canada, Chile and the US. In APAC the business is stable.
5. Only 50% (Δ -8%) of the interviewees evaluate the number of current direct search projects in their countries as large or sufficient, the 50% (Δ +8%) as not enough. Alarming is that only 7% of the companies evaluate the number of direct search projects in their markets as large.How is the number of current direct search projects?
6. As for the forecast for the next 4 months (2013 Q4), 86% (Δ -3%) expect the business to be stable or better, 14% (Δ +3%) as worse. The significant increase of interviewees with a positive business expectation (Δ +10%) is a signal of tendencies toward better markets.How is the forecast for the next 4 months?
The overall outlook for Q4, 2013 is more promising than in 2013 Q1 and Q2.
Corporate Communications
Christian Schulte +49 178 2854744
About AIMS International (www.aims-international.net)
Incorporated in Vienna, Austria in 1992, AIMS International is an international executive search organization of independently owned and managed executive search firms who work collaboratively to execute executive search assignment for global clients around the world. AIMS International is represented by over 350 consultants in more than 90 offices in over 50 countries throughout all continents. It was ranked the largest executive search partnership in the world by Search-Consult Magazine.
For more information, please visit www.aims-international.net.
