As an executive search firm with a focus on FMCG, we are often involved in the recruitment of Human Rersource Directors for the Swiss market.
Recently, we conducted an analysis to provide a factual base for discussions about HRD succession and the assessment of talent. This analysis revealed several conclusions that are relevant for retention, succession planning and recruitment.
Key conclusions
- HRD roles are mostly filled by women. In the subsidiaries of international companies, there is slightly more gender diversity in this role.
- The HRD profession is highly local in Swiss companies, likely driven by the requirement to speak German and French as well as understand local labor laws. As a result, career opportunities for expatriated HR professionals in local selling entities are limited.
- On average, an HRD has about 20 years of experience. This figure is slightly misleading since 50% of HRDs have less than 18 years’ experience, with international companies often appointing less experienced HRDs.
- Specific FMCG experience seems to be less important; 50% of HRDs have less than 5 years of sector experience. We believe this is because of the role’s strong orientation towards process, which is independent of local consumer or customer know-how. Cross-sector experience could actually be an advantage.
- While the vast majority of HRDs have been hired externally, Swiss-owned businesses are more likely to promote from within.
Our view on the challenges
Gender diversity
From the information provided on page 5, we see that the profession skews overwhelmingly female. As HR professionals tend to stay within their profession without a clear career path beyond head of HR, the situation does not contribute to driving gender diversity in broader leadership roles.
Retention and development
The statistics show that career progress is mainly accomplished through changing employers rather than development from within. This raises the question of which development opportunities could be offered at an earlier stage to allow an HR professional not only to gather experience outside of the HR function, but also to find fulfilling roles with the same employer (and therefore stay longer).