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Latest in the Region: UK

Job applications in the sector fell by 12.5%

According to new research from APSCo and Broadbean Technology, the number of professionals in the UK applying for jobs in the financial services sector is down by a third year-on-year in January 2023, with the gap between supply and demand worsening.

The data found that job applications within the sector fell by 12.5% between November 2022 and January 2023, but this decline was far more acute when looking at annual comparisons (down by almost 30%).

APSCo’s data also reveals that while vacancy levels fluctuated throughout 2022 as economic uncertainty influenced business confidence, yearly comparisons show that new roles fell by just over 16% between January 2022 and January 2023. With application numbers dropping at a far greater rate than vacancies, employers are likely to struggle to source the skills they need in a sector that is already facing acute skills shortages.

Meanwhile, the research revealed that salaries within the sector have risen by 6.5% over the past twelve months, reflective of not only the demand for talent which has put an upward pressure on salaries, but also the impact the cost-of-living crisis has had on employers’ strategies to both attract and retain staff.

Ann Swain, CEO of APSCo, commented: “The data suggests that the Financial Services sector is facing a growing decline in skills availability. While we saw a fall in vacancy numbers during the latter half of 2022 as economic uncertainty influenced business confidence, application numbers fell at a far greater rate.

“We saw in the period following the Financial Crash of 2008 that failure to invest in skills development, attraction and retention when markets are struggling can have a longer-term detrimental impact on recovery. It’s crucial that the sector doesn’t fall into this trap again, particularly given the news that a recession has been avoided in the UK. The increase in salaries is certainly an indicator that employers are investing in attracting skills, but pay alone isn’t a sustainable route to building skills. The country is in critical need of a strong skills strategy to help it become a hub for financial businesses and talent.”

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Fewer than 3% of job ads on offer in March offer support to women

According to new research from Adzuna, UK employers are failing to prioritise supporting women in the workplace, with fewer than 3% offering benefits necessary to help them thrive.

Adzuna analysed over a million job ads advertised in March 2023 which revealed the number of postings promoting perks aimed at women – and the dire need for employers to step up.

Overall, only 29,501 of the 1,043,451 job ads available cited perks aimed at retaining women in the workplace and supporting them to thrive. Only 17,638 ads promoted enhanced maternity or parental leave, and just 6,410 postings offered some kind of support with childcare costs (including on-site daycare or backup childcare).

Despite recent evidence showing 1 in 10 women aged 45-55 leave the workforce due to symptoms of the menopause, only 821 job ads mention menopause support, and of those just 30 postings are offering paid HRT therapy.

Only five UK job ads offered menstrual leave. Research by YouGov has found nearly half of Brits are in favour of the introduction of menstrual leave legislation, and 40% of women said they regularly get period pain bad enough that it affects their ability to work. Some countries are waking up to the huge negative impact this has on women in the workplace: Spain has recently introduced legislation allowing three days per month of state-paid for menstrual leave for those with incapacitating periods.

Fertility benefits such as egg freezing and IVF support are also rare, with just 51 job ads mentioning these types of perks. LinkedIn was one of the first companies to offer UK its staff these benefits, covering up to £21,000 towards IVF (around £5,000 per cycle) or adoption costs from 2019, and following in the steps of Facebook, Google and Apple in the US. But with hiring in large tech companies currently depressed, women seeking employers offering fertility benefits are facing limited options.

Other popular perks found by Adzuna included duvet days (619 job ads), unlimited holiday (953 ads) and free gym membership (3,912 ads) continue to be offered by many employers.

Paul Lewis, Chief Customer Officer at job search engine Adzuna, comments: “Women remain woefully undersupported in the UK workplace. Instead of duvet days or free gym membership, employers need to focus on benefits that support female employees. In particular, evidence shows menopause and menstruation are top factors making it harder for women to thrive at work, even leading many to drop out of the workforce. Women shouldn’t need to suffer in silence; employers need to step up, introduce open dialogues around these topics and add more flexibility for women juggling their health with work. Furthermore, keeping women in the workplace is key to filling skill gaps, so introducing benefits that help attract, support and ultimately retain women makes sense from a business as well as a societal perspective.”

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49% of organisations in the GCC currently offer remote or hybrid working

Hays Middle East, part of Hays plc, the global workforce solutions and specialist recruitment company, has released its latest Salary Guide 2023 for the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC). The guide provides comprehensive salary data for over 400 roles across 13 industries across the region, with the latest workforce trends based on expert insights and the analysis of a survey of over 2,000 employers and professionals.

