recruitment market analysis - by industry

Recruitment specialists for: Accounting & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Human Resources, IT, Legal, Marketing & Communications, Procurement & Supply Chain, Project & Programme Management, Public Sector

For more information, please contact: Daniel Rolle or Hannah Buckley at MHP Communications T: 020 3128 8116 / F: 020 3128 8171 / E: [email protected] or [email protected]

www.badenochandclark.com

Professional talent spotlight – September 2011 / Recruitment market commentary from Badenoch & Clark

Professional talent spotlight – September 2011 Recruitment market commentary from Badenoch & Clark

Accounting & Finance Page 2

Banking & Financial Services Page 3

Central Government Page 4

Human Resources Page 5

Information Technology Page 6

Legal Page 7

Marketing & Communications Page 8

NHS Page 9

Procurement & Supply Chain 0

Public Sector and not for profit Page 11

Scotland Page 12

About Badenoch & Clark:

Badenoch & Clark is a leading international recruitment consultancy specialising in placing professionals into permanent, temporary, interim and contract roles. The company specialises in recruiting for accounting & finance, banking & financial services, human resources, IT, legal, marketing & communications, procurement & supply chain, project & programme management and public sector roles.

Badenoch & Clark has offices throughout the UK. Using market intelligence form major job boards, data from all brands within the Adecco Group UK & Ireland, company websites, social networking sites, SalaryTrack, the market‟s leading earnings information service and www.mysalarychecker.com we have provided detailed salary trend information to back up our observations on the recruitment market.

Contents:

http://www.mysalarychecker.com/





Accounting & Finance

All comments by Nicola Linketer, Managing Director, Badenoch & Clark

Employer branding and employee engagement key move up the agenda

Banking regulation & projects drive demand

Employer brands still at risk from slow feedback

“Companies‟ response speed and lack of feedback is continuing to send negative messages to candidates and damaging employer brands. Employers need to be aware that poor levels of recruitment response give rise to a less than positive profile in the marketplace which can affect their ability to attract the best talent.”

Battle of the sexes in the spotlight

“The government has come one step closer to imposing quotas as gender equality still doesn‟t meet the desired levels set out in the Davies report. Companies are urged to redouble their efforts and put equality at the heart of their hiring policies with half of all new board appointees being women.”

Employee engagement still high on corporate agendas

“The need to keep top talent engaged and motivated is still a major concern. Despite the choppy nature of the economy, businesses need to ensure that they recruit smart and retain key talent to provide leadership and drive growth when markets improve.”

Continued demand for taxation and governance experts

“In light of the legislative change and the government‟s new banking regulation proposals, the market continues to seek out auditors who can keep companies within the prescribed framework and reduce the cost of doing business.”

Rise in project-related vacancies

“As budget pressure persists, we‟re seeing an increase in project-related roles as companies divide up their target deliverables into discreet project specifications.”

Market data: Permanent

Vacancies fell by around 9% (MOM) in August/September.

On average salaries are up around 0.1% MOM.

Finance manager salaries rose 0.43% MOM to £62,700 and finance business partner salaries rose 0.37% to £55,500.

Auditor pay in London was up 0.61% to £52,400 and management accountant pay in the East Midlands rose 1.0% to £31,400. Accounts assistant pay rose MOM across the east of England (0.68% to £25,200), Yorkshire & Humberside (1.26% to £22,100), the North West (1.2% to £22,200), Scotland (1.38% to £22,700) and Wales (1.68% to £23,800).

Contract

MOM vacancies fell 13.22% to 2,139 in August/September

In line with the decrease in reported vacancies contract rates held more or less steady (0% MOM).

Finance project manager contract pay rose 0.1% to £50/hour and auditor pay rose 0.08% to £25/hour.

“Market volatility and the summer break have clearly reduced the demand for permanent accounting and finance staff. We expect this to pick up as stability returns.”





Banking & Financial Services

Compliance professionals still in demand

Hiring freezes within major organisations reduce opportunities

Demand for interims with a commercial mindset

Evolving regulation fuels candidate demand

“As the regulatory environment continues to evolve, we‟re seeing high levels of demand across all compliance specialisms, notably in monitoring where clients are seeking internal audit skills. However, compliance professionals are cautious about moving due to volatility within the market, leading to a shortage of quality candidates.”

A demand / supply paradox in asset management operations

“With a significant number of in-house asset management operations being outsourced to larger third-party administrators, resulting redundancies have led to an increased pool of operations candidates. However, demand still exists for more highly skilled ops candidates who are degree educated / industry-qualified, allowing those with the relevant qualifications to stand out more easily from the crowd.”

Transformation projects favouring contractors

“With a focus on increased regulation, systems development and cost & process efficiencies, major finance transformation projects are currently taking place in most banks and financial institutions. During this time of flux, fixed term contracts are being favoured in place of permanent headcount, and successful candidates are being required to demonstrate strong levels of commerciality and technical knowledge.”

