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Singapore - 26 June 2018: Global recruitment specialists McGregor Boyall have expanded their Asia Pacific offering with two experienced hires to head up their Change & Business Transformation and Legal & Compliance Practices. Singapore's economy grew 3.5 per cent in 2017, exceeding expectations, and hiring across several sectors, including banking and finance, has risen. Demand for Regulatory Change and Compliance Professionals is on the rise throughout the APAC region as banks look to ensure compliance with new regulations.   Commenting on the current market Group CEO Laurie Boyall said “With the above-mentioned market factors in mind, we have been investing heavily in our Singapore offering over the last 12 months. I’m delighted that we have been able to hire in some highly experienced talent to build out practices in Change & Business Transformation and Legal & Compliance to ensure McGregor Boyall continues to grow and expand its offering in the region.” Gaetan Boehringer has joined from Robert Half to build out McGregor Boyall’s Asia Pac Change & Business Transformation Practice. A relatively new market in Asia, the main focus has always been on Technology Change, mostly in financial services, but demand from other industries is now on the rise. Prem John has joined from Abeo Consulting to grow McGregor Boyall’s Legal & Compliance Practice. The market is heating up within the Legal & Compliance vertical due to growth within the fintech and payments space, banks restructuring and adapting to avoid further disruption to their key markets and business models, as well as corporates having to deal with an increasingly regulated space that touches all areas of industry. “I’m truly thrilled about the next stage of our Asia Pac journey” said Boyall. “Evolving and expanding our offering is key for our business growth and it’s an exciting time to be part of our Asia Pac Business at the moment.”

McGregor Boyall Double Down on Info Security London – March 2018 Responding to the growing importance of information security, McGregor Boyall have achieved CyberEssentials Plus and ISO 27001 certification at the first attempt.  Their achievement reflects the firm’s awareness that social media and the digital economy are transforming everyone’s personal and economic interactions - but that these changes are accompanied by real potential risks and that it doesn’t take much for opportunity to turn into threat. McGregor Boyall have demonstrated their awareness of the vastly increased need to inspire confidence in their candidates and their clients who they recognise have the right to expect individual privacy and corporate confidentiality.  The firm chose to ensure that it can provide candidates and clients with proof of the robustness of both its digital systems and its non-digital information security systems.  CyberEssentials Plus is recognised as a clear indication that effective cyber security controls have been put in place by an organisation.  McGregor Boyall recognised gaining CyberEssential Plus was there therefore an important step to gaining trust from candidates and clients.  But they also appreciated that it was not the total answer.  They recognised that information security is not just about cyber security.  Rather, it is only part – although a very important part – of a bigger security picture.  For that reason, they decided to go for the much broader ISO27001, a certification that addresses the need of an organisation to build and maintain an awareness of all forms of information security and to embed that awareness into its culture. Laurie Boyall, Group Chief Executive, was the driver of the firm’s security initiative, stating, “It is my responsibility to recognise that every candidate who applies to us has the absolute right to expect that their personal information is being stored and used in a way that respects their privacy and their wishes.”  And he added, “Our clients also have the right to believe that their information and their brand are being entrusted to a business partner who is committed to protecting them”. Boyall’s views are shared by the firm’s Quality and Information Security Manager, Hollie Allen, who was responsible for driving both projects through.  Allen stated, “Building an info security aware culture is not easy.  But it’s critical.  We really believe that the work we’ve done on CyberEssentials Plus and ISO27001 has also helped us with all the work we’re doing on GDPR”.

McGregor Boyall launches new website March 2018: McGregor Boyall has launched a new website that is focused on acquiring talent for itself and its clients.  Group chief executive, Laurie Boyall, said, “If we have exceptional consultants working in the firm, they will both find new clients and deliver effectively to existing ones. Of course, we wanted a website that clients find informative and one that offers candidates an application experience that they can look forward to.  But most of all we wanted a site that shows people what it’s like to work at the firm. It’s our belief that outstanding consultants deliver outstanding service. We have a lot of outstanding consultants.  But we want more.” The website is built to make the job search experience as effortless as possible, while showcasing thought leadership content, case studies, our people and what it’s like to work for us with a series of videos produced in-house by our marketing team.  Tanya Semerad, marketing manager, added, “The website presents a strong opportunity for us to show what it’s like to be an active member of the McGregor Boyall family, and operating in such a busy market, it’s essential that we connect with people who share our values.” Nicholas Eveleigh, senior marketing executive, commented, “We needed a responsive design that was consistent across mobile, tablet and desktop. It was important that the user experience was elevated for both clients and candidates. We included a lot of white space to make significant information stand out, and we kept our signature red flowing throughout the site while keeping the design fresh and modern. We want the experience to be smooth and engaging with viewers focusing on the key messages.”

McGregor Boyall partners with Emma Maynard from Inspire HR & Training London, 5th January 2018 McGregor Boyall is investing heavily in a range of training programs to help enable their Consultants to realise their potential and develop successful careers within the business. As well as using their home grown internal talent to drive initiatives such as their bespoke Training Academy, they are delighted to have recently partnered with Emma Maynard from Inspire HR & Training who is working with them to deliver further bespoke training and coaching to their newly promoted Consultants and their already experienced staff. The Senior Leadership team believes investment in training is important as it helps support the growth and development of their staff, allowing them to organically grow their talent and allowing them the opportunity to learn from others and practice new skills in a safe learning environment. They believe training and development is a way of recognising and valuing their staff, helping to retain talent within the firm. The Managers are passionate about giving their Consultants who are at the early stages of their careers in recruitment the best possible chance to succeed, this coupled with the Directors desire to see staff grow and develop successful long-term careers with McGregor Boyall, ensuring that they are seeing their emerging talent come through the grades. “Following on from the success of our Training Academy, I was keen to ensure we offered continuous learning so that Consultants have the best opportunity to build on those skills gained at the beginning and continue evolving as they move through their career with us, I am delighted to be partnering with Emma, it’s great to bring new experiences and knowledge into the organisation that others can learn from.” Lucy Frost, Group People Director

