What's Happening in the HR Recruitment Market at the End of 2023

ayshakhatunasha

In recent years, many companies and organizations have sought to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions, recognizing that this contributes to improved business results, increased innovation and diversity, as well as a stronger reputation and talent attraction. The increase in the number of women in top management is one of the global HR trends that reflects changes in social norms, economic conditions and global challenges. We asked Alla Isaeva, founder of the consulting company "Administrative Resource", what else is happening today in the HR recruitment market.

What's happening in the HR recruiting market at the end of 2023. Photo 1
Your company recently celebrated its birthday. I'm sure you were summing up what you've done and planning for the future. Have your clients' needs changed? What was the top service? What will you "focus" on next year? How do HR agencies adapt to changes in the needs and expectations of clients and candidates?

— Thank you. Yes, in early October we celebrated the company's 11th anniversary. In the format of corporate training and team building in the quest "Fort Boyard", we talked about what we have done and thought about the future, which we look to with optimism. The needs of clients and candidates vary constantly. Over eleven years in the labor market, we have felt all, or almost all, the fluctuations that occur in both the economy and business. And, as a result, in the requests of our clients. If we talk about the outgoing year, I would say that Belarusian business worked in conditions of uncertain certainty, overcoming obstacles and finding new directions for development. Hence the need for personnel who are ready and able to enter new markets, bring in promising economic partners, calculate risks and choose optimal solutions. There remains a great demand for highly qualified specialists who quickly adapt and can reach efficiency metrics, bringing benefits to the company in the shortest possible time.

In our company, the selection of rare specialists and top managers remains the flagship service. This is due to the fact that there is a shortage of such specialists on the labor market and it is difficult for companies to find such personnel on their own. However, we also see an increased demand for consulting services or a package of services, for example, selection + individual salary study + mystery shopper or personnel assessment + individual salary study. And, in my opinion, the reason for this is the increased concern of the client for the brand and reputation of the business. Companies strive to retain valuable employees and create effective teams, for this they create a comfortable environment for building long-term relationships with employees. And such services as personnel assessment, HR brand research, corporate training, mystery shopper help to see and assess the current situation with personnel and determine steps for effective development.

The share of the service "individual salary research" has increased. And here an interesting situation has developed. There are clients who specifically request this service, and there is another story. We are regularly contacted by companies that have not been able to fill a position for a long time. The project manager begins to understand the situation and finds out that the offer is "not in the market". That is, it is necessary to either raise the level of the proposed salary, or take a less experienced employee. During the negotiations, the client realizes that he first needs a clear understanding of who and how much should be paid today. An individual salary research provides just this understanding. As a result, taking into account the conducted research and adjustment of the job offer, the vacancy can be filled within 2-3 weeks. (For reference: the share of consulting projects this year has grown from 20 to 35% in the company's project portfolio).

Next year we will continue to focus on consulting services and monitoring. We see great potential in this area and want to be the market leader in this area.

HR agencies, like all businesses, are forced to work in new conditions of risks and opportunities that they have not yet encountered. The administrative resource has definitely become more flexible in its approach to work, offering a variety of partnership agreements and cooperation models. If we talk about the geography of services, companies are interested in developing international partnerships with colleagues from other countries. In today's realities, especially in the search for IT specialists, limiting the search to one region is no longer effective and of little use. Therefore, it is important for a recruiter to be able to search for candidates in different markets, and this often requires, in addition to "recruiting" skills, knowledge of at least English for building communication.
One of the most important components virtual phone number service  that helps agencies adapt to changes in the needs and expectations of clients and candidates is a close-knit and supportive team of like-minded people. We often receive requests from companies that want to organize team-building trainings for their employees. All our trainings are based on our own experience. We have gone through them ourselves and know that they really work.

HR is about people. Have clients' approaches to forming their teams changed? What skills and competencies does an employer want to see in a candidate first? And what is important to a candidate when choosing a place to work?



— First of all, the employer wants to see in the candidate the skills and competencies necessary to perform specific tasks in the company. This was, is and will be. People come to our agency to find such professionals. Companies prefer to hire employees from their field: if earlier they could look wider, take a specialist with the opportunity to learn, now they count on quick adaptation and effective cooperation. The employer is looking for a candidate with strong expertise and developed skills in one field and abilities, knowledge, a broad outlook in related fields. The market needs employees who can work effectively in a rapidly changing environment. I think that such specialists will be in high demand next year. Adaptability and antifragility of employees are very important — flexibility, resistance to unfavorable situations with the ability to quickly adapt and recover with the ability to reach a new level of development. This allows the employee to remain healthy and effective even with high work intensity. Employers pay great attention to experience in a team, the ability to build communication. They pay attention to the ability and motivation to "grow" in the profession. It is important for the company whether the candidate shares the corporate culture and values.