Executives are more and more ready to get to distant places of work by commuting, be it by taking the plane twice a week or sitting in the car each day and driving 90 minutes to their offices. 70% of international personnel agencies taking part in the “Executive Recruiter Index” say that this was indeed an alternative for executives instead of moving houses. The “Executive Recruiter Index” is based on a survey among 198 councellors of the Korn/Ferry personnel consultancy firm. This survey is carried out every three months.
According to this survey more than fifty percent of all personnel agents (55%) complain about the fact that nowadays it is more difficult than in the past to prompt job candidates to move houses in order to seize new professional opportunities. The main reasons for this are related to private factors, said half of personnel agents. The second most important factor in this respect are the quality of living (25%) followed by housing costs (10%).
82 % of the personnel agents interviewed said that employers are relatively open-minded with regard to frequent business trips which their executives make instead of moving houses. This trend is particularly obvious in the high tech industry.
In those cases where moving houses is inevitable, financial incentives are the best way to prompt candidates to move, say 64% of the personnel agents interviewed. Other important stimuli are a flexible work environment (40%) and the possibility for visits by family members (37%).
When asked about the number of business trips which an executive is expected to make nowadays, 33% of personnel agents responded 10 to 15 weeks and 22% said 15 to 20 weeks per year. 