McGregor Boyall Appoint Sam Hoggan as New Glasgow Office Opens Glasgow, November 2017 McGregor Boyall is delighted to announce that Samuel Hoggan has joined its team to head up their new Glasgow office which will be opening in November 2017.  Hoggan has over nine years of experience in the Scottish technology recruitment market and has developed a strong reputation for successful delivery during this time.  Hoggan also brings knowledge of the Scottish commerce and industry landscape.   Hiring Hogan for the opening of the new Glasgow office represents another key step in the strengthening of McGregor Boyall in Scotland.  McGregor Boyall’s commitment to delivering a quality recruitment service has grown their enviable client base in Scotland, and the new team in Glasgow is situated to ensure the very best in local service.  A second Scottish office allows McGregor Boyall to provide the response and market intelligence that only a local team can offer. McGregor Boyall is now well set to further build its business capability across the west coast, and maintain its key supplier status at their customer sites. McGregor Boyall identified Hoggan as the correct individual to grow the team in Glasgow having been aware of his previous success in the Scottish market. Commenting on his new move, Hoggan said, “McGregor Boyall are a global organisation who already have a strong brand in Scotland.  Having previously worked with Stuart Campbell, I know we share similar values on recruitment and our approach to service delivery.  I’m looking forward to the challenge of growing the Glasgow location for the business, now that the Edinburgh office is well established.  I believe that having offices on the west coast will allow us to provide the next level of service to our candidates and clients in the area, as well as allow us to be more responsive to challenging requirements.” Stuart Campbell, Head of Scotland, stated, “When I joined the business, the aim was to build the best technology and financial services recruitment function in Scotland.  Our goal for some time has been to add a Glasgow presence to better serve both of Scotland’s major cities, and Sam Hoggan is the perfect fit for this role. Sam is very knowledgeable on the market and is the kind of authentic character that clients and candidates warm to, and is one that fits our company culture. We’ve been delighted to be able to add the calibre of experienced people to the business that we have – I know only too well that talent attracts talent and I look forward to a very successful 2018 and beyond.” Charlie Luckhoo, UK Director, said, “Opening our second office in Scotland reinforces our commitment to the region, and we see it being a valued part of our business moving forward.”

McGregor Boyall Strengthen Scottish Presence Glasgow: November 2017 McGregor Boyall open their second Scottish office this week, adding Glasgow to their already strong presence in Edinburgh.  The new team in Glasgow is situated to ensure the very best in localised service, and shows its commitment to further growing its enviable client-base and candidate pool across the West Coast. Charlie Luckhoo, UK Managing Director, said, “We’re thrilled to be opening a fourth UK office.  Glasgow was an obvious location due to our commitment to growing out Scottish business.  We have already built a prestigious client-base in Glasgow, which will only expand with the team we are putting in place.” Lucy Frost, Global People Director, stated, “It’s really exciting to see our business in Scotland expanding.  We have secured some great talent to help us grow the team in Glasgow, and I am looking forward to working with them on the journey ahead.” Stuart Campbell, Head of Scotland, said, "I'm delighted to be part of the latest McGregor Boyall investment in Scotland.  Glasgow is a key market for us moving forward - this move can only help us respond more effectively to our clients’ requirements.  Local presence is a key factor in being able to identify and build the networks of unique local candidates required.  We look forward to a very successful 2018 for our Glasgow office and expanding the Edinburgh operation.”

Kate Sweeney Joins McGregor Boyall in Scotland Edinburgh, Scotland, 27 September 2017. Kate Sweeney has joined the McGregor Boyall team in Edinburgh to Head up the Contract IT and Change desk.  Sweeney brings with her a strong candidate network and extensive contract experience.  Sweeney is an ideal team fit for the culture in the Scottish office and is highly collaborative with a strong focus on quality and client delivery. Sweeney’s experience and strong market knowledge positions her to advise new and existing clients on the latest market trends and conditions within the IT and Change arena. McGregor Boyall’s regional head, Stuart Campbell, has ambitious growth plans for the team in Scotland, and building a market leading contract business is a key element of this plan.  Sweeney’s addition to the team is a major step towards achieving this.  Sweeney’s track record of building contract books from the ground up, growing teams and being the leading contract recruitment supplier for several financial services businesses makes Sweeney an ideal candidate for the position.  With a strong speciality in transformation programs, Sweeney is strongly placed to help McGregor Boyall’s core key clients to attract and retain the flexible skills and resources needed for successful delivery of their major transformation projects. Campbell was delighted to secure the services of Sweeney, stating, “I’ve been working in the Scottish recruitment market for almost 20 years and Kate Sweeney is one of the best I’ve ever seen at what she does.  Both clients and contractors see Kate as a trusted advisor and I look forward to the successful growth of our contract division in Scotland over the coming years.”

