October 14th, 2014 – Vienna, Austria – AIMS International, a preeminent global Executive Search and Talent Management organization, has launched the 10th issue of its Business Climate indicator. TheABCA delivers a global insight from the executive search business point of view.

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 41 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 2014 shows the following results:

There is a dramatic change in the current business situation on the local markets compared to the ABCA 2014 Q1. Today, 23% (Δ -23%) of the AIMS International partners and consultants evaluate the state of the market locally as good, 65% (Δ +21%) as middle and 13% (Δ +3%) as bad. This is a radical change in comparison to the positive evaluation of the local markets 6 months ago. How is the current local business situation in the local markets?

2014-10-14-ABCA-Current-local-business-2014-Q3-590x325

Negative changes in the development of important business segments during the last 6 months have become obvious: Only business in Pharmaceuticals, Health Care and Life Science segment has increased (Δ +7%). Most significant is this negative trend in the segments Industrial, Engineering and Logistics, as well as in FMCG, Retail and Luxury Goods, and IT/IS, and the Energy markets. How is the development of specific industry segments in the last 4 months?  

2014-10-14-ABCA-Industry-Segment-Development-2014-Q3-590x309

Following the answers to the questions about revenue development in the last 4 months, the continuous turnaround which started in 2013 Q1 harshly ended; Only 18% (Δ -26%!) of the partners and consultants report revenues in the local executive search and talent management markets as increased, 48% as stable (Δ +10%!) and 35% as decreased (Δ +17%). How was the revenue development in the last 4 months?

2014-10-14-ABCA-Revenue-Development-2014-Q3-590x340

Today, only 50% (Δ -28%) of the interviewees evaluate the number of current direct search projects in their countries as large or sufficient, 50% (Δ +29%) evaluate this as not enough.How is the number of current direct search projects in the local market?

2014-10-14-ABCA-Number-Of-Current-Projects-2014-Q3-590x313

Based on the development of the market situation in the last 6 months and also taking into consideration the number of orders at hand, the forecast for the next 4 months (2014 October to 2015 January) is slighly positive: 43% (Δ -8%) expect the markets to improve, 45% as stable (Δ -1%), but 13% as worse (Δ +10%). Another signal that the positive mood in the markets has suffered in the last 6 months. How is the local forecast for the next 4 months?

2014-10-14-ABCA-Forecast-October-December-2014-Q4-590x341

The overall outlook for 2014 Q4 is not very confident.