There has been a 40% increase in demand for HR project leads in the interim space; candidates that have experience working across a number of client groups, and those that specialize in HR restructures and organisational change have been highly sought after.

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Market insight
HR
2015 Quarter 1

2. 04 London
05 Midlands
06 East of England
Contents
HR

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London
The London HR market continues to show positive growth into 2015 as many
businesses are looking to grow their headcount in specialist HR roles.
Skills in demand
We have seen a 15% year on year increase in permanent HR roles
across the board; in particular the following areas
There has been a recent increase in the level of Learning
& Development roles (up 15% on last year) as businesses
are looking to retain top talent within their workforce. The
temporary market remains steady with a nominal 3% increase
in roles from this time in 2014, however the timeframe of these
roles are now projected to last longer as more complex projects
are being implemented.
Many of the larger companies have kept additional hires to a
minimum, with most hires coming about as a result of continued
restructures. SME’s remain cautious in terms of hiring activity as
restrictions on headcount and budget are still very apparent.
→ HR Business Partner
→ Compensation & Benefits
→ Reward
→ Employee relations
High volumes of
interim assignments
are being offered
in the niche area
of reward. The
more generalist
HR roles dominate
the permanent hire
landscape.
There has been a 40% increase in demand for HR project leads in
the interim space; candidates that have experience working across a
number of client groups, and those that specialise in HR restructures
and organisational change have been highly sought after.
There has been a
recent increase in the
level of Learning &
Development roles
up 15%
on last year
year on year increase
in permanent HR roles
across the board
15%

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Jobs
Media
Legal
Practice
Oil & Gas
FMCG
Technology
Property
London
Job flow has remained high across
most industry sectors. The following
industries have shown the highest levels
of growth compared to last year:
Competitive market conditions have lead to a
decrease in the time it takes firms to hire new
staff, with the average placement taking
10% less time to fill than this time last year.
There has
been a marked
increase in
candidates
entering
the market
predominantly
from the
following
industries
compared to the
same quarter
last year
FMCG
increase of
24%
Technology
increase of
44%
Property
increase of
10%
Candidates
Media
Legal
Practice
Oil & Gas
FMCG
Technology
Property
Media
increase of
22%
Technology
increase of
214%
Property
increase of
18%

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Midlands
HS2, wider transport projects, the success of JLR and the expansion of its supply
chain are all positive stories that have helped to boost morale and support the
region as a great place to relocate a business to.
The BBC is relocating several functions to the Mailbox, Birmingham.
These include BBC Academy, BBC People, and a digital innovation
unit; an investment plan worth £23.5m. This relocation has created
professional HR roles for both reward and learning and development
and talent acquisition skilled workers.
Recruitment speed
The start of 2015 saw an increased number of
candidates registering and securing new roles
compared to the final quarter of 2014. At the same
time, more candidates were able to apply for several
live job roles, a strong improvement on a year ago.
The consequence of this is the need for clients
to deliver feedback and arrange interviews more
quickly than before. The risk of not doing so results
in candidates securing employment with companies
who have made quicker decisions. On average,
our HR candidates apply for 2-3 live roles at any
one time. We have seen some evidence of salaries
creeping up at offer stage too.
A digital transformation programme at Nationwide
(Swindon) has created job growth in learning and
development. Avon based in Milton Keynes is
also driving learning and development within the
business and so created a new role to support people
development. Other financial services are reporting
business growth and higher demand (Volkswagon
Financial Services, Milton Keynes) creating
additional HR roles.
Skills in demand
There has been growth in demand for HR business
partners, irrespective of sector. Those who are
commercially minded and have a strategic direction with
good forecasting and leadership skills are in particularly
high demand.
Outlook
The outlook moving forward is positive for candidates as
they begin to see more vacancies advertised. With that
comes a need for creating a speedier process that helps
to secure the candidate of choice. Vacancies placed with
Badenoch & Clark in quarter 4 2014 took on average 65
days from job source to offer made just over two months.
The market has picked up considerably (35% increase in
job orders Q4 to Q1) and so the time to offer has reduced
to an average of 30 days – less than half of the preceding
quarter. The reason behind the dramatic fall is as a result
of companies wanting to beat the competition by offering
quickly before anyone else does. We have experienced
several offers declined where the candidate felt the process
was too slow. As such, every aspect of the recruitment
process impacts candidates, and speed/style of application
process could influence the candidate’s final decision.
Traditionally, HR hiring managers have prefered to consider
candidates only from their respective sector, but the last few
months has seen some employers consider other sectors,
particularly those that have fared well throughout the
recession. The sectors that continue to show good hiring
prospects are; financial services, FMCG, media, utilities &
automotive.
The continued growth of Jaguar Land
Rover has created additional HR Advisor
demand for their manufacturing sites,
whilst their training function undergoes
a transformation project.
increase in job
orders Q4 to Q135%

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East of England
There is certainly more optimism in the current HR recruitment market
than there was a year ago, and the market has started to show real signs
of consistent growth. Q1 data indicates growth numbers in job count and
candidates out at interview, but drawn out recruitment processes and a strong
interim market has added to the complexity of permanent headcount growth.
The main difference in the current market is that
companies are starting to react to movement as they
anticipate a spike in candidate availability. Counter
offers are on the increase and candidates are being
tempted away by increased salaries on both sides
of the hiring process, which in turn drives up salary
expectations.
Client pressure points
Currently, the hot topic of conversation centres around rewards,
compensation and benefits. There is also much talk of employee
engagement and retention, particularly how to retain and engage
key staff and top performers. This has a knock on affect to hiring and
retention because if there is no incentive for staff around benefits
and rewards, they will not remain as engaged and committed to the
business. Another topic which has proven popular relates to future
leaders, particularly who they are and where they are coming from.
There is a lot of focus on high achieving graduates who have the
potential to become future leaders, which is another result of current
market movement and increased demands.
Skill sets in demand
The top five skills/job types that are highly sought after by
clients in Q1 include:
→ Reward
→ Compensation & benefits
→ Management & leadership development
→ Recruitment & shared services
→ Talent & reward
There also seems to be an increased focus around attracting
and retaining high quality talent and ensuring they are
appropriately benchmarked. This is particularly relevant in
the current market as the demand for talent is starting to
grow and the pool of available candidates remains more or
less consistent, both in size and quality. There is also an
increasing need to ensure that the relevant levels of support
exist within an organisation, both in terms of skill sets and
personal development.
Outlook for the next 6-12 months
We are seeing an increasing number of vacancies for
both temporary and permanent positions across the UK,
as organisations understand the value HR generalists
bring in helping to drive their business forward. Retail,
manufacturing, financial services and not-for-profit sectors
are all now all hiring in higher numbers and this trend is
expected to continue right through 2015.
64%
Generally speaking there
has been an increase
in vacancies across the
market. However these
vacancies are mostly in
key areas such as senior
leadership roles, or
specialist areas such as
reward, compensation
& benefits and talent.
There is a lot of focus on
high achieving graduates
who have the potential to
become future leaders,
which is another result of
current market movement and
increased demands.
We are seeing an increasing number of
vacancies for both temporary and permanent
positions across the UK
of employers
feel applicants
are unrealistic
with salary
expectations
53%
of clients fear
competition from
others employers as
the main threat to
secure talent

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© Badenoch & Clark 2014. All rights reserved. The information contained in this publication is intended for general purposes or guidance only.
It does not purport to constitute professional advice. Badenoch & Clark accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.
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