Promotions and Appointments at McGregor Boyall as Business Grows London, Dubai and Singapore, 28 July 2017. McGregor Boyall announce key appointments from within, focusing on recognising and advancing its internal talent across the UK, Middle East and Asia Pacific. Over its 30-year history, McGregor Boyall has grown out of London, across the UK and into Dubai and Singapore.  The business has its sights set on further expansion, and is looking to increase its headcount of up-and-coming talent by 20-25% in the UK. McGregor Boyall attributes much of its success to internal talent, and remains steadfast in developing highly-skilled personnel at all levels and recognising high-achievers in the Group. Testament to McGregor Boyall’s commitment to its people are Charlie Luckhoo and Henny Schipper, both of whom started 14 years ago as graduate resourcers.  Luckhoo was recently appointed UK Managing Director, and Schipper was made a UK Director. Lucy Frost, appointed Group People Director, joined the firm 7 years ago and has been focused on fostering a collaborative and open working environment that supports, advances and retains its talent. Richard Lett, appointed Managing Director – International, is responsible for taking business operations in the Middle East and Asia Pacific from strength to strength.  Together with Jon Neal, appointed Regional Director for Asia Pacific, Lett will lead McGregor Boyall’s international expansion. In London, Dan Fisher and Marc Tullett were each promoted to become UK Directors of the business, with David Hagan promoted to Associate Director and Nathan Ballin to Principal Consultant. Laurie Boyall, Group CEO, expressed his deep satisfaction for the firm’s appointments and further commented, “It’s pleasing to see our people growing within the firm. We have created an environment where people can broaden their skill set and build long-term, successful careers.” Luckhoo, responsible for UK operations, said, “I’m thrilled to be working with our newly appointed Directors as well as our existing leadership team as we look to expand our business.  We have such a great client base that has been built up over the last 30 years, and it’s a privilege to be entrusted to run this part of the group.” Frost, responsible for leading all people initiatives across McGregor Boyall’s diverse portfolio of teams and locations, said, “It’s great to see people progressing in the organisation to senior leadership roles.  The progressions provide those individuals with new challenges, as well as create opportunities for emerging talent to grow within the business.” Lett, commenting on McGregor Boyall’s presence in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, said, “Many of our top performers have been with us since the early start-up phase and have helped us become one of the leading recruitment firms in both Dubai and Singapore.  I am very thankful to everyone in Dubai and to Jon Neal and the team in Singapore for all their hard work and dedication.  I now look forward to the next 5 years and seeing our international business continue to grow.”

Uncertainty, Buoyancy and More Uncertainty! The end of 2016 saw a marked slow-down in demand for HR Roles. Hesitancy in the market in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote meant caution around hiring for roles, and a tentativeness around future business strategy. As we headed into 2017 and the initial shock of the vote eased, it became very much “business as usual” for companies and 2017 looked set to be a buoyant year for HR hiring. This was driven by an increase in requirements for more complex roles as businesses tried to ready themselves for the post-Brexit market, and ensure that they were in the best shape to deal with the macro-economic factors that could severely impact business success for the unprepared. Notable skills in demand within HR were: HR Change and Transformation: Businesses have been bringing in specialists with these skills to realign structures and maximise productivity through offshoring/outsourcing, as well as defining new frameworks and embedding processes to ensure businesses operate effectively. Many firms are also designing contingency plans and structures to ensure their business is prepared for every potential outcome of Brexit, with some organisations pre-emptively relocating large sections of their workforce to other European locations.   HR Project Managers and HR Systems Implementation Specialists: Many organisations have embedded new HR systems and technology to support core basic activities and combine various databases and systems. This has enabled them to successfully use data analytics to facilitate effective decision making and remove the need for administrative roles. We have also seen a sharp increase in demand for individuals with experience of embedding these new systems effectively and managing the end-to-end process in-house. Talent Management and Leadership Development: Roles in this space are viewed as increasingly pivotal to an organisation’s success. Looking at existing talent, building succession plans and developing capabilities to drive engagement and behavioural change is key to ensuring organisational goals are achieved. Skilled individuals within this space were in high demand in 2017. Apprenticeship Recruitment/Programme Management: A new role within the HR space, demand for this position has increased dramatically with organisations looking to optimise their return on the apprenticeship levy, whilst embedding effective programmes for these individuals. As a new role, organisations are either transferring self-teaching individuals into this space or are pulling from the graduate recruitment space who can be trained up. HR Business Partner: As always, there was consistent demand in 2017 for highly commercial HR Business Partners, who can act in a strategic advisory capacity to define and shape business objectives. Finding strong commercial talent like this is a constant challenge for businesses, meaning the top professionals in this area are in high demand, making for a highly competitive market. The first quarter of 2018 has seen a sluggish start for HR roles in the UK as businesses await the outcomes and agreements from the Brexit negotiations. One thing to note is an increase in demand for Talent Acquisition Managers as businesses seek to ensure they are well-positioned to hire talent in response to the shortly anticipated demand. Particularly as businesses feel that Brexit will trigger a shortage of talent in many areas leading to a highly competitive, candidate driven market. Indicators suggest that the next few months will be interesting as we transition into unknown territory!   Nina Adair - Practice Lead, HR & Talent Management Recruitment  

McGregor Boyall appoints new Regional Head for Scotland Edinburgh, 22nd May 2017: Global recruitment specialists McGregor Boyall have appointed Stuart Campbell to head up their Scottish Operations. Campbell joins with 17 years’ industry experience, predominantly in the global financial services technology space. He has spent the last four years as Head of Commercial for Solutions Driven in Glasgow, specialising in international executive search within the technology and engineering sector. Commenting on his appointment Campbell said “I am thrilled to have joined McGregor Boyall, a company that has such an excellent client base and strong reputation in the market place.”   “I’m looking forward to growing the team and McGregor Boyall’s market share in Scotland, through the top-class delivery of contractors, permanent hires and managed service projects.” Some of Campbell’s first tasks will be to grow the existing team in Edinburgh, launch a Glasgow office and cement McGregor Boyall’s position as a truly trusted advisor in the competitive battle for talent. “I am delighted to have Stuart on board to build on, and expand our recruitment offering across Scotland” said Group CEO Laurie Boyall “his experience speaks for itself, and his proven track record of delivery in the financial services technology space means he will be an excellent addition to the McGregor Boyall and Scotland Team.”

