Recruitment
Growing pains !
Trevor Foley assesses the talent challenge and the need to reconsider team structure
A s I write this piece , we are exactly threequarters of the way through the year . And , what a good year it is proving to be for the majority of industry players . Many a CEO is sharing spectacular numbers for the year and the results , plus strong forward bookings , will make for an interesting couple of years ahead in terms of growth and also M & A activity .
Back to the present day , and the growth being experienced by exhibition and conference companies of all sizes is creating a talent challenge . Without doubt , it ’ s a case of ‘ growing pains ’. The usual issue is that a company has become of a size , or is targeting a growth , that is beyond the experience of the incumbent team . The issue might be one of team structure , knowledge sets for a business developing in a new direction , pay scale , a need for culture change or a variety of other concerns .
It is my view that all of these issues can be seen as a challenge , rather than a problem . This is because the industry has the necessary talent to allow companies to organically develop their teams , to meet the growth challenges . I ’ m regularly finding that , rather than companies try to work out a specific need or write a job description for a particular role , talent growth is best viewed as a project . If companies , instead , meet a variety of talented industry players , the solutions to the growing pains can present themselves via conversations with a range of individuals at different levels and with different experience / skillsets .
Doug Emslie , when spectacularly growing Tarsus , always asked me to put interesting talent under his nose . He called it , in football parlance , building a bench of players , ready to bring on to the field of play when needed .
At the beginning of this year , another organiser CEO asked me to introduce him to ‘ interesting people ’
Above : Trevor Foley
“ The usual issue is that a company has become of a size , or is targeting a growth , that is beyond the experience of the incumbent team .” as the business works towards a future sale . Meetings with a number of such people during the course of this year is leading to talented individuals being hired in a variety of roles ranging from general management , digital projects to launch projects .
Another example sees us working with an organiser in a business where a number of people have been with the company for many years , since it was very small . Growth is being hampered by an absence of knowledge as to how to take the events and the business to the next level . Fresh blood is needed and a new team structure in order to help the business and its people grow , while also removing bottlenecks .
These examples demonstrate that the talent pool exists in order to put the building blocks for growth in place .
And , what is common to all of these businesses is growth , an exciting strategy and a target . The best talent is always interested in such challenges . The opportunity for equity or ‘ skin in the game ’ remains hugely attractive to the best industry players , who will always be interested to meet with companies that have an ambitious plan .
If you are experiencing growing pains , think ‘ Project Talent ’!
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 5 2023 73