Category: Blogs

“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” 

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee was not only an amazing martial artist and movie star but he was highly intelligent. His famous quote told people that we need to adapt for the situations to survive. This way of thinking even travels to the animal kingdom. Animals need to adapt to their surrounding in order to ensure the continuation of their species.

So holds true for Recruiters as the job market is changing and recruiters need to adapt to these changes.

According to HR Grapevine “UK unemployment is down to 5.7% and the number of people working is now at an all-time high. In addition, the latest unemployment forecast suggests that the level of joblessness will go down to 5.3% this year”.

With the further increase in employment and changes in how we communicate, recruiters need to rethink their strategies to acquire candidates.

David Lahey, VP of International at Jobvite spoke with HR Grapevine “… we can see a shift from an employers' market to one that belongs to the candidate. The savviest recruiters today are using new recruiting tactics. They are creating strong employer brands – giving real personality to their firm as an employer – and promoting this through social – and mobile-friendly campaigns. These tactics are invaluable, especially if you have a small recruiting team, as they empower individuals to reach the company’s overall objectives of hiring.”

Taking advantage of new communication techniques will be vital for the recruitment industry. As millennial’s (born between early 1980- early 2000’s a.k.a Generation Y) are the generation that are using social media more than other generations and are the ages that tend to be career minded.

Embracing change in technology helps recruiters bridge the gap between where they can find suitable candidates as well as where candidates go to look for job roles.

Certes have become like water and adapted to the growing change in the environment. You can contact us via numberous ways.

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Passive Candidates

Passive candidate are those who are currently in employment and are content in their current role. They are not looking for a new job but if the right job is offered to them they may be interested. To attract passive candidates, employers will need to offer an incentive to them in some manner whether it is monetary or beneficial, passive candidates have to be persuaded to change from one employer to another.

Active Candidates

Active candidates are the polar opposite to passive candidate. These candidates are ‘actively’ looking for new position and opportunities where they can learn new skills and advance their career. As long as a new position can give a passive candidate new skills, passive candidate are happy to job hop with little persuasion.

In the past, passive candidate where highly sought after. They were seen to be skilled and happy in their current position and employers wanted candidates who are loyal to their company. Active candidates were seen as lower quality and motivationally suspect. Nowadays the demand for passive candidates has diminished.

At present employers are interested in the active candidate. The candidate who is highly skilled and keeping an ear open for new employment opportunities that may arise. As active candidates are more interested in new opportunities, recruiters are moving towards active candidates to fill roles.

Who should an employer choose?

It’s difficult to suggest what type of candidate an employer should choose. Both have their pros and con’s. Passive candidates possess the loyalty that employers want, knowing that passive candidates are in it for the long haul. Active candidates are motivated. They want to learn new skills and will go where new skills can be learned.

You can’t really pick a candidate depending on what category that they fall under and with millennials being the talk of the town, the passive-active argument may come to an end. As we know millennials stay in roles for shorter periods compared to previous generations and as time goes on more and more millennials are going to be in the workforce. In order to change the active nature of millennials it will be up to the employer to take action to try and stop the millennials from job hopping.

Key points:

• Marked drop in permanent appointments amid heightened uncertainty
• Temp billings continue to rise, but at slowest rate in ten months
• Permanent salaries increase at weakest rate in over three years

Summary:

The Markit/REC Report on Jobs – published today – provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.  

Permanent placements fall at steeper rate…

The number of people placed in permanent roles decreased for a second successive month in July. Moreover, the rate of contraction accelerated to the sharpest since May 2009, with panellists frequently citing Brexit-related uncertainty. A particularly marked impact was reported by consultancies based in London.           

…while temp billings growth eases further

Temporary/contract staff billings continued to rise in July, with some panellists indicating that clients had shifted focus towards short-term staff amid an uncertain economic climate. However, the latest increase in billings was the weakest in ten months.  

Permanent salaries rise at slowest rate in over three years

Starting salaries for successful permanent candidates increased further in July. That said, the rate of growth eased to a 38-month low. Temporary/contract staff pay meanwhile rose at the slowest rate since February.  

Candidate availability remains tight

Permanent staff availability continued to fall in July. The rate of decline eased to the slowest since October 2013, although remained marked overall. Temporary/contract staff availability meanwhile decreased at the sharpest pace since February.

Regional and sector variation

The most marked decline in placements was seen in London, while falls were also recorded in the Midlands, South and Scotland. Only the North saw a rise in placements (albeit the weakest in over three years).

Higher temp billings were recorded across all regions with the exception of London, where the rate of decline was the most marked in seven years. 

