With the fall out of public sector changes now at the fore, there has been an increase in requirement for HR professionals to coach and support people managers throughout the restructure period, notably within the NHS, central government and social housing. Candidates with experience of managing disciplinary or grievance matters, improving performance and/or liaising with trade unions and managing redundancy and change programmes are in high demand.
Exposure to managing the HR needs of an international employee population is becoming common currency amongst the HR community with many global businesses opting for HR services to be provided remotely by a central team. Prior experience of local labour laws and trends is often a critical factor in candidate selection so candidates that have worked in Asia Pacific, Africa and/or mainland Europe are often able to command higher salaries as a result.
With new contract wins for UK companies in the North Sea, Iraq, and the re-deployment of staff to Libya, there is currently increased demand for HR professionals with experience of international mobility and contractor management. This is especially true within the oil, gas and mining sectors.
Whilst economic markets remain volatile we are still seeing some recruitment, albeit at lower volumes, within financial services organisations. There is subdued demand across most role types at most levels.
We’re seeing solid levels of demand for technical reward and recruitment specialists within the natural resources, pharmaceuticals and FMCG sectors. This is because these sectors are generally less impacted by short term market shifts and have an international scope so they are generally able to plan their hiring requirements on a longer term basis.
With fewer obstacles to international markets, digital firms are securing business abroad which is driving demand for mid to senior level HR staff. We’re seeing demand for senior HR managers/business partners, heads of HR and HR directors from mid sized technology companies rise as a result.
