Recruitment industry leaders confident but cautious

Leaders in the recruitment and on-hire industry were bullish about 2007 but sounded a note of caution about protecting margins in the face of growing procurement practices, the impact of a possible change of government and a shortage of high calibre managers, at a recent breakfast seminar in NSW.

The RCSA (Recruitment and Consulting Services Association) NSW Breakfast, Industry Heavyweights Face the Challenges of 2007, attended by almost 250 guests, looked at a number of critical issues facing the industry. The overall mood was, however, very upbeat.

PeopleBankís Managing Director Leon Lau said 2007 is going to be bigger and better than 2006. ìI donít see any speed humps on the horizon,î he added.

Paul Lyons, Managing Director of Ambition, said that in an overall strong year in 2006, there were some particular ësweet spotsí in IT and Accounting Recruitment Edgeís Managing Director Tania Kappell agreed.

ì2006 was part of a wave of growth that just seemed to keep going and going. It was particularly positive for boutique agencies like mine,î she said.

However, Manpowerís Managing Director Scott McLachlan warned that an election year and possible change of government created some uncertainty for business.

Some panellists also agreed that their view of preferred supplier agreements (PSA) had become more favourable. Ms Kappell said she no longer needed to be knocking on doors, as companies were now approaching her business with PSAís based on good margins.

ìPSAís do have the potential to squeeze margins, but they also reduce risk. They are good insurance when the market goes down,î Mr Lyons said.

Staff retention and professional standards were also an important issue for every panelist, but their approaches differed.

ìThere is not just one right approach to staff retention ñ itís what works for your company. I would like to have a more flexible workplace, but we havenít quite ironed out the issues yet. Security, in terms of remote access to our database, combined with the large volume of email staff need to answer on a daily basis, still need to be addressed,î Mr Lyon said.

However, Ms Kappellís smaller business has already grappled with these aspects.

ìEven with 11 staff, sometimes it feels like itís just me and the receptionist in the office! We have flexible hours such as nine day fortnights, job-sharing, and the ability to work from home when itís a job like reading CVís, that doesnít require remote access,î she said.

Mr McLachlin explained that a flexible approach to salary packaging, together with Manpowerís ability to get volume discounts on things like insurance or gym memberships, are a key part of the companyís benefits program.