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HR Candidates Prioritising Career Development Over Job Security

HR

Things have been looking up in the HR industry, specifically in Dublin and its surrounding counties. It is likely that this trend will slowly continue nationwide. HR departments are busier than ever and as they are faced with more and more pressing business demands, they are being forced to consider expanding their headcount. The swell of confidence in the HR jobs market is reflected in the number of HR departments that have experienced churn for the first time in 5+ years. This has had a knock on effect, creating more open vacancies which feed back into candidate confidence. When considering a move the priority has changed from job security to career development. Candidates are happier to risk leaving a permanent job for a contract one, if it’s going to add to their employability for future jobs.

 

Companies that have not increased headcount in their HR function, in line with a return to more buoyant business, are often looking to take on temporary HR resources to tide them over during busier periods.  These are usually at HR administration or HR generalist level or often they might look for specialist recruitment expertise to support on a ramp-up. We have seen a surprisingly high number of senior HR positions outside of Dublin, looking for specific skill sets such as union experience and multinational HR experience. However, at generalist level and in more junior level roles there has been less activity. For those returning to Ireland from abroad, or for those considering relocating from the greater Dublin area to elsewhere in Ireland they are still finding it slow.

 

We have also seen an increasing number of companies take on their first HR hire to build a HR function from scratch. Economic growth has seen small companies grow and HR is no longer a cost they can do without. It has become an essential area they are willing to invest in, to support and sustain further business growth. Similarly the emphasis is on the business partnering nature of HR, candidates don’t want to work in companies where HR is not valued. It is the companies where HR has strategic impact, that attract the top candidates and that have a best practice, progressive HR approach.

 

We are seeing starting salaries for people with little to no experience climb to €30,000 which is a noticeable increase from 2016. This trend continues up the chain. At generalist and business partner level the climb is steadier however, at manager and director level we again see a strengthened job market. Many senior candidates who changed jobs in the last few years had taken considerable pay cuts from their one time boom salary. Now at the top level while not necessarily matching the highest packages that people were being paid it is getting closer e.g. jobs that were paying €65-75k a year ago are now paying €80-100k. Salaries are not consistent across all industries and you will find a junior HR person with 1-2 years could be on a similar salary to another with 5 years due to the industry that they are in.

 

Salaries are increasing and those who are planning to change job should be looking for a pay rise from a new company. To retain staff you need to know what the market is offering and therefore what might be tempting them to leave. Similarly, in the hiring process a candidate is likely to have two or three offers on the table so it is important that you ascertain what their expectations are and what you have in your arsenal to lock down top talent. It’s is not just the basic salary that is important. Particularly in larger companies there are complex benefit packages on offer. If you can’t compete with benefits you may have to consider a basic salary 10–15k higher to compete with packages being offered elsewhere. Equally candidates are bench-marking when looking at the job market or requesting a pay review. HR candidates know about salary surveys and availability of data so they will seek out this information. While salaries are not consistent across different industries, if a better salary is available in a new industry this information might provide the impetus for a career move.

 

Posted by Kate Stewart, HR Recruitment Consultant on 4 December 2017

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The Remote-Work Rebound: Hybrid workforce grows by two-thirds, remote workforce down by 54%

The Remote-Work Rebound: Hybrid workforce grows by two-thirds, remote workforce down by 54%

