An Interview with Veronique Elskens from Robert Half Executive Search.
In this insightful interview, Veronique Elskens, Regional Director Executive Search Benelux at Robert Half, shares her expert perspective on the evolving trends in the Belgian labor market. With over two decades of experience, Veronique offers a deep dive into the dynamics of temporary and permanent staffing, interim management, and executive search. She discusses the current economic landscape, the critical role of confidence in hiring decisions, and the emerging trends in executive recruitment, particularly in sectors like private equity and family businesses. Additionally, Veronique sheds light on the increasing importance of flexibility, digital transformation, and the evolving expectations of the new generation of professionals.
What are currently the major trends in the Belgian labor market?
Veronique Elskens: “At Robert Half, we differentiate between various services: temporary staffing, interim management, consulting services, recruitment and selection for transactional to mid-senior levels, and executive search. Companies sometimes don't recruit in a particular sector but do make top-level replacements, or vice versa. Some sectors struggle to recruit or stop recruiting, but are open to changes at another level.
In executive search, we see different patterns. Generally, we observe a market improvement despite challenges such as geopolitical uncertainties , supply chain disruptions, demographic changes and skilled professional shortages. Inflation is to the ECB 2 percent target, which is good news. However, we must remain vigilant for vacancy trends, effects of the first central bank interest rate cuts since 2016, and the confidence of entrepreneurs and consumers.”
Does the decision to hire people relate to confidence in the future?
Veronique Elskens: “Yes, it’s really about confidence. At the C-suite level, especially among CEOs, board members, and private equity, no one knows what the future holds. This is their biggest concern and challenge. We see a slight dip in GDP growth for Belgium, slower than last year but still relatively good and latest projections for 2025 are positive. The unemployment rate has risen slightly but remains below the European average, indicating positive trends. There is always a talent shortage, but that's no excuse for us. We are here to find those talents, even if we need to adopt new recruitment methods.”
Do you see room within the executive segment because companies struggle with this?
Veronique Elskens: “Yes, they struggle for various reasons. We specialize in family businesses, mid-caps, scale-ups, and the private equity segment. In family businesses, succession is a major issue. Throughout Belgium and parts of the Netherlands, owners face challenges in transferring the business to a family member. There’s a growing awareness of the importance of external expertise. Companies increasingly bring in external people for independent ideas and insights. Strategically, they also want to involve an executive search partner.
In private equity, when they look for leadership for their participations, especially in the C-suite, they often rely on their own network. They choose someone from their personal or professional circles but now seek more certainty in their choice and use external professional support. This is a trend we’ve observed.”
What trends do you see among the younger talents in private equity?
Veronique Elskens: “There’s a renewed focus on entrepreneurship. People with an M&A background from the large advisory firms often want to move to smaller boutiques to have more influence and feel more entrepreneurial. They don't want to wait years to become a partner, but want to advance their careers quickly. These profiles are generally less risk-averse and willing to leave the 'golden cage' of the big firms. That's the new generation. You can feel them rising. There’s something special about this new generation.
Another trend is hiring people through a self-employed status or their own management company, especially in participations. The younger generation increasingly wants to participate as co-CEO or COO. This is a request we hear more and more from them. They want to be an official part of the community and success story. They are less risk-averse than previous generations – and risk affinity need not have a negative connotation here, but as a leadership trait that is needed to build and manage companies in today's market environment.”
What other trends are you seeing in private equity and the Belgian labor market?
Veronique Elskens: “There is intense internal competition among private equity firms and between roles within PE and those at technology and consulting companies. People, for example, from the M&A departments of the big four, often find themselves in a dilemma. Should they move into consulting, technology, and the latest market innovations, or choose another direction? There's definitely more competition in the market. Another trend is the focus on diversity. Although there is more attention to it, the sector remains male-dominated. That is because it often takes five to ten years to see results from initiatives stimulating diversity and inclusion but we can be hopeful for new positive results in the upcoming years .”
How does the talent shortage affect salaries and benefits for candidates?
Veronique Elskens: “Regarding salary: you always pay more for good people, especially for scarce skills or experience. It's a matter of supply and demand. Besides compensation and benefits we also see changes in work patterns. Working from home is often not an option in private equity, but it is more common in the big four, whilst work pressure and performance levels are high. Working in the office in PE is the norm. But when attracting the new generation, you must consider their need for flexibility. This is a challenge for private equity.
Technological innovation also plays a significant role. Everything related to artificial intelligence, financial modeling, and due diligence is becoming increasingly complex. People need to be upskilled to understand, analyze, and manage these processes. This is another important trend.”
Veronique Elskens is responsible for the Benelux operations of Robert Half’s executive search team. She joined Robert Half in 2005 and was responsible for the further development of the operations of permanent staffing in Brussels area and the launch of the operations for West-Flanders as well as having additional responsibilities for East-Flanders. Throughout the years she has been instrumental in building new infrastructure and strategies for various divisions of the group. She has a solid understanding of the market, industries and sectors in different regions and has nearly 20 years of experience within the Robert Half group holding both operational, leadership and strategic roles in different regions within Benelux.
