By-lined article written by Dave Morgan, MD at Online Recruitment company, eRecruit Solutions

Introduction

Large scale redundancies, high numbers of job applications for scarce vacancies and pressure to recruit at the lowest possible cost are all challenges our industry faces over the next 12 months. How the human resources industry reacts to these pressures and what it will look like after the recession remains uncertain. Yet despite the lack of clarity there are some things we can count on, argues Dave Morgan, Managing Director of eRecruit Solutions.

Challenges - Internal verses External

The human resources industry is currently facing a testing time. The past six months have seen thousands of redundancies, reduced wages, new working practices and shorter working weeks, in almost every industry throughout the UK economy. These changes have dramatically affected the HR function and have had a lasting effect on the industry.

The current internal challenges faced by HR professionals are monumental, and a glance into the future shows the external issues facing us all during the next six months will not be any easier.

The current economic crisis has had a number of external affects; the two most direct are a) fewer employment opportunities for job seekers to apply for, and, b) an increased number of high quality jobseekers on the market applying for vacancies. These two issues are accompanied by internal pressure to use low cost recruitment methods in order to keep to ever-tightening budgets, and have resulted in large numbers of HR teams seeking a more time- and cost-effective recruitment source.

Although direct advertising appears to immediately reduce costs, the indirect cost is often much higher with companies paying higher advertisement fees due to one-off placements and HR teams struggling to cope with the volume of applications in terms of CV acknowledgement, CV sifting and screening, while other internal HR challenges remain.

Theí traditionalí recruitment agency model is, and always will, offer a time-saving alternative, although the high costs remain the same. This has meant that many organisations are cleverly switching to cutting-edge alternative recruitment companies and RPO.

2009 - The Road Ahead

The next 12 months will have a profound effect upon the human resources industry. Research carried out with corporate human resources managers has shown a number of trends that point towards significant medium/long term changes in how the industry operates. The most significant changes facing the industry during the next 12 months include: -

ï Cost-cutting recruitment methods – this is likely to be one of the major 2009 trends as organisations are forced to tighten their belts in all areas

ï Overwhelming candidate choice – is an issue that will face almost every human resources department in the UK as high numbers of redundancies has flooded the market with jobseekers

ï Communicating changes in internal corporate strategy - implementing and communicating internal changes within organisations will become a key task as corporate strategy continues to adapt and respond to market conditions

ï Low levels of staff motivation – are likely to be another issue caused by dealing with the traditional repercussions following corporate redundancies

ï Increasing speculative approaches from recruitment agencies – all of which are searching for scarce new business opportunities, and keen to obtain placement fees

Conclusion

HR departments are facing a greater range of internal and external challenges than ever before. While the next 12 months looks set to offer little optimism, organisations who are looking forwards and are beginning to recruit must consider where and how they do so. Organisations recruiting may believe that direct advertising is easier than ever, however, the quantity and quality of job hunters on the market provides human resources professionals with a double edged sword.

Despite the obstacles the industry faces, the positive side is to look at the quality of HR professionals within the industry. Our discipline is not immune from redundancy and a recession that reduces the number of employees within a sector can often leave the market with the best professionals in the business.

eRecruit Solutions is an innovative flat-fee online recruitment business helping companies slash their recruitment costs. The business was established in 2008 and is run by a team of experiences human resources professionals. Dave Morgan is the UK Managing Director.