Q2 bms construction sales index

Quarterly Construction
Sales Index

About Index
The report is compiled from a variety of sources including vacancy data, candidate
salaries, client survey information and specific sector reports.

As a business we interview over 500 sales candidates per week, speak to 2000
decision makers and have a national presence with 7 offices throughout the UK. This
gives us access to a wealth of regional and national data, information on candidate
salaries and job expectations and insight into the challenges facing decision makers.

The index is produced quarterly and provides organisations with a good barometer of
trends in the UK sales recruitment market.
About Us
We specialise in recruiting high calibre people across the UK, Ireland and Australia.
Our network of offices gives us strong local presence and allows us to support a long
list of blue-chip clients who view us as partners they can trust.
We have grown to become a leading force in our field placing more people than ever
before. But we haven’t let our standards slip. We take the time to get to know you,
your business and the type of people you need. We tailor our services to ensure the
right recruitment solution for your business. In short, we make things run smoothly
and produce results.
2| BMS Quarterly Construction Sales Index - Published July 2013
BMS Quarterly Construction Sales Index

With output up across the UK, and the British Chamber of
Commerce suggesting business confidence is at its highest point
since 2007, at long last businesses have some small reason to be
cheerful.
Aside from the fact that we have seen economic false
dawns before, an upturn in business confidence and
the tentative shoots of recovery actually pose serious
questions for personnel departments, and the sales
teams they support.
According to the BMS Quarterly Sales Index,
employee retention is becoming a very real issue.
It was uncertainty and a lack of confidence, rather than the effectiveness of retention strategies,
that kept staff turnover low during the downturn. With candidate confidence now returning to the job
market, many sales leaders fear the loss of their star performers - forcing them to work harder to keep
their teams together.
“Seventy percent of companies
believe they are going to have to
work harder to retain their best
people in the coming months.”
Chart One: Will you have to work harder to retain staff if the economy improves?
Firms are responding. Across the board, they’re
continuing to invest in a range of retention strategies.
Today’s developing communications technologies
are enabling new forms of flexible working, which
according to Chart Two, has led to a third of firms
now offering these opportunities to their teams – a
growth of nearly 70% on last quarter’s figures.
Retention concerns as economy gears for growth
Yes, 70%
No, 30%
“It was uncertainty and a lack
of confidence, rather than
the effectiveness of retention
strategies that kept staff turnover
low during the downturn.”

Similarly, and perhaps more significantly, firms are
willing to increase base salaries to counter offers for
their best people – a jump of over 40% on last quarter’s
findings. The BMS Index has consistently raised the
issue of salary as a reason for losing (and failing to
secure) good salespeople. The fact that the industry has
taken action shows a positive development across the
vast majority of sectors.
“We’ve seen a rise this quarter
in the number of companies
offering higher salaries,
improved benefits and flexible
working. A real sign that
companies are starting to act.”
Chart Two: What are you doing to retain your best people?
The medical sector is particularly bullish, with
over a third of organisations responding to the
survey confirming they’ll increase salary to
hold on to the best people – compared with an
industry average of 23%.
Such increased efforts to keep their teams
together is hardly surprising given that eight out
of ten respondents felt their salespeople were
instrumental in protecting their businesses during
the recession. It’s safe to assume that this will
only increase should the economy continue its
upward path.
16%
19%
29%
6%
47%
29%
56%
14%
23%
32%
36%
9%
47%
34%
49%
8%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Increased
Salaries
Flexible
Working
Improved
Benefits
Extra Holidays More Lucrative
Bonus
Schemes
Team Building
Events
Sales Training None of the
above
Q1
Q2
“Sales training and more
lucrative bonus schemes
remain the top ways
companies are looking to
attract and retain sales
talent.”

As Chart Two revealed, while salary and a range of other bonuses are being offered to keep their best
people, firms continue to focus their retention efforts on training.
This is a trend the BMS Index has been following for some time and offers benefit to both employer
and employee. Apart from the likelihood of improved performance (which will ultimately hit the firm’s
top line), expanding training programmes is a clear sign of a company who is willing to invest in its
people.
Chart Three: Will sales training be a big factor in motivating and retaining sales teams?
It would certainly appear to work, with the vast majority of survey respondents agreeing that sales
training is a major factor in motivating and retaining staff, as shown in Chart Three.
According to BMS’ Head of Training and Development, Dave Bill, investment in employee training
goes right to the heart of retention efforts:
“We’ve seen a big move towards training as a retention strategy over the past few quarters. While
salary may attract candidates, investing in your existing people increases motivation, performance
and a greater sense of value in the employee. Indeed, as we move forward, presentation and lead
generation training will not only add to team competencies, but will sit alongside growing salaries,
flexible working and increased bonus pots as a sound retention tool.”
Therefore, we will inevitably see the importance
of training increase over the next six months as
over a third of firms take on raw talent in their
attempts to remain competitive. Offering training
and development, and immersing graduates and
new starters in the company culture from the very
beginning, should not only accelerate ‘time to
value’, but support retention strategies too.
Training and Loyalty
“Sales training leads the way in
retention tactics being used by
companies with 86% believing
it will help them to motivate and
retain their staff.”
Yes, 86%
No, 14%