Growth of demand remained stronger for private sector roles than those in the public sector during July. Private sector temporary workers again registered the fastest increase overall.

Nursing/Medical/Care was the most in-demand category for permanent staff during July. On the other hand, Construction workers saw a decline in demand for their services, albeit modest overall.   

Mirroring the trend seen for permanent staff, Nursing/Medical/Care was the most sought-after category for short-term employees during July. The slowest growth was signalled for Executive/Professional staff

Comments:

REC chief executive, Kevin Green, said says:

“The UK jobs market suffered a dramatic freefall in July, with permanent hiring dropping to levels not seen since the recession of 2009. Demand for staff remains strong with vacancies continuing to rise, but the sharp fall in placements suggests that businesses are highly cautious about committing to new hires. Economic turbulence following the vote to leave the EU is undoubtedly the root cause.

“The record-high employment rate and ongoing skill shortages have made it difficult for employers to find suitable candidates for the roles available in the past, and this remains the case. We’re now seeing the added problem of individuals deciding to stay put rather than change jobs in the current environment.

“While there are worrying signs, it’s important we don’t jump to conclusions from one month’s data. The truth is we don’t know what long-term consequences the referendum result will have on UK jobs; with the political situation becoming more stable and the Bank of England making sensible decisions, we may well see confidence return to the jobs market more quickly than anticipated.”

Source: REC

Poll of technology companies finds 70% support the UK remaining in the EU, and only 15% support Brexit

Seven in ten technology business leaders would like the UK to remain a member of the European Union, according to a new poll.

Trade association techUK, whose members employ around half of all tech sector jobs in the UK, polled 277 business leaders to discover a clear support among the technology community to be in the EU.

Just 15% of those surveyed were in favour of leaving the EU while another 15% were undecided. Three-quarters of respondents represented SMEs.

The respondents in support of a vote to remain said EU membership makes the UK more attractive to international investment (76%) and makes the UK more globally competitive (71%).

Three-quarters said it gives companies a better deal on trading relationships within the EU (75%) while 42% believed the UK would create more jobs by staying in.

Pro-EU companies said a vote to leave would create more risk and uncertainty for their business (73%), make the UK less attractive to foreign investment (65%) and give the UK less influence on the issues that impact their business (58%).

Those in support of Brexit said the UK would have more flexibility in a global economy (91%), be more globally competitive (64%), and give the UK a better deal in its relationships with the rest of the world (58%). A quarter (24%) believed the UK would create more jobs outside the EU.

These respondents said the main drawback of remaining in the EU is that the UK does not have sufficient influence in the EU (64%) while 54% pointed to the regulatory burdens imposed.

A majority of all respondents, regardless of their position on EU membership, agreed the EU is good for business.

A clear majority of all techUK members said key EU policies have a positive impact on their ability to buy and sell (69%) and trade and invest (64%) in Europe.

Very few respondents said key EU policies had a negative impact on their businesses. Just 3% of all respondents said EU membership had a negative impact on their ability to invest and do business across Europe and only 3% thought that the EU trade policies had a negative impact on their ability to trade outside of the EU.

However, the majority of members said they would still have to comply with EU rules even if the UK left the EU. Two-thirds (66%) of all respondents sell products and services in the EU that would still have to comply with EU rules, even if the UK votes to leave. Any change to the UK’s relationship with the EU will impact these companies the most.

“UK tech is thriving, creating jobs almost three times faster than the rest of the economy,” said Julian David, CEO of techUK. “The vast majority of our members say that being in the EU supports that growth. Open markets and cooperation are good for business. This is not about fear, it is about opportunity – a market of 500 million consumers.

“Most of these companies, large and small, have customers and or suppliers across the EU. They are saying they will still have to comply with EU rules, whatever the UK decides on 23 June. A British exit would mean the UK giving up control over how those rules are set. That could put UK businesses at a real disadvantage.”

Source: Information Age

Permanent vacancies show 0.2% growth year-on-year

• Contract vacancies dip by 2%
• Contract vacancies within financial services jump 21%
• Engineering vacancies fall by 9%
• Average salaries dip by 0.8% 

Professional recruitment firms reported that vacancy numbers remained stable in the month following the EU Referendum with 0.2% year-on-year growth in July 2016 according to new survey data from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). This is in line with the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which reported in August that the overall employment rate was 74.5% in the three months to June 2016 – with 23.22 million people working full-time, 374,000 more than a year earlier.