McGregor Boyall Middle East celebrates 5th birthday Dubai, 9th May 2017: Another month, another milestone for global recruitment specialist McGregor Boyall’s as their Middle East Operations celebrate 5 years of trading this week, four months after the firm celebrated its 30th year of business. Following the successful opening of their Asia Pacific operations in Singapore in 2011, Dubai was the next logical location for further expansion and was determined by a desire to gain exposure to a dynamic market with positive long term prospects. Now firmly established within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), McGregor Boyall’s Middle East operations have been servicing the region’s continuing demand for financial and professional services recruitment for the last five years, as well as acting as a key hub linking their UK and Asia operations. Commenting on the milestone Richard Lett, Regional Director for the Middle East and Asia Pacific said “I’m extremely proud of how McGregor Boyall’s Middle East Operations have successfully transitioned from a largely UAE focused Financial Services recruitment firm to now being unquestionably one of the GCC region’s leading recruitment firms supplying mid to senior talent in both the Banking and non-Banking sectors”. “I feel enormously encouraged by how our business has developed in the region” added Group CEO Laurie Boyall. “It broke into profit very early and has continued to be consistently profitable.  This is a remarkable achievement considering that the price of oil – the essential driver of the region’s economy – crashed at the end of our second year.” “While the region has faced many challenges over the last 5 years, such as the Arab Spring, the impact of the Global Financial Crisis and the decline in oil prices,” continued Lett. “I feel these have actually helped us to mature and evolve as a firm without ever losing focus of our core values and goals.” So, what is in store for the next 5 years? “More of the same please” said Boyall. “I am looking forward to a period of sustained growth characterised by continuing profitability based on delivering high-quality, innovative services.”

Manchester, 13th March 2017: Global recruitment specialists McGregor Boyall have appointed Paul Rodgers to head up their C&I Technology Recruitment Practice in Manchester. Rodgers joins from IT / Tech recruitment specialists Lorien, most recently within the business’s new client services division “onezeero,” where he spent nine years specialising in the SQL, Data, BI and Analytics space.  Commenting on his appointment Rodgers said “McGregor Boyall are an established global recruitment business who continuously invest in their growth. They are very forward thinking in terms of client, candidate and social engagement whilst maintaining exceptional values of integrity, quality, accountability and trustworthiness, mirroring the way I’ve personally always worked in recruitment.”   “To be given the opportunity to deliver the expansion of their C&I Technology Practice in Manchester and help build upon McGregor Boyall's growing reputation and presence across the North & the Midlands, is very exciting and an offer I could not refuse.” One of Rodgers’ first tasks will be to grow the existing team in Manchester and continue to further position McGregor Boyall in the North / Midlands as the most trusted and respected technology recruitment partner. “I am delighted to have Paul on board to develop and expand our technology recruitment offering in the regions” said – Laurie Boyall CEO. ”he has an exceptional reputation in this space, having delivered as an expert recruiter in the market for nearly ten years. He will be a fantastic addition to McGregor Boyall and the Manchester Team.”

If you could claim airmiles for every GDPR seminar attended, I’d be lazing on a beach somewhere in the Indian Ocean instead of reading on my office screen about Jan Koum resigning from Facebook.  Jan Koum and I have very little in common.  When it comes to personal wealth, for example, I am still working on plans to match his share of the $22 billion he and co-founder Brian Action received from selling WhatsApp to Facebook.  But we do share one preoccupation – data privacy.  Press rumours suggest that his departure may have less to do with “taking some time off to do things I enjoy outside of technology” than with his disagreement with how Facebook is using WhatsApp’s personal data and changing its encryption standards.  At a much humbler level, my concern is how to respond to the new data privacy environment that comes into force in a few weeks’ time on May 25 when GDPR, the Beast from the East (Brussels), finally arrives. Let’s be frank.  GDPR preparation has been a grind. GDPR seminars haven’t been much fun (does anyone know any GDPR jokes, let alone good ones?) and often confusing.  I have attended at least two in which lawyers from the same firm have disagreed with each other on stage.  And it has become clear that GDPR advice is often coloured by its source – legal firm, consultancy or software provider.  And just when you think you have sorted out what your own firm must do, you are inundated by clients and suppliers expecting you to agree to their often-contradictory interpretations of the regulation.  And, to cap it all, almost everyone involved whispers that none of it will make any sense until the lawyers come up with enough (expensive) case law to help us all navigate the new landscape. So, is GDPR a puritanical piece of legislation incapable of being applied in the real world? Or is it an intelligent and prescient means to control the potentially limitless power of, among others, tech giants (and governments) to invade, steal, kidnap or sell our privacy?   My own opinion is that GDPR is an accidental work of genius. That’s the only way I can explain how an enormously complex piece of legislation (173 ‘recitals’) agreed in principle in June 2015 just happens to come into force only a few weeks after the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica debacle has radically reshaped how individual citizens and governments – and don’t forget tech shareholders -  value data privacy. And what is equally clear to me is that the issue of privacy is not confined to battles with and between governments and big tech.  My own very small firm’s preparation for GDPR has, like everyone else’s, involved a substantial amount of thinking, writing, project management and system modifications.  But the danger of all the changes in process and procedure is that they turn GDPR and its implementation into nothing more than an administrative marathon – a compliance rather than behavioural issue.  This danger struck me forcefully when I went on a tour of our offices in Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh armed with a PowerPoint presentation of GDPR do’s and don’ts.  Less than two minutes into my first presentation, I abandoned it.  I could see that me and my presentation were being greeted with all the interest and attention of schoolkids in Friday after-school detention.   So, I swapped my telescope for a microscope.  Instead of focussing on the big and distant landscape of rules and regulation, I turned my gaze to the smaller and closer world of personal privacy.  I simply asked one of our recruitment consultants (we are a recruitment consultancy) what she would, and would not, want done with her CV if she decided to look for a new job.  The employee numbers in our offices outside London are relatively small.  And this worked in my favour.  It meant that, instead of a lecture from the CEO, the presentation turned into a discussion of what privacy meant in reality, rather than theoretically, to the consultants in the room.  The discussion was both revealing and reassuring.  It emerged that our consultants’ concerns about privacy and their own personal data actually mapped closely to the principles influencing our firm’s implementation of GDPR. The overall message that has come through to me is the success of GDPR will not come from the soulless implementation of processes and systems.  They are a necessary but not sufficient condition for implementing “privacy by design”.  The real success will come from focussing on – and communicating – the reasonable privacy concerns of individuals and how these are what GDPR intends to address.  If these can be embedded into a company culture of privacy, GDPR becomes part of the furniture – albeit flat-packed and with confusing instructions. I am loath to advise others on how do things.  But what I do recommend is that GDPR awareness / training should, if possible, be attempted interactively in smaller groups.  What became clear from my own experience of discussion in such groups is that in the three years since GDPR was formulated there has been a shift in attitude towards data privacy.  Where there once prevailed an attitude of automatically checking (or not unchecking) the box and “liking”, a greater, and healthier, degree of hesitation to share information automatically has emerged.  But what is also clear is that this has been accompanied by a mature and balanced view of the data privacy versus data sharing debate.  Our internal discussions revealed no one who didn’t recognise the benefits of our new digital world, including social media. So, my GDPR road trip was not spent battling privacy ninjas. My overall conclusion is that the issue of data privacy in general, and GDPR in particular, is necessarily complex and problematical.  Accordingly, GDPR will best achieve its goals by being interpreted with sympathy for all parties, and implemented equitably and reasonably.  And, most importantly, success will come from building a culture, rather than a regime, of privacy. Privacy purists may of course disagree.  I suspect Jan Koum does.  But I also suspect that if I had just a few of his billions, I might be thinking more like him.

