Budget. Brexit. What about recruitment

Budget. Brexit. What about recruitment Budget. Brexit. What about recruitment 20 Nov 2017 Jonny Howgego This is likely to be quite an important week in the world of finance. Brexit still dominates the news agenda but a certain little red box will take centre stage on Wednesday.     Autumn Budget The Chancellor will deliver his first autumn budget and there is a lot of expectation around the potential for radical reforms on business rates and tax relief for north-sea oil. There is however also a sizeable swell of opinion that feel Philip Hammond’s red briefcase will be pretty devoid of inspiration when he steps up to the dispatch box on Wednesday. We’ll just have to wait and see but it will be set against a backdrop of significant employment so it will be interesting to analyse the potential fall for both accountancy and recruitment. Brexit Financial White Paper The Government is also expected to publish its Brexit white paper on the financial services landscape this week outlining the potential agreements that will be needed to ensure some continuity post March 2019. There is obviously some serious trepidation around the potential fall out and the risk planners deep inside our financial institutions are bound to be hard at work identifying solutions. Again no one is exactly sure of the content but there have already been calls for a new free trade agreement to allow London and the rest of the country to maintain its financial significance.           Accounting and Finance Recruitment Recruitment is always closely linked to the financial movements of business and no matter what happens as a result of the Budget or Brexit, businesses will need the best talent on hand to support the changes needed. However, these potential macro factors, along with the changing nature of the recruitment industry are making it harder and harder for business to find that talent. According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) agencies will be responsible for 56% of all jobs filled between now and the end of 2018, compared to 45% in 2016. But why is that? The answer would appear to be closely linked too much of what is going on this week. We are currently experiencing a record high in the UK employment rate, coupled with a large slowdown of EU nationals willing to come to the UK in search of work, which is resulting in a “talent pool” getting smaller by the week. JobsOutlook recently ran a survey on 600 employers spread across the UK and found 42% did not have any “spare” employees, and 60% state they are using agencies workers to cover leave and absences of current staff. The Right Talent Pool So what is the solution for those companies looking to bring in the best talent to see them through the difficult times? While the talent pool maybe getting smaller, that only refers to the available talent. As we mentioned the recruitment industry has changed for the better and it is far more reliant on a good relationship between candidates and recruiters rather than a raft of adverts. An experienced recruiter will know and understand their candidate base. They will have good relationships with their customers and will know, in terms of good succession planning, when the right candidate is ready for a move. So don’t just settle for those that are available, find the talent that is right for your company and culture to make sure the uncertainty isn’t amongst your staff.       If you are interested in discussing further the service that Eden Scott can provide please do not hesitate to contact me via email or direct on 0131 550 1149.