“In the three months since our last City market update I am very pleased to report a marked and sustained improvement in activity across the sector,” reports Dona Battat, who runs the company’s City team.

The general sense that the financial services sector appears to be two quarters ahead of the rest of the economy would appear to be the case. Whilst Q1 2009 was a testing time for all HR professionals looking for a role in the City, we now appear to have entered a period of gradual and continued improvement in the market. We were, of course, working from an unprecedented low base at the beginning of 2009 but now, almost six months on, the truth is that our activity, opportunities and success have doubled since the start of this year.

However, although there are opportunities, and some very attractive ones at that, without a doubt, the landscape is changing and for City HR professionals, survival (and advancement) of the fittest certainly springs to mind. Companies remain ‘mission critical’ in their outlook as they continue to become increasingly commercial and look more closely at business needs and the role HR plays within that.

Ongoing M&A activity across many financial and professional services companies has provided fresh HR opportunities for very specific skill sets - alongside the inevitable downsizing. Further downsizing of some international companies has reduced the need for some senior HR roles, as management is retrenched back to head offices overseas, for example. Conversely, specialist areas such a Private Wealth Management have increased their need for dedicated HR specialists to their businesses. Despite some encouraging transaction figures recently in the real estate sector, the market there remains extremely vulnerable.

At present there simply aren’t the new openings for the available exceptional learning, talent, recruitment and graduate recruitment professionals to shine. The major focus, unsurprisingly, remains around a need for outstanding senior HR Business Partners with relevant business experience, Reward professionals and Employee Relations experts. The activity we are experiencing is very specific and very exacting - organisations that have headcount release are looking for almost the perfect candidate with, ironically, a minimal risk factor. It may come as no surprise that Compensation & Benefits opportunities alone in the City are currently accounting for almost a third of our current requirements. We’ve also seen interesting blends of positions as companies try and cover two areas with one headcount.

Exceptionally talented HR professionals with the required skill sets are gradually beginning to take up new roles. Whilst we had a dearth of opportunities for several months, now some of the best candidates are at final stages for several roles and receiving offers simultaneously - much to the chagrin of their potential employers.

Careers have taken different paths; many investment banking candidates, for example, are now working in private equity and venture capital having followed their previous clients into some of these newer organisations. As a result Digby Morgan is forming new client relationships with an increasing number of City SMEs which is good news for the future. Uncertainty and change remain constant in the City but there is a growing sense that talented employed candidates are at least keen to ‘see what is happening out there’ although there still remain some fears of ‘last in, first out’. And lastly, it seems, candidates are now realistic about a bonus now being a bonus.


top l Printable content