Centres of excellence to produce future leaders

Professional services firms with established business partner models are trying to transition their staff between the different centres of excellence, to produce effective future leaders. The business partner model arguably restricts the number of well rounded generalists needed for managerial positions: this approach attempts to rectify this.

Learning and development professionals still sought after

There has been a continued demand for learning and development professionals as last year’s projects are now in the implementation stage. Increased man power is needed to drive new implementations, and to provide ongoing support for the maintenance of new practices. A particular focus on e-learning is also visible as global organisations continue to reap the benefits of a globally accessible function.

HR professionals with strong negotiation skills in high demand

HR professionals with proven experience of liaising and negotiating with trade unions are highly desirable ― particularly within the FMCG and manufacturing sectors ― for the purposes of opening up lines of communication and improving employee engagement.

Experienced recruiters with social media expertise snapped up

As many businesses look to establish their online brand, employers are in the market for experienced recruiters who can lead direct sourcing campaigns using social media.

Senior level HR professionals needed by smaller global firms

Smaller global organisations are recognising the need to establish their HR function by bringing in experienced senior level HR professionals with experience of setting up HR policies, and creating alignment across the business at an operational and strategic level.

Interims prove hot property for financial services firms

Interims with experience of restructures and change management remain in high demand, particularly for those financial services firms that are continuing to offshore central functions, such as finance and IT.
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Online portal migration requires management

“There has been an increase in HR project management and HR systems roles to fulfil the tight deadlines around the role out of new HR systems, flexible benefits and payroll. Professionals with these skill sets are highly sought after to set up online tools that are easily accessible by employees and ultimately cut costs, as the sophisticated portal reduces the need for staff to deal with questions, sickness and absence leave.”

OD specialists wanted for efficiency roles

“As a further result of the role out of new HR software systems, there has been an increase in the demand for organisational development (OD) specialists who are involved in streamlining organisations, concentrating talent and reducing unnecessary expenditure to manage the migration to the new systems.”

Specialist interim roles for rewards and graduate programs

“Interim roles are still focused on specialist areas, with reward and graduate development seeing requirements for interim staff most recently. Reward analyst roles have been required to support with the extra workload in administering the 2013 bonus rounds. The change in business focus over the past few years has resulted in a requirement to review the ‘curriculum’ for graduate programmes, ensuring that they are aligned to the current business challenges.”

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Organisations look for competitive advantage with recruitment of reward professionals

“Our clients have told us reward professionals with the ability to establish and embed performance management matrices are highly desirable at present, as organisations look to achieve more consistent ways of achieving results. Companies are beginning to recognise that professionals with proven experience of developing a reward and benefits infrastructure that reinforces the right behaviours and delivery of results can offer them a distinct competitive advantage.”

ER Managers needed for resolution of complex issues

“We’ve been told that ER Managers are in high demand as organisations increase their capability to deal with complex issues recognising that the timely resolution of employee matters is essential to avoiding costs longer-term.”

HR interims prove essential to reluctant law firms

“With a residual hesitancy to commit to headcount growth, clients have reported law firms continue to make use of HR interims to solve their need for operational and strategic HR advice.”

Development prized as essential to employee retention

“As companies seek to engage and retain high performers by developing staff at all levels, our clients report they are placing renewed emphasis on the recruitment of talent and leadership development professionals.”

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Compensation and benefits specialists in demand

Organisations continue their preparation for pension auto-enrollment with the appointment of compensation and benefits specialists on an interim basis. The pressure to prepare internally for the staging dates and ensure that communication with external suppliers remains strong has led to an additional need for external assistance to ensure new systems kick in seamlessly.

Strategic skills gap for HR business partners

The next generation of HR business partners remains an ongoing challenge for organisations to bring through internally. The shortcomings of an operational model that pushes the majority of HR professionals into a transactional rather than strategic route means there is a shortfall in suitable applicants. This is consistent throughout all locations and industries.

Government investing in HR shared services

Central government bodies are seeking expertise in HR shared service set up as they continue to merge and change structure.

SMEs recruiting in-house HR professionals

Small to medium sized organisations remain committed to growing their direct attraction capability by hiring in-house recruiters.

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Do the best HR Business Partners (HRBPs) come from the business and learn their HR skills in the role – or can you teach an HR person all the necessary business skills to ensure the right impact? We’ve been talking to some top HR Directors (HRDs) who’ve shared their thoughts on why the best HRBPs are a very rare breed indeed.

We asked what exceptional qualities set the best HRBPs apart, and where success has come in finding them. We found examples at both ends of the HR/business sourcing spectrum and also heard about some great HRBPs who’ve built their business partnering excellence in completely different functions – from finance through communications to IT! What matters most is the ability to genuinely get under the skin of the business area you support; relate to the challenges faced, and present insightful solutions. That means talking in terms of commercial drivers and impact on the bottom line or productivity – not simply HR drivers. HRDs also told us that what made great HRBPs stand out was being big picture rather than task-orientated; being the enabler rather than the do-er; being able to coach and coax heightened performance in others.

So does everyone have what it takes to be a top HRBP? Our sample of HRDs thought not. There are relatively few people who can influence and challenge stakeholders; deliver results with and through people; problem solve and analyse and perhaps most notably, assess the business outcome, not the ‘HR’ outcome. It’s clear that the secret to successful sourcing is to truly understand the position, the business culture the different scenarios the HRBP will face. Understanding the profile is invaluable for everyone involved in the recruitment process and enables a search beyond the HR ‘norm’ to find a wider pool of fantastic potential candidates.

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The need to optimise the costs of recruitment has created a demand for experienced recruiters in the Midlands while Sussex has seen a rise in demand for HR experts with international expertise.