You also work with financial profiles like CFOs and controllers. What are the expectations around AI for these roles?
Veronique Elskens: “I could talk about this for an hour. It’s hard to summarize the trends briefly. Digital transformation has been ongoing for years, often seen as a hollow concept. Now, much is ready to be implemented, and this is not about the next five to ten years but the next two years where companies must adapt. Automation and artificial intelligence play major roles.
Automation can take over certain roles, but AI is a different, more complex story. Implementing AI involves high costs, legal requirements like the EU AI Act, and new standards and procedures. These exorbitant costs can impact profit margins, with efficiency gains only visible after years. This can be discouraging for investors. Additionally, you need to enable your employees to use these new digital tools. In the meantime, the job still needs to get done until a digital transformation process is able to unfold its full potential and sometimes the hiring of external consultants and other specialists might be needed, which also incurs costs.”
That's challenging because you don't want to fall behind...
Veronique Elskens: “You can't afford to fall behind. Private equity firms face a double burden: they must find and train their own people while the role of analysts changes due to digitalization. This means new standards and procedures. Additionally, there are due diligence costs for extra investments in tools and AI platforms. They must also conduct due diligence for their portfolio companies, both in human capital and digitalization, to make these companies profitable as quickly as possible. It’s quite taxing.”
How are private equity firms coping with all these challenges?
Veronique Elskens: “It's definitely not easy, but private equity is an attractive sector because you can really implement changes. The goal of private equity is to position companies optimally and quickly, enhance their competitive advantages, and prepare them for the future. This makes the work hands-on and pragmatic. You need people with high flexibility and mental resilience.
Private equity firms often look for a CEO for a portfolio company and ask us to find someone with the right credentials from the sector. We often push back because this approach doesn’t necessarily lead to the right candidates. Instead, we look at the next generation, who often have more mental flexibility and technological knowledge. They have learned to continuously improve themselves and their approach since their youth. As a result, we see that the number two in organizations often gets the chance to move up to the number one position.”
Should private equity firms rethink their approach and perhaps give more opportunities to younger talents?
Veronique Elskens: “Yes, you increasingly see partners and investment directors aged 35 to 40. Previously, you wouldn't see CEOs or CFOs at that age, but now you do. The C-suite is getting younger because the new generation grows up with a broader skill set. They need to be disruptive in their thinking. Leadership was once seen as transactional: seeking someone with experience and sector-specific knowledge. Ten years ago, it shifted to transformational leadership: good leaders needed to guide companies through transformations. Now, we see more network leadership. The new generation of managers knows they don’t know everything and directly approach the right people for specialist knowledge. This contrasts with older generations who wanted to do everything themselves. The world changes so fast that you can’t know everything. Network leadership is now important, alongside transformational leadership.”
Private equity often wants a buy-out and to include the management team. Do you see variations in this approach?
Veronique Elskens: “Yes, there are variations. We prefer to work with private equity that doesn’t immediately aim for drastic changes but engages in a participatory relation and support formula. If a company goes through a challenging and complexe phase, sometimes a quick leadership change is needed. A CEO or COO might have delivered strong results, but a different leader is needed for the next phase. We often see companies replacing leaders to meet new challenges. These are usually confidential replacements, where we see that each phase requires a different leader.”
So, it can be a solution to ask for an interim executive?
Veronique Elskens: “Yes, especially if an exit is planned. We primarily work with private equity with a long-term vision. A clear commitment for the next two to three years helps with certain leadership changes. It’s important to maintain sustainability in these roles and not just provide temporary solutions. We also offer career opportunities to our candidates, who want to know the exit strategy and the duration of the assignment. Good candidates ask about the vision and strategy of private equity.
In recruitment processes for portfolio companies, we see a mature, professional approach. We are professionally challenged in our searches and must know the full story of both the portfolio companies and the private equity firm. This is important because we always work with and from a dual perspective.”
What are the results of your Boardroom Navigator research?
Veronique Elskens: “The research was conducted at the end of 2022. The survey among private equity provided insights into soft skills, leadership skills, and hard skills. Respondents gave their results, and we added our findings. For example, 40 percent indicated that strategic thinking and leadership capabilities are important. Based on our experience, we also see that resilience, creativity, disruptiveness, and ‘leading like a rebel’ are essential, especially in a private equity context.
You need to challenge the status quo and drive innovations – this reflects the aforementioned greater willingness of younger managers to take risks. This requires professional selling skills and the ability to recognize and support good ideas within the company. Creating an incubator for ideas to be tested and anchored is important. Additionally, a good leader must be empathetic and a good listener, which we call ‘listen like a leader.’ Active listening is a crucial soft skill.”
Yes, not everyone has that naturally.
Veronique Elskens: “True, we often see extroverted, dominant individuals, while introverted, empathetic individuals with good business perception are also important. They can get people on board, which is essential. You can implement tools and technology, but without employee buy-in, you face attrition and retention. Human capital is the backbone of an organization.”
Read also: People First: How human aspects are at the heart of successful acquisitions
