The board of directors in Russian company costs 15% more than in western one
13 May 2008

According to the survey of the basic gross salaries of the mid to senior management conducted in the last 6 month by Antal International Russia Limited, a recruitment firm concentrating on management recruitment, main management board in a major Russian company would earn 15 % more than in a western multinational. There are some reasons why the Russian employers are ready to pay management more.

The basic reason is that some Russian companies still pay grey salaries don’t operate in a fully compliant way. For the middle and senior management the official salary is becoming more and more important factor to choose the employer. “People often take a credit and the bank is don’t care how much you get in the envelope, - says Luc Jones, Partner at Antal International Russia Recruitment Company. – I noticed that many more candidates reject offers made by companies who pay grey salaries (without declaring their full income for tax purposes) during the last 5 years”.
Russian business is ready to overpay managers for the increased risks they can face. Candidates understand that Russian companies are less structured then foreign ones, the management style is tougher and the corporate culture is inferior to the western standards. “It is not common in Russian companies to delegate responsibilities. Usually the General Director takes many the final decisions and micro managers, this is sometimes as acute as purchasing of the paper for printers, - comments Luc Jones. – A Senior Executive can change the strategy on a whim and all the efforts of the senior management will be wasted”.
But the big Russian players often try to emulate multinational management and are ready to buy the managers from the foreign competitors for any cost. Often Russian business will pay a large premium to a western experienced manager who is able to bring the western spirit to the company, optimize the business processes and the structure of the company. Luc Jones notes: “There is tight competition on the Russian market, it’s very much in the candidate’s favour. In the UK there may be literally hundreds of specialists available on the local employment market, sometimes the numbers of specialists with specific experience may be counted on one hand“.
It is not easy to estimate the bonus part of the director’s salary in average. “The main complaint of out candidates is an unclear bonus system. And if in foreign companies it is more or less structured – in Russian businesses the bonus depends not only on the objective results but also on internal politics and personal relations with the top manager, - says Luc Jones. – Sometimes the bonus structure is so discretionary that the employee himself is not aware of why he has been awarded such a high or low bonus”.
In average the bonus (excluding share options / equity etc) can be 15-30% of an annual income. For example HR director can get 15-20%, Marketing Director – 20% and Sales Director can count on 30% bonus. 100%+ bonuses are common to banking and is played very rarely in other industries. “In Russia is still difficult to build the motivation scheme on the bonuses. Of course companies should offer bonus to the candidate especially on the senior managing positions, but the basic salary should be the main part of the income, - comments Natalia Kurkchi, Partner at Antal International Russia”.
The requirements to the directors have changed in the last few years. For example if some years ago the main requirements to the IT Director was the experience if the implementation of different information systems, and a commercial director had just to be a good sales person, now they are required to have a helicopter view on the business and be a great managers.
In summary it’s clear that Russian companies are more flexible to pay what it takes to get the right person on board. They are not restricted by salary grading systems and other corporate head office encumbrances. On the other hand Western firms tend to offer better non-financial benefits, generally offer the employee a more structured environment and better support infrastructure. Potential employees should always consider what their marketability will be beyond the next four years. It boils down to the personal motivation of the candidate. Quick money can sometimes be at the expense of a more sensible longer term career move. Employers now value much more a stable and continuous career development, there is usually room for one mistake in an average career, so 6 months of above market salary may be great at the time, but may not be the most sensible long term career strategy if it doesn’t work out. Generally the higher the money premium the more cash has to overcome the downsides of working for that particular company. It seems that everybody has their price.

Antal International Russia strengthened its management team
4 May 2008
Galina Nemtchenko has been appointed to the main executive board of Antal International in Russia. Nemtchenko joined Antal in 2005 as a consultant and is now responsible for a significant business unit focusing on mid to senior level sales & marketing positions. "Appointments to the main board are purely on merit and Galina's rise to the senior management team is a credit to her ability and dedication", says Tremayne Elson, Antal International Russia Managing Director. "On top of this we are delighted that the largest demographic represented on our board is female and Russian. We are leader in diversity in the service industry".
Artyom Vasiliev has been appointed a Manager within the Accountancy & Finance Department. Vasiliev has been working with Antal International since 2004 and has been one of Antal key consultants in accountancy and finance recruitment since the beginning. “Artyom has been very focused on quality and results since the early days”, says Elson. “On our young industry he's already made a name as one of Russia's most experienced recruiters who feels absolutely at home recruiting at Finance Director, Chief Financial Officer level, he's able to successfully adapt his style to Russian holdings as well as western multinationals“.
Both appointments strengthen yet further the management at Antal in Russia. The recent acquisition by the UK based FiveTen Group has served to add momentum to the growth plans for Antal in Russia and the entire management team remains with the business day-to-day. "Russia is the most exciting recruitment market in the world, Antal is the most exciting company to be in this industry", Says Elson. "We have a culture of helping talented staff achieved their goals ahead of plan and look forward to announcing more senior management moves in the future".

Antal International Russia Limited
Antal International Russia is one of the largest recruitment companies in Russia and CIS, focused on the quality volume mid-senior level managerial recruitment across most industry sectors.
The British Recruitment Company Antal International entered the Russian market in 1994. At this time Antal was one of the very first international recruitment firms operating in Russia and the CIS. The Moscow representation was one of Antal’s first international offices and one of the largest and most successful all over the world. The Ekaterinburg office was opened in 2006 and the company is planning to open offices in other Russian cities as part of the regional expansion program.
In March 2008 Antal International Russia was acquired by the FiveTen Group, which works from 28 offices in 13 countries and employs more than 600 dedicated consultants. Antal International Russia operates in one of the most dynamic and fast moving recruitment markets in the world and already employs over 100 client facing professional staff. Although most positions need to be filled in Moscow Antal International Russia successfully work on projects in the regions and in other CIS countries, particularly Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

The FiveTen Group
Founded in London in the UK in 2006, the FiveTen Group is now one of the fastest growing consultancies in the fields of professional and specialist recruitment. With offices on four continents, the Group has built its success on a relentless commitment to ethical behaviour, compelling personal service, long-term relationships and the achievement of positive results for its clients, candidates and employees.
Backed by private equity house, Englefield Capital, and headed by one of the sector’s most high profile executives, Graham Palfery-Smith, FiveTen’s aim is to build a major global recruitment business by combining strategic acquisitions and organic growth.
Technology recruiter, Greythorn IT, was its first acquisition in September 2006. Pacific Rim banking and finance specialist WH Recruitment joined the Group in December 2006, followed by UK based finance recruiter, Marks Sattin, in February 2007. These two brands merged in March 2008 to form WH Marks Sattin, which now has thriving operations in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Ireland and the UK. The Group acquired international legal recruiter, Laurence Simons, in June 2007, followed by sales and marketing specialist, EMR, and HR recruiter, Ortus, in January 2008. With the entry of Antal Russia, FiveTen now works from 28 offices in 13 countries and employs more than 500 dedicated consultants.
FiveTen takes its name from the fact that the surface area of the Earth is 510 million square kilometers, reflecting its global reach and capability. The Group ran a worldwide competition across all of its employees to find a name and one of its managers in Australia won the prize with this suggestion.
More details can be found at the Group’s website – www.fivetengroup.com