The HR Recruitment marketplace has been particularly buoyant during the first quarter of 2006, with Digby Morgan’s activity levels up by nearly 10%. In fact 2006 looks to be a positive year for HR professionals and hiring managers alike, with a high degree of candidate interest and an increasing number of roles opening up as the months progress. In particular, there’s notable activity within the entry to mid market levels of recruitment (graduates, through to professionals earning £45,000) and activity at the senior end of the market is also on the increase, with more and more roles opening up at the £100,000+ mark.

Within the City in particular, there has been a notable increase in HR recruitment with many organisations facing increased attrition and ‘itchy feet’ following bonus payments. Financial services continues to be a buoyant market and we are noticing a distinct resurgence in the TMT sectors. Areas of particular skill scarcity include senior reward specialists and high calibre business partners. Recruitment teams across the City and professional services are also expanding, leading to a demand for recruiters with strong in-house experience as well as graduate recruitment and development skills.

The interim market continues to enjoy considerable growth. This has been fuelled by an increased activity in mergers, integrations and other significant one off projects. Quality interim candidates are often presented with a number of opportunities from which to choose and this has led to increased day rates as demand outstrips supply. This has impacted significantly on the speed with which potential hirers need to make offers, as their preferred interim candidate may simply not be available the following week. Organisations need to act fast to secure the best person for the job. We anticipate further growth during the course of this year as the interim HR market continues to mature.

Our subsidiary, HR Resourcing (HRR) focused on entry level recruitment and HR professionals earning up to £45,000, has experienced a record start to 2006, with the amount of quarterly fees having increased by a record breaking 50% this past quarter. The market still remains very candidate led (fast moving & competitive); there is a dearth of mainstream generalist candidates especially 2nd/3rd jobbers with FTSE 250 HR generalist experience. We believe that this is mainly due to the knock on effect of the down turn in the market at the start of the century (circa 9/11). All forecast results for this year point to at least another 25% growth in the HRR business for FY06/FY07.

The market is also positive from a pay perspective. Digby Morgan produces a biannual review of top quartile salaries, covering key market sectors including The City, Retail Financial Services, Professional Services, IT, Telecoms, FMCG and retail sectors. Our latest salary survey was produced in January 2006, collating up to date salary information of individuals working within the different specialist disciplines of the HR profession.




Overall base levels for HR salaries have increased, year on year, by between 5-10%; however for top performers there was a noticeable increase in variable pay recognising outstanding contribution. The entry and mid market levels of recruitment are extremely buoyant, and base salary levels at the more junior levels for HR consultant and recruitment officers saw higher than average increases.

The market appears to be becoming increasingly buoyant throughout 2006 and we are now noticing many organisations needing to closely review their remuneration packages needed to offer to attract the top talent. If you are interested in reviewing our recent survey of top quartile salaries please contact Claire Mason via mail@digby-morgan.com.

All in all so far this year there has been a high degree of activity and we are excited about making consistently high quality placements across all sectors and all levels of HR for the foreseeable future.

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