Never before has the recruitment industry changed so much in such a short space of time. Just like the rest of the world, uncertainty around Covid, GDPR, and everything else that has happened in the last 24 months has forced recruiters to change their approach and be much more reactive to changes in the market.
In this article, we’re going to look at some of the biggest changes that have happened in the recruitment industry over the last few years. We’ll also take a look at how these changes have affected us as recruiters and how we can continue to adapt in order to stay ahead of the curve.
What is happening?
The landscape for businesses looking to recruit is as difficult as it has been in recent memory, the power has very rapidly shifted to the hands of the candidate, with talent shortages being seen across all sectors in the wake of Covid.
There is a real battle to get top talent in the door, having realised that the market is very candidate driven many clients have increased salaries and benefits as a way of retaining and attracting candidates. Many clients are also offering hybrid working, working from home, are being more flexible with hours and are offering flexible benefits plans – holiday purchase schemes, amongst other things. we’ve never seen this before in 34 years in recruitment.
Temp vs Perm.
With candidates in such short supply that has been a big increase in the number of permanent roles being offered to candidates. If businesses find the right person, they need to tie them down because there is such a shortage of candidates.
Its all about supply and demand, if there’s a shortage, people have to pay higher prices and where people are the commodity, it has to be an attractive transaction and one that is of high interest in an economy where there is much uncertainty with high inflation, rising fuel costs etc… people want a commitment rather than a short term role at the moment.
North vs South divide.
Forever, the power in the UK has been in London. The biggest businesses, with access to the best talent and huge pools of candidates to choose from. In the last 2 years, with remote working becoming the normal we have seen huge numbers of people relocating to cheaper areas outside the city, or returning to where they are from to be closer to family and friends.
This has resulted in an increase in the talent pool in the north of the country, and northern businesses are now filling positions faster on average than the same positions in London; with Leeds and Manchester in-particular seeing boosted talent.
Conclusion
It is a great time to be a candidate at the moment, the market is suited to movement with businesses doing everything in their power to make their propositions attractive it is offering great opportunities. For businesses, it is a tricky time, with only 50% of companies feeling confident that the right people are available, increased focus should be put on making roles attractive to candidates, whether that is through the culture of the business or financial incentives.
