Q1 Market insight HR

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Market insightHR

2015 Quarter 1

04 London

05 Midlands

06 East of England

ContentsHR

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London

The London HR market continues to show positive growth into 2015 as many businesses are looking to grow their headcount in specialist HR roles.

Skills in demandWe have seen a 15% year on year increase in permanent HR roles across the board; in particular the following areas

There has been a recent increase in the level of Learning & Development roles (up 15% on last year) as businesses are looking to retain top talent within their workforce. The temporary market remains steady with a nominal 3% increase in roles from this time in 2014, however the timeframe of these roles are now projected to last longer as more complex projects are being implemented.

Many of the larger companies have kept additional hires to a minimum, with most hires coming about as a result of continued restructures. SME’s remain cautious in terms of hiring activity as restrictions on headcount and budget are still very apparent.

→ HR Business Partner

→ Compensation & Benefits

→ Reward

→ Employee relations

High volumes of interim assignments are being offered in the niche area of reward. The more generalist HR roles dominate the permanent hire landscape.

There has been a 40% increase in demand for HR project leads in the interim space; candidates that have experience working across a number of client groups, and those that specialise in HR restructures

and organisational change have been highly sought after.

There has been a recent increase in the level of Learning & Development roles

up 15%on last year

year on year increase in permanent HR roles across the board

15%


Jobs

Media

Legal

PracticeOil & Gas

FMCG

Technology

Property

London

Job flow has remained high across most industry sectors. The following industries have shown the highest levels of growth compared to last year:

Competitive market conditions have lead to a decrease in the time it takes firms to hire new staff, with the average placement taking 10% less time to fill than this time last year.

There has been a marked increase in candidates entering the market predominantly from the following industries compared to the same quarter last year

FMCGincrease of

24%Technologyincrease of

44%Propertyincrease of

10%

Candidates

Media

Legal

PracticeOil & Gas

FMCG

Technology

Property

Mediaincrease of

22%Technologyincrease of

214%Propertyincrease of

18%


Midlands

HS2, wider transport projects, the success of JLR and the expansion of its supply chain are all positive stories that have helped to boost morale and support the region as a great place to relocate a business to.

The BBC is relocating several functions to the Mailbox, Birmingham. These include BBC Academy, BBC People, and a digital innovation unit; an investment plan worth £23.5m. This relocation has created

professional HR roles for both reward and learning and development and talent acquisition skilled workers.

Recruitment speedThe start of 2015 saw an increased number of candidates registering and securing new roles compared to the final quarter of 2014. At the same time, more candidates were able to apply for several live job roles, a strong improvement on a year ago. The consequence of this is the need for clients to deliver feedback and arrange interviews more quickly than before. The risk of not doing so results in candidates securing employment with companies who have made quicker decisions. On average, our HR candidates apply for 2-3 live roles at any one time. We have seen some evidence of salaries creeping up at offer stage too.

A digital transformation programme at Nationwide (Swindon) has created job growth in learning and development. Avon based in Milton Keynes is also driving learning and development within the business and so created a new role to support people development. Other financial services are reporting business growth and higher demand (Volkswagon Financial Services, Milton Keynes) creating additional HR roles.

Skills in demandThere has been growth in demand for HR business partners, irrespective of sector. Those who are commercially minded and have a strategic direction with good forecasting and leadership skills are in particularly high demand.

OutlookThe outlook moving forward is positive for candidates as they begin to see more vacancies advertised. With that comes a need for creating a speedier process that helps to secure the candidate of choice. Vacancies placed with Badenoch & Clark in quarter 4 2014 took on average 65 days from job source to offer made just over two months. The market has picked up considerably (35% increase in job orders Q4 to Q1) and so the time to offer has reduced to an average of 30 days – less than half of the preceding quarter. The reason behind the dramatic fall is as a result of companies wanting to beat the competition by offering quickly before anyone else does. We have experienced several offers declined where the candidate felt the process was too slow. As such, every aspect of the recruitment process impacts candidates, and speed/style of application process could influence the candidate’s final decision.

Traditionally, HR hiring managers have prefered to consider candidates only from their respective sector, but the last few months has seen some employers consider other sectors, particularly those that have fared well throughout the recession. The sectors that continue to show good hiring prospects are; financial services, FMCG, media, utilities & automotive.

The continued growth of Jaguar Land Rover has created additional HR Advisor demand for their manufacturing sites, whilst their training function undergoes a transformation project.

increase in job orders Q4 to Q135%


East of England

There is certainly more optimism in the current HR recruitment market than there was a year ago, and the market has started to show real signs of consistent growth. Q1 data indicates growth numbers in job count and candidates out at interview, but drawn out recruitment processes and a strong interim market has added to the complexity of permanent headcount growth.

The main difference in the current market is that companies are starting to react to movement as they anticipate a spike in candidate availability. Counter offers are on the increase and candidates are being tempted away by increased salaries on both sides of the hiring process, which in turn drives up salary expectations.

Client pressure points

Currently, the hot topic of conversation centres around rewards, compensation and benefits. There is also much talk of employee engagement and retention, particularly how to retain and engage key staff and top performers. This has a knock on affect to hiring and retention because if there is no incentive for staff around benefits and rewards, they will not remain as engaged and committed to the business. Another topic which has proven popular relates to future leaders, particularly who they are and where they are coming from. There is a lot of focus on high achieving graduates who have the potential to become future leaders, which is another result of current market movement and increased demands.

Skill sets in demand

The top five skills/job types that are highly sought after by clients in Q1 include:

→ Reward

→ Compensation & benefits

→ Management & leadership development

→ Recruitment & shared services

→ Talent & reward

There also seems to be an increased focus around attracting and retaining high quality talent and ensuring they are appropriately benchmarked. This is particularly relevant in the current market as the demand for talent is starting to grow and the pool of available candidates remains more or less consistent, both in size and quality. There is also an increasing need to ensure that the relevant levels of support exist within an organisation, both in terms of skill sets and personal development.

Outlook for the next 6-12 months

We are seeing an increasing number of vacancies for both temporary and permanent positions across the UK, as organisations understand the value HR generalists bring in helping to drive their business forward. Retail, manufacturing, financial services and not-for-profit sectors are all now all hiring in higher numbers and this trend is expected to continue right through 2015.

64%

Generally speaking there has been an increase

in vacancies across the market. However these vacancies are mostly in

key areas such as senior leadership roles, or

specialist areas such as reward, compensation & benefits and talent.

There is a lot of focus on high achieving graduates who have the potential to

become future leaders, which is another result of

current market movement and increased demands.

We are seeing an increasing number of vacancies for both temporary and permanent

positions across the UK

of employers feel applicants are unrealistic with salary expectations

53% of clients fear competition from others employers as the main threat to secure talent

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© Badenoch & Clark 2014. All rights reserved. The information contained in this publication is intended for general purposes or guidance only. It does not purport to constitute professional advice. Badenoch & Clark accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.

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Q1 Market insight HR

Recruiting & HR

Transcript of Q1 Market insight HR