The ​Talent Leaders Pulse Report was commissioned by Sigmar Recruitment as part of Talent Summit 2023.​"The power dynamic between employer and employee is rebalancing after two years of hyper competition, with early signs of a shift back to office. The fallout of remote working has seen employees pitted against employers as we look to sustain flexible working practices and settle on desired places of work. We are witnessing the remote work rebound, with twice as many workers now working a hybrid model over full-time remote. The hybrid workers now make up 51% of the current workforce, while the remote workforce has reduced by 54% within the last 12 months. This reflects employers’ sentiment that 87% of employees do their best work in a hybrid model.”, says Talent Summit founder and Sigmar CCO, Robert Mac Giolla Phádraig.​Talent Summit 2023 Employment Survey Highlights at a glance:Hybrid WorkHybrid workforce grows by two-thirds, remote workforce down by 54% as employees spend more days in office.2023: 51% working hybrid (30% in 2022), 25% full-time remote (44% in 2022) and 24% in-office (26% in 2022). Of the Hybrid workforce more time is spent in-office over the last 12 months: 81% work 2 days or more in 2023 compared to 74% in 2022.Tuesday (68%), Wednesday (78%) and Thursday (67%) are the most popular days to be in-office with Monday (18% ) and Friday (8%) being the least.Employers believe employees do their best work, working a hybrid model (87%), followed by in-office (11%) with full-time remote (7%) considered the least productive model.​Headcount2023 set to see the largest reduction in headcount in the last 5 years with 18% of employers expecting a reduction this year. 62% expect an increase and 20% expect their headcount to remain the same.​HR PrioritiesThe Top 5 priorities for HR for 2023 show competing priorities creating a confusing labour market: (1) retention (2) labour costs (3) recruitment (4) sustaining a dispersed culture (5) performance management.​Pay63% of employees expected to receive a pay rise of 6% in 2023 (the lowest % pay rise in 6 years)​READ THE FULL REPORT​The current labour market is a confusing one and 2023 looks set to be challenging with many contradictions at play which in turn is creating a tug-of-war of work on four main fronts:Workforce: Employers are looking to balance workforce reduction, employee retention and continuous recruitment needs at all once; Work practices: The need to offer individual flexibility to all employees is often at odds with the collective need for greater productivity;Workplace: Work is shifting back to the office with the hybrid workforce spending more days in office and as employers believe employees are least productive full-time remote;Labour Costs: The rise in the cost of living is driving employee salary expectations yet at the same time employers are tightening budgets with economic uncertainty on the horizon.​Commenting on workplace, Mac Giolla Phádraig adds: “The workplace has been the topic of conversation since the pandemic and employers have polarised preferences. The intense competition for talent the last two years has seen employers who favoured in-office, soften their view as employees demanded greater flexibility in a hyper-competitive labour market. As that demand recedes, those employers find their voice once more, albeit veiled in language around performance and challenges around sustainable work practices. The flexibility offered to employees now seems to be rebounding to more days in office.” READ THE FULL REPORT​​ABOUT THIS SURVEYThe Talent Summit Pulse Survey 2023 was commissioned by Sigmar Recruitment as part of Talent Summit 2023. This is the sixth year the study has been conducted, measuring the pulse of Talent Leaders on a range of Talent Topics. 244 talent leaders from across Ireland took part in the study, comprising of senior executives responsible for talent decision making within their respective organisations, ranging from CHROs, CEOs HR Directors to Heads of HR functions such as L&D, Recruitment, Organisational Development and Performance Management.Europe’s largest HR, work and employment conference, Talent Summit 2023 will take place in Dublin’s Convention Centre on Thursday, 9 March, 2023, welcoming 1500 guests.www.talentsummit.ie​

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Managing a Remote Workforce

Managing a Remote Workforce

In light of COVID-19, many companies have unexpectedly asked a large cohort of their employees to work from home. Without time to prepare for this, leaders, whose teams normally share an office and who now have been thrown into working from home, have been presented with a host of new challenges. How can one lead effectively when employees are greeting each other with instant messages than face to face interactions? When meetings are held via Microsoft Teams rather than in-person? Read on for our advice for managing a remote workforce.   Clarity of goals, expectations, guidelines   First and foremost, leaders need to prioritise the setting of clear boundaries and guidelines. At its most basic this involves setting clear expectations for work hours, availability, communication methods, meetings, key projects and deadlines, and responding to emails.  For example, “We use video conferencing for our daily check-in meetings, but we use instant messenger/chat when something is urgent”.     After this you need to convey what is success. Don’t worry so much about what is being done, concentrate on what is being accomplished. If we are meeting goals, great! If not, then we need to look further into what is being done. Everyone has a different idea of what doing something “quickly” or “well” means. Whether showing examples of what you expect to be done, an overview of how you schedule your day etc. make sure you set clear expectations from those you work with.    And finally, use this time as an opportunity to re-clarify the basics in order to ensure everyone understands their role and how each person contributes to team objectives. Clarifying and re-clarifying goals will help people understand what is expected of them.       Over communicate    While communication is always essential for leaders, it becomes even more essential when your team is working remotely. A challenge experienced by many when transitioning from in-office work to remote work is the feeling of disconnection and isolation which hinders an employee’s engagement and productivity. Given the current environment and people’s anxiety surrounding COVID-19, this feeling of disconnect and loneliness is probably heightened. Therefore, it is important that you over-communicate with your employees. Your staff members are probably used to talking to you every day so make sure you regularly check-in.     This could be a daily series of one-on-one video calls if your employees work more independently of each other or a team video call if their work is collaborative, or a mix of both. The important aspect is that these calls are a regular feature and that employees know that they have an opportunity to discuss any concerns or ask questions.     Embrace video conferencing and have regular team meetings and continue to foster team morale by taking the time at the start of each meeting for general chat such as asking about people’s weekends, how they are feeling etc.         Trust Being thrust into a remote working environment, as a manger it can be tempting to micromanage. However, doing so will only make your employees feel like you don’t trust them and impact their engagement and productivity. After you have set clear expectations, you must have faith in the employee that they will get the job done. Being trusted to get things done is a big motivator for people.  Finally, as it’s been an abrupt shift to remote work for many, it is important for managers to acknowledge that this transition might be difficult for employees. Listen to your employees’ anxieties and concerns and offer them encouragement and support.    