The latest data from APSCo reveals notable variations between the trade association’s core sector groups in terms of hiring activity. While permanent vacancies across both financial services and marketing, for example, have increased (6% and 16% respectively), IT and engineering have both recorded dips (7% and 9% respectively). 

Contract vacancies within financial services jump 21% 
Following a steady increase in demand pre-Brexit, temporary and contract vacancies dipped across the professional staffing market in July, with opportunities softening by 2% year-on-year. The clear exception is the finance and accounting sector where vacancies increased by 21% in July. Most likely due to a reluctance to bring on board talent on a permanent basis until there is greater clarity around what Britain’s relationship with Europe will look like post Article 50 – and how this will impact the operations of multi-national financial institutions moving forwards.      

Engineering vacancies dip
Permanent vacancies within the engineering sector dipped by 9% year-on-year in July. This is in line with recent reports from the CBI which found that the UK's manufacturing output eased back in the three months to August with 34% of businesses reporting a rise in output and 23% reporting a fall. This represents a balance of +11%, which is down from +16% reported in July.

This fall in confidence may be in response to anticipation of a post-Brexit funding gap, with a large proportion of research and development spend in the sector currently coming from the EU. However, this dip in demand is juxtaposed with a simultaneous increase in average salaries with both manufacturing and engineering recording uplifts of 3.4% and 2.3% as ongoing skills gaps, created by a steep retirement cliff, continue to impact the supply of professional talent.  

Average salaries dip  
APSCo’s figures also reveal that median salaries across all professional sectors dipped by 0.8% year-on-year. This figure is characterised by notable fluctuations in terms of sector, with financial services, for example, recording an uplift of 3.6%. Average salaries within the professional sectors fall short of the national increase in pay as reported by the ONS which found that average earnings grew at an annual rate of 2.3% in the three months to June 2016.

Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo comments:

“Pre-Brexit, it was widely hypothesised that market confidence and the UK economy would spin into freefall if Britain was to leave the European Union. However, so far, these fears have proved unfounded. Data shows that both retail sales and the labour market performed strongly in July and August’s Purchasing Managers' Index(PMI) reported that Eurozone activity was at its highest for seven months.”

“It is interesting that demand for contractors within financial services remains strong despite widespread volatility in the sector. Lloyds Banking Group, for example, said in July it would axe 3,000 jobs and close 200 branches to cushion against a more testing economic environment caused by Britain's vote to quit the EU. Similarly, European banks including HSBC and Deutsche Bank have also gone on record to say they may have to move people or activities to France and Germany if rules around passporting rights change post Article 50. It seems that an increasingly flexible workforce is being utilised to keep the wheels in motion until there is greater certainty around what the UK’s future relationship with the EU will look like. Until then, the professional recruitment sector will continue to provide talent to firms’ immediate and short-term needs.”

Adam Pode, Director of Research for Staffing Industry Analysts, which compiles the report for APSCo, comments:

“The drop in the demand in the engineering sector comes as no surprise.  The oil industry, which makes up an important part of the sector has seen revenues tumbled 96% from 2014-15 to just £60m in 2015-16, according to Government figures. Last year the number of jobs supported by the UK’s oil and gas industry fell by an estimated 84,000 and are forecast to fall by a further 40,000 this year. Separately concerns about commercial construction are also having a negative impact.”

Source: Apsco.org

• Permanent vacancies increase 8% year-on-year
• Finance & accounting roles up by 17%   
• Contract vacancies remain stable
• Average salaries climb, increasing by 4.6%

Professional recruitment firms now have 8% more vacancies on their books than this time last year according to new survey data from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). This is in line with the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which reveals that overall employment levels increased, by 140,000 in the three months to August.

Finance & accounting sectors driving growth 

The latest data from APSCo reveals that growth in the professional recruitment market continues to climb across many of the trade association’s core sector groups. Permanent vacancies across finance & accounting, IT and media & marketing are all up year-on-year (17%, 3%, and 1% respectively). This positive sentiment is in line with recent reports that UK business investment reached 11% of GDP in the second quarter of 2015, the highest level since the end of 2000.  

The continued boom of the financial and accounting sectors is mirrored by the latest report from independent membership body TheCityUK, which found that growth in the financial services sector has pushed employment in the City to a record high, with 15,500 new jobs created in the first half of 2015.

Average salaries continue to climb

APSCo’s figures also reveal that median salaries across all professional sectors continue to climb steadily, increasing by 4.6% year-on-year. This figure is characterised by notable fluctuations in terms of sector, with banking and financial services, for example, recording uplifts of 14.7% and 10.6% respectively. This rise in remuneration within the professional arena exceeds the national increase in salaries as reported by the ONS which found that average earnings grew at an annual rate of 3% in the three months to August 2015.

Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo comments:

“As we predicted, employment levels have continued to climb. In fact, the size of the UK workforce is now at an all-time record high. Cuts in corporation tax, increasing availability of low-cost finance, and cheaper energy have all contributed to this growth in confidence, and with the EY Item Club forecasting that business investment will rise by an average of 6.4% annually until 2019, this trend shows no sign of abating.”

“Market positivity is reflected in the fact that salaries continue to climb across the board, but wage growth within financial services has been truly phenomenal. Acute talent shortages are putting an upward pressure on salaries as banks struggle to bring on board the people they need to simultaneously manage growth, incoming ring-fencing rules, ever-increasing legislation, retail branch transformation and a migration to digital banking. The Big Four accounting firms are also ramping up recruitment as they concentrate business development efforts on growing areas such as cybersecurity and regulatory consulting.”

Contract vacancies remain stable

Temporary and contract vacancies remain stable across the professional staffing market with opportunities up by 1% year-on-year. Vacancies within finance and accounting were particularly strong, increasing by 21%.

Swain continues; 

“The perpetual war for talent means that contract vacancies are consistently strong, despite an increase in permanent roles. Contract vacancies within finance and accounting are particularly high as financial institutions bring on board niche-skill sets on a project basis to manage change. Monumental shifts in the UK banking sector, such as impending ring-fencing legislation, structural reorganisation and changes in customer behaviour mean that specialists are needed to ensure that the sector is future-fit. There is simply not the supply to fulfil demand.”  

Source: Apsco

IT is seeing a growth in contractual recruitment as opposed to permanent employment. Contract-based employment allows for more flexibility with work life and time at home while permanent employment gives the employee a sense of security. Are those the only things worth considering? We explore more of the pros and cons of Contract and Permanent employment.

Permanent Employment

Permanent work is pretty self-explanatory and is the way of working we tend to be most familiar with. You go to work to fulfil your contractual duties during office hours, get paid by your employer at the end of the month or by some other arrangement, and carry on for as long as you are good at what you do, the company can afford or wishes to keep you, or until you want to leave. Be good at your job, eventually receive management duties, climb the ladder, watch your pay gradually increase – and so on. It is the most predictable way of working. Nothing is recession proof, and there are other variables that can affect the longevity of your permanent job, but on the whole – it is seen as the safe and reliable option.

Despite these advantages, nothing is perfect and permanent employment comes with its own drawbacks, as outlined below.

Contract Employment

Contracting, particularly within IT, is often the end goal of many professionals. The cumulative of day rates often exceed permanent salaries and coupled with the excitement of working on new projects rather than staying with the same company for years, this is a dream for many. And it does come with very distinct advantages and features that are not found in permanent employment.

In many ways, the benefits enjoyed by contractors act as a reward for the risk they take by forgoing permanent job security and benefits that only permanent employees are eligible for. This is the area in which the disadvantages of contract work come to light. IR35 is the latest spanner in the contracting world, read more about it here. For more traditional drawbacks of contracting, see below:

Should you choose permanent or contract employment?

There is no right or wrong answer to this! It all depends on you as a person, your circumstances, preferences and even personality. If you thrive on stability, predictability and are excited by the prospect of working your way up the ladder with a solid track record of growth in well-established roles – permanent work is for you! If you find the prospect of this dull and are someone that thrives on trying new things, working with new people and frequently changing your environment (and if you fancy some risk and unpredictability!) then contracting is for you.

The great thing is that you don't necessarily have to pick one or the other. The skillsets overlap and you may find that doing a bit of both will put you in a stronger position as you will have acquired a wide variety of skills. Beware, however, that a track record of contracting may put some permanent employers off as they may perceive you as someone that will get bored quickly and leave not too long after starting. And often that is true about contractors, so make sure that you know yourself well and choose the best path for you.

And if you would like some help with finding your next role or if you're a company looking to hire IT, professionals, let us know – we are all about creating the perfect client+candidate matches.

Putting off thinking about the GDPR? We really recommend you start now. Whether you like it or not, the GDPR is well on its way and if your business operates in the EU, you have clients that operate in the EU, or process data of EU citizens then you will need to comply with the new regulations by 25 May 2018.

Statistics from a recent survey conducted by Invenias show that 85% of recruitment agencies are not yet actively planning for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In addition, the survey illustrates that:

• 30% of agencies have not yet taken steps to prepare for the GDPR.

