Amongst other sectors, Digby Morgan’s Thames Valley office reports a growth in demand from SMEs – sometimes investing in HR expertise for the first time. Andy Montgomery expands further.

The market in the Thames Valley has also been improving over the last few months and, without doubt, we have seen an increased amount of work coming from a number of SMEs across the region. During the last six months, we have been working to build relationships with potential clients through our involvement with the local Chambers of Commerce and CIPD forums in the M3/ M4/M40 corridors. As a consequence, we have been able to work with a number of SMEs in a variety of sectors including the IT, services and the supply chain sectors.

Despite tight economic conditions, many SMEs have needed to either replace HR professionals who have moved on or, indeed, have hired their first HR person to join the leadership team. In fact, we recently worked with a senior business leader who asked us to work with an organisation with no previous in-house HR to help scope new HR roles and remuneration specifics and to identify the type of people best suited.

In an increasing legislative commercial environment with employee disputes and tribunals - and their potentially costly implications - increasingly becoming an everyday fact of business life, the need for a strong HR generalist to join the team has never been stronger. Also, with the value of a motivated, engaged work force being recognised as key for the broader success of a business, the HR professional is often the person who can holistically see the culture of a business, recognise it s strengths and weaknesses and work to cohesively tie it together. And, of course, we mustn’t forget that the Head of HR can often prove a great independent sounding board for the MD of an SME – in itself, often a pretty lonely role.

Having now been recruiting in the Thames Valley from our location in Reading for the last two years, we are pleased to say that our candidate flow is now stronger than ever. Without a doubt, the past year has been challenging: not just for those out of work, but also for those who may have ‘sat tight’ and put off taking that next step in their career arguing: ‘better the devil you know’.

However, confidence is certainly, albeit cautiously, returning and both candidate and client activity is moving in the right direction. 2010 is set to be an interesting year in the Thames Valley.


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