Recruitment: what to expect in 2017

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What will the recruitment market bring in 2017?

We think the workforce will blend permanent and non-permanent staff and turn to work-life integration.

Here are our predictions:

Super temps and a blended workforce

We expect an increase in temporary and contracting roles due to the increase in projects and development throughout many industries and sectors as well as the flexibility it offers employers and employees.

This will lead to more "super temps" who are experts in a particular field and are able to start a position immediately with little or no training.

A change in expectations from employers

In recent times, employers have been able to be picky with a specific list of requirements, but as skilled workers are scarce and heavily in demand, employers are having to amend their mindset.

They are becoming more open minded, which in turn will speed up most recruitment processes as they will not spend as much time deliberating over specifics.

Increase in counter-offers

As staff look to utilise their skills within organisations that meet their work-life balance and salary expectations, there will be an increase in counter-offers. It is unlikely, though, that they will have much effect on retaining the employee.

According to our white paper Staff Engagement - Ideas for Action, employees are most engaged and most likely to be retained if they feel a sense of purpose at work, are valued, receive recognition for a job well done, have a solid career path and are offered flexibility.

If someone has already chosen to search for another role it is likely that one of these factors was not felt.

Work-life integration and flexibility will come to the fore

Spending time with family and friends, as well as being able to attend sport classes or other activities, are very important. With work-life balance being such a strong factor for employees, we are seeing that employers are incorporating policies to allow their staff to achieve their work-life balance goals.

Cyber crime will continue to be a strong concern for organisations

With cyber hacking on the rise, organisations are more keen than ever to secure individuals who have the skills to foresee how an attack may occur in the first instance and how it can be prevented, rather than just amending afterwards.

Salary and benefits

A high salary is not the only factor in securing or retaining an employee. We expect that candidates will be able to negotiate a better salary or added benefits with the shift in employer expectations.

David Cawley is Hays Regional Director for Accountancy and Finance.

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