Bulgaria is a rapidly growing and developing economy. The growth rate is slowing down a bit compared to some countries in the CIS and Central Asia region, but is still significant enough to keep the interest of foreign investors.
The early 1990s saw the boom of the entrepreneurship when many smart people, now owners of successful businesses, found their niches and opened the “golden tap”. However, many times companies used to work not due to having good management, but in spite of it.

Now the times are changing, the sources from the tap are becoming thinner and thinner, so are the market margins. Being a sole owner and putting out the fires here and there is not enough anymore. This is the time for well-educated, ambitious and energetic managers who can put structure and strategy in place.

Expansion of the EU opened up many borders and created numerous opportunities, including sizeable amount of foreign investment in Bulgaria. Many international companies starting their operations in the country, creating demand for high quality executives. However, it is getting much tougher to find good people, and as for the fresh university graduates, their supply very much depends on the discipline and how attractive your industry is. It is much easier for large international companies to attract and retain the best graduates, but for many local companies or not so ‘sexy’ industries it is much more difficult.

It is not that there are no talented executives in Bulgaria. Western employers are often surprised to find such a large number of impressive managers in the country, particularly in the field of financial and professional services.

At the same time, top Bulgarian executives are not necessarily staying at home. They are highly mobile, seeking new challenges and opportunities abroad. Most show a proclivity toward more mature Western markets with perceived higher salaries and work security. On the other hand, mobility within the country or in the region of South East Europe is quite low. An offer to relocate to neighbouring countries like Romania, Greece, Turkey, etc. or to cities in Bulgaria like Plovdiv, Bourgas or Varna, by many is not considered as an appealing career move as the relocation to the West.

Typical managers in Bulgaria today could be roughly divided in two groups:

– The proactive and aggressive younger generation with 10 to 15 years of experience in the market economy; could be a bit arrogant in estimating their abilities to handle new tasks and challenges. The talent pool is especially concentrated in fields such as law, sales and marketing; HR tends to be much younger than comparative candidates in more mature Western markets. Don’t be surprised to read a CV of an “experienced senior manager” with less than 10, sometimes 5 years of experience.

– The older generation accumulated majority of their experience during the Soviet times and although they often have good connections and wealth of experience in respective industries, they sometimes could be reluctant to change and adapt to the market economy.

Another important fact about Bulgarian managers is that generally they are quite loyal to their companies, compared to those in neighbouring Romania, for example. In Romania, job-hopping is significantly higher. Still, due to the level of economic development of the country, one of the main motivators remains the salary. This, however, is more applicable to management roles, rather than higher executive positions, as the compensation packages for the latter are quite compatible with those of Western Europe. We also believe that a client that offers the right candidate a challenging role, with enough responsibility and authority to achieve impressive results, will have fewer retention difficulties. This is essential so as not to lose valuable time and momentum in this dynamic market.

It is also worthy to note that looking for executives to take on more specialised roles, such as Quality Control Managers, could be quite challenging as these positions are new for the market and key players are few and very valuable.

In general the market is settling, and employees now value stability, non-financial benefits such as management culture, training, environment, the employer brand and career development opportunities. There is also a gap between the average salaries, which are usually quoted in the surveys, and the expectations of the top 5 to 10 per cent of “the best”. Often it is due to the fact that companies that are entering the market are willing to pay premium price for the ready-available talent, rather than investing heavily in training and development of staff.

Recent years have also continued to see the companies paying their employees more transparently. This happens both due to stricter application of the laws, but also because employees are starting to realise that with a small official salary getting bank loans is very difficult.

The Value of a Search Consultant

Even before joining the EU and especially afterwards, the Bulgarian market offers so much opportunity; and finding executives with the right set of skills and experience is simply not enough. You need long-term hire, able to successfully implement your company’s strategy and who fits well in your corporate culture. You need a senior player who is also able to work with the younger and more demanding executives, who are highly motivated, business savvy maturing very fast.

The evolution that took place in Western markets over the last twenty years is taking place in Bulgaria in five to seven. This is a rate of change and opportunity that we are dealing with. Present day executives have specialist degrees in business administration, finance and investments, technology; they are fluent in English and many of them have international experience. They are success-driven. Many are female executives, and they are well placed to help Bulgaria reach its potential as a highly developed market.

To attract these executives to your team, look for a partner with local presence and executive search consultants that come from various industries, since that means that they have been exposed to and understand your needs and frustrations, as they faced them before in their management roles.

Provided by Pedersen & Partners executive search. More information on the company is available at www.pedersenandpartners.com