July 2012 - Oakleaf Partnership Newsletter

Richard Colgan

Welcome to the Oakleaf Partnership summer update on the state of the HR recruitment market. As we "drip dry" our way out of the hose-pipe ban and into summer, it feels like the economy is following suit. The market for HR professionals remains a bit mixed to be honest, with the senior market place remaining decidedly depressed. Having said that, in the last two weeks we have picked up three £150-250k exclusive search mandates, which include a Global Head of HR role for a B2B business based in Paris and an HRD level role for an Investment Bank in London. So maybe there is finally light at the end of the tunnel! Our June revenue was the best for three years so signs of life are certainly out there.

When I started the business in 2005, the City was pretty much 100% of our business; today, I'm pleased to say that whilst continuing to grow our City market share, the percentage of our business coming from the broader commercial sectors has now risen to over 40% of total group revenue, with a dedicated and highly experienced team of six consultants focussing on clients from FMCG, Retail, Technology, Power & Energy, Media and so on. Another major area of focus and growth for us has been in the Interim and Temp market across all sectors and this now accounts for 42% of all group revenue at Oakleaf. The launch of our dedicated Reward & Analytics and Payroll businesses continues to be well received with talented C&B as well as HRIS and payroll candidates in great demand.

Following our "Raising The Bar" Seminar in March, where we presented our research on the state of HR recruitment, kindly supported by the British Bankers' Association, we have gone on to produce a job-seeker specific publication which is aimed at making HR candidates at all levels more proactive and more sophisticated in their approach to securing a new role. It has been particularly well received, as has our mentoring initiative which will provide an external mentor for all Oakleaf placed perm candidates.

Following on from Ralf Schneider's key note speech at the seminar, where he talked of the need for HR suppliers to become "more sophisticated in their approach" we have also had a "long, hard look in the hall of mirrors" about the way we do business and have rolled out our own internal "Raising the Oakleaf Bar" - this has resulted in a number of key internal changes to the way we operate. The foundation of these changes is "The Oakleaf Partnership Promise". Collectively, all of our Consultants agree that they will:

  • Work tirelessly for you to find the right fit for your needs
  • Act proactively on your behalf and in your best interests at all times
  • Provide you with the very best advice we can on your job search/hiring needs
  • Continuously look at ways of raising our own HR recruitment bar, for your benefit

Our vision is very clear: "to be the most widely respected and trusted Human Resources recruitment business in the UK, admired for its people, partnership and performance". It's now up to us here at Oakleaf to live up to our promise and deliver the vision. We look forward to working with you over the coming months and years on that journey - hopefully having some fun on the way!

I hope you enjoy our latest newsletter and I also hope you enjoy all the Team GB medals at the Olympics/Para Olympics. Now there's optimism for you!

Richard Colgan

Richard Colgan
Managing Partner

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