We are pleased to say it has been an extremely positive year across our Commerce and Industry practise. The key concentration areas have been in FinTech, Tech, Digital, Media and Retail with continued growth across Oil, Gas and Energy, Charity and Third Sectors.
With the spotlight firmly on GDPR we have seen a real demand for Senior Interims over the last 6 months, which has led to an increase in day rates and a shortage of Talent with this specific skill set. These roles have been shorter term as our clients have been cautious with the uncertainty of the market. HR Business Partnering has been a particularly busy area, and an area in which top Talent has been in high demand. Our clients are hiring individuals who can commercially drive HR initiatives internationally, with these areas tending to be around: Cultural change, employee engagement and TUPE. Due to the high demand for top Talent across the business partnering world, there has been a strong increase in permanent salaries with a concentration between £75,000 – £110,000. The last 6 months has been very interesting for Talent Specialists, particularly those with Diversity & Inclusion and proven coaching experience.
The junior market saw a real spike in demand for Recruiters/Recruitment coordinators – we have found that each role was very specific to industry and skill set, especially across the Technology space. The demand in Talent has opened the door for agency recruiters to make a move in-house, when that option wouldn’t have been present before. While the first half of the year saw a keen focus on recruiters, the second half shifted to focus on HR Generalists.
Specialist Markets
There was an influx of Payroll projects across Retail and Hospitality due to systems upgrades, migration and changes. The value of Payroll and efficient systems has never been more pivotal, particularly with the capture of information in line with GDPR. Demand for HRIS implementation and upgrade specialists has remained across industries with small/mid-size firms beginning their roll-outs.
The Senior Reward market has remained sporadic, with focus on hiring technical and operational candidates at the £700-£900 level to manage the BAU whilst Heads of Reward manage hot topic subjects. Hot on their agendas included Gender Pay, SMR/SMCR and Rem Policy reviews, so they have been bolstering their teams around them to take the pressure off and manage the BAU.
At all levels we have seen lengthy perm processes which have allowed for interim options to cover, this has opened up the door for temp to perm opportunities.
2018/19 is shaping up to be a brilliant year for Commerce and Industry, allowing us to grow our team over the next 12 months to continue to support our customers growth strategies across Greater London and the Home Counties. We anticipate HR hiring levels will remain busy across Tech, Fintech, Charity, Media and Marketing with growth in Business Services, Telecommunications and Energy, Oil and Gas.
Click here to view our latest HR roles across the Commerce & Industry space.