Leadership
Star search
How Judith M. von Seldeneck finds and signs top management talent at Diversified Search Odgers Berndtson
By Erik Cassano
Smart Business Philadelphia | November 2009
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Judith M. von Seldeneck fights the war for talent on two fronts.
As the founder, chairman and CEO of Diversified Search Odgers Berndtson, she oversees the U.S. operations of London-based executive search firm Odgers Berndtson, which generated $275 million in revenue last year. That means she needs to find top executive and administrative talent not just for her firm but for the many clients that contract with her firm.
It has given her a unique perspective on attracting and retaining top talent.
“We’re in the business of finding the right people for others, so it’s sort of like the cobbler has no shoes himself,” von Seldeneck says. “Finding the right people in our business is probably the hardest task of all. We have a culture that is changing, that is much more team-based, and you need people who can not only work on the firm in teams but, even more importantly, know how to sustain long-term business relationships with our clients. It’s sort of an interesting mixture of attributes, and it really has changed over the years.”
Before you do anything else with regard to recruiting, you need to understand what your culture is and what you are looking for in a manager or executive. And don’t allow yourself to be wowed by a candidate’s resume before you’ve had a chance to speak to the candidate in person.
“If you understand your culture, you’re going to understand the people who are going to fit and who aren’t going to fit,” she says. “Sometimes it is tempting when people come in and they’re million-dollar producers. They’re going to bring with them all this revenue and new clients and so forth, and maybe they have a quirky personality, but you figure that you’ll find a way around that. I’ve found that you need to take a pass on those people, because they can ruin your culture. It’s a bad apple that ruins the bushel.”
Here are some of the other lessons that von Seldeneck has learned about finding, hiring and retaining the best leaders for your company.
