Navigating the Complexity of Executive Hiring in FMCG
Debbie Morrison • May 28, 2024

Hiring executives is no simple task, in the FMCG & Food & Beverage Manufacturing sectors. The competition is fierce. Changes in consumer preferences and market conditions mean companies must innovate to meet the industry’s evolving demands.


Industry nuances add a greater layer of complexity to recruitment, highlighting the importance of leaders who can navigate challenges while also being forward-thinking enough to guide companies through uncertain times without losing consumer trust. Striking this balance makes strategic hiring crucial in these sectors.


So how can organisations prepare themselves to overcome these challenges and attract the talent? Just how vital is candidate evaluation in ensuring a good fit not only for the present but also for the future?


In this piece, we delve into strategies that employers and recruitment teams can adopt to better handle the intricacies of hiring executives.


Understanding the Current Landscape

The FMCG and Food & Beverage sectors exemplify dynamism and rapid change. These industries are highly responsive to shifts in consumer behaviour, technological advancements and global economic trends making them demanding environments for leadership roles.


While traditional leadership skills remain important they are now one aspect of what's required for success. 


The current business landscape demands adaptability, the ability to foresee changes and lead effectively – crucial for organisations to remain competitive. These skills enable companies to react promptly to market shifts, embrace technologies and navigate regulatory environments.


The Evolution of Recruitment Practices, in the FMCG and Food & Beverage Sectors


The FMCG and Food & Beverage industries are not rapidly changing but face unique challenges in executive recruitment due to several key factors;


1. Changing Market Dynamics: These sectors operate in paced settings where consumer preferences, technological advancements and economic conditions can fluctuate rapidly often leading to impacts.


2. Regulatory Compliance: Meeting local and international regulations related to food safety, environmental standards and labelling poses challenges that require expertise in risk management and compliance.


3. Supply Chain Complexity: With supply chains and logistics networks managing perishable goods and cold chain requirements while ensuring cost effectiveness, quality assurance and timely delivery presents ongoing challenges.


4. Technological Progress: The emergence of technologies, like intelligence, blockchain and the Internet of Things (IoT) offers exciting opportunities to enhance product quality and engage customers effectively.

However to effectively incorporate them one must possess an understanding of the technology's future applications, not just the technical aspect.


5. Sustainability and Ethics: The rising demands, from consumers and regulators for sustainable practices necessitate a delicate balance between economic objectives and social as well as environmental responsibilities. Implementing practices throughout a company's operations often involves investments and operational modifications.


6. Geographic Diversity: Managing operations across cultures and geographical locations requires executives to demonstrate interpersonal skills, including cross cultural communication abilities often in multiple languages. Adapting strategies to suit markets while understanding and respecting nuances can significantly enhance the pool of suitable talent.


These industries experience changes in consumer preferences, technological disruptions and evolving market conditions. Such dynamics call for an approach to recruitment and retention that emphasises skills beyond conventional metrics, such as strong visionary leadership capabilities aligned with the company's broader ethical and strategic objectives.


Furthermore, candidates' preferences have evolved well. Executives are increasingly seeking opportunities with organisations committed to sustainability, innovation and employee welfare. This shifting expectation, among candidates necessitates companies to reconsider how they portray themselves and engage with hires.



Shortcomings of Conventional Hiring Methods

Typical recruitment strategies often place an emphasis on candidates prior experiences and qualifications. While these aspects are undoubtedly crucial they may not fully capture a candidate's ability to tackle challenges or fit seamlessly into a company's culture in today's business landscape.


Challenges Faced by Businesses with Traditional Approaches


Rigid Skill Assessment: The traditional approach of evaluating skills often overlooks a candidates adaptability and potential for growth qualities that are vital in the evolving FMCG and Food & Beverage industries.


Excessive Focus on Experience: Although having a background and proven experience in the field is valuable an excessive focus on past roles can disregard candidates who bring fresh perspectives or diverse industry insights that could be advantageous.


Slow Adoption of Technological Progress: The delay in incorporating technologies into the recruitment process can impede the ability to attract and engage savvy candidates who are poised to spearhead digital transformations.


Current Dynamics in the Talent Market

The present talent market is undergoing changes well. Executive candidates have varying expectations and attitudes towards employers. The increasing popularity of work, the importance placed on achieving work life balance and the quest for fulfilling work are influencing how professionals perceive job prospects.


A recent report, from Elevatus points out that the market is expected to grow at a rate of 5.7% from 2022 to 2023 indicating opportunities that require a workforce equipped not only with technical skills but also a forward thinking approach.


