Welcome to the latest issue of Human Resourcefulness.

Although we keep reading in some of the press that the recession is over, our experience in the market is that there is still a degree of uncertainty and we would expect this to continue at least for the rest of the year. Sentiment has certainly improved and we are seeing signs of improvement and, in some areas, an upward trend. Certainly the City and financial services industries generally have seen an upturn in recruitment activity and we are also experiencing an increased demand for interim staff especially at the senior level. This would suggest that companies are beginning to plan for further expansion and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Our colleagues in Digby Morgan offices around the world as well as in the wider Randstad Group are echoing similar experiences.

Whilst this is good news for the industry, there remains no room for complacency from either a candidate or employer perspective. We’re all anticipating a tough time ahead in the UK Public Sector as much heralded cuts take effect and, additionally, the competition for top talent is as acute as ever with candidates still cautious over their next move and employers having to vie with one another to offer the best ‘total reward’ package in order to secure their services.

The HR industry, however, should be proud of how it has managed – and continues to manage - the challenges of the recession. There is a growing acknowledgement in boardrooms across all sectors that effective best practice in HR will continue to ensure that businesses emerge from the recession stronger than ever and better placed to meet the new challenges facing them. HR has well and truly emerged as one of the key professions of the 21st century.

HR Director of the Year

For the fourth year running we were proud and delighted to again support one of the industry’s key annual events, the HR Excellence Awards. Digby Morgan was a title sponsor at Human Resources magazine’s recent Excellence Awards and, in particular, of the award for HR Director of the Year – won, in an online poll of the magazine’s readers, by BT’s Caroline Waters.

Once again I’d like to thank everyone for consistently choosing Digby Morgan to source HR talent and to make career moves. We appreciate the trust and commitment that you have shown in our brand over the past 21 years: something which has been key to our success. I hope you enjoy reading the latest news from Digby Morgan and welcome your feedback on any of the issues we have raised or any ideas for future features.

John Maxted
CEO

Contents l Click on a title to jump to the story.

• City Talk
• Happiness and Success
• Fast Paced SMEs Continue to Recruit
• An Interim Update
• A Relationship Based on Trust
• An update from down under
• The World of Commerce
• Head to Head with Bill McQueen, Group HR Director at Lloyds Register
• Gulf News
• Discrimination and Recruitment
• From Entry to Mid Level
• Networking – Still a Key Skill!
• HR in the Thames Valley
• Leadership Communication: The Challenge to Inspire