Chart Four: Jobs growth January 2011 - July 2013
Of course, enhancing team performance isn’t simply about retaining the best people, it’s also critical
to find and recruit new talent. And over the second quarter of 2013, the BMS Quarterly Sales Index
has brought to light that jobs growth recovered from a slump in March to end the quarter in positive
territory (Chart Four).
Q2 recruitment analysis
Business services, IT and manufacturing have
all fared well - in what remains a tough climate.
However, sales recruitment within construction and
medical remained well below the all-sector average.
Set against the quarter’s positive Purchasing
Managers Index (PMI) figures and growing business
confidence, the sales recruitment figures appear to
be lacklustre. In reality, firms rarely increase sales
teams or add additional account management on the
back of a single good quarter.
It’s a more strategic game; we’d expect a time lag between output/order growth and an upturn in
recruitment.
On the question of the challenge of recruitment over the past six months, firms were more evenly
divided; just over half of firms surveyed felt they had struggled to recruit good people (Chart Five).
A struggling six months?
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
“Whilst vacancy levels are low,
this new sense of optimism will
see recruitment activity rise in the
coming months.”

Chart Five: Have you struggled to recruit good sales people over the past six months?
Recruiters in the business services, FMCG and medical sectors were more likely to agree that they
had ‘struggled’. The biggest barrier to securing the right people within the medical sector was strong
counter offers from existing employers – small wonder as medical leads the sectors in using salary
rises to encourage retention.
Despite this, there’s no getting away from the fact that salary and counter offers remain significant
recruitment issues across all sectors, as Chart Six demonstrates. There is still work to be done here.
Chart Six: If you have missed out on a good candidate in the past, what was the main reason?
Yes, 56%
No, 44%
17%
11%
19%
21%
6%
26%26%
12%
20%
8%
8%
25%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Counter offer Long recruitment
process
Offer from
another employer
Other Unable to meet
candidates career
aspirations
Unable to meet
candidates salary
expectations
Q1
Q2

Two stage battle for talent back on
This quarter’s Index highlights a period of short
term entrenchment for employers. There’s no
doubt that as confidence returns to the economy
and the job market, good sales people who have
sat tight will be looking for what other opportunities
may exist.
In an attempt to offset this potential skills drain,
employers are ramping up strategies to engender
greater loyalty (principally through investment
in their people). But where attempts fail, as
highlighted in Chart Six, employers are now
prepared to aggressively move to counter offers.
For companies that are recruiting, this means increased competition. As Chart Seven indicates,
they’re taking action to make themselves more competitive by looking outside their markets for good
people. They are doing this by taking on raw talent and offering training and development, which are
trends we have seen over the past two years.
“As confidence returns to
the economy, those that sat
tight during the recession
will consider their options,
leading to increased
competition for candidates.”
But where this quarter’s Index offers a particularly
interesting insight is in the significant increase in
the number of recruiters (one in four) now willing
to increase salaries, and almost a third aiming to
shorten recruitment processes.
We haven’t seen these high levels for some time.
This reflects a growing realisation that to get the
best people you have to pay the money and be
fleet of foot; both to beat competing recruiters and
to outmanoeuvre the current employer who may be
looking to counter offer.
Chart Seven: What steps will you be taking to remain competitive in the search for good sales people
over the next 6 months?
35%
14%
24%
34%
29%
13%
16%
19%
10%
46%
25%
30%
47%
36%
15%
19%
20%
0%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Look for talent
outside market
Improve salary
& benefits
Shorten
recruitment
processes
Provide on-
going Sales
Training &
Developement
Take on raw
talent and
provide sales
training
Engage other
attraction
methods
Strengthen
recruitment
partnerships
Improve
employer
branding
None of the
above
Q1
Q2
“The rise in counter offers
and a willingness to increase
salaries compared to last
quarter are clear signs that
competition is increasing and
confidence is improving.”