• 55% have started to think about how they might prepare for the GDPR

• Only 15% are actively planning for the GDPR

The changes that are coming will have a massive effect on recruitment agencies, and those who demonstrate an effort of making changes and making their agency compliant will be a lot better off than those who do not do anything. 

Don’t forget, if you breach the new regulations then it could result in fines of up to 4% of global annual turnover or €20million (whichever is greater).

How to comply with the GDPR?

To start with, you will need to complete a data audit. What data do you currently hold? Where of you hold it? Why? You will also need to assess how often you review your data for accuracy, how long you keep it, and whether you can easily and efficiently react to requests from your candidates. An example of this is that individuals will have “the right to be forgotten” and the “right to object”, allowing them to object from their details being used, shared or held.

You are obligated to only contact using the channel they have opted in to. Therefore, you must ensure that you are only using the contact details that your clients and candidates provided you with. 

If a candidate has requested to unsubscribe, you cannot contact them again.

Make sure GDPR is understood across your agency, especially those who have access to your data. If you do not do this, you will be held directly responsible if your employees are still emailing or phoning candidates when they should not.

Review your relationship with your clients and any suppliers or jobs boards you use. They will also be affected by the GDPR and it may affect how you work with them.

Ask candidates if they would like to remain on your database. You can also use this as an opportunity to ask if they would like to be kept up to date with other forms of communication.

You must appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPOs) if you:
        – are a public authority
        – carry out large-scale systematic monitoring of individuals
        – carry out large-scale processing of special categories
        
If you are not required to appoint a DPO you should document and keep records of everything you do to prepare for the GDPR.

    •    As data protection is getting stricter, your internal processes should follow suit. Be extra cautious to ensure that data is safeguarded, and make sure regular tests take place. We also suggest that you have a breach response plan in place. 

    •    Establish retention periods. Over the course of time, some users will become inactive or unresponsive. Establish retention periods so you can keep candidate information accurate and your database responsive.

    •    Put in place privacy notices. Once you have assessed all of the above, make sure you clearly communicate to your clients and candidates what data you are capturing and why.

At Certes, we advise that by May 2018 you ensure your agency can demonstrate that you are abiding by the new regulations and can show a process/ plan you have put in place to make your agency compliant.

Gemma Bowron, Certes resource consultant has been affected by Cystic Fibrosis “The need to raise awareness of Cystic Fibrosis is something very personal to me, having 2 nephews with the condition. Joshua, who sadly passed away in July 2014 at just 10 years of age after losing his fight with the disease and Dylan who is 9 years old and currently doing well with daily treatment to manage it, I also have a friend with CF who has just recently undergone a double lung transplant from which he is currently recovering in hospital; I know he would like me to thank the family of the donor".

Today, Certes are helping to raise awarness for Cystic Fibrosis. Look out for our Selfies (#CFYelfie) on our Facebook and Twitter.

For more information on Cystic Fibrosis and how you can help spread awareness visit the Cystic Fibrosis Trust

“91 Percent of Recruiters Use Recruiting Technology”

A study compiled by Software Advice, a company that reviews and compares recruiting software, has shown that a majority of recruiters are using some form of recruitment technology or software in order to place candidates in specific roles.

From the study 33% of the 91% that use recruiting technologies believed that recruiting the use is extremely important for high job performance and 56% believed that it is very important. 2% thought that the use of recruitment technology is moderately important while 9% noted that they do not use any form of technology in their recruitment besides emails and job boards.

Importance of Recruiting Technology for High Job Performance
 

Software advice delved in deeper to why the 9% were not using technology to assist in their recruitment. 50% stated that a limited budget was the most common obstacle to adopting recruiting software. 25% thought the manual method to be less complicated and quicker.

Top Obstacles for Recruiters Who Don’t Use Technology
?

Even though the cost of technology is a factor for recruiters to incorporate recruiting technology most say that the benefits of using recruiting technology outweighs the costs associated with them. 93% of recruiters who use technology felt that using recruiting software was either extremely or Very beneficial in comparison to the costs.

Certes embraces technology use and believe that using recruitment technology and software is essential, it will never remove the recruiter from the equation in any way as recruitment is a people business but it allows Certes to access our database of over 250,000 candidates and another million available through our online partners. Recruiting technology has also opened the doors to screen potential candidates with the use of project management and business analysis capability assessment tools and full background checks to BS5758 level if required. Certes also uses innovative web based recruitment tools that offers our clients access to the markets most innovative online interviewing tool TalkingCV™. For more information on how Certes can help you find your new role or provide staffing for you needs visit certes-dev.inlifedev.co.uk/

For more information about recruiters and the technology that recruiters use you can visit Software Advice