Given the pace of growth and transformation, how are companies ensuring they can identify leaders who possess the ability to not just navigate but shape the future of the industry?


One approach is to focus on candidate assessments. Evaluating candidates has become increasingly vital in the recruitment process ensuring an alignment between a candidate's abilities and the long term goals of the hiring organisation.


The Role of Comprehensive Candidate Evaluation

Employers at this level are expanding their methods for hiring executives by incorporating holistic talent assessment strategies, sometimes even replacing traditional approaches. They have come to understand that thriving in paced industries requires more than matching technical skills or work experience. Evaluating candidates comprehensively plays a role in simplifying hiring decisions by focusing on a perspective that includes cultural alignment, leadership potential and the capacity for driving innovation and change.


Implementing a talent assessment framework that digs into various aspects of a candidate's profile is essential. This involves not examining their credentials but also assessing how well they align with the company’s values, their leadership approach and their ability to adapt to industry changes​ (JRG Partners LLC)​. These detailed assessments ensure that candidates possess not only the necessary skills but also the flexibility to grow alongside the company and industry.


Using candidate evaluation as a means for enhancement throughout the recruitment process helps employers gain an understanding of the qualities, traits and attributes most suitable for their organisation and critical leadership roles. This improves recruitment efficiency through customised strategies that can significantly streamline the hiring process.


By tailoring the search and selection process based on candidate assessments employers can ensure matches with candidates. This does not streamline the hiring process. Also enhances the chances of long term success for both the company and the hired executives. However while evaluating candidates is crucial many organisations tend to overlook the importance of nurturing an employer brand.


Harnessing Employer Branding

Can a robust employer brand act as a magnet for attracting talent in the industry?

In essence, yes. A strong employer brand isn't an asset; it's a necessity. In today's executive talent landscape professionals seek organisations that not offer competitive salaries and benefits but also stand out for their values, culture and innovative approach. Therefore enhancing your employer brand plays a role, in attracting talent and setting yourself apart from competitors.


Crafting an Appealing Employer Brand


Developing a compelling employer brand extends beyond marketing tactics enticing job postings and office perks. Here are some essential factors to consider;


Clearly Defining Your Mission and Values; Prospective candidates often gravitate towards organisations whose missions resonate with their values.

By expressing your dedication to sustainability, ethical standards and innovation you can significantly enhance your chances of attracting and engaging talent. This alignment not only attracts candidates but also fosters a deeper level of commitment and loyalty right from the beginning.


Highlighting the aspects of your company culture that embrace diversity, inclusion and employee well being can greatly boost your reputation as an employer of choice. Beyond offering work arrangements, create safe and open work environments that promote expression, creativity and innovation. Consider implementing wellness programs and continuous learning opportunities to appeal to executives seeking a thinking workplace.


Strategically leveraging media platforms can be instrumental in crafting a brand narrative. By sharing insider perspectives, employee testimonials and authentic CSR initiatives you can establish an attractive brand identity. This approach lays the foundation for connecting with candidates even before the initial interview takes place.


Engaging in thought leadership activities allows companies to position themselves as industry frontrunners, in the FMCG sector. Actively participating in industry dialogues publishing papers and hosting webinars are effective ways to showcase expertise and leadership within the field.

Enhancing visibility and portraying the company as thinking not attracts candidates who are excited to collaborate with innovators and industry frontrunners but also establishes a positive image.


Encouraging employee advocacy through testimonials can greatly boost the authenticity of your brand as an employer. Sharing stories of career growth, internal mobility and professional development, from employees serves as endorsements of your company’s culture and values enhancing its appeal.


A strong employer brand goes beyond attracting talent; it boosts awareness resulting in a pool of candidates who are already engaged with your organisation's culture and values. This pre-existing engagement streamlines the recruitment process increasing the conversion rate from candidate to employee. Additionally a solid employer brand reduces hiring expenses. Enhances retention rates by fostering employee commitment to the company's vision and ensuring alignment.


In a talent landscape a robust employer brand is not merely advantageous; it is indispensable. It sets a company apart, in a market. Draws visionary leaders who can drive organisational advancement forward.


When it comes to deciding between external recruitment, for specialised, to fill and key leadership positions the choice can have a significant impact on organisational continuity and innovation. While opting for recruitment has its benefits like an understanding of company culture and operations there are situations where external recruitment might be the more strategic option.