The guide has revealed that despite global disruptions, the GCC has remained stable, with continuous investment and diversification leading to a buoyant labour market in 2023, creating new jobs across multiple sectors and geographies in the region with this being exemplified by 85% of employers planning to recruit permanent employees. However, with 45% professionals looking to change organisations, greater competition for the best talent is to be expected.

Employers can leverage flexible working options to counter competition

Hays believes that offering flexible working options is a viable way for employers to counter the fierce competition. The guide shows that while only 49% of organisations in the GCC currently offer remote or hybrid working options, 20% of employers anticipate that employees will be required in the workplace more. Professionals place work-life balance and flexible working as a top priority when looking for a new job.

Addressing the skills dissonance is vital for future success

According to the report, employers and employees in the GCC have different perceptions of talent availability within their organisations. The guide indicates that while 82% of employees firmly believe they have the necessary skills to fulfill their role in 2023, only 35% of employers strongly agree they have the talent needed for the coming year. Employers and employees must work together to address this disconnect to ensure success in the future.

Growth on the horizon for Technology and Industrial Sectors, plus accelerated Emiratisation

The guide highlighted that technology remains the most active industry sector for hiring, with 77% of organisations increasing their headcount last year, thanks to consistent local and foreign direct investment in focus areas such as data, cyber security, and cloud solutions. Despite uncertainty in the global Technology sector, growth in the GCC continues at pace. Indeed, 88% of employers plan to recruit permanent employees in 2023.

In Saudi Arabia, the industrial sector is expanding at an exponential rate. With the Kingdom poised to take further advantage of its abundant natural resources and central geographical location, industrial diversification into new products and materials will lead to a focus on talent with experience, technical skills, and operational knowledge.

In the UAE, almost one in two (49%) of employers will ramp up their hiring of UAE national citizens this year as they work to meet Emiratisation quotas and diversify their workforce.

Sarah Dixon, Managing Director of Hays Middle East commented: “2023 promises to be a prosperous year for the labour market and the GCC in general, with new jobs being created across multiple sectors and geographies in the region through investment initiatives from a multitude of sources. The Hays GCC Salary Guide 2023 provides valuable insights for both employers and professionals, helping them navigate the recruiting landscape of today and stay competitive for tomorrow.”

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Sweden has most women in leadership roles

Findings from a survey conducted by Reboot Online have revealed that Sweden is the best European country for women to work in while the UK was ranked 12th.

Reboot SEO Agency found that the UK has the highest number of women in leadership positions of all the European countries studied, taking into account wage equality for similar work and estimated income – that’s 317 active-duty leadership positions in 2022. However, the data revealed a disappointing 11.6 paid full weeks of maternity leave which equals a score of 6.9/ 100 for the UK.

The Reboot Online survey also showed that Sweden is the best European country offering the best work opportunities for women in 2023, with a combined total of 241.4 points out of a possible 300. It is unsurprising that Swedish women thrive in the workplace, as the data showed that there are plenty of opportunities for women in leadership positions (93.1/100) which equates to 13.8 fewer points than neighbouring country Norway in third place.

Following in second place was Finland with a combined score of 227.6 out of 300, 13.8 fewer points than Sweden. Finland scored 86.2/100 points for women in leadership positions and economic opportunity. That equated to 65.5 more points for women in leadership than Estonia in seventh with 20.7 out of 100 for this category.

In third place is Norway with a combined total of 213.8 points out of a possible 300, 6.8 more points than Lithuania in fourth. The data showed that the country offers 39.9 full paid weeks of maternity leave, which gave them a score of 55.2/100, equal to the maternity leave in Finland.

Turkey is the country with the least economic opportunities for women

In last place is Turkey, scoring 31 points out of a possible 300. Despite its poor performance, the country surprisingly earned more points for women in leadership (27.6/100) than countries known to champion gender equality, such as Austria (13.8/100 points).

Naomi Aharony, CEO and Co-Founder at Reboot SEO Agency commented: “The overall results have suggested that there is some progress in terms of gender equality in the workplace in Europe. Norway, Finland and Sweden ranked highly, indicating that there are some improvements being made. Although, the disappointing positions of European countries such as Austria and Czech Republic reaffirm that the progress towards gender parity remains slow in Europe.

