Every quarter we gather human capital professionals from private equity firms to discuss current industry topics and to offer peers the chance to gather, share information, and decompress with one another. In our most recent event, we gathered to discuss top trends in 2022 and top areas of focus for 2023.
These forums are for human capital professionals at private equity firms only and follow Chatham House Rules, so listed below are high-level takeaways only. If you are a human capital professional in private equity and interested in joining fellow human capital professionals at our next PE Human Capital Forum, RSVP here.
Top Trends in 2022
- Human capital professionals in PE are playing a wide variety of roles within PE firms and for portfolio companies:
- The dynamic economy and labor market resulted in constantly shifting priorities throughout the year which has led to human capital professionals having to lead varying initiatives from retention & recruiting to organizational design.
- Recruiting and retention:
- Certain sectors are experiencing higher turnover than others and HR leaders have been charged with identifying root causes for turnover and then offering solutions.
- PE human capital professionals have been spending time helping portcos clearly portray their brands to help in recruiting efforts.
- Leadership and talent upgrading:
- In portcos where turnover stabilized, PE human capital leaders have been able to spend more time on leadership and talent assessment.
- Proactive PE firms are using market conditions as an opportunity to upgrade talent for the long term, including bringing in wartime generals in place of peacetime ministers. Interim executives and specialized recruiters have been common tools to execute these initiatives.
2023 Top Areas of Focus
- Quantifying and communicating human capital initiatives:
- Human capital leaders are using data, key performance metrics, and tools like scorecards to illustrate the value they are adding and/or progress being made within the portfolio.
- Pay transparency:
- Upcoming pay transparency rules are expected to have a meaningful impact on how companies recruit employees across the country. PE human capital professionals are getting up to speed on these new rules and making sure their portfolio companies are ready to comply.
- Leadership to navigate tough economic conditions:
- PE firm human capital professionals are supporting the evaluation of organizations to make sure they have the right players in the right seats, particularly with senior executives and one level down. They are encouraging portco leaders to be prepared to upgrade talent where needed and/or equip teams with leadership coaching to enhance skills if possible.
We thoroughly enjoyed these thought-provoking conversations that occurred during this recent gathering of PE human capital professionals. If we can be of assistance, please let us know.
Additionally, you may be interested in checking out some of our human capital-specific resources, which can be found here:
