Over the last six months, we have noticed multiple trends affecting hiring and jobseeking patterns. The tech sector experienced a number of redundancies, which also had a knock-on effect on internal talent teams. This led to an uptick in candidates approaching us about temporary employment, while cautious employers helped sustain the demand. Companies without permanent headcount were also looking to recruiters for additional temporary support and flexibility.
We saw the increased adoption of a four-day working week which was received positively by those trialling it. However, this led to unforeseen issues for HR teams having to stagger employee work patterns. Hybrid working continues to be the norm, but an increased shift in employers scaling back on the number of WFH days has become more common for those with office space to accommodate employees.
Finally, there has been an uplift in actively seeking candidates, despite increased caution on their side about finding the right fit and a desire to ‘tick all the boxes’. Employers are also being more thorough in their processes, which has led to more drawn-out interview stages and hiring timeframes.
It’s interesting to note:
– UK employees received a 6.2% pay increase including bonuses, from November 2022 to May 2023 on average. (ONS)
– Almost half (43%) of people believe that the greatest threat of using AI at work is the loss of human touch. (Tiger Recruitment, 2023)
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