Mergers and acquisitionsdrive the continued demand for contractual HR project managers to manage resources through the takeover process and contractors are also increasingly required to fill HR vacancies in the public sector.

Demand for recruitment managers in the Midlands

We have been advised that companies in the Midlands are hiring experienced recruiters to maximise return on recruitment spend. This comes as a result of the recent growth in the local business community, where confidence is returning to forecasts as the region benefits from supply chain investment by major companies.

International experience required in Sussex

Clients have reported an increased demand in Brighton and Gatwick for HR experts with international expertise. This comes as international companies with head offices in Sussex look to pull their resource in from overseas and control the HR process centrally, whilst still maintaining strong relations abroad.

Continued demand for HR project managers

We have been advised that there will be a continued demand for HR Project managers, hired on a contractual basis. This is because larger organisations are expanding and acquiring other businesses and require specialists to manage resources during the structural and cultural change.

Rise in HR contractors for Public Sector

Our public sector clients have indicated that there will be a rising demand for HR contractors on fixed term assignments to assist with managing change as organisations merge, centralise services and update policy around recent budget cuts and economic conditions.

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We are seeing a demand for HR business partners within automotive and manufacturing as they look to drive efficiency in response to current trading conditions. Currently recruitment processes are elongated as this sector is experiencing skills shortages for senior candidates with proven partnering skills.

There are high levels of demand for senior resourcing professionals in financial services. This is as a result of ongoing change and restructuring.

Recruitment specialists with experience of forming and managing recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) agreements are in demand across central government. This comes as central government departments are looking to maximise savings on volume based agreements.

We’re seeing demand for HR leaders within faster growing SME’s rise, particularly amongst e-commerce businesses. Now that these SME’s are reaching a critical mass they require HR professionals to support sustainable growth strategies.

Demand for transactional recruiters within the natural resources and energy sectors has risen, particularly for those with experience in areas such as emerging international markets or niche technical engineering disciplines. New exploration activity concentrated in emerging countries is driving resourcing projects to facilitate expanded operations, but also increasingly specialised technical disciplines such as sub-sea continue to raise demand for recruiters in this area.

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Britain’s population is ageing as people continue to live longer. In 1971, the proportion of the population under 16 was 25%; by 2008 it has fallen to 19%. At the other end of the scale, the population over the age of 65 has risen from 13% to 16%. By 2031, a quarter of people will be over 65 whereas people under 16 will have fallen to just 18%. The number of people over 90 is expected to triple by 2035.

The implications of these figures for British employers are considerable. According to the CIPD report, over the next ten years there will be 13.5 million job vacancies but only 7 million young people will be leaving full time education. The other 6.5 million workers will need to be recruited amongst the older population.

The CIPD is encouraging companies and individual workers to start adapting to the reality of the demographic situation. It suggests that employers should consider the need to retain employees for longer periods and be prepared to motivate and train older staff. This change will require a shift of perception that values an older workforce for the experience it can bring to a company and for investing more in skill development across the age spectrum.

The CIPD believes that companies that embrace the change will develop a competitive edge over those that refuse to adapt to the changing nature of the country’s labour pool.

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Exposure to managing the HR needs of an international employee population is becoming common currency amongst the HR community with many global businesses opting for HR services to be provided remotely by a central team. Prior experience of local labour laws and trends is often a critical factor in candidate selection so candidates that have worked in Asia Pacific, Africa and/or mainland Europe are often able to command higher salaries as a result.

With new contract wins for UK companies in the North Sea, Iraq, and the re-deployment of staff to Libya, there is currently increased demand for HR professionals with experience of international mobility and contractor management. This is especially true within the oil, gas and mining sectors.

Whilst economic markets remain volatile we are still seeing some recruitment, albeit at lower volumes, within financial services organisations. There is subdued demand across most role types at most levels.

We’re seeing solid levels of demand for technical reward and recruitment specialists within the natural resources, pharmaceuticals and FMCG sectors. This is because these sectors are generally less impacted by short term market shifts and have an international scope so they are generally able to plan their hiring requirements on a longer term basis.

With fewer obstacles to international markets, digital firms are securing business abroad which is driving demand for mid to senior level HR staff. We’re seeing demand for senior HR managers/business partners, heads of HR and HR directors from mid sized technology companies rise as a result.

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Highlights for 2011 included:

•    2011 saw a growth in L&D and change management roles as investment in people was seen as key to growth during economic uncertainty.

•    HR generalists with strong commercial skills were in demand, allowing for streamlining of HR roles and, from HR managers to HR business partners, the HR role became more strategic as business requirements evolved.

We expect a degree of uncertainty to remain throughout 2012 driven by lower confidence in certain markets that will ultimately affect the UK and continued focus on international roles. Key predictions include:

•    In 2012 we expect to see technology companies seizing the opportunity to satisfy consumer convenience and entertainment as well as business’ appetite for driving efficiencies. As a result it is anticipated that newer or start up technology businesses will be best placed to capitalise and this could drive fresh demand for HR professionals.

•    With businesses running so leanly at the moment, we anticipate that, as new budgets get released, there will be rising levels in recruitment throughout 2012. Specialist areas of the progressive agenda such as talent, leadership development, organisational learning and development and resourcing are expected to be in demand going into the second half of 2012 as a result.

•    As both established companies and new ventures offering B2B services or real expertise continue to explore international markets we expect opportunities to be created for internationally experienced HR professionals. This could also lead to more buoyancy in the job market at HR director level where hiring is focussed on bringing in those with strategic clout and a long term view.

How do our predictions stack up against yours?

Tell us what you expect to see from an attraction, retention or talent management point of view within HR during 2012 in the comment box below:

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