1. Brexit
In the second half of 2016 we noticed a surge in people applying and enquiring about jobs in mainland Europe, this was of course attributed to Brexit. With so much uncertainty surrounding what will happen, candidates are actively looking to get the ball rolling now with the hope of getting ahead of the rush.
Continental Europe will become a huge growth area in 2017 with an increasing number of hotels and businesses looking outside of London and the UK for expansion. British brands will be looking to secure their place in the wider European market too, in key cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg, Madrid, Munich and Paris.
2. The rise in niche roles
Brands are noticing that traditional sales approaches are no longer achieving the same impact – cold calling for example, is all but dead. To counter this, we’ve noticed an increase in niche marketing roles that our clients are looking to fill as they expand pitching their products to an increasingly sophisticated and millennial customer.
E-commence, community and experiential roles are the new tools in attracting and retaining customers (and candidates) and we expect to see a rise in the number of these roles in the coming year.
3. Look at your company culture
Candidates will be looking to work for businesses with a strong ethos and brand that ideally makes a positive impact on the world.
Employees want to work with a subject matter that is interesting, alongside colleagues who are like-minded, especially in cultural and sporting industries such as cycling, film and music.
Likewise, employers will be looking to attract candidates who see their role less a ‘job’ and more as a ‘vocation’. This in turn will create a positive atmosphere within the work place, having staff that “want to be there” creates an environment in which work will often be completed quicker and to a higher standard.
4. More freelance/contract workers
As we're already seeing in Q1, there's an increase in organisations – including some of the bigger companies – hiring contingent or freelance contractors.
Job hopping has now become “the norm” and shouldn’t deter employers. Organisations are now realising that some of the best candidates aren’t available for permanent hire and therefore they have had to adjust their hiring methods to ensure they don’t miss out on recruiting the best talent.
“Boomerang employees” are also becoming more attractive to employers, with the freedom to hire personnel on a short-term basis when and where they are required.
5. Your global mobility offering
In the Middle East, specifically Saudi Arabia and Qatar, we have found candidates are attracted to these emerging markets by jobs, benefits and career progression. In Africa, markets such as Kenya and Nigeria are seeing significant growth.
There has been a large movement of candidates leaving the Middle East and relocating to Asia – attracted by a more liberal culture and lucrative packages.
From a UK perspective, many mid to senior level management level candidates will seek to move to cities out of London and head for locations like Bristol, Manchester and Scotland.
6. Assess the competition
Increased competition for talent and a need to ensure higher management levels are actively engaged in the business has led to LTIP (Long Term Incentive Programs) being offered not only to CEO and board-level appointments but also senior management and some mid-level roles.
We are also seeing a move away from equity incentive models, especially within sectors such as food service, facilities management and leisure. Traditionally individuals might “hang -on” in the business waiting to realise equity – during this period they might not remain fully engaged in driving the business and may act as ‘blockers’ within the company – making it sluggish and ultimately less profitable and dynamic.
LTIPs allow senior management to be incentivised toward a medium / long term goal regardless of sale / transaction. Provisions can be built in to allow for early exit, non-sale, sale or merger at different levels.
The important thing being that the people at the top of the organisation are constantly motivated and energised to run the business as opposed to being side tracked on selling the company for a set multiplier or value. Loosing focus on the business can only lead to a lapse in service / productively / consumer satisfaction.