In more than 15 years of executive recruitment in the international fresh produce sector, we have not encountered such high levels of senior level recruitment coming through to our business. What has been difficult to establish is why, when all the economic indicators would state that we should be seeing a recruitment downturn, not an increase.

Having conducted an industry-wide client survey, and after reviewing the placements successfully completed by Redfox, the answer appears to be relatively straightforward. A number of companies are very concerned due to the recessionary period we have all encountered. But we have all survived so far and potentially have better businesses for it. What it has awakened, among more strategic concerns, is that their current management teams may be too weak for such a commercial period and they may not be able to capitalise when we see a return to positive market conditions. Coupled with other businesses that are looking to be aggressively acquisitive and need additional senior management sourced quickly, our enquiry rate is very high.

Looking with a long-term view, this recessionary period will not last forever and when the economy picks up, clients may find that the top talent is looking for new opportunities. When that time comes, businesses that have clear succession plans will thrive.

So it is obvious that a recession may be the ideal time to put a succession plan in motion and to also consider starting an external recruitment process, if the right individuals are not already in place.

That is what we appear to be seeing at the moment at Redfox. Additionally, when employers groom successors or bring in “winners” from outside, they send a signal to all of their employees that the business is secure, adding to long-term loyalty and productivity.

To fuel this situation, we all need very high-calibre candidates. Currently, there is a decent clutch of proven high-level candidates available. On this basis, employers should take advantage of the recession and hire people now for their own succession plans. A lot of businesses have not been able to compete for the best candidates before. But now is the time to get people you would never otherwise have and you won’t find these candidates 18 months from now, after a full market recovery and another war on talent.