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Sunday evening is not necessarily a weekend off if you’re a recruiter. Strangely, that’s when senior candidates WhatsApp to say they are looking for a change. As a recruiter, I haven’t deciphered why this is so in the last 23 years. I guess the weekend break and the anticipated Monday blues bring things to a head on Sunday evening.
Do year-ends also have a similar trend? It’s either the energy of Christmas holidays or the reflection on the year gone by where nothing happened on the work front for leaders to consider moving on. Otherwise, how do you explain the significant CXO movements in the first quarter of every year?
Data published by Russel Reynolds, based on the companies listed on the top 12 global indices for the last four years, suggests that the highest number of new CFOs join in Q1 of the calendar year. The trend in India, too, is very similar. Amongst the Nifty 50 CFOs, the highest number of new appointments is between January and March.
We studied the movement of 800 CXOs in India over the last two years, and an average of 32 per cent quit their jobs in the first quarter of the calendar year.
A move at year end makes sense if you are in an MNC where, by December, when the business year ends, you would know how you have performed during the year, what increments and bonuses you are likely to get, or what budgets you have been allocated the following year.
In a way, you have a picture of what the next year will be like. So, if you have had enough, you may collect your bonus in Q1 and join your next employer with a healthy hike on your latest projected pay raise.
If you are not going to make your incentives, and if money is a key motivation at your career stage, then this is the best time to consider a movement. Also, most MNCs that start their new business plan in January will conduct the hiring process in the previous quarter. So, December is the time to think if your tenure has run its course and it’s time for new beginnings elsewhere.
Generally, we see three triggers for exits. First, there is always the fear of the future with our current employer; it could be a threat to the role or financial growth. Second, there is a feeling of getting a raw deal compared to others. The longer these two feelings stay, the stronger the chances of quitting. The third most obvious trigger is an attractive external offer that catalyses the first two.
If you have performed well this year, you possibly would be anxious if you can match it next year, whereas your supervisor would be expecting you to better it. The technology headwinds powered by AI and the continued crisis in global geopolitics are influencing the nature and continuity of many jobs. It’s difficult to always stay ahead of the curve/threat.
Last week, chipmaker Intel decided to retire its CEO Pat Gelsinger, as it felt the turnaround plan wasn’t progressing fast enough. Besides the 50 per cent drop in stock value, many felt that the fear of the future drove Intel to replace its CEO, change its tradition of internal succession, and appoint a search firm for an external candidate. It’s not only Intel; this year, marquee brands like Starbucks, Paramount Global, Hertz, Nike, and Sony Music have not been able to trust their future with their CEOs and parted ways with them.
Gallup 2024 Global Workplace Report indicates that 86 per cent of Indians admit to struggling or suffering at work. Lack of recognition, support, and direction from the people and policies often leads us to think we got a raw deal, though one should admit it is always a subjective feeling.
Every time an organisation appoints an external candidate for leadership roles or promotes someone else internally, you will likely feel “Am I stuck in this place?”, motivating you to look for a change. So, if you are undergoing these this December, then let me add some more inspiration through the best-selling book Necessary Endings by Dr Henry Cloud.
“Getting to the next level always requires ending something, leaving it behind, and moving on. Growth itself demands that we move on. Without the ability to end things, people stay stuck, never becoming who they are meant to be, never accomplishing all that their talents and abilities should afford them.”
“You can’t improve a wrong path by trying to walk better or faster or smarter. Get on the right path.” — Henry Cloud
(Kamal Karanth is co-founder of specialist staffing firm Xpheno)
Published on December 8, 2024
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