Technology is advancing at a phenomenal rate and this is having an impact on the way we live and work. Social media tools and on-line job boards have had a big impact on the Recruitment Industry globally. As a result, I am often asked whether this is the end of the recruitment industry as it exists today and why would companies use a recruiter to source staff if they have all of these tools available at their desks?
The global reach of social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter should allow savvy companies to open the floodgates for highly skilled candidates. As a result, the role of the recruiter should be diminishing in terms of relevance. However, this is not the case. We are seeing a significant growth in the recruitment industry.
A 2014 survey of the £26.5 billion sector has shown that 69% of recruitment companies surveyed were reporting an increase year on year in fee income. 65% of companies planned to open more offices with many looking at global expansion. This would work against the social media sourcing logic outlined above. So what is it that is driving the growth?
Many companies have chosen to outsource their recruitment activities to specialist agencies, they have also moved contract labour to the recruitment sector for ease of management and the shortage of key technical skills is making it harder to find top class professional candidates. The race for talent is very competitive across the multinational and large scale indigenous sector as the open positions exceeds the available, suitable talent.
This combination of factors in my view leaves plenty of room for recruitment companies to not only survive, but continue to grow and develop. The key for the recruitment companies is that they have to adapt to changing technology and the market their in, to survive and thrive.
Recruiters need to embrace change and continue to emphasise why there will always be a role for those companies that are nimble enough to navigate the market.
Brian Flynn has a number of years’ high level experience in executive search, particularly within the pharmaceutical, biotech and agribusiness sectors.
He has also held senior HR positions with Schering Plough and Glaxo Smith Kline, and is a former Regional Director with IBEC.
He has a Masters degree in Psychology, is a Fellow of the CIPD, and a former member of the National Committee of the CIPD.
He has also lectured in HR and Psychology at WIT and NUI Maynooth.
CareerWise Recruitment. EastGate Village, EastGate, Little Island, Cork.
Phone: +353 (0) 21 206 1900
Email: info@careerwise.ie