Nicola Grimshaw, Digby Morgan’s director responsible for leading the commerce division, gives Human Resourcefulness an update on the state of the market in her sector.

As we enter another new decade we are certainly feeling that there is some positive momentum in the HR recruitment market. The fact that we closed 2009 with a number of exciting new, retained assignments across a wide range of businesses - including the energy, IT and FMCG industries as well as the public sector - gives us hope that not only is a recovery well underway but that it’s also one that is not confined to any one sector.

We’re continuing to work with a number of clients who are undergoing significant HR transformation where the structure of the HR function is changing and this is leading to a number of new and innovative briefs for HR professionals to help take these organisations forward. We’re also seeing the gradual lifting of recruitment freezes and the subsequent demand to rapidly and effectively re-build teams. Additionally and interestingly we’ve also started to take more orders for roles across the recruitment space itself which is possibly a good indicator that we are starting to climb out of the deepest part of the recession.

Our public sector team continues to grow and has successfully been working with some of the third sector 'superbrands' as well as extending our reach into both the London Boroughs and local authorities on a broader, national scale.

I’m delighted to report that throughout 2009 our senior team remained intact and am proud to have a hugely accomplished team working across the senior space. Despite the tough economic conditions, all of our consultants enjoyed success throughout last year and worked across a wide range of retained and executive search mandates. Finally, as we move confidently into 2010, I’m delighted to say that we’ve recently hired a further accomplished HR recruiter to strengthen the team.

It’s going to be an exciting year!


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