Market Insights

There is no denying the last few months of Coronavirus has forced us to look at everything in an entirely new way. The impact of the Pandemic has been so far reaching and we’ve all felt it in one form or another. Now that there is a glimmer of hope that we’re starting to come out the other side, the future can once again, be viewed with cautious optimism. I want to take a moment to reflect on these events and share my thoughts and experiences over the last few months.

1. The saying 'we're all in it together' has never felt more true - as a small business owner who was only 6 months in business before Covid-19 hit, I was truly shocked by people's genuine concern for my welfare. The amount of calls I received to check in and make sure I was ok and to see how the downturn was personally affecting me, was genuinely appreciated. I certainly made sure my time was spent staying connected with people and 'checking in' on those who I thought might appreciate a call.

2. The pandemic created a 'levelling' effect, the conversations between clients and candidates became much more personalised and there was much more open dialogue about what was happening in people's lives. It has felt like people's walls and insecurities came down by sharing personal things about financial situations, mental health and the challenges of working from home and remote learning. Video Conferencing also gave us an insight into people's personal lives, with pets and kids and personal belongings in the background.

3. Increased contract demand - I clearly remember working in the Investment Banking market in London through the GFC. This situation followed the exact same pattern. The news breaks and people panic. Businesses pivot to address market changes and skill specific resources are engaged to address business vulnerabilities, weaknesses, make improvements and keep delivering. As a contract recruiter, I am very grateful to be positioned where I am in a market like this.

4. The importance of good leadership and open communication - many of my clients have had to stand a number of staff down indefinitely or reduce their hours/days to some extent. The overwhelming feeling from the candidate market is the way it was handled and communicated has a direct correlation to loyalty and retention. Many candidates who have had their days reduced feel like they have been backed into a corner. They have been retained to some degree but also have the freedom to find other work in the short term, while still having the carrot of a return to work when possible but with no commitment. It’s a very confusing proposition for many. Meanwhile many clients have wanted to discuss a strategy to be able to scale up as quickly as they scaled down. There are so many variables in this equation and it's a difficult predicament but it's very easy to see that those businesses who communicated openly and valued their people will have a loyal workforce waiting to return to their jobs.

5. Psychology of the contractor market - many of the roles I have been working on are business critical projects with short term skill specific needs. The psychology of the contractor market is cyclical and it's changing at pace right now as the market does. Typical of a market downturn though, candidates have been happy to take what they can get, clients getting a good deal/value for money. As we start to see more opportunity hit the market in the coming months (hopefully), this will create more candidate movement and eventually start to drive contractor rates up again. For the time being though, we will see favour towards security and long term potential as the risk to unemployment and job numbers remains.

6. New ways of working - I've really enjoyed my client conversations recently discussing their expectations of post pandemic work life; what changes will remain, what will change moving forward and the danger of going back to the old normal. I have not spoken to one client who says they will expect everyone to be office based 5 days per week after this which creates some exciting new prospects for talent sourcing when location isn't a deterrent. While many are keen to return to the office and some like more flexibility, it will be interesting to see if that creates a disadvantage for either group.

I've remained optimistic throughout the last few months and feel excited about what prospects are ahead as I truly believe this market will create some great new opportunities, it's certainly a privilege to witness such significant change in my lifetime.