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Next edition: 30 November 2006
Talent shortages
It’s not just A&O and other City firms who are forking out pay-hikes to help combat the war on attrition. Recruitment specialists, Manpower Inc, conducted a survey of nearly 32,000 employers in 26 countries this summer. They looked at the availability of suitable permanent professional candidates and the impact of available talent on wage inflation.
The results show that talent shortages are forcing 25% of employers to pay higher salaries, compared to last year, for permanent professionals. The problem is particularly acute in Asia Pacific, where 40% of New Zealand and 38% of Australian employers are experiencing wage inflation due to increased competition for available talent (probably because the majority of their young professionals currently live in London).
In London, the survey revealed that 22% of organisations had seen higher salaries compared to a year ago and 31% of organisations would have hired more staff in the last six months if they could have found applicants with the right skills.
"The talent shortage is here and wage inflation is increasing" said Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman & CEO of Manpower Inc. "As those trends increase, employers will have to work much harder to retain and optimise their existing permanent professional employees, and develop innovative ways to attract and retain new talent. Developing a strong employer brand will become even more important as the war for talent heats up."
Banking and finance recruitment agency, Morgan McKinley, reported this week that investment banks in the City are prepared to buy out the huge annual bonuses of people that they want to hire in the last quarter of this year. At the moment there is a strong market for candidates, with 14% more new jobs on the market than candidates looking to move. As it has been a good year in the City and bonus expectations are high, banks need to be highly competitive in order to encourage key talent to move roles pre-bonus season. Could be a good time to defect to a bank if you are that way inclined?