Some of the biggest names in the world of tech shared their experiences of trying to recruit in the most competitive jobs market ever known.
Senior figures from TalkTalk, AppLearn, Summize and Culture Shift spoke at an exclusive business breakfast entitled 鈥楾he Great Renegotiation 鈥� is HR director the hardest job in the world?鈥�.
The business breakfast was organised by 老九品茶Cloud in partnership with recruitment software and services expert , who shared the findings of a survey of more than 1,000 employees who have been actively seeking employment over the past 12 months.
The event was hosted at KPMG in Manchester and their partner Joanne Brien said it was the most competitive recruitment market she鈥檇 known in her 25-year career.
She said the pandemic had changed people鈥檚 approach to work and raised expectations of what they want from work and life in general.
鈥淧eople used to feel lucky to have a job. Now they feel the company is lucky to have them,鈥� said Brien.
She said while salary remains high on the priority list, having the right culture is also important.
Darragh Lee, Head of Talent Acquisition at TalkTalk has worked in recruitment for 18 years and described the current market as 鈥榳ild鈥�.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a candidate-led market 鈥� and this time it鈥檚 here to stay,鈥� he said.
He added that although recruitment is cyclical by nature he believed changes following the pandemic would be permanent.
Lee said they recently filled a digital product role at the fifth attempt after the first four candidates accepted offers elsewhere.
Ben Audley, chief revenue officer at Manchester startup Summize, said he鈥檚 aware of some people asking for a pay rise at the completion of their probation.
He added that for the first time in his career he鈥檚 seen candidates not turning up to a new job despite accepting a contract.
Audley said Summize鈥檚 big sell was the opportunity of joining an exciting startup and sharing in the future success.
鈥淭he analogy I use is you can be as good as you want to be but you鈥檝e got to be in the right vehicle to take you there,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he career opportunities at Summize are huge. We鈥檙e expanding into the US and that鈥檚 really exciting.鈥�
Andrew Avanessian, CEO of AppLearn, said they target 25% staff referrals and pay up to 拢5,000 for successful referrals.
AppLearn reward staff with share options and other benefits but Avanessian predicted a 鈥榬eset鈥� in the recruitment sector which he said was unsustainable.
Gemma McCall, CEO of Culture Shift, told the audience that employees were 鈥榲oting with their feet鈥� by leaving businesses that didn鈥檛 provide a way to report bad behaviour.
She said 鈥榤icro aggressions鈥� can take a heavy toll on the victims and stressed it was vital those responsible were made aware of the impact of their behaviour.
Employers must raise the bar if they want to win talent race
Dean McGlone, Chief Revenue Officer at Talos360, said it wasn鈥檛 unusual for basic salaries in sales roles to have doubled in two years.
He said 71% of people questioned in the Talos360 survey said earning more money was their main motivation for changing job, which was partly being driven by the growing cost of living crisis.
Other key findings of the survey included:
- 40% of job applicants will lose interest if they don鈥檛 hear back from employers within 48 hours of applying;
- 23% say they鈥檇 be put off applying by a boring job advert;
- 41% of jobseekers apply for jobs when they鈥檙e supposed to be working for their current employer;
- Three-quarters of jobseekers say they are happy to complete one-click applications and more than one-third, (34%) say they are put off by a long application form.
The event was opened by Talos360 CEO Janette Martin, who said that although recruitment had never been tougher, the company remained 鈥榮uper passionate鈥� about the sector.
She said: 鈥淓mployers who stick to their tried and tested application processes and interviews risk missing out on the best talent now, as people just don鈥檛 have the time or patience.
鈥淥rganisations that refine their hiring practices are more likely to be able to attract and hold the attention of potential candidates, efficiently managing them through the recruitment process to hiring and onboarding.鈥�
鈥楾he Great Renegotiation鈥� is available聽.