Banking

The human resources banking sector continued to show strong levels of activity in 2006 with a significant amount of growth as compared to 2005. In the banking and finance sector, we saw a continuous increase in vacancies throughout the year, reaching a peak in September before the market began to slow towards the year end.

On a positive note, a substantial number of the positions being recruited for have been in the form of new headcounts, particularly in the second half of the year. Another notable trend is the growing sophistication in the evaluation of the human resources function, demonstrated by an increase in more strategic roles such as HR business partners, organisational development and diversity specialists.

Salary pressure has been highest in areas of candidate shortage. For banking and finance HR positions, this issue has been observed most in recruitment (particularly campus recruitment), HR business partners / relationship management (particularly for front office coverage positions) and senior compensation and benefits. For these positions, time lags involved in the search have been quite lengthy, involving a number of months and occasionally several offers. As a result, these roles have seen candidates switching companies for salary increases as much as 20%.

Moving ahead into 2007 we expect salary increases as a result of job changes to be in the range of 15-18%. We would also expect a marked increase in vacancies in quarter one, particularly in the areas of compensation and benefits and HR relationship management, as these have been the most stable areas in 2006 and where candidates have indicated their interest to enter the market after they receive their bonus payments. We foresee further growth in recruitment positions, especially in campus recruitment and the outsourced recruitment segment.

Commerce & Industry

The demand for experienced and forward thinking human resources professionals is still on the rise. Whilst there is a constant need for generalist human resources candidates, 2006 saw a considerable demand for human resources specialists, most notably in the areas of training and development, compensation and benefits, recruitment and organisational effectiveness.

Regionally focused roles have also been in high demand, with many positions now covering Greater China or Asia Pacific countries, rather than simply Hong Kong. This has further increased the need for high calibre candidates with international exposure and strategic focus, who are able to partner with the business and drive results over larger geographical areas.

The outlook for human resources recruitment across commerce and industry continues to be positive, with companies now acknowledging that human resources can contribute to business results and be a “value-add” function. In view of this significant mindset shift, salaries will continue to climb, and will be expected to increase between 10-15% in 2007.

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Robert Walters is a leading international recruitment consultancy, placing high calibre professionals into permanent, contract and temporary positions at all levels of seniority. With a developed network of 27 offices across 14 countries, we work with leading investment banks, multinational corporations, smaller enterprises, business start-ups and the public sector.

Every year we produce a comprehensive Global Salary Survey to provide you with information about salary packages and the latest market trends across an extensive range of market sectors including:

Accounting & Finance • Banking • Human Resources • Information Technology • Legal & Compliance • Sales & Marketing • Secretarial & Support