Market Overview
If I had to summarise the nature of the employment market and the recruitment industry today, compared to a year ago, I would say the following:
* Companies are spending again and looking to grow
* Wages are increasing again but conservatively
* Employees are more open to moving jobs for compelling career opportunities
* Top grade candidates continue to be short in supply
What this means?
There is once again a ‘demand for talent’ and companies are back once again engaging external agencies for assistance. The recruitment industry has grown significantly in 2010, and most agencies have been looking to hire once again.
However, post GFC, companies are still trying to save money on external hiring, and we fully encourage our clients to try and fill as many roles as they can themselves. Although, where a company’s own talent pipelines and networks fall short, that is where external agencies can add significant value and help clients solve their talent requirement problems.
I would say companies are a lot smarter in engaging external agencies, and while still cost sensitive, there will always be opportunities for niche specialist recruiters who can help fill a void.
This presents an opportunity, as recruitment agencies have to work a lot harder and smarter to provide value services to their clients. There are no ‘easy fills’, and clients tend to be very specific with their requirements.
Our consultants like to feel ‘valued’ and we like to work with clients who have a genuine problem, and need help. As such, we position ourselves as being able to provide value if we can supply our clients with access to talent pools that they simply can’t access themselves, and ultimately provide people who can add significant value to their organisation.
For example, which sales manager wouldn’t like to replace their bottom quartile of sales rep’s with top quartile performers? Progressive companies are always looking for the best talent.
The challenge then becomes as to where do we source such good candidates from?
While many candidates had basically ‘shut up shop’ for about 12 months, deciding to stay put during the uncertain times, many are now opening up once again to hear what the market has to offer, and this has stimulated some movement as well as wage increases.
Our company, Launchtwo People has always focused on working in ‘talent short markets’ so this challenge is not new to us, where the best candidates are not so easily found or available.
While we maintain a number of candidate attraction strategies, the real value has been the ability to tap in to the ‘passive candidate’ market which represents at least 80% of potential candidates who aren’t actively looking for a role today. These candidates tend to be much higher in quality and when they do make a move, it’s typically for something quite compelling and results in a great outcome for all combined with a much higher retention rate.
Plans for next year
Launchtwo People is aggressively looking to grow in 2011, and always on the look out for top talented recruiters who have a focus on a talent short niche! One of the key messages in our office reads “What market are you fully obsessed with? If not, you will keep coming in 2nd place!” Also look out for our corporate video to be released shortly – showcasing our employment proposition!
Our current divisions include: Accounting Practice and Commerce, Legal Practice, Sales, OH&S. The Rosch Group also covers the brands Rosch and Iceberg recruitment which cover the following divisions: IT, IT sales, Retail Fashion, Mining Civil & Build Construction, Mining & Engineering.
- Jonathan Weinstock, Director, Launchtwo People