McGregor Boyall celebrates 30 years in recruitment  London, 2nd February 2017: Global recruitment specialist McGregor Boyall are delighted to be celebrating 30 years of excellence in recruitment this week, and will be running a series of events throughout the year to mark the occasion. When McGregor Boyall first opened its doors in January 1987, many of its current employees hadn’t even been born. No internet, job boards or social media. It was all about the phone, sacks of envelopes and if you were lucky – a fax machine! “In those days a fax machine was considered a real luxury” commented Group CEO and Founder Laurie Boyall. “and a phone strike meant that the business very nearly didn’t get off the ground at all!” Fast-forward 30 years and McGregor Boyall is one of the UK’s leading independent recruitment businesses with three UK offices and two international offices servicing their global client base.  Add to this an impressive PSL list and extensive client base, McGregor Boyall is a name that is synonymous with quality and excellence in the recruitment space. So what is the key to such long standing success in an extremely challenging sector? “Our secret is to respond quickly to change in the recruitment environment” said Boyall “Since our inception we have been committed to a flexible, high-quality, low-risk contingency-based operating model and we have firmly established ourselves as a trustworthy partner for both clients and candidates to turn to.” Charlie Luckhoo, McGregor Boyall’s Director of Financial Services added “McGregor Boyall’s long standing success is certainly due, in part, to our ability to adapt to the ever changing recruitment landscape, but is also testament to Laurie who has steered the company through three recessions and continues to drive the business forward and embrace the challenges that inevitably come our way.” McGregor Boyall will be marking this fantastic milestone throughout the year with a series of events and celebrations. In a sector that has seen thousands of companies come and go and different operating models impacting traditional recruitment agencies, to have not only survived, but to have grown into a truly respected and established business is certainly an achievement to be proud of!

Katie Black joined McGregor Boyall’s HR and Talent Management Recruitment Practice in 2017,and is focused on hiring top HR talent across the Middle East and UK. I will always look back fondly at the 5 years I spent hiring top HR talent into roles across the Middle East.  If it wasn’t for a change in personal circumstances, I would still be enjoying Dubai’s sun, sea and sand… I mean, what’s not to love?!  Having recently relocated back to the UK, many people ask me what it’s like to work in the Middle East, and what the potential challenges might be for someone exploring a career in HR.  Personally, my time spent in Dubai was the best 5 years of my career, and I would recommend the opportunity for anyone looking to expand their cultural horizons and add another perspective to their HR career!  It’s no secret however, that the economy in the Middle East is evolving, so this article will discuss the potential challenges of building a HR career in Dubai and its surrounds, as well as how to make the transition work in times of change. Background Expo 2020 Dubai is on the horizon, a global event designed to celebrate human ingenuity by sharing knowledge, driving innovation, promoting progress and encouraging collaboration.  With the expo drawing near, companies in the Middle East are exploring how to harness this movement and attract top talent to their region.  From my experience, there is no doubt that the Middle East is hungry for professionals who can bring their expertise to the region.  So now the question is: how can the Middle East competitively attract talent? Challenge Historically, the Middle East offered tax-free packages with large expat benefits, including education and housing allowances – it’s these enticing offerings that helped their economy to attract talent to the region.  Over more recent time however, more and more companies have been reducing these benefits, which together with the introduction of VAT in 2018, will likely add further expense to the cost of living, and put strain on the ability for the Middle East to attract top talent. Adding further challenge, is the ease of mismatch between client and candidate expectations.  In my experience, the Middle East’s HR market is fierce, and clients are being more demanding and specific in the terms of their requirements.  Clients are seeking individuals with people and business focused degrees from top Western institutions, with strong and stable CVs within the top global organisations where they have also demonstrated exposure to Best Practice HR. The other side of the challenge is that HR functions in the Middle East have been less advanced than those in the West, with the scope of the roles not seen as interesting or challenging as roles they can get elsewhere.  The HR roles in the Middle East have tended to focus on tactical aspects as opposed to being strategic, thus presenting the challenge to simultaneously fulfil both candidate and client needs.  Amidst the challenge however, great potential (and attraction!) lies in the Middle East as organisations themselves are evolving, and in doing so, creating the space for more senior HR leaders to make a tangible and commercial impact within business. A Balancing Act In addition to managing client-candidate expectations is the balancing act between retaining existing HR expats in the region versus attracting new HR talent.  On the one hand, Middle Eastern organisations have preferred retaining HR expats because they possess regional experience and are accustomed to the local industry.  On the other hand, there has been a shift in perspective, opening up positions to new HR talent looking to relocate to the Middle East.  The catch for new HR talent has been a slightly lower reward package compared to their experienced counterparts, however the opportunity to relocate and add another dimension to their HR career is clear.  This is an important consideration to have when relocating to the Middle East, as an imbalance between client and candidate remuneration packages can frustrate existing challenges. A Bright Future Candidates from industries including financial and professional services as well as management consultancies are few and far between in the Middle East.  These sectors therefore look to attract high proportions of expats into their organisations and have the ability to offer the financial incentives to do so successfully, thus striking the balance between client and candidate expectations around remuneration. With that in mind, the Middle East remains an attractive market that offers great career opportunity at a time when the HR market is still transforming. Overall, there are a number of challenges to attracting and retaining top HR talent in the Middle East, but with the market evolving and roles becoming more commercial, there are many opportunities for ambitious HR professionals to make an impact and expand their HR horizons, and despite a reduction in financial appeal, the Middle East remains a location for interesting and compelling HR work.