Advantages of Internal Recruitment

Handling the executive recruitment process internally is often preferred by employers and talent acquisition teams as it offers advantages;


In Depth Knowledge of Company Culture and Requirements: Internal talent acquisition teams possess an understanding of the company's culture, strategic objectives and specific needs. This knowledge allows them to pinpoint candidates who not only have the skills but also resonate with the company's values and goals. Such alignment is vital for long term success.


Cost Effectiveness: Managing the executive search internally can sometimes lead to cost savings compared to engaging agencies. However prolonged hiring processes or incorrect hiring decisions could result in cost implications.


Control Over Recruitment Procedures: Keeping the process in house provides companies with control over every aspect of recruitment from creating job descriptions to selecting candidates.


Developing Internal HR Capabilities: Handling the recruitment of top level executives in -house is a way to enhance the skills of the HR team by exposing them to recruitment methods. This hands-on experience is beneficial. Can lead to increased efficiency and effectiveness in hiring endeavours although it does come with its own set of risks.


When to Think About External Recruitment


While there are advantages to managing executive hiring there are situations where seeking talent outside the organisation may be an option;


Expanding the Talent Pool: By looking beyond traditional networks and local connections, organisations can tap into a diverse pool of executives and professionals who may not typically be reached through internal recruitment efforts.


Attracting Passive Talent: While job postings and branding efforts can attract job seekers – who represent a small portion of the talent market – the most exceptional candidates are often not actively seeking new opportunities. Engaging with this talent requires a nuanced approach that can uncover top tier professionals who might not have otherwise considered making a career move.


Conducting Comprehensive Skills and Personality Assessments: External recruitment agencies utilise assessments to evaluate candidates ensuring that those shortlisted not possess the necessary skills but also align with the values, traits and attributes essential for driving performance and enriching company culture.


Infusion of Fresh Perspectives: Introducing candidates can inject viewpoints, skills and creative concepts into the company essential for adapting and thriving in the rapidly evolving FMCG market. This becomes especially valuable when aiming to enter markets or revamp strategies. An external viewpoint is crucial in spotting talent.


Addressing Skills Shortages: When there's a lack of expertise or abilities within the existing workforce, turning to recruitment becomes necessary. This often occurs with advancements or when venturing into product areas where current employees may lack the necessary skills. Knowing where to locate talent and effectively presenting the opportunity to attract them is key.


Promoting Diversity: External recruitment serves as a method to enrich diversity within the organisation. Bringing in leaders from backgrounds can broaden the company's perspectives and approaches fostering an inclusive workplace environment.


Choosing between external recruitment strategies demands a consideration of the organisation's immediate requirements and long term objectives. While the potential cost savings associated with hiring may be appealing, external recruitment provides access to a talent pool infuses fresh vigour and introduces diverse talents beyond what traditional internal approaches can offer.

Every method has its advantages and potential drawbacks and the decision mainly relies on the situation and goals of the company.


Shaping the Future of Executive Recruitment, in FMCG and Food & Beverage


Successfully navigating the realm of recruitment requires a mix of strategic planning, flexibility and a profound comprehension of market dynamics and corporate culture. Throughout our conversation we've examined aspects of the recruitment process each underscoring the need for strategies in a landscape characterised by swift changes and intense competition.


Employers need to understand that traditional hiring methods, which often prioritise experiences and fixed qualifications, are increasingly inadequate in evaluating candidates' readiness to tackle challenges. The evolving nature of the FMCG and Food & Beverage sectors demands a hiring approach that values adaptability and thinking leadership as much as it values experience and expertise.


Comprehensive candidate assessment plays an important role, by enabling organisations to delve deeper into each candidate's potential. This method not evaluates their suitability but also their ability to progress alongside the company and propel it forward amidst an industry undergoing constant change. Nevertheless it's essential to acknowledge that recruitment is one part of the process; ongoing development is equally vital.

Building an employer brand and effectively managing both external recruitment resources are crucial, for attracting and retaining top talent.


As we look ahead the FMCG and Food & Beverage industries need to improve these approaches seeing the challenges of their markets as chances to innovate in recruitment. By creating environments that draw in flexible and tech savvy leaders companies can not just fill roles. Also enhance their organisational culture giving them a competitive advantage.


The journey towards recruitment is complex and ongoing. It requires organisations to be introspective, creative and inclusive. Industry leaders are urged to adjust their hiring strategies to align with the markets they operate in. By doing so, organisations expect to thrive in the dynamic and competitive landscapes of FMCG and Food & Beverage manufacturing. If you feel you would benefit from the expert insights gained from a professional candidate evaluation and assessment from trained professionals, enquire about our https://www.elrexecutive.com.au/free-executive-talent-assessment-2.

