Hays Office Support - January 2010
Hotspots
Project Coordinators have emerged as a prime area of demand. These skills are required for key projects that need to be completed within tight deadlines and budget.
Sales Support Administrators are also in demand. Many businesses want their sales force to focus solely on business development and revenue generation, and are thus recruiting candidates to perform administration tasks and improve the efficiency of the sales team.
Office Managers are also sought. Since many businesses need to keep their headcount low, multi-skilled and versatile Office Managers who can oversee not only the administrative function but also basic accounting, payroll, purchasing and customer service duties are in most demand.
Legal support is also needed.
The coming quarter
We expect employers to increase the number of temporary opportunities available, while medium to large sized businesses should start recruiting generalist administration staff as activity improves. An initial increase in temporary roles is expected as those businesses that put off permanent recruitment bring in a temporary solution initially to cautiously move back to their previous headcount. Many of these roles are likely to become permanent in the following quarters as business confidence continues to increase.
Employer trends
The recruiting process has lengthened; employers take their time to ensure they select the most suitable candidate from their shortlist.
Candidate trends
Quality candidate levels have decreased. The best candidates are often content in their current roles at present.