Although it is good to see some advancement, women still face numerous challenges when it comes to gender equality in the workplace that involves not only the wage gap, lack of leadership representation, government incentives and work-life balance.”

Full report can be found at https://www.rebootonline.com/

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Why women are taking strain at work

A new study has revealed that female employees are 54% more likely to suffer from anxiety and twice as likely as men to work through illness – an issue known as presenteeism.

The study revealed that, during the last year, female employees experienced more work-related health implications than men. In addition to their raised anxiety levels, they are also 17% more at risk from excessive stress due to work life. In addition, 35% said that their mental health had worsened in the last year because of the workplace.

With International Women’s Day (IWD) being observed on 8 March, these statistics put a spotlight on the disproportionate health implications that women face due to their workplace. This year’s IWD theme is #EmbraceEquity, to encourage employers to support women’s health and well-being in the workplace.

According to the survey, 27% of female employees have experienced insomnia, making them 42% more susceptible to sleep deprivation. This is important to note, considering that the first signs of burnout, anxiety or depression are insomnia and trouble sleeping, according to the NHS.

A study of over 1,000 employees also found that sore backs, shoulders, or necks are experienced at a rate 58% higher in women than men. In addition, other physical health concerns were 60% more likely in women.

These results suggest that employers aren’t doing enough to support women in the workplace. In further support of this indication, a recent study across the UK-wide study into employee health and well-being found that 85% of employees would like their company to be more proactive in boosting employee health, well-being, and healthy habits. The study also found that:

  • Training managers to provide better support will help (33%).
  • promoting the use of sick leave when people are struggling with physical or mental health is important (32%).
  • employees want access to stress management training (25%).

It is not a benefit for employees to feel supported; companies benefit too:

  • 38% of employees feel more productive at work.
  • 33% of employees feel engaged with the work they do.
  • 31% say they’re less likely to seek job opportunities elsewhere.

Kate Palmer, HR Advisor and Consultancy Director at Peninsula, says: “Equality should be at the forefront of employers’ priorities and, as recognised by International Women’s Day, the only way to achieve this is through equity. Widespread prejudices against women and damaging biases such as: they’re unable to juggle a career and family, or be as resilient as men in the workplace, can often lead to women having to work longer and harder than their male counterparts just to access the same opportunities, even if it means working when they are unwell.

 “ All employers should consider offering an employee assistance programme and trained mental health first aiders to help identify individuals struggling with their mental health at an early stage, and signpost them to professional resources. Knowing women may be more at risk should be a prompt for employers to proactively implement these measures.”

Ruth Tongue, director of employee wellbeing company Elevate, says: “Equity is not something to only be addressed once a year – companies must think strategically about how to support women in their workplace.

 “Employers should offer emotional and mental wellbeing support for everyone via counselling, supyesport sessions with experts on stress management and championing women in the workplace by offering recognition not only financially but also visibly through promotions and praise.”

 

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Flexible working and greater use of tech top the list

Recruiters predict a greater demand for better pay, flexible working, a greater reliance on tech, and a positive working culture in 2023. This is according to new research by digital payroll solution Cool Company. The research also revealed that 25% of recruiters believe businesses will rely more on the contract workforce in the coming months.

According to the study, flexible, tech-driven working lies on the horizon. The research found that 53% of recruiters agree that flexible working is the main priority of current job candidates

A further 50% said we would see a greater reliance on technology – including remote interviewing (40%). Diversity and inclusion were also high on the list at 39%.

Twenty-five percent of agencies believe there will be greater demand for the contract workforce, with 58% saying they experienced a significant uplift in overseas contractor placements last year. A further 35% suggested an increase in contractors working remotely in the UK.

Almost half of the recruiters surveyed believe that one of the best ways to attract top talent is flexible working, including remote working. A further 40% suggest hybrid working is a key benefit. In addition, one in five recruiters think that the global talent shortage will continue to be a challenge for businesses in 2023, suggesting that anything that gives a competitive edge must be considered.

Other projected talent-grabbing trends included increasing employee benefits (43%) and creating a positive working culture (40%). Increased pay is, of course, always a factor (50%).

Kris Simpson, Country Manager UK at Cool Company, comments: The UK employment scene is facing something of a perfect storm at the moment. With a global talent shortage and a local cost of living crisis, employers are having to do a lot to both retain their existing employees and attract new talent to their businesses.