Chart Eight: Will your recruitment activity for the second half of 2013 increase or decrease compared
to the first half of 2013?
Increase in activity forecast for the rest of 2013
As shown in Chart Eight, recruiters expect to be doing more business across all sectors (except
construction) as we move into the second half of the year. While the vast majority of firms believe
their activities will stay the same, around a quarter of IT and business services firms, and over a third
of manufacturers, expect their numbers to rise.
It would seem that once businesses have their retention strategies in place (and have dealt with the
inevitable churn that a growing economy delivers), they will look to go out to market to build up their
sales forces.
Of course this is largely dependent on the continued growth of the economy. While there have been
many false dawns before, there is certainly a place for cautious optimism – and there’s little doubt
that both business and candidate confidence is higher than it has been in some time.
But as we’ve discussed, increasing confidence can also be a major concern for the unprepared
employer.
24%
19% 20%
28%
37%
21%
15%
24%
15%
24%
26%
14%
62%
57%
65%
48%
37%
64%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Business
Services
Construction FMCG IT Manufacturing Medical
Increase
Decrease
Stay the
same

Upturn forces a change of hiring pace in construction
With June’s Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and
Supply (CIPS) UK Construction PMI recording a figure of
51 (where above 50 shows growth), an air of optimism
appears to be flowing into the sector.
And with good reason; residential house building is up
for the fifth month in a row and commercial and civil
engineering projects appear to have stabilised. Adding to
this is the 41% of firms questioned for the survey who
expect growth to continue over the coming 12 months.
So, with positive signs across the sector, how is sales
recruitment faring? The answer, according to the latest data from the BMS Quarterly Sales Index, is
better than last quarter.
While sales recruitment figures in construction ending somewhat below the all industry average, and
down on the same period in 2012, the numbers appear to be going in the right direction, demonstrated
by Chart Nine.
“Residential house building is up
for a fifth month and commercial
and civil engineering projects
appear to have stabilised
creating an air of optimism.”
Chart Nine: Construction sales vacancy growth rate year-on-year
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
GrowthRate(%)
Market Average Construction
Despite the general upturn in construction over
the quarter, HR and recruitment teams remain
cautious. Responding to the BMS survey, only
19% of employers felt sales recruitment activity
would increase over the coming six months, with
the vast majority projecting activity will remain
static.
“Despite the general upturn in
construction over the quarter, HR and
recruitment teams remain cautious
with only 19% of employers looking to
increase sales recruitment activity in
the coming six months.”

Forward looking statements aside, there’s little doubt that construction employers highly value their
sales teams. Seventy one percent of respondents felt sales departments had been instrumental in
protecting businesses during the recession. With new orders hitting a 13 month high in June, such
positive perceptions can only increase.
Chart Ten: Will you have to work harder to retain staff if the economy improves?
But as with all industries surveyed for this quarter’s Index, order growth and a strengthening
economy actually concern some in construction recruitment functions. During the downturn
staff turnover was low. Sales executives kept their heads down to weather out the storm. HR
departments fear growing attrition rates as the economic climate improves and opportunities to
move increase.
Chart Ten highlights that 92% of employers expect to have to work harder to retain their best staff
as the economy improves. This figure is somewhat higher than the industry average of 70% and
requires investment from firms to keep their sales teams from jumping ship.
Cause for concern
Employers taking action
The most common strategy being utilised to reduce
sales team churn is an increase in sales training and
personal development. We’ve seen this trend before,
but it’s interesting that training is being used to retain
as well as recruit staff.
But should attempts to keep people fail, or indeed if
more salespeople are needed to supplement growing
teams, recruiters will need to take action.
“The most common strategy
being utilised in the construction
sector to reduce churn is
to increase investment in
sales training and personal
development.”
Yes, 92
No, 8

Counter offers encourage process improvement
Construction firms haven’t been slow to recognise
today’s increasingly competitive labour market.
Alongside training and development strategies,
they’re looking to streamline recruitment processes
to get the best people in quick.
For over two years respondents to the BMS Index
have highlighted process concerns. It has been
proven time and again that poor (and particularly
long) processes put off prospective candidates,
opening the door to counter offers.
Indeed, a successful counter offer is the biggest
reason for losing the best people at interview within construction. Back in the downturn if you couldn’t
afford to offer the highest salaries, you had to rely on speed to get the best people. While this hasn’t
changed, the operating environment has – it’s simply more competitive.
Employers are now reporting more of their people will move as a direct result of the upturn. This
means that there are more good people on the market and more firms are looking to hire. While the
package is certainly important, the battle for talent isn’t always won with money. Therefore, if you’re
unable to offer high salaries, a streamlined process that enables fast decision-making and offer
acceptance, is now of great importance.
“Construction firms have
been quick to recognise the
importance of speed in this new
competitive labour market and
as a result many are looking to
improve their recruitment and
decision making processes.”

Q2 bms construction sales index

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