Recruitment market survey results

i-Business Resources have conducted an online survey of UK recruitment agency professionals during June 2009. The survey covered attitudes on the current state of the recruitment market, the main challenges faced today by recruiters and the views on the importance of IT solutions in facing these challenges. A summary of the survey results are provided below.

You can download the full results from their website.  However, the executive summary shares:

Three quarters of recruitment professionals viewed their market as less buoyant than 12 months ago. However, in market sectors such as Care, Health & Education recruiters were more up-beat with, for instance, 80% of Care recruiters viewing market conditions as the same for them as they were a year ago. Temp recruiters tended to view the current market slightly more favourably than Perm recruiters, with 30% of these viewing their sector the same as a year ago as opposed to 20% of Perm recruiters. The good news is that 86% of recruiters believe that the slowdown in the market has bottomed out. In terms of recovery, 38% feel that a recovery will start within the next 6 months, and nearly all recruiters expect to see a full recovery at some point between now and the end of 2010.

The biggest challenge facing recruiters as a whole at present is finding new clients (and vacancy requirements). This supports what most of us have observed that the recession has reduced the number of available vacancies in most market sectors. Finding good candidates was rated overall as the second biggest challenge. However, there are differences in challenges between Industry sectors. Whilst people in most market sectors rated finding new clients as their top priority; in Care, Education, and Health sectors finding good candidates was the top rated issue they face. Rec-to-Rec was also an exception where being flexible to exploit new markets and/or opportunities was rated the top challenge. Reducing costs and being more flexible to exploit new market opportunities were rated approximately the same.

The least important issue facing agencies was improving service. Taken in context with other answers however, this perhaps indicates that agencies are more focused at present on being flexible to find new business and keeping costs low rather than suggesting that Service Improvement is not an important aspect of their business on an ongoing basis.

80% of Recruiters view utilising some type of IT to help face current market challenges as important, or extremely important, for their business. Only 3% viewed any type of IT as only a small or no benefit.

Use of the Internet was rated as the most important aspect of technology for recruiters. This suggests that the Internet now goes beyond providing a helpful addition for recruitment professionals but is now a key tool in all Industry sectors for running a recruitment business.

A good front-office system was rated the next important IT solution. In addition, most recruiters view having low-cost simple IT infrastructure requiring little support, and access to systems out of the office/between branches, as important or extremely important.

A nice little survey which is a worth a look.

Comments

[Azazel]

This may be an unpopular view, but this recession is sorting out the wheat from the chaff.

Surely most of us have worked with (or known of) those that only placed people because there were a plentiful amount of jobs to go around?

Some people don't want the hard work that is involved in sourcing new opportunities, or understand why care/service is so important in securing ongoing work. They view a PSL as a be all and end all... but PSLs can be amended.

So I think our biggest challenge is identifying the real recruiters and letting the others fall by the wayside.

As for IT solutions? Google apps is all most companies ever need.

[helen]

I partially agree with Azazel, people are not always prepared for the reality of hard work. too many people in the UK and in the west in general expect perk and pensions and wont do a bit of overtime and put in extra effort for their employers. The simple fact is in the currant market every company needs to give 100% including all staff because no one can afford to pay people who wont work hard.

Other countries have a better work ethic and are prepared to work harder, faster and longer hours to ensure they are sucessful.