‘The contract workforce has the potential to provide the answer to that problem. With highly skilled professionals available more or less on demand. But like employees, contractors are looking for a better work-life balance, meaning that placements that allow for remote working are a lot more appealing. While competitive remuneration remains a key draw.”

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88% of workers are planning to “work from anywhere”

The Australian state of Western Australia is targeting 31,000 UK and Irish workers, particularly key workers such as nurses, teachers, and police officers, to relocate Down Under for a more relaxed lifestyle and higher wages. Nurses in Western Australia typically earn over £49,000 per year, which is 58% more than the UK average of just over £30,000.

To attract UK and Irish workers, officials from Western Australia will attend job fairs across the UK to promote the benefits of moving abroad for a new career and a new life. The Western Australian government is confident that the appeal of higher wages, lower living costs, and a laid-back lifestyle will entice many UK and Irish workers.

The possibility of tens of thousands of workers leaving the UK for Perth could be alarming for HR directors who are already struggling to retain talent. However, companies can offer some of the benefits of working abroad without permanent relocation, such as offering “work from anywhere” flexibility to employees. A recent study conducted by IWG, the world’s largest flexible workspace operator, found that 88% of workers are planning to “work from anywhere” – UK or abroad. Over 50% of workers are planning to extend holidays this year to work abroad, with 67% agreeing that they can perform their job effectively abroad. 71% said that they would only consider a new job that gave them the flexibility to work from anywhere, at least some of the time.

Improved worklife balance was the most common benefit cited for working from anywhere (76%), followed by being able to spend more time with friends and family abroad (52%), saving money by travelling off-peak (47%), and being able to enjoy longer holidays (30%). Many office workers also want more financial support, as the cost-of-living crisis has had a drastic impact on the UK population.

The Western Australian officials believe that their pitch is unbeatable, with higher wages, lower living costs, and a laid-back lifestyle. Western Australia’s Police and Defence Industry Minister, Paul Papalia, was quoted as saying: “Our wages are higher, our cost of living is lower and our lifestyle is unbeatable.”

The Western Australian government’s proposal will pose challenges for UK companies, and HR departments will need to consider introducing “work from anywhere” flexibility and financial support to retain their talent. The current “war for talent” in the UK is well-documented, and tens of thousands of workers eyeing up a move abroad in search of higher pay and a more relaxed lifestyle could mean another battle for HR leaders.

Mark Dixon, IWG Founder and CEO commented: “For an increasing number of workers, the days of the daily commute are over, now that hybrid working offers the opportunity to work wherever we will be the most productive. And thanks to cloud technology, that can be anywhere in the world, provided there’s a high-quality internet connection available.

“So, it’s no wonder that more and more individuals are embracing the idea of combining work with travel, whether it’s for a few days tacked on to the end of a vacation, or a few months as a digital nomad.

“This trend is set to accelerate further, and we will continue to see more and more companies embracing WFA policies to improve employees’ work-life balance and increase their attractiveness as an employer.”

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Accounting is the most desirable financial sector to work in

A new study from CMC Markets, an online trading platform, analysed monthly Google searches using Ahrefs for jobs within the financial industry to see which career is the most in demand. They also extracted the number of UK-based listings for each finance role from the job site Indeed during the month of December 2022.

 

Rank Job Title Total global Google searches 
1 Auditor 222,500
2 Actuary 166,600
3 Corporate banking 96,280
4 Bank teller 43,250
5 Forensic accounting 39,650
6 Compliance officer 35,170
7 Client advisor 29,080
8 Loan officer 22,950
9 Branch manager 18,560
10 Risk manager 17,430

The survey revealed that searches for ‘auditor’ ranked number one on the list with 222,500 monthly Google searches. People are searching 5,000 times on average a month for ‘auditor jobs’ and 500 times for ‘auditor careers’. There are currently 785 auditor jobs in the finance sector on Indeed.

It was reported that actuarial careers came closely behind as the second most sought-after job in finance with a combined 166,600 searches per month for ‘actuary careers’ and ‘actuary jobs’. An actuary was the only career within the insurance sector to make it into the top ten. There are currently 1,030 actuary jobs within the finance sector on Indeed.

The third most desirable finance career is corporate banking which amassed a total of 96,280 Google searches per month, 1,200 of which were for the search term ‘corporate banking jobs’. There are currently 3,748 corporate banking jobs on Indeed.