2016 was certainly a year of change in many aspects from politics and the economy to the departures of many core contributors to modern culture. From a HR perspective the ever changing environment presents constant challenges around hiring and staff retention. So what can we expect from 2017? In our annual market insights surveys McGregor Boyall asked our clients and candidates for their views on the employment market, and what changes and challenges they anticipate for the year ahead. The UK’s decision to leave the EU in June followed by changes in the global political environment meant 2016 was an unsettled and nervous year in general for the market. However, in a snapshot survey taken by McGregor Boyall immediately after the vote, 65% of organisations stated the decision had had no impact on their immediate hiring plans. Seven months on and 70% said that they had seen little or no impact of Brexit thus far, although they are anticipating challenges around a shortage of quality candidates in 2017. Having said that, candidates remain fairly resilient with 73% stating that Brexit has no bearing on their decision on whether or not to change roles. With technological advancements at the top of the agenda for many organisations it is of no surprise that 78% of those surveyed stated technology skills are those most needed for businesses to meet their objectives over the next 12 months. Managerial and Leadership are the next highest anticipated skills requirements as organisations seek to restructure and set themselves up for future success, with the right leadership teams. For candidates looking to move on from their current role, utilising a recruitment agency is still the most popular channel for sourcing that next career move, with LinkedIn following closely behind. Interestingly approaching an organisation directly or via their career website is ranked down in fourth place by candidate. Work life balance is the most important factor when considering a move for the majority of candidates, and 55% of the companies surveyed felt that they offered good or excellent work life balance but a number still have work to do with the remaining 45% feeling their work-life balance is poor or average. Compensation is still featured but only sits as the third highest with 56% of candidates stating it was the most important factor for them to consider when thinking about a career change. Flexible working and work-life balance is valued most highly by employees yet is ranked down in fourth place by employers, highlighting there is still a disparity between what companies see as key motivators for attracting top talent and what candidates say are the factors most likely to influence them when choosing a new role. Career progression options are seen as less important to candidates yet conversely organisations consider career progression and new challenges (61% and 63% respectively) to be the most important thing in order to be able to retain top talent. For HR Teams it looks like the challenges of 2016 are set to continue and businesses will need to work even harder to retain their top talent in a market that sees candidates changing roles on an increasingly regular basis. And with Article 50 yet to be triggered the real impact of Brexit is yet to be seen. Watch this space!

Brexit is certainly the hot topic of the moment. The immediate shock of the vote to leave, and subsequent crashing of the pound, has left many concerned about the economy and what impact the decision will have on their own roles and lifestyles. With the true long-term impact of the vote yet to be seen, there were some initial knee-jerk announcements made by commercial businesses about possible downsizing and potential relocation of roles. This, coupled with the media warnings of a forthcoming long and enduring recession in light of the uncertainty in the market, meant many were left wondering how the UK would survive outside of the European Union. In truth, no one really knows what the future will hold: this is a new situation for the UK, as well as the European as a whole. Already there are rumours that the actual exit could be delayed until late 2019 and reports on the performance of the economy have not been as bad as initially forecast; despite the construction sector seeing a downturn, the UK is still showing growth (albeit at a slower rate). Longer term, tough times are still being forecast, but for the immediate future many companies seem to be holding fast and continuing with business as usual. The McGregor Boyall Brexit Report 2016 surveyed all sectors and found that 65% of respondents said the decision to leave the EU had not impacted their immediate hiring plans and 76% stated it was business as usual. Only six per cent stated that they would need to relocate roles to Europe as a result of the leave vote. That being said, only ten per cent of organisations have a contingency plan in place to support their business through the exit, and for HR professionals this means there will be some really interesting implications for their roles in the future. This could impact a number of areas: Should free movement within Europe be restricted, HR and talent acquisition specialists will need to put in place contingency plans to be able to attract talent from other locations, or find other creative solutions to build talent pools. What these plans could look like however, will be impacted by any legislation the government puts in place to support the movement of talent from other countries, as well as potential training strategies businesses will need to develop their own talent pools. Employee engagement and retention will become even more critical should free movement be halted. It will become vital to retain top talent, so talent management and strong internal career development, employee benefits and wellbeing will become core minimum skill requirements. Organisational design, change and transformation will be skill sets in increased demand as organisations work to define new structures and realign business verticals to support growth and operations as the new market begins to take shape.   As the government wishes to encourage growth, particularly in the digital technology space, HR professionals who work as consultants, or who specialise in supporting new start-up businesses from a human capital perspective, will be in increasingly high demand. Employee relations specialists with extensive knowledge of international employment law will also be in high demand to support organisations and guide them through the changes as new legislation comes in. These ever-changing times present interesting challenges and demands for the HR profession, meaning having astute and commercially-minded individuals will be essential to the success of a business. Ultimately the message is that the outlook is uncertain, and no one really knows what the future is going to look like, but in the meantime most organisations are working on the premise of business as usual. For businesses, ascertaining success or failure will be about ensuring their organisations are as flexible and adaptable as possible in order to be able to react quickly as the changes start to take shape.