Your Culture Report Won’t Show You This

By John Elliott • June 6, 2025
On paper, they were fully resourced. No complaints logged. No formal red flags. Delivery metrics holding steady. But behind closed doors, the signs were there. Delays. Fatigue. Silence in meetings where pushback used to live. And a growing sense that key people were leaning out, emotionally, if not yet physically. When the cracks finally showed, the conclusion was predictable: “We need more people.” But that wasn’t the real problem. The problem was trust. And most organisations never see it until it’s too late. The Hidden Cost of Disengagement In Gallup’s 2023 global workplace report , only 23% of employees worldwide reported being actively engaged at work. A staggering 59% identified as “quiet quitting”, psychologically detached, going through the motions, doing only what their job description demands. Source: Gallup Global Workplace Report 2023 Disengagement is expensive. But it’s also quiet. It doesn’t show up on a balance sheet. It doesn’t send a Slack message. Disengagement isn’t new, just silenced. And in executive teams, it looks different. It looks like polite agreement in strategy meetings. It looks like leaders shielding their teams from unrealistic demands, instead of confronting the system causing them. It looks like performance metrics still being met… while people emotionally check out. The issue isn’t always capability. It’s safety. Psychological, political, and professional. Many senior leaders don’t raise concerns, not because the problem isn’t real, but because they don’t believe they’ll be heard, supported, or protected if they do. And this is where the failure begins. The Leadership Lie No One Talks About We talk a lot about leadership capability. About experience, commercial acumen, execution strength. But we don’t talk enough about context. Every leadership hire walks into a culture they didn’t create. They inherit unwritten rules, quiet alliances, and legacy power structures. If those dynamics are broken, or if trust is fractured at the top, no amount of capability will compensate. According to a 2022 Deloitte mid-market survey, 64% of executives said culture was their top strategic priority. But only 27% said they actually measured it in a meaningful way. We say culture matters. But we rarely structure around it. And so new leaders walk in with pressure to perform, but little real insight into what the role will cost them emotionally, politically, or personally. We Don’t Hire for Trust. And It Shows. In executive search, the conversation is often dominated by pedigree and “fit.” But fit is often a euphemism for sameness. And sameness doesn't build trust, it maintains comfort. We rarely ask: Does this leader know how to build trust vertically and horizontally? Can they operate in a low-trust environment without becoming complicit? Will they challenge inherited silence, or unconsciously uphold it? Instead, we hire for confidence and clarity, traits that often mask what’s broken, rather than reveal it. And when those hires fail? We call it a mismatch. Or we cite the usual: “lack of alignment,” “wasn’t the right time,” “they didn’t land well with the team.” But the truth is often uglier: They were never set up to succeed. And no one told them until it was too late. The Cultural Infrastructure Is Missing One of the most damaging myths in leadership hiring is that great leaders will “make it work.” That if they’re tough enough, experienced enough, skilled enough, they’ll overcome any organisational dysfunction. But high-performance isn’t just personal. It’s systemic. It requires psychological safety. A clear mandate. The backing to make hard decisions. The freedom to speak the truth before it becomes a PR problem. When that infrastructure isn’t there, when the real power dynamics are unspoken, good leaders stop speaking too. And the silence spreads. What Trust Breakdown Really Looks Like Often, the signs of a trust breakdown don’t show up in dramatic ways. They surface subtly in patterns of underperformance that are easy to misread or excuse. You start to notice project delays, but no one flags the root cause. Teams keep things moving, quietly compensating for the bottlenecks rather than surfacing them. Not because they’re careless, but because they’ve learned that early honesty doesn’t always earn support. New leaders hesitate to make bold calls. Not because they lack conviction, but because the last time they did, they were left exposed. Board reports look flawless. Metrics track nicely. But spend five minutes on the floor, and the energy tells a different story. These are not resource issues. They’re relationship issues. And the data backs it. According to Gallup’s 2023 State of the Global Workplace report , just 23% of employees worldwide are actively engaged. Worse, around 60% are “quiet quitting.” That’s not just disengagement. It’s people doing only what’s safe, only what’s required, because trust has quietly eroded. Gallup also found that managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement, a staggering figure that reinforces just how pivotal leadership trust is. When people don’t feel psychologically safe, they shut down. Not dramatically. Quietly. Invisibly. What’s breaking isn’t the org chart. It’s the ability to speak plainly and be heard. And by the time it’s visible? The damage is already done, and someone calls for a restructure. “Low engagement is estimated to cost the global economy $8.8 trillion, 9% of global GDP.” Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2023 So What’s the Real Takeaway? If you’re seeing performance issues, before you jump to headcount, ask a different question: Do the leaders in this business feel safe enough to tell the truth? Because if they don’t, the data you’re reading isn’t real. And if they do, but you’re not acting on it, then they’ll stop telling you. Leadership doesn’t fail in obvious ways anymore. It fails in the gap between what people know and what they’re allowed to say. And the price of that silence? Missed opportunity. Reputational damage. Cultural decay. Sometimes, the problem isn’t who you hired. It’s what you’ve made it unsafe to say.

