As the economy strengthens and business confidence grows what does that mean for the professional staffing market?
It certainly doesn’t mean that we can all breathe a sigh of relief and expect the placement levels to increase and it will all be just as it was in 2007. The world of recruiting has dramatically changed during this time with many technological advances which improve our ability to connect with potential candidates, but it also offers the same opportunities to our clients. The candidate shortage will be even more apparent in this growth market and the ‘war for talent’ could get bloody.

Employers will now be focusing on retaining talent in the business and figures show that as business confidence grows so have salaries. In the professional sector salaries have risen 9% year-on-year, particularly in banking and telecommunications, with some areas reporting growth faster than inflation for the first time since 2010.

So this is where we as professional Recruiters need to support our clients in their plans to attract the skills needed to fulfil their growth plans and avoid possible staffing gaps.
So for us it is all about being an ‘expert’ and a ‘go to’ professional for both clients and candidates. We need to ensure we are still offering a service that the client is prepared to pay for and potential candidates recognise as imperative to achieving their career goals.

You clearly need to become competent with all the technological tools available to you, social media, search engines, in-house database. Fundamentally the single most important skill you need has to be personal interaction and empathy with clients and candidates. You can only do this by use of the telephone or better still in person. In this world of electronic communication, you need to stand out from the crowd and make a personal connection.
This is the only way you will be able effectively managed the right people into the right jobs to the benefit of all. The biggest challenge we recruiters are going to face is the ‘counter offer’ and it will only be by having a clear understanding as to why the candidate was looking for a career move in the first place and their personal drivers to make the move, will you have any ammunition to handle the counter offer on behalf of your client.
In summary, email, text messaging social media has an important role to play in the Recruiters tool kit, but ensure you don’t forget to make good use of the telephone, the internet telephone or ‘Skype’ and of course face to face meetings to ensure your position as a ‘Trusted Expert’.

Karen Silk
Managing Director
Capital International Staffing Ltd