Company Culture

Keeping Company Culture Alive Across a Remote Workforce

Keeping Company Culture Alive Across a Remote Workforce

With the majority of our teams now working remotely, the challenges of creating and maintaining company culture are evident.  Technology can’t replace what the workplace provides: community, camaraderie and shared purpose. Now, more than ever, maintaining culture matters.  Here are some ideas on instilling company culture across remote employees:     1. Connect Back to Your Values & Purpose For many of our staff currently, working remotely has been unexpected and in the face of a global health crisis, many are at a loss for what to do. For some work may feel insignificant now, so as their manager this is your time to help employees find meaning and reconnect back to your company’s values and purpose. While you may not be a company at the frontline, you still have a positive impact on people’s lives. Remind your employees of how their contributions add up to something much bigger and that we are all in this together!     2. Communication is Key Communication within divisions, one to one, social gatherings, company updates, all need to be consistent. This maintains relationships and promotes inclusivity.    Create an open and transparent communication policy. This allows people to be themselves and feel comfortable reaching out via online chat platforms. Set expectations on communication methods. Where do meetings take place? What tool is for social sharing?    Finally, you need to put an emphasis on positivity in your written communication. With the absence of face to face interactions in virtual conversations, it is easy for tone to be interpreted negatively so you need to be extra careful to be positive.        3. Mimic the Water Cooler Effect As mentioned, many of our staff are currently missing the day-to-day work interactions they have with their colleagues. Therefore, assign a platform where team members can live chat, share files, post photos and collaborate throughout the day to mimic everyday office life.  This can be where some of the best ideas and knowledge can be shared yet at the same time promotes inclusivity and the sense of “team”.     4. Trust In a remote team, there aren't any silly rules about being in your seat during certain hours of the day. This means at the end of the week you either have something to show for your week or not. This means you trust that your teammates are getting something done. But also, that your teammates trust you. To earn that trust you want to make sure you have something to show for your work each week.     5. Focus on Health & Wellbeing In the midst of a global pandemic, now is not the time to forget about your wellness programme when stress and anxiety is elevated. Make sure to check in with remote employees that they are taking breaks, finishing on time, and are maintaining a healthy work-life balance.   Make online workouts available to your employees allowing them to take part in physical activity. Perhaps set a company challenge such as a step challenge to get employees engaged in physical activity and as a plus networking with colleagues. For those struggling with sleep or anxiety, provide access to meditation or breathing courses. And to look after financial wellbeing consider organising webinars on topics such as managing a household budget, how your pension works, setting financial goals etc.      6. Rituals and Traditions Creating traditions with your team members, regardless of how often they happen, helps keep teams cohesive and encourages open communication and trust. Before you were thrown into the digital remote working world, undoubtedly you had traditions in place for how promotions, achievements and even birthdays were recognised. To keep spirits up, it’s crucial you keep celebrating these milestones.      7. Ask for Feedback Finally, the introduction to remote working has been unprecedented for many of us. Therefore, ask employees for honest feedback and suggestions. Use a pulse survey to get real data on this.      "You don’t need everyone physically together to create a strong culture. The best cultures derive from actions people actually take.” Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, Authors of Remote