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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​

Salary Guide 2023

Adie McGennis Wins Lifetime Achievement Award

​We are delighted to announce that our founder and CEO, Adie McGennis has been recognised for his remarkable career, personal and professional standing, and in particular his achievements over his twenty-year tenure as Sigmar’s CEO. On Friday at the Employment & Recruitment Federation Awards, hosted at The Shelbourne Hotel, Adie was presented with the James Kilbane Lifetime Achievement Award. Our Sales & Marketing team were also the winners of the “Best in Practice – Sales & Marketing Recruitment” award on the night. Beginning his career in recruitment in the 90s with Interstaff Recruitment after a brief stint in London, within a few short years, Adie became Managing Director of Marlborough Recruitment. It went on to become the largest recruitment agency in Ireland and the first Irish professional services company to be listed on the stock exchange. In 2002, he left to help set up Sigmar Recruitment and since then, Adie has built Sigmar into a thriving, global company that has won over 60 awards. Adie is the ultimate servant leader; humble and sincere, measuring himself by the leaders he creates and not by his own achievements. His ethos has undoubtedly shaped Sigmar’s culture and purpose. Commenting on Adie’s achievement, Frank Farrelly, COO of Sigmar Recruitment said:“I am absolutely delighted that Adie has been recognised by the Employment & Recruitment Federation. Adie is one of the most recognizable and well-liked recruitment professionals in Ireland.  In a career spanning over 30 years, he has made numerous lifelong friends and he has been one of the most collaborative and helpful people to many in the industry be they colleagues, competitors or members of the ERF.  He truly embodies the spirit of this award and I am delighted to see him being awarded by his peers. Through Adie’s leadership, values, and entrepreneurial spirit, Sigmar has continued to grow and evolve as a business and will continue to do so! Thank you Adie, for all that you have done! Huge congratulations on behalf of all team Sigmar!”​ Find out more about Sigmar’s story here. Find out more about the Employment & Recruitment Federation Awards here. ​

Employers Inclusivity Toolkit

This Inclusivity Employment Toolkit drawn up by the Open Doors Initiative is aimed at assisting companies working with our three groups – people with disabilities, refugees and asylum seekers and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. Jeanne McDonagh, CEO of The Open Doors Initiative said: “We are delighted to work with Employers for Change, one of our key supported programmes, along with Atlantic Technological University, to produce this Inclusive Recruitment booklet and training. Many of our companies have asked for guidance in this space and it is a much needed resource to ensure an inclusive workplace. We wish to thank the participants who gave us their expert knowledge and experience in putting this together and look forward to engaging with companies in this important training.”  ​In creating this toolkit, which is supported by AIB, research was carried out in partnership with Atlantic Technological University (ATU) to understand the specific barriers for people from marginalised communities when seeking employment and the best strategies for becoming truly inclusive in the hiring process.​DOWNLOAD PDF​​Sigmar is a member of The Open Doors Initiative to help provide opportunities to some of the marginalised members of our society: refugee, asylum seekers and non-native English speakers; young people under 25 with educational barriers; and people with a disability.This information is taken from the OpenDoors website.

Hiring Ukraines

Guides for EmployersAs the crisis in Ukraine worsens, many employers may wish to offer support and employment to those coming from Ukraine. We have some guides to assist you should you wish to support and employ someone from Ukraine that has arrived in Ireland.Finding Work for Ukrainians Settled in Ireland - An Employer’s Guide (PDF)Master Contract of Employment (Ukranian) (PDF)Ukraine Cultural Competency Guide (PDF)Tech Link UkraineTechlinkUkraine.org is a Not for Profit organization signposting those with tech skills that have been displaced by the war in Ukraine to employment opportunities. Our mission is to connect individuals to opportunities and enable them to happen. Download PDF

Remote Working Legislation (Sigmar CCO on RTE's Primetime)

Sigmar CCO Robert MacGiolla Phádraig chats to Miriam O'Callaghan on Primetime about the new remote working legislation being discussed by Government; with Richard Grogan, Employment Law Specialist.  ​

Video: How to Attract and Retain Tomorrows Talent

Given everything that has happened over the last eighteen months, it’s not surprising that we’ve essentially gone through an identity crisis around work. Power has shifted from employer to employee as work has changed from somewhere we go to something we do. This in turn has also altered how we prioritize other aspects of ourselves and how we approach work. So what does this mean for employers and recruitment today?   Robert Mac Giolla Phadraig, CCO of Sigmar Recruitment joins Holly Fawcett on the The Shortlist show. They’ll be diving into this topic, looking at what needs to be different about an organization’s value proposition today in order to make them attractive to talent in the future. Throughout this discussion, they’ll be examining multiple aspects, like the precarious balance between well-being and well-doing in this atmosphere of high attrition and also the evolution of the EVP as it has changed to encompass more about human experience.      

More Remote Working (RTÉ The Business- Radio Interview)

The Deputy Chief Medical Officer has urged everyone who can work from home, to continue to do so. But do people want to continue to work remotely?  Sigmar CCO Robert Mac Giolla Phadraig talks to Richard Curran on RTE Radio, The Business. Listen back:   https://www.rte.ie/radio/podcasts/22018390-more-remote-working/   

High Touch Leadership in the Low Touch Economy

  As restrictions lift and choice of workplace emerges, how we lead our distributed workforce needs to be geared differently to ensure equity amongst our workforce. Watch back this session on the emerging thinking and practices to ensure high touch leadership for low touch work. This session was run by France Ireland Chamber of Commerce, moderated by Michelle Fogarty (COO, Peptalk), and welcomed Robert Mac Giolla Phádraig (Founder Talent Summit and COO Sigmar Recruitment) and Aine Murray (Head of Marketing, Communications, CR & Bid Support, Veolia).