Does Technology drive what we do instead of enabling it? In 2007 the first generation iPhone was launched. It took two years for Samsung to respond with their own smart phone offering. Since then we have seen the rise of tablets, the launch of the smart watches and you can now pay for your shopping with your mobile phone. Now it seems there is always a new product being launched, but a piece of technology can be exciting and innovative one day and out of date the next. As consumers this is the world we now live in but the corporate world is struggling to keep up, often finding that processes and work can actually be prohibited by systems rather than enabled.   For a good 40+ years the business world remained fairly constant and largely leaps and bounds ahead of the consumer when it came to technology. Organisations were generally very structured and process driven with little change or innovation to contend with. As times have progressed and advancements in technologies have become more and more rapid, it has become more difficult, particularly for large scale businesses, to be nimble and agile enough to keep up with the changes, particularly because of the huge costs that are associated with upgrading company systems and technologies. Instead, add-ons to existing systems to “make do” and act as a band aid to technological issues are implemented as short term solutions. As a result many businesses have ended up with complex and unwieldy systems that are incredibly complex, inefficient and hard to unravel. From an HR perspective technology is an important tool to enable employee engagement. Technology should be liberating not limiting, but so often businesses allow technology to drive what they do rather than enabling it. HR technology has traditionally operated in a bubble, when in fact it should have synergy with other company and financial systems to ensure consistency across the business, which in turn can drive productivity, create efficiencies and build an agile and profitable organisation. HR Departments need to rethink their partnership with technology. Before implementing a new system does anyone ever say – “this is what we would like to achieve, so what are our options?” It is always good practice to go out and talk to people, get their feedback and learn from their experiences, but how many of us actually do? From a HR perspective a good IT system should empower managers to be able to access transactional information themselves, enabling HR to focus more on the strategic and value-add dimensions of the role. However, managers probably feel this should be the other way around – so how do you use technology to meet in the middle? Another challenge for HR Teams to contend with regarding technology is this “culture of entitlement” that exists amongst the younger generation. In their personal lives, they have access to all the technology they could desire and they expect that at work as well. With business predominantly focused on their consumers first and foremost, budgets for technological advancements will often be allocated to this space first, with employees being a secondary priority. This means that employees have access to the latest technologies outside of work long before they do inside. Those businesses that have been able to implement technological improvements for both consumers and employees at the same time have been rewarded with a high level of employee engagement and an excellent brand image, making them highly desirable places to work. But these are few and far between. The rise of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has provided employees with more choice, but the challenge then becomes ensuring a consistent employee experience that keeps up with these technology advances, whilst also ensuring cost efficiencies are maintained. With business cycles traditionally operating on a monthly / quarterly / annual basis and the world of technology changing almost daily, one of the biggest challenges facing business today is creating a work place fit for the 21st Century.

The customer experience has emerged as the one of the most important measures for success for companies across all industries. With consumers now saturated by choice, businesses now have to focus on delivering superior customer experiences in order to differentiate themselves in the market. With every purchase made customers are now invited to review their experience, rate the product or leave feedback for the company. With the advent of smart phones and social media a negative comment or review can be around the world in a few seconds. Yet the needs of those who are responsible for providing that superior customer experience, the employees, are often overlooked. Businesses are so focused on customer satisfaction, how often do they measure employee satisfaction? All investment in technology and the user experience are customer focused, yet even the most advanced organisations within the technology sector provide antiquated systems and processes for their employees to use. Studies have shown that both customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction jointly affect an organisation’s success. This represents a real opportunity for HR departments to be more strategic, as they are the custodians of the “employee experience”. How do you put your employees in the right frame of mind so as to get the best performances out of them? HR should be about informing the organisation on what people are thinking and feeling with regards to their job and their environment, not just about providing numbers around headcount. In reality it all comes down to trust. If you don’t trust the people you have hired why did you hire them in the first place? Yet HR so often start from a position of mistrust believing the employees are like “Reverse Superman” – people who are creative, thought provoking and high achieving outside of work i.e. “Superman” enter the work place and become “Clark Kent”, treated as though they leave their brains at the door, tied up in rules and policies. Creativity can’t be automated whereas processes and systems can. So businesses should invest in creativity and put trust in their employees. It is also about collaboration. Many organisations could transform their employee experience if each department collaborated more instead of sticking to individual silos, yet this is often met with resistance. The issue is that HR Teams often don’t feel empowered to make any of these changes to allow such creativity. As an HR Leader you have performance objectives that look at headcount, because that is measurable and can be shown against the bottom line. You are unlikely to ever be targeted against objectives that look at employee engagement and satisfaction, even if you conduct surveys as part of your role. Businesses shy away from this because it’s hard to measure, yet they often have whole departments dedicated to measuring the satisfaction and engagement of their customers. Perhaps it is time to apply some of the principles we apply to the customer experience to the employee experience. Should businesses start segmenting the work force the way they segment their customers in order to provide a tailored working experience? This might be something for the future but what about actually asking their employees how they would build their work place. The rise in popularity of company review sites like Glassdoor means that businesses can’t hide away from this for much longer. Businesses have a framework for delivery that is 20th Century but the world has moved on and it is time for companies to redefine what they expect from their employees. The DNA of most organisations can prevent them from modernising, resulting in quality staff leaving for start-ups or companies that they perceive to be more innovative. It is time for organisations to embrace innovation and empower their employees so they can provide that all important customer experience.

