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

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.

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 20^th 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. 

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!

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.

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 21^st Century.

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.

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.