Tag Archives: recruitment agency

Recession Has Created Demand For Generation R Employees

Joslin Rowe has revealed that the recession has created demand among companies for a new class of employee known as Generation R, with 68% of City employers recognising Generation R as an emerging labour market force.

Generation R is a term coined to describe those professionals who were retained during the recession, escaped redundancy, worked in far leaner teams and thus progressed faster than usual as they took on the work of more senior ex-colleagues.

According to research across 571 professional bankers, lawyers and accountants in London, 70% stepped up to the more technically demanding responsibilities that redundant colleagues left behind and 81% gained more experience and a wider skill set during the recession than at any time in the boom years. Now the recession has eased, 73% believe they are performing at a level above their current job title – and want recognition and reward for their achievements.

The Generation R trend has been identified by Joslin Rowe, the UK financial services recruitment agency of the world’s second largest HR and recruitment services group, Randstad. Joslin Rowe Managing Director, Tara Ricks, said: “Filled with confidence as to their own abilities and what they can offer, Generation R has high expectations as to what their next move should be. Some initial research we’ve conducted across our banking recruitment desks shows that many assistant vice president (AVP) level candidates feel they operated at a junior vice president (VP) level during the recession and therefore will only move on to a competitor, or stay at their current firm, in return for a VP title.”

City employers are also fast becoming aware of the Generation R phenomenon. Of the 163 surveyed, 70% agree that the employees they retained in the recession are more proficient and commercially aware thanks to their experiences over the last 18 months. 59% acknowledge they have discovered future ‘stars’, who weren’t apparent before the recession forced employers to give smaller teams increased responsibilities. Over a third of organisations (37%) also stated they feel pressure to progress their existing staff to the next level (title wise) faster than would usually be the case, because of their recent track record.

Interestingly, 53% of hiring managers admitted they have a preference at CV stage towards candidates who were retained during the recession as opposed to those who were made redundant. Tara Ricks believes this has more to do with the high demand for Generation R CVs than any negative reflection on candidates who were made redundant:

“It’s not that losing your job in the recession is seen as a stigma rather that being retained during the worst economic downturn in modern history carries so much kudos. Employers only have to look internally at the people they retained to know they possess a unique set of skills, so it’s only natural to want to entice the same Generation R population from their competitors. It’s almost a form of Guerrilla warfare – as companies start to focus all their efforts on attracting and retaining the very best Generation R employees.”

Via EPR Network
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Hays Human Resources Has Revealed That Despite Companies Reporting Cautious Growth Plans, HR Professionals Are Still In Demand Across UK

Hays Human Resources latest salary guide by has revealed that despite companies reporting cautious growth plans across the UK, salaries have risen and demand for HR professionals is still outstripping supply – particularly in the interim sector.

Salaries have risen across the UK; a Head of HR can now typically earn £3k more than last year. However, research shows that employers may need to focus on employee career progression, personal and professional development, and the external reputation of the business over salary increases; the survey revealed that employees most commonly cited these as the fundamental reasons for looking for a new role. Furthermore, employees are increasingly looking for part-time and flexible working opportunities, when fewer organisations are prepared to offer this.

Alongside additional demand for strong HR candidates, evidence suggests that employers are now expecting more from them. Individuals who offer proven commercial acumen, a track record of leading business-critical projects and client-facing experience are most in demand. There is currently a 5% growth in HR officer and HR advisor roles and a shortage of candidates to fill them. Some specialist roles are also proving a challenge to recruit for, specifically those in reward and strategic resourcing. At all levels, the CIPD qualification is demanding a salary premium.

Heidi Waddington, Managing Director at Hays Human Resources, commented: “At a time of uncertainty, HR professionals often come to the fore; the focus is on improved retention and enhanced productivity, this can often be achieved through effective training and development initiatives. Where redundancies are unavoidable, the HR community can manage this process with minimum risk, ensuring best practice and the best possible outcome for all parties.”

About Hays Human Resources
Hays Human Resources is part of Hays plc, the leading global specialist recruitment group. It is market leader in the UK and Australia, and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe. By the end of June 2008, the Group employed 8,872 staff operating from 393 offices in 27 countries across 17 specialisms including recruitment for marketing jobs, legal jobs and insurance jobs.

For the year ended 30 June 2008:
– the Group had revenues of £2.5 billion, net fees of £786.8 million and operating profit before exceptional items of £253.8 million;
– the Group placed around 80,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 300,000 people into temporary assignments;
– the temporary placement business represented 49% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 51% of net fees.

Via EPR Network
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A Good Recruitment Consultant Can Help You Identify Your Options And What It Would Take To Make The Change

Even when work is just a means to an end to pay the bills, it’s important to enjoy as much of it as possible as it’s where most of us spend the bulk of our waking hours.

Most people feel they are in the wrong role, underpaid and undervalued at some stage in the week but the hardest thing of all is knowing what might make things better.

Sadly, the laugh a minute job doesn’t exist for most people, and the scope to be a racing driver or a supermodel is severely limited. But no-one should routinely dread getting up in the morning on weekdays, and if they do, they are probably in dire need of a change.

The secret to getting the most out of your job is knowing what’s important to you, according to the experts at leading recruitment agency, Search Consultancy. For some this might mean freedom, and for others it might be routine. Some like personal challenge and some thrive on teamwork.

Sadly, many people are reluctant to leave the devil they know to explore what else might be open to them. But the consultants at Search argue that a good recruitment consultant can help you identify your options and what it would take to make the change.

Sarah McParland, Director with Search said, “A good recruitment consultant is not in the business of putting round pegs into square holes and will spend time with candidates exploring their strengths, skills and ambitions before putting them forward for a role.

“Just as importantly, they will have taken a clear brief from their client about the job on offer and what sort of person would do well there. This takes into account the culture of the organisation and the make-up of the team in which the candidate would be assigned.

“There’s no point in putting a quiet, methodical character into a lively, unstructured environment if that would make them unhappy. And that holds true whether they have the technical skills for the job or not.

“At Search, we don’t just look for a match of paper qualifications, we look for the best fit available between the candidate and client.”

To achieve this, Search offers one to one interviews to prospective clients at all levels. They can also use psychometric or other testing methods to assess candidate suitability, always with the aim of finding a good match.

A good recruitment consultant helps individuals to be realistic about their options and will advise on any skills gaps which the candidate might need to work on to achieve their goal. There’s no point in just wishing for the moon and it can be a revelation to some people just how easy it is to make a change which suits their current circumstances much better than staying in the same old rut.

McParland adds, “It’s not unusual for people to investigate their options and decide that all they need is a change of firm or culture to give them back their drive. Sometimes, a different boss or change of hours and conditions is all that’s required. At other times, a radical revamp of lifestyle and goals is in order. No two people are the same”.

Via EPR Network
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