Recruitment is Tidal
The UK market has had a three-year rollercoaster like no other in memory. From the pandemic, to the post lockdown surge, such have been the extremes, 2019, the last time we had a regular market, feels a long time ago.
For recruitment firms, after a two-year bonanza during which time client demand meant fees hit record levels, 2023 has seen a sharp drop in activity. Indeed, this year is likely to see a fall in over 30% in professional vacancies compared to last. That will have an impact.
Equally, despite the doom and gloom in the media, the economy continues to grow and is proving to be resilient against the pressures of interest rate rises and inflation. Similarly, whilst demand for skilled professionals is not as high as it was last year, what is noteworthy is that activity is now broadly consistent with the levels last seen in 2019.
Why is this important?
Right now, many people are focused on the YOY drop in instructions and as a result placements. Equally given that recruitment is tidal, what we suggest would be a better method of comparison, is to look to your 2019 performance, of you and your team. Why 2019? Because what we are seeing is, that this year so far, recruitment activity is broadly consistent with the levels seen then.
Similarly, the sharp dip seen in the technology industry this year to last, is arguably accentuated by the fact that anecdotally, many businesses over recruited during the peak years of 2021-22, so the current dip in recruitment of 50%+ in the industry is likely to be a one off. Indeed, as interest rates normalise and start to fall, we anticipate businesses seeking funding to find more favourable conditions to do so.
London is already well positioned as a global leader in fintech, but just as importantly, the UK is a leader across the industry, be that in e-commerce, gaming or other niches like IT security. Having that position means that the UK is well placed to lead on innovation.
Timing though is everything.
Knowing when to contact someone, is just as important as knowing they are worth targeting. With that, here at vacancysoft, we have been developing a new reporting framework which allows recruiters to spotlight when target businesses are spiking in hiring, so they can contact them, at the point they are at the peak of their recruitment cycle.
By using Data & AI in this way recruiters can maximise the effectiveness of the time spent on prospecting. A 360 recruiter doesn’t have the time to spend hours doing cold calling for new targets, whilst at the same time look after clients, source candidates and manage the recruitment process. Yet as we all know, when the market tightens, the need to do business development is greater.
As a result, recruitment firms instead of wasting time contacting businesses which have already organised their recruitment process, can focus on those, where they are suddenly spiking in jobs and desperate for help, now.
The reporting environment was built over the course of five years and in partnership with the BI analysts at some of the largest recruitment firms, who are already reaping the benefits of what we have built for them.
Such has been the take-up, we have now been invited to give a presentation for APSCo, to talk about how using data and AI can improve your profitability at their upcoming virtual conference.
Equally, I am currently doing workshops for no charge, to any recruiter who would like their own personalised hotspot report, to help them focus on where they should be focusing their business development.
If you would like a FREE workshop with me, or one of my team, contact us now. No obligation, no commitment, just an opportunity to see what market opportunities there are, which you could monetise, right now.
Stay ahead of the curve and schedule your workshop today!
p.s. By the way, if you are a fantasy football fan, why not join our league this season? With over 50 people already registered, we will be doing prizes for the winner and for the manager of the month if we hit 100+. Get involved!
