Despite record unemployment, recruiters are desperate for top-tier talent, according to a recent report in Newsweek magazine. As companies across the world slowly recover from the last two years of decline, they are facing a massive shortage of top-tier management talent. Wages are spiking as rival employers prompt bidding wars for top performing talent, reports the magazine. Jeff Joerres, Chief Executive of Manpower says, “Thirty percent of employers across the globe continue to struggle to fill positions available.”
Despite such statements from leading recruitment industry figures such as Joerres, there seems to be a reluctance to accept this in UK boardrooms. Perhaps there is a suspicion that Toerres and other key industry figures benefit from creating an impression that there is a shortage of top performing talent? Naturally, a shortage of talent stimulates demand for external recruitment services.
It’s true to say that the last two years have proved to be very challenging for the recruitment industry as a whole. You don’t need to be an expert mathematician to work out that if companies are laying people off rather than recruiting then it’s going to hurt the recruitment industry as a whole. But in any industry sector, there are always winners and losers. Take the leisure and tourism industry for example, despite a general industry downturn, the recession has led to a resurgence in Britons taking holidays closer to home, and as a result caravan sales in the UK have reached their highest level in over five years.
The recruitment industry as a whole may have taken a kick in the ribs but sections of the industry such as outplacement, career advisors and CV-writing specialists have all seen an upturn in fortunes as unemployment rises. So what about specialist headhunters? Surely no need for their services with so many heads out there looking for work?
Not so. In times of trouble, it really does become the survival of the fittest and that means having the very best talent at the helm to steer a course through troubled waters. So surely headhunters would have been maxed out at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 when the economic picture was at its bleakest? Unfortunately, not so: headhunting-activity was dramatically down. The problem was that the downturn had been triggered by the near collapse of the banking system, the like of which the world had never seen – so a period of paralysis ensued – a do nothing policy until companies understood the impact on their own competitive positions.
There was a lag effect; once business worked out that conditions would be tough but corporate life had not ended as they knew it, then the headhunters’ phones began to ring again. However, there was a misconception that this was a buyers’ market and that there would be top performing talent available at lower prices. Of course, the reality is that companies pretty much do whatever it takes to keep hold of their best talent and top performers are actually harder to prise out of their current roles – in times of economic uncertainty, people are more likely to stay in their current positions – security becomes more important.
The road to recovery may be a slow and painful one but companies recognise that top performing talent is key to accelerating the growth curve. They are still cautious and are not prepared to compromise. The many are chasing the few so expect to have to fight hard if you want top performers – the shortage is real and the problem is not likely to be resolved any time soon.
