Vienna, Austria – AIMS International, a preeminent global Executive Search and Talent Management organization, has launched the forth issue of its Business Climate indicator. The ABCA delivers a global insight into the executive search business.

This analysis of the Executive Search Market surveys past, present and expected business conditions in 7 major business segments. It approaches the last 4 months and forecasts the next 4 months on the basis of interviews with AIMS International partners and consultants in 48 countries. The first ABCAwas published in Q2 2011.

“Every issue of the ABCA delivers interesting insights for me, as EVP AMERICAS at AIMS International and as an owner of a company with international business relations” comments AIMS International Vice President John W. Poracky.

The ABCA Q2 2012 shows the following significant results:

1. 37% (Δ -4%) of the AIMS International partners and consultants evaluate the current state of business as good, 51% (Δ +12%) as middle and 12% (Δ -8%) as bad. Compared to the ABCA Q2 2011 and the ABCA Q4 2011 the trend of a negative perception of business conditions is stopped. There are indizes for a stabilization. However, the number of people who evaluate the current business situation as good has reached the all time low of 37%.
2. Allowing multiple answers, significant differences in the development of important business segments during the last 12 months have become obvious:  the Industrial, Engineering and Logistics as well as the Automotive or Financial Services segment are stable (Δ8%). Only business in the Pharma, Health Care and Life Science segment has increased remarkably: Δ +16% Executive Search projects
3. Following the answers to the questions about the revenue development in the last 4 months you can also see that stabilization is taking place. There is both a shift from companies with increasing revenues as well as from companies with decreasing revenues towards stable revenues. Global markets in the 7 industry segments are finding calmer waters.
4. Two thirds (Δ +3%) of the AIMS partners evaluated their number of current projects as large or sufficient, 33% (Δ -3%) as not enough. Alarming is that only 12% (Δ -11%) of the companies evaluate their number of current projects as large. Upcoming free capacities are mainly used for quality enhancement initiatives.
5. As for the forecast for the next 4 months, 91% (Δ +10%) expect the business to be stable or better, 9% (Δ -9%) as worse. The significant increase of positive business expectation (Δ +11%) is another signal of tendencies towards stabilization

The overall outlook for Q3 2012 is stable.

Corporate Communications

Christian Schulte +49 178 2854744 

About AIMS International

Incorporated in Vienna, Austria in 1992, AIMS International is an international executive search organization of independently owned and managed executive search firms who work collaboratively to execute executive search assignment for global clients around the world. AIMS International is represented by over 350 consultants in more than 90 offices in over 50 countries throughout all continents. It was ranked the largest executive search partnership in the world by Search-Consult Magazine.

For more information, please visit www.aims-international.net and www.aims-southafrica.com