Project-based roles to focus on creation of ‘living wills’

“The onus is now on banks to enhance their contingency planning and have a clear plan for their orderly wind-up should they face bankruptcy. This has led to an increased appetite for project-based roles to help scope out „living wills‟ for major organisations, to prevent a repeat of Lehman Brothers.”


Permanent salaries up 0.48% MOM

Permanent vacancies down 15.9% MOM to 10,612

Change Manager and Internal Auditor salaries up 0.5% (to £57,000) & 0.49% (to £46,000) respectively

Contract

Contract salaries up 0.23% MOM

Contract vacancies down 12.6% MOM to 485

“With the summer months and market volatility, several major financial organisations have implemented hiring freezes resulting in an inevitable slow down in vacancy numbers across the board. Once markets settle we expect hiring to recommence.”

All comments by Kay Senior, Operations Director, Banking & Financial Services, Badenoch & Clark





Central Government

Cost control sees introduction of rate cards

Government turns to contractors and project managers to fill vacancies

Technical candidates in demand

All comments by Matt Gascoigne, Operations Director, Public Sector Badenoch & Clark

Pay drops on rate card introduction

“With the government under pressure to control costs there is pressure to stick to rate card pay scales. As a result candidates need to accept working to rate cards if they are to work in government.”

Project management and contract roles in demand

“With voluntary redundancies aplenty the government is considering how to up-skill its people and improve capability to cover skills gaps. While the government looks at the wider training and professionalism agenda of civil servants going forward roles are being filled with project managers and contractors.”

Difficult to fill technical roles driving demand

“Despite the recruitment freezes and grading structures in place there is a requirement to fill the more difficult technical roles. A direct result is that architecture, testing and IA contractors are needed”.




Leasehold officer and policy officer salaries up 0.96% MOM to £23,200 and £29,550 respectively

Contract



Pay rates flat across the board “The summer break has compounded the public sector cuts as demand for both permanent and contract staff dropped significantly. Whilst pay is still on the rise we expect to see it drop next month due to the introduction of rate cards.”





Human Resources




Head of Recruitment sees the largest average salary uplift at 3.36% YOY to £57,000

Hiring freezes within banking & financial Contract



“Over the summer months and against a backdrop of continued uncertainty in the markets, we have seen an inevitable drop in both permanent and contract vacancies but we expect this to pick up in Q4.”

Lift in HR interim roles to support overstretched teams

“With many HR teams being rationalised over the past year, resources have been over-stretched for some time. Whilst organisations have recognised the need to mitigate this in order to retain key employees, they are now ramping up their hiring of interim consultants to help alleviate excessive workloads.”

HR Managers to HR Business Partners

“With „commercial focus‟ understandably now on most employers‟ wish-lists, organisations are moving toward roles that directly engage with the wider business to ensure a commercial mindset throughout. Business Partner roles have seen a recent uplift in popularity, in favour of HR Manager titles that are perhaps perceived to be heavier on administration and less reflective of a progressive HR function.”

Doom and gloom leads to great expectations

“A combination of the summer months‟ disruptions and ongoing negative press about economic conditions has resulted in drawn-out recruitment processes, with employers increasingly particular about the calibre of candidate they will take on. Current expectations are such that an external hire must almost be of higher calibre than the existing team or predecessor, rather than like for like, with the trend particularly true of blue chips hiring for mid-level roles”

Oil & gas sectors ramp up resourcing teams

“With major new contracts being won in international markets and the continuing boom in commodities fuelled by emerging markets, large and mid cap organisations are increasing their recruitment drives whilst continuing to focus on retaining their best talent.”

Rise of HR team leaders for service centres

“With the continual drive for cost efficiencies, shared service processing centres for high-volume work are becoming increasingly popular. This is creating increased demand for strong people managers to lead large teams of HR administrators, who focus anything from on/off boarding to the full recruitment lifecycle.”

Drawn-out recruitment processes in search of the very best talent

Uplift in interims to relieve overstretched teams

Requirement for commercial focus creates demand for business partners

All comments by Sarah Wynn, Operations Director, HR, Badenoch & Clark





Information Technology

All comments by Matt Gascoigne, Operations Director, IT Badenoch & Clark

Technical candidates in demand

Finance sector needs 3rd line support

Calling all IT contractors

Public Sector

Difficult to fill technical roles driving demand

“Despite the recruitment freezes and grading structures in place there is a requirement to fill the more difficult technical roles. A direct result is that architecture, testing and IA contractors are needed.”

Private Sector

3rd line support in demand in finance sector

“The finance sector continues to recruit heavily with a demand for 3rd line support with „all round‟ skill sets, particularly those with a good grasp of networking, Wintel and Virtualisation knowledge.”

