1. CHALLENGE ONE:
CANDIDATE AVAILABILITY
Availability as an issue is not a new one for 2023. Some sectors consistently struggle to find talent, as they default to sourcing from like-for-like people, or have simply outgrown the available talent pools. However, the issue in the UK is set to intensify due to: • The Great Resignation; • Quiet Sitting; • Hesitancy to switch roles during a cost-of- living crisis; • Rumours of recession; • Geographic inflexibility of candidates. The looming recession is clearly impacting the UK jobs market. Employers’ caution in hiring combined with fewer available candidates has resulted in the number of permanent placements falling for the first time in nearly two years. Claire Warnes, Partner, Skills & Productivity at KPMG UK
“Quiet Quitting” describes dissatisfied employees, who choose to stay in their current role, which they perceive to be a safer choice than job hunting. Whereas “Quiet Sitting” applies to the senior level professional, who has chosen to wait out the perceived economic upheaval. As noted by KPMG, there is currently a “greater hesitancy to look for or switch roles alongside a generally low level of unemployment which has led to a further steep drop in the supply of workers.” The graph overleaf demonstrates the increase in the number of UK job vacancies. We are now facing a candidate-driven hiring market as available roles are at an all time high. In 2023, your once ‘candidate pool’ from which to source is now restricted to a ‘candidate puddle’. Previously, a candidate target list of 50 may have sufficed, but fast-forward to 2023 and you’ll need to be closer to 200. Recruiters must take an inventive and relentless approach to achieve their hiring goals, as it is time to search wider and deeper. Relying on advertising is now not enough and recruiters must be inventive in their search by looking to new sources such as:
The estimated number of vacancies fell on the quarter to 1,161,000 Number of vancancies in the UK, seasonally adjusted, October to December 2022
Source: Office for National Statistics – Vacancy Survey
a retained basis. We work rigorously for our clients as they put exclusive trust in us. In the words of Ben Duffill MRG’s UK Managing Director “when working on a retained basis, the recruiter forms a marriage with the client, whereby they have shown trust in us, so we must deliver on our goals”. This relentless approach is why 80% of MRGs clients returned for further recruitment requirements in 2022 .
Whilst our sectors; Real Estate, Facilities and Development are not suffering redundancies (quite the opposite they are growing healthily) the relentless “bad news” peddled by our media has a confidence impact that needs coaching out of candidate pools. Ben Duffill, MD, MRG UK
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Associated markets;
Supply chains;
UK nationals globally located;
Non-cognate sources.
Many financially comfortable, executive-level professionals chose not to return to work after the pandemic. This is particularly troublesome as access to experienced senior hires quickly becomes reduced.
The attitude to the search process must now be relentless, meaning to pursue each campaign with enthusiasm, energy and pride. To be relentless is central to the MRG culture and this is primarily because we work with clients on
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