The Energy’s Gone, But Everything Still Looks Fine

By John Elliott • May 27, 2025
Why Culture Decay in FMCG Is a Silent Threat to Performance It doesn’t start with resignations. It starts with something much quieter. A head of operations stops raising small problems in weekly meetings. A sales lead no longer defends a risky new SKU. A team member who used to push ideas now just delivers what they’re asked. Nothing breaks. Nothing explodes. It just... slows. And from the outside, everything still looks fine. The illusion of stability In food and beverage manufacturing, where teams run lean and pressure is constant, performance often becomes the proxy for culture. If products are shipping, if margins are intact, if reviews are clean, the assumption is: we're good. But that assumption is dangerous. According to Gallup's 2023 global workplace report, only 23% of employees worldwide are actively engaged, while a staggering 59% are "quiet quitting ", doing just enough to get by, with no emotional investment. And in Australia? Engagement has declined three years in a row. In a mid-market FMCG business, those numbers rarely show up on dashboards. But they show up in other ways: New ideas stall at the concept phase Team members stop challenging assumptions Execution becomes rigid instead of agile Everyone is "aligned" but no one is energised And by the time the board sees a drop in revenue, the belief that once drove the business is already gone. The emotional cost of cultural silence One thing we don’t talk about enough is what this does to leadership. When energy drains, leaders often become isolated. Not because they want to be, but because the organisation has lost the instinct to challenge, question, or stretch. I’ve seen CEOs second-guessing themselves in rooms full of agreement. Seen GMs miss red flags because nobody wanted to be "the problem". Seen founders mistake quiet delivery for deep buy-in. The emotional toll of unspoken disengagement is real. You’re surrounded by people doing their jobs. But no one’s really in it with you. And eventually, leaders stop stretching too. We train people to disengage without realising it Here’s the contradiction that most organisations won’t admit: We say we want initiative, but we reward obedience. The safest people get promoted The optimists get extra work The truth-tellers get labelled difficult So people learn to conserve energy. They learn not to challenge ideas that won’t land. They learn not to flag risks that won’t be heard. And over time, they stop showing up with their full selves. This isn't resistance. It's protection. And it becomes the default when innovation is punished, risk isn't buffered, and "alignment" becomes code for silence. Boards rarely see it in time Boards don’t ask about belief. They ask about performance. But belief is what drives performance. When culture begins to fade, it doesn't look like chaos. It looks like calm. It looks like compliance. But underneath, the organisation is hollowing out. By the time a board notices the energy is gone, it’s often because the financials have turned, and by then, the people who could've helped reverse the trend have already left. In a 2022 Deloitte study on mid-market leadership, 64% of executives said culture was their top priority, yet only 27% said they measured it with any rigour . If you don’t track it, you won’t protect it. And if you don’t protect it, don’t be surprised when it disappears. The real risk: you might not get it back Here’s what no one likes to admit: Not all cultures recover. You can try rebrands. You can run engagement campaigns. You can roll out leadership frameworks and off-sites and feedback platforms. But if belief has been neglected for too long, the quiet ones you depended on, the culture carriers, the stretchers, the informal leaders, they’re already checked out. Some have left. Some are still there physically but not emotionally. And some have started coaching others to play it safe. Once that happens, you're not rebuilding. You're replacing. So what do you do? Don’t listen for noise. Listen for absence. Absence of challenge. Absence of stretch. Absence of belief. Ask yourself: When was the last time someone in the business pushed back? Not rudely, but bravely? When did someone offer an idea that made others uncomfortable? When did a leader admit they were unsure and ask for help? Those are your indicators. Because healthy culture isn’t silent. It’s alive. It vibrates with tension, disagreement, contribution and care. If everything looks fine, but no one’s really leaning in? That’s your problem. And by the time it shows up in the numbers,t might already be too late.