Calling all IT contractors

“As the market tries to manage their financial outlay in response to the economic environment they are looking to IT contractors for support.”




.Net salary up 0.11% MOM to £39,300 Contract

Contract pay up 1.15% MOM

Contract vacancies down 0.18% MOM to 6,022

IT Directors‟ pay up 3.8% MOM to £96/hour and SAP pay up 2.43% to £63/hour

“The summer break has seen demand for permanent staff drop significantly whilst contractor demand remains relatively steady. With pay still on the rise, it remains to be seen if candidate demand will stabilise.”





Legal

Freezes in banking diminish legal roles

“With the recent uncertainty and general state of the economy, some of the major players within the banking & financial services industry have implemented global hiring freezes. In-house legal roles within the industry have therefore been affected, with hiring focused on tactical staff replacement as opposed to strategic growth, and legal banking roles within private practice have also declined slightly.”

Property and construction remains prudent

“Whilst the property and construction industries are reportedly growing (notably construction firms with a presence in Eastern Europe, the Middle East & Africa), new roles within property and construction law are being slow to come to market. With continued market prudence, most organisations are currently focusing on recruiting replacement hires as opposed to actively expanding their in-house legal teams.”

Budget maximization boosts in house roles

“As organisations focus on using up their full headcount budget for 2011 and potential expansion plans for 2012, we have seen a slight upturn in the number of in-house roles available. This is particularly notable for permanent roles, and the trend spans almost all sectors.”

Public sector procurement requires specialists

“The expected upturn in procurement-related locums is now coming to the fore. Initially it was anticipated that this area, with its strategic focus on savings, would experience an upturn as much as a year ago. However with initial cost savings focused on the more immediate, „quick win‟ cuts, such as head count and closures, procurement is now in the spotlight.”

Evolving local authorities’ new constitution

“As local authorities drastically change their structures, there has been an increase in focus on constitution and corporate governance work, with the constitution needing to be re-written to reflect this.”

Local authority asset sales create new demand

“In a bid to cut costs and balance the books, local authorities are increasingly resorting to selling off land and other property assets, such as care homes. The early signs suggest that this, in turn, is stretching legal property teams who have had their numbers cut in recent years, creating new appetite for property locums in an area of law that has been quiet for years.”

Overall drop in both permanent and contract vacancies during summer period

In-house roles lifting slightly with organisations keen to commit their full headcount budget for 2011

Hiring freezes within major financial organisations limit opportunities

Public sector focus on procurement creates demand for specialist locums

All comments by Duncan Ward, Operations Director, Legal, Badenoch & Clark





Marketing & Communications

Drive for better social media strategy boosts digital demand

Marketers need to understand more than just brand value

Hiring managers look to transferable skills

Communication & project skills

in demand

Demand still strong for online skills

“As marketing budgets continue to be pressured lower, demand remains high for candidates with digital and on-line skills who can deliver demonstrable ROI results. More and more businesses are looking for candidates to help them maximise the benefits of a coherent social media strategy.”

Commercial acumen moves up the skills ranking

“All round commercial knowledge and an understanding of what makes a business tick remain sought-after skills for marketers. Hirers are continually on the look-out for candidates who not only understand brand values but also how to drive effective sales strategies that create revenue streams and drive growth.”

Industry cross-fertilisation brings business benefits

“We‟re seeing a small but growing trend in employers becoming more open to applicants from outside their specific industry sector. There‟s a deeper understanding of the benefits of cross-fertilisation of skills and experiences that this approach can bring which is in line with candidates‟ aims to use their transferable skills and gain diverse industry experience.”

Change and project communication are favoured skill sets

“As organisations continue to face upheaval and constant economic challenges, those with the communication and project skills to carry out the change process effectively and keep employees appropriately briefed are more widely sought after.”

All comments by Sarah Wynn, Operations Director, Marketing & Communications, Badenoch & Clark





NHS

All comments by Duncan Ward, Operations Director, NHS, Badenoch & Clark

Acute Trust strategies to boost project manager demand

Focus on risk & clinical governance driving demand for PALS candidates

Regional infrastructure projects feeds interim demand

Demand for re-designing and service improvement skill sets rises.

Project managers expected to be in demand in the South East

“As strategies are finalised Acute Trusts in the South East are beginning to implement system upgrades and implementations around PAS and clinical systems. We expect to see demand for project managers with strong system backgrounds to increase as a result.”

Demand for safeguarding, governance and PALS professionals set to rise in Q4

“With greater focus on risk, clinical governance, patient safeguarding and patient liaison planned we expect to see a need for safeguarding, governance and PALS professionals over the coming months.”

Infrastructure projects boost demand

“Infrastructure projects are on the rise across the midlands and the north with temporary project management and support professionals being sought while permanent employees work on other projects.”

