Events industry recruitment agency, YOU Search & Select, has revealed the first in a quarterly series of recruitment trends. According to its founder Robert Kenward, the key word this quarter is “uncertainty.”
Companies are still recruiting and jobseekers are applying for roles, but there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding both parties and this is impacting on the eagerness of people (especially in senior positions) to move companies. The great resignation has floundered by the need for security and stability in an uncertain world.
This has formed the basis of the following recruitment trends for January – March 2023:
The fear of last in, first out
Rises in inflation, mortgage rates and the decline of the economy is “driving fear” into job seekers who were thinking of moving jobs.
Redundancies are often decided on a ‘last in first out’ methodology and this is scaring people enough to decide not to move jobs now and to stay tight for now.
The rise of the counter offer
The fear of moving jobs is also leading to more employees accepting counter offers from employers instead of following through on a resignation.
Suddenly it feels safer to stay put rather than move jobs. Candidates are becoming more timid and risk averse as the risk of redundancies would impact more on new starters, and because redundancy packages are based around length of employment.
Long recruitment processes
The recruitment process is taking far longer than usual.
Uncertainty in the economy, in UK politics and the general unease around the rise in interest rates and cost of living has resulted in companies becoming far more cautious when it comes to recruiting. Recruitment is still happening at a good pace, but processes are slower and the rush to employ has halted to a jog instead of a sprint.
