Stanton Chase Stuttgart GmbH
German SMEs and family businesses have much to catch up in terms of diversity / Stanton Chase study reveals deficits in recruiting female managers
DGAP-News: Stanton Chase Stuttgart GmbH
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German SMEs and family businesses have much to catch up in terms of diversity / Stanton Chase study reveals deficits in recruiting female managers Stuttgart, Germany, 24 February 2022: The demands on SMEs and family owned businesses to appoint more women to management positions have increased massively. Nevertheless, owner-managed companies still show clear deficits in management diversity. Most companies in Germany want to increase the proportion of women in the next few years. However, the requirement profiles for executives are often too diffuse to specifically recruit women for management. This is shown in a recent study by the personnel consultancy Stanton Chase and the Aalen Institute for Corporate Management (AAUF). “Future-oriented company management can only succeed if the management is staffed with women and men and thus reflects the competencies of the workforce. This is not the case in many medium-sized companies. Mixed management teams are not only economically more successful. They are also better able to cope with entrepreneurial challenges and to overcome crises. Our study shows that many family businesses are striving to get more women into management. But they often lack the strategies to succeed,” explains Professor Gerold Frick, partner at Stanton Chase in Stuttgart, who was in charge of the study. For this study, 175 medium-sized and family businesses with 1,500 to 25,000 employees in Germany were surveyed. The average share of women in the management of the companies surveyed is 22.5 percent. The companies aim to increase this share to 30.6 percent within the next three years. The candidates for the newly filled management positions should above all think in a visionary and entrepreneurial way, and have strategic competences as well as change competence. In addition, they should have the power of persuasion and leadership skills. From the respondents’ point of view, women are more likely to fulfil the expected change and leadership competence, while men have a stronger power of persuasion and think more strategically and entrepreneurially. Surprisingly, more than half of the SMEs surveyed (52 percent) do not have a specific requirements profile for the new management positions to be filled. “In terms of recruitment structures, we find the greatest potential for SMEs and family businesses to catch up in terms of diversity. Instead of strategically defined profiles, many companies still rely on the individual decisions of their managers. It is therefore not surprising that, according to the principle of similarity, men have greater opportunities than women. The targeted use of personnel consultants can help to make selection processes more transparent so that more women get a chance,” emphasises Professor Gerold Frick. In many cases, there is a need for companies to catch up when it comes to the specific demands of potential managers. While women and men, irrespective of gender, attach great importance to creative freedom, a comprehensible corporate vision, personal development, flexibility and a good salary, women attach particular importance to family-friendliness, work-life balance, flexibility and a meaningful corporate purpose and values – actually all virtues with which SMEs and family businesses should score. Men, on the other hand, attach greater importance to material criteria such as salary, company car and company shares. “Today, the decisive factor for choosing a future employer is no longer classic attractiveness such as a good salary. Managers are interested in flexibility such as mobile working and also in participation in the company’s success, for example through shares in the company. Many SMEs have a lot of catching up to do here. Nowadays, managers want to be co-entrepreneurs – this applies to both women and men. Family businesses urgently need to adapt to these requirements if they want to increase management diversity and attract the best candidates,” explains Professor Patrick Ulrich from the Aalen Institute for Corporate Management (AAUF), who conducted the survey. You can download the complete study here (in German): www.stantonchase.com/status-quo-und-perspektiven-zur-diversity-in-fuhrungspositionen-von-mittelstand-und-familienunternehmen. We are happy to provide diagrams from the study. Your contact Prof. Gerold Frick About Stanton Chase Established in 1990, Stanton Chase is one of the leading global executive search firms. We operate through focused industry practice groups, each led by a global practice team leader. We are everywhere in the world our clients need us to be, so we can offer both global perspective and local insight. At Stanton Chase, our experienced global consultants offer unparalleled assistance every step of the way, from locating the best talent to ensuring your leadership team is as effective as it can be, through our three core services: executive search, executive assessment, and board services.
24.02.2022 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG. |
Language: | English |
Company: | Stanton Chase Stuttgart GmbH |
Augustenstraße 44 | |
70178 Stuttgart | |
Germany | |
Internet: | www.stantonchase.com |
EQS News ID: | 1287861 |
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