Provider arm acquisitions driving demand

“Organisations who have acquired various provider arms are now looking at how to integrate them resulting in a demand for candidates with service re-designing and service improvement skills.”




Project manager salary up 0.04% MOM to £40,700

Contract



Pay rates flat across the board “The summer break has compounded the public sector cuts as demand for both permanent and contract staff dropped significantly. With pay still on the rise, it remains to be seen if candidate demand will stabilise.”





Demand for middle management on the rise.

Customer supply

candidates in heavy demand.

All comments by Duncan Ward, Operations Director, Procurement & Supply Chain, Badenoch & Clark

Procurement & Supply Chain

Demand for middle management on the rise

“Companies have now made their strategic senior moves. They are now looking at the next stage of middle-managers and we‟re seeing increased levels of demand as a result.”

Customer supply candidates in heavy demand

“Employers are placing ever more importance on customer supply skill sets. We‟re seeing heavy demand for candidates with these skill sets as employers are increasingly viewing them as business critical.”





Public Sector – Housing, local

government & charity

Stock condition surveyors and generic housing officers in demand.

Increased need for consultants and IT systems developers in local government.

Hiring strategy rethink in charities due to lack of qualified candidates

All comments by Katy Crowthall Operations Director, Housing, local government & charity, Badenoch & Clark

Housing

Call for stock condition surveyors

“As the next round of property improvements plans is implemented there is a demand for employers for technical experts such as stock condition surveyors.”

Rise in demand for generic housing officers

“Employers call for generic housing officers to support the management of the backlog of issues - it seems this is due to depleted front line staff trying to cover vacant positions.”

Local government

Munro review boosts consultant demand

“Following the recommendations of the Munro Review there is an increased demand for neutral/non biased external consultants to report on the state of front line Children‟s Services to Local Authorities across various boroughs.”

Rationalisation drives IT system developer demand

“As local authorities continue to rationalise their IT systems there is an increased need for interim IT system developers, particularly those that have

operated with Oracle, Agresso and SAP”.

Charity

Continued demand for major donor fundraisers

“As statutory cuts bite we are seeing a real increase in the number of vacancies for major donor fundraisers. With a lack of qualified candidates many organisations are rethinking their recruitment strategy in order to attract the best talent.”




Leasehold officer and policy officer salaries up 0.96% MOM to £23,200 and £29,550 respectively

Contract



Pay rates flat across the board “The summer break has compounded the public sector cuts as demand for both permanent and contract staff dropped significantly. With pay still on the rise, it remains to be seen if candidate demand will stabilise.”





Scotland

Accounting and Finance

Continued demand for a flexible workforce

“As the banking world continues to face its challenges, demand for a flexible workforce also continues. The associated uplift in fixed term contracts compared to permanent roles requires candidates who are not only highly adaptable to fluid working environments, but also who bring sound accounting ability and strong stakeholder management skills with them.”

Banking and Financial services

Specialist regulatory skills lacking in Scotland

“As the FSA moves closer to a new model that will see its responsibilities divided between a number of new agencies and the Bank of England, associated regulatory risk and compliance positions across the industry are on the increase. Scotland is seeing a shortage of candidates as a result.”

Contractor rate correction and retention challenge

“As the sector continues to struggle with spiraling restructure costs, inflated contractor rates are now being more closely scrutinised. Some organisations have already implemented rate freezes and reductions of up to 10% for long servers, with rate „corrections‟ becoming more widespread. With the risk that stronger candidates will look elsewhere for the best rates, it is more important than ever for organisations to ensure they have a robust contractor engagement strategy in place.”

Public Sector

Public sector seeks skilled professionals

" With growing pressure on the public sector to deliver the same level of service with reduced budget, there is ever-growing demand for staff with specialist skills such as change management and KPI reviewing, to ensure the sector becomes more efficient and cost effective for the future."

Shortage of specialist regulatory candidates in Scotland

Inflated contractor rates under review

Renewed focus on commercial skills in public sector

All comments by Kay Senior, Operations Director, Scotland, Badenoch & Clark

Market data:

In accounting & finance roles, assistant accountant salaries saw the greatest rise of 1.38% MOM to £22,700.

Banking & financial services‟ highest MOM salary rises were for internal auditors, up 0.95% to £41,000.

HR salaries remain fairly static with HR Managers seeing a rise of 0.94% to an average of £37,500.

In the public sector, the average salary for Support Workers continues to be the highest riser at 1.49% MOM to £17,360.

“Whilst most average salaries have proved relatively static over the summer period, the vast majority show signs of slow but continued growth.”

recruitment market analysis - by industry

Career

stock condition surveyors

inflated contractor rates

full headcount budget

generic housing officers

major donor fundraisers

policy officer salaries

pay rates flat

3rd line support