People and Talent Outlook: Getting the Right Talent in the Right Seats to Position for an Exit
Authored By Eric Walczykowski
Private equity firms are hopeful for market growth and exits as we move further into 2024. That means increasing attention is being paid to Talent as a value lever, and the role of People leaders in private equity portfolio companies.
I sat down recently to discuss this with Alex Bossetta, Partner and Head of Bespoke’s People & Talent Leadership Practice.
You can see the full interview with Alex in our Tailored Talent vodcast series, here: https://www.bespokepartners.com/tailored-talent-private-equity-talent-trends-interview-archives/
Bespoke Partners is the largest recruiting firm solely focused on software and SaaS companies, and we specialize in firms backed by private equity sponsors.
The gridlock in exit opportunities has caused private equity portfolios to swell, straining private equity firm resources and creating challenges with fundraising and achieving return targets. Leadership talent is critical for positioning a portfolio company for exit.
Our dedicated People and Talent practice has successfully completed over 100 HR and Talent placements in portfolio companies. Our placed HR and People leaders have been 100% diversity hires, with a near perfect NPS score of 9.7.
Here is a summarized Q&A of my conversation with Alex about the state of the People and Talent market and the increasingly pressing push for exits.
Eric: I’ve heard that talent is a major thesis for 2024, and seeing our fast start to the year seems to be true. What are you seeing in your function for 2024?
Alex: In 2023, talent and HR teams were impacted by budget cuts of course due to macroeconomic climate. This ended up hitting HR teams a bit harder than other functions within software companies. Coming into 2024, we see a really increased focus in getting the right people within people and talent roles. There is still vast popularity in still having CPOs at the executive table. I think that trend will carry well into the year as we’re seeing the need for strong strategic talent leaders. For organizations at $100 million revenue certainly expect a higher rate of turnover as it relates to the number of opportunities that these candidates are considering currently. This is partly because of the optionality piece but also building out that muscle at the C-level within this function.Eric: I’m glad to hear you speak about the vacancy rate because it proves our notion of a strategic people officer continuing to grow in today’s private equity climate. To have that strategic people officer that’s looking after the attract, develop, retain, and belonging aspects of a firm is critical, and everyone seems to be chasing that top 1%. With that said, what are you seeing in terms of 2024 in demand of the type of people leaders that folks are looking for?
- The Talent Expert – Someone who can really think about attraction and being competitive in the market from a compensation, employer brand and reputation standpoint. On the other side, they are also tasked with how we retain, motivate, and engage the talent we already have within the organization.
- The Culture Builder – It’s ever challenging in a hybrid remote environment and organizations are approaching the return to office a bit differently. So, thinking of the culture and engagement side becomes critical as organizations need to make shifts or go through change.
- The Operational People and Talent Leader– This candidate has solid business acumen and sets an operational foundation within the organization. So, it’s really understanding both the strategies and initiatives that the ELT is implementing. They are the ones thinking through driving bigger impact across the organization.
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Eric: How is the lack of exits affecting executive compensation as it relates to Chief People Officers and their willingness to make a move in this market?
Eric: I’ve been meaning to ask you, what distinguishes people leaders from some of the other functions in your opinion?
Alex:
These executives are helping to define what good looks like within private equity more broadly, and I find that extremely interesting and compelling. I also like that it’s a relatively newer focus within private equity as it relates to being a true strategic driver for value creation.
People & Talent Leadership Practice
Bespoke Partners features a dedicated practice for recruiting best-in-class People & Talent leaders who drive innovation and transform software and SaaS companies.
Learn more about our People & Talent Leadership Practice:
Bespoke Partners Named in Top 10 of the “Top 49 Retained Executive Search” 2-Years Running by C-Suite CV Secure.
Author:
Eric Walczykowski
Chief Executive Officer
Eric is passionate about building high-performing teams that value doing their best, working together, overcoming adversity and learning.
As a proven growth executive, Eric has served as CEO, President, Board Member, Investor and Advisor for technology companies that achieved over $4.5B in successful exits.
Eric brings to Bespoke Partners significant professional services experience from Deloitte and Andersen, as well as the high-growth client executive perspective for private equity-backed technology companies.
Eric earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BS in Business from Fresno State University.
Outside of work, Eric enjoys spending time with family, coaching baseball, travel, attending live events and sipping good wine.
Featuring:
Alexandra Bossetta
Partner, Head of People & Talent Practice
As Partner, Alex is currently the practice lead for the firm’s HR, People and Talent practice; co-lead of the firm’s Go-To-Market practice and Head of the Austin office. She leads executive recruitment and assessment for high-growth, PE-backed and public software organizations, placing leaders in CEO, President/ COO, Sales and Marketing, and HR/ Talent leadership roles. During her tenure, she has successfully completed 80+ searches including multiple team builds.
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