State of the market – March 2021

Had you asked me in December about my confidence in starting 2021 strongly I would have answered honestly that the market had slowed down considerably and that I was fairly nervous about what Q1 of the New Year would bring.  Despite us plunging into a 3^rd lockdown in January, I have been greatly encouraged by the number of vacancies that have been registered and the confidence returning to our clients and their plans for hiring new staff.

Regardless of the constant stream of negative news from the mainstream media, it would appear that a lot of businesses are seeing a return to normality in trading conditions. Most are geared up to operate efficiently with their staff working from home and have now found an effective way to recruit and onboard new staff, especially the crucial hires that they just can’t do without any longer.  This is a really positive sign for the end of lockdown and a lot of companies we are speaking to have informed us that the Spring/Summer will see even more vacancies being recruited for.

What else is happening in the market?

• Candidates have lots of choice – move quickly!

On the most part high quality candidates have options, will have interviews booked in and companies are snapping them up quickly. Surprisingly, considering the perception of a weak job market, there is plenty of choice and roles being recruited for. Strong candidates will secure jobs and there is definitely a race for talent – do not take weeks to reviews CVs or carry out a lengthy interview process or they will be gone!

• Getting quality candidates to commit/engage is difficult

We are still in uncertain times and we are finding that a) candidates are unsure about moving jobs and b) employers are doing more to retain their staff. We often find that employed candidates apply for jobs but then decide to stay where they are or don’t return calls about applications. A job has to really appeal to the candidate in order to get their buy in and commitment. Lots of candidates are “dipping their toe” into the job market rather than fully committing. We hope that this will change from Q2 onwards as the market really picks up and candidates regain their confidence to move jobs.

• Flexible working is becoming “the new normal”

Although there aren’t many part-time roles being recruited for, the majority of companies hiring staff are confirming that flexible working is going to be part of their long-term strategy. A lot of businesses are happy to combine home and office working which means geographical restrictions and commutes are, for the time being, being factored less into decision making processes.

• Reduction in quality candidates applying for roles/increase in unsuitable candidates

Our team are reporting that they have seen a big reduction in the number of relevant, high quality candidates applying to their advertised vacancies. Although there is still a high volume of applicants, the candidates are not matching the advert/client requirements and the time being spent in sifting through these is increasing accordingly. Clients advertising directly are also reporting the same feedback!

• Perception Vs reality - volume and quality of candidates on the market

There is a false perception across the market that there must be hundreds of quality candidates out there because:  a) there’s no jobs (incorrect, there are plenty!) and b) the amount of companies making redundancies (again, not yet on the most part!). This is no doubt fuelled by mainstream media but ultimately high-calibre candidates are still in demand, still difficult to attract and importantly will only move for the right opportunity at the right salary.

• Clients holding out for specific experience are left waiting

As above there seems to be a false assumption that, because there are apparently lots of job seekers, clients should be able to find candidates with exact experience or hard to find skill-sets. This definitely is not the case and we would recommend clients relax certain non-essential criteria in order to hire key roles quickly with candidates that can competently fill in any small gaps in experience or skills.  

• Temps for projects/uplift in new business

We’ve had some clients keep us very busy in supplying temps to deal with an uplift in business coming through or help with projects including; following up sales leads, contacting lapsed customers, cleansing databases, processing new orders and clearing a backlog of administration.

• Uplift in HR market and demand for candidates

The HR market has definitely seen more activity in the last month or so. Almost every candidate that we are speaking to has got interviews booked in and more choice in terms of jobs to apply and interview for. After the HR market being incredibly slow for months, it is now picking up.

• Incredibly low availability of Practice candidates within finance recruitment

Accountancy Practices are busy, their staff are being utilised and there are very few Practice candidates actively looking for work. Candidates from this sector who enter the market have lots of choice, multiple interviews and can take the pick of their preferred role/company.

• Agency service – not keeping in touch and not providing updates

One consistent piece of feedback we have heard from candidates since the turn of the year (and previously) is the poor service that agencies are providing and the lack of feedback/response. Do you ask the candidates supplied by an agency how they have been treated by your supplier? Do you ask agencies for testimonials or client reviews before you engage with them? Check out our Google reviews to see what our clients and candidates say about us! – https://www.google.com/search?q=think+specialist+recruitment&oq=&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#lrd=0x4876415925778285:0xda0fca20963868cd,1,,,

If you would like to understand more about the local recruitment market please contact me on 01442 600100 or [email protected] and I would be pleased to discuss further. We can provide advice on candidate availability, salary benchmarking, recruitment best practice, tell you more about our services and how we ensure that our clients receive the best possible candidates for their teams.

Think Specialist Recruitment is an independent support staff recruitment agency based in Hemel Hempstead and working across the Herts, Beds and Bucks area. We specialise in permanent and temporary recruitment with areas of expertise including; administration, customer service/call centre, PA/secretarial, human resources, accountancy and finance, sales admin/sales support, marketing and IT Helpdesk/IT support. Our website – www.thinksr.com

Share