It's not just about Millennials - it's about a multi-generational workforce Workplaces have always had multiple generations working side by side – this is nothing new. However, with people now required to work for longer than ever before and with the next generation of workers coming through we are starting to see up to five generations in the workforce for the first time. Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials (otherwise known as Generation Y) and the soon to enter the workforce Generation Z or the Silent Generation, so called because of the amount of time spent on-line. This creates huge challenges for businesses, which need to consider how they adapt their environments to cater for multiple generations in the workplace, rather than obsessing about whether or not they have a “Strategy for Millennials.” Two of these groups now make up the majority of the workforce, and it is on those we will focus our attention. On the one hand you have Generation X – digital tourists, who are comfortable with texting or email but generally prefer to pick up the phone or go and chat to someone face to face. The need for real human interaction is still dominant. They are used to a working culture where productivity is often measured by the number of hours you are sat at your desk and ideas such as “flexible working” and “work-life balance” where non-existent. Then there are the Millennials – digital natives, who are used to operating in a virtual world where everything is instant. They use their phones to send instant messages, take photos and update everyone on what they had for breakfast rather than actually speaking to each other. Show them a floppy disk and they think someone has 3D printed the “Save” icon. They expect to have two profiles (work / personal) but one device – a single tool for all their virtual interactions. Millennials are likely to have come from an environment where both their parents worked and therefore place a greater premium on a work-life balance. For Generation X the novelty of the “24x7 always available” culture has worn off and we are now seeing more boundaries put in place to ensure people do take proper breaks where they really switch off from work. However, there is still a perception in businesses that it is only women who want flexible working whereas in reality this is not the case – in fact Millennials expect to be given the option to work flexibly. This is a real cultural shift for businesses and they are struggling to get it right. There seems to be a disconnect between organisations who are either great at offering flexible working but lack the technology to fully support it, or companies that are great with technology but don’t offer the flexible working.  Getting this balance right is a real challenge for HR Teams. So how do you reinvent organisations for Millennials whilst also catering for the other generations? It comes down to creating the right employee experience through offering a choice. Businesses are finding they have to unlearn what they learnt in the 20th Century and that is a daunting task. We now live in a society where people can sell their time and skills in the virtual world with relative ease. People no longer look for a career path; instead it is about building a portfolio of skills and experiences. Employees now have to be able to operate in the virtual and non virtual world – but while Gen X may lack the social skills to operate the digital world, so Millennials may end up lacking the social skills to operate in the real world. So the challenge for businesses is balancing both worlds whilst also creating an environment that caters for all generations. In the end it comes down to being able to offer people a choice in the way they work. 

In a world where technology seems to advance every day, it goes without saying that the ‘digital age’ has had a huge impact on the way organisations hire and attract their talent.   According to a 2014 Report by OFCOM, 61% of UK households now have a smart phone and 44% have a tablet meaning people now spend an extra two hours a day on media and communications. With so many social media platforms and digital products accessible to all, attracting potential employees and raising brand awareness in the market has never been easier. Or so it may seem... Certainly the need to engage with these platforms and products is now a key part of any talent acquisition strategy and this is evidenced up by our recent survey where 92% of respondents said social media platforms were a key part of their talent attraction strategy.  However, what impact is the increasing use of digital technology having on the talent acquisition process? For large global organisations with established brands, digital media has given them a direct communication path to potential candidate pools, enabling initial touch points to be consistent and easy through clever use of apps and mobile friendly sites. This was highlighted by our research which showed 68% of respondents had redesigned their career sites over the last 12 months to provide an improved user experience for those showing interest in their organisation and applying for potential positions. However, if ensuring your career site is mobile and tablet friendly is resulting in increased candidate pools, how do you then drill down through the noise to find the best talent?  This is where the human touch comes in. Human interaction remains a core part of the talent acquisition process, from pro-actively identifying the right talent, to building relationships and engaging with individuals.  This is especially apparent when looking for specialist roles and hard to fill skill-sets. Whilst social media has made it easier for organisations to reach a wider audience, there are no guarantees it will produce candidates with the right skills in markets with candidate shortages. This is where the digital tools, need to be supplemented by a pro-active approach to finding talent, by utilising an in house recruitment function or a third party. For smaller organisations, digital innovations and social media have been key to building brand and market awareness around their business. Increased connectivity means that they are able to cleverly use social media to attract individuals to the business, utilising social networking tools and encouraging existing employees to be highly engaged and build positive online presences and profiles. The downside of such connectivity means that competitors also have an easier route to passive candidates and potentially to the top talent in your own organisation, so engagement and retention becomes an even more important issue. It also means that brand wise, HR have to focus on driving positive media messages - one negative action by an employee can have massive repercussions, especially if it goes viral! When everything from internal employee memos to employee actions can be shared by the world in a matter of seconds, a strong social media policy and effective human communication is key. What the above highlights is that whilst digital tools have had a massive impact on talent acquisition, having a blended talent acquisition strategy supplemented by the human element either in–house or by third parties who can proactively target the best available talent on the market is the best way forward.

Our Procurement & Supply Chain Salary Guide 2017 provides the latest insights on the market, provided by our Procurement & Supply Chain team. 

Our McGregor Boyall Salary Guide 2017 provides the latest insights on the London markets, collected from our internal database. 

Our Scotland Financial Services Salary Guide 2017 provides the latest insights on Scottish markets, collected from our internal database. 

Our Regional Financial Services Salary Guide 2017 provides the latest insights on England's regional markets, collected from our internal database. 

Our Middle East Salary Guide 2017 provides the latest insights on the Middle East regions markets, collected from our internal database. 

Our Marketing & Communications Salary Guide 2017 provides the latest insights on the market provided by our Marketing & Communications team. 

Our HR & Talent Management Salary Guide 2017 provides the latest insights on the market provided by our HR & Talent Management team.