Part 2 : The Internet sector

Thinking of small, pure dot.com start-ups now. Do people easily make the switch from maybe a corporate culture, where they would have been delegating and outsourcing much of the nitty-gritty work, to an Internet start-up where they are expected to do everything themselves and carry a much less well-defined job description?
Many are challenged by this transition. As I mentioned before, those individuals who are energetic, resourceful and have entrepreneurial skills are most likely to find success in this type of environment.

Can you tell if someone just isn't going to make it?
Our concern is for locating the best candidates. Those are the people we present to clients. We spend a great deal of time with candidates to determine their personality and characteristics, which enhances our accuracy rates.

Employees in the Internet sector have often taken less cash and more stock options - given what you said earlier, are employees now demanding more tangible rewards?
With the recent downturn and a volatile industry, we are seeing candidates demanding better cash packages than ever before and not viewing the stock options as heavily as they used to.

IT and Internet companies are known for high employee turnover rates, with 25% not unusual. Why is this and what can companies do to improve staff retention?
IT and Internet companies have higher turnover rates than "traditional" companies for multiple reasons. Generally, these companies have rapid growth and with that growth comes change. Change can create an increased demand on employees. Traditional companies also see growth but not at the exponential factor that IT and Internet companies face. Internet start-ups also face financial challenges and will make the necessary changes, including employee cut-backs. If the employees of these companies suspect there are financial concerns, they start networking to look at other opportunities in more stable companies.

Does this dynamism in the Internet job market make executive search firms like the Stratford Group more or less necessary?
I would say that it has helped. StratfordGroup has grown substantially.

And how do you see the job market developing in the online economy?
The job market is still hot and remains in need of more top tier candidates. The people recruited today are highly educated and making solid career decisions. They have learned that the due-diligence process in choosing their next employer is a time consuming effort.

Finally, Paul, any desire to work for a dot.com start-up yourself?
Having been approached by start-ups, incubators and venture capitalists, I have to be honest in saying that I've considered it. But, my present career, locating top-level talent and servicing my clients continues to offer the greatest enjoyment.