Another banking career took the fourth spot with bank teller totalling 43,250 Google searches every month, 12,000 of these monthly searches were for ‘bank teller jobs’. At present, there are only 35 bank teller jobs on Indeed.

In fifth place came forensic accounting with 39,650 Google searches per month and the sixth most in demand career in finance was a compliance officer with 35,170 monthly Google searches.

Despite being one of the ten most desirable finance jobs, forensic accounting only yields 64 job openings in the UK, according to Indeed. On the other hand, there are currently 6,685 compliance officer openings in the UK on Indeed.

With 29,080 Google searches a month, a client advisor was the seventh most searched for finance career and there are 811 job openings for client advisor roles on Indeed.

Loan officers and branch managers occupied the eighth and ninth place on the list with 22,950 and 18,560 monthly Google searches respectively. There are 1,744 roles on Indeed for both loan officers and branch managers in the UK. 

The research found that the tenth most in demand job in finance is a risk manager with 17,430 monthly Google searches. There are currently 5,259 job openings on Indeed for risk manager roles in the UK. 

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets commented: “Despite the scarcity of jobs in some industries, it seems that there is a noticeable interest within different sectors of the finance world. It is interesting to see that a large proportion of this number is made up of searches related to the banking sector. And as a whole, financial careers are being searched for 2,935,840 times per month on Google.”

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Outside of the tech industry, women accounted for just 14% of executive roles

Recruitment experts have analysed the gender makeup of Chief Information Officers at FTSE 100 companies ahead of International Women’s Day on the 8th of March.

Key findings from the unique research include:

• Between 2018 – 2022, only 42 women held CIO positions compared to 138 men
• In 2022, there were only 10 more female CIOs than there were in 2018

As we approach Women’s Day, it’s noted that equality is no longer enough and can be exclusionary. Simply put, equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities, but this only works if everyone has a level playing field to begin with.

Whereas equity recognises that each person has different circumstances and allocates the specific resources and opportunities needed to reach the same outcome.

While there has been a bigger discourse around the gender disparity at leadership level in tech over the past few years, research carried out by Frank Recruitment Group shows that progress is slow, as last year, there were only 10 more female CIOs at FTSE 100 companies than there were in 2018.

The findings are consistent with other recent research into diversity and inclusion at FTSE 100 companies. Outside of tech executive positions, Ernst & Young reported that women accounted for just 14% of executive directorships last year. Even looking at management roles as Statista did in 2020, women made up less than 35%.

According to Revolent, it’s a similar story at Fortune 500 companies, where women hold just 19% of CIO roles and have a shorter average tenure.

This all begs the question, is the slow progress due to the tech industry’s failure to embrace equity in its efforts to achieve equality?

Find the full report, including some strategies for increasing female representation in senior roles and methodology, here: https://www.frankgroup.com/blog/where-are-the-female-leaders/.

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57% of candidates said no feedback from interview was their greatest demotivator

SRG, a UK scientific recruitment organisation surveyed 754 candidates on their biggest blockers to motivation in their job-search. 

According to the survey results, over half (57%) of candidates cited no feedback from a job interview as their biggest blocker. 24% of candidates cited burnout and 10% said staying on top of managing job applications was their biggest blocker as a candidate. Meanwhile 9% said not knowing where to find jobs posed the greatest challenge to maintaining motivation. 

Hannah Mason, Principal Resourcer at Search by SRG said: “In this candidate driven market, businesses often forget the ‘two-way street’ and their interview processes are like interrogations. It is key that businesses are selling themselves to candidates throughout the process as well as highlighting their Employee Value Proposition and culture accurately. Senior and executive candidates are more selective than ever in the opportunities they pursue, and the current model of one-way interviews seldom meets the expectations of high-level candidates.” 

As economic uncertainty in the UK continues, access to best-in-industry talent is more critical than ever to maintain business continuity and futureproof organisational success. 

However, 70% of senior leaders report a lack of confidence in their organisational agility, and just 29% have enough employees to meet current performance requirements. As digitalisation continues to impact industries across STEM and beyond, skills gaps are widening, heightening the competition for talent. 7 in 10 leaders are experiencing major staff shortages and finding recruitment challenging. 

In this climate of scarcity and competitivity, a strong talent attraction strategy is vital. 

Alison Jones, Operations Director at SRG also commented: “Businesses need to hire people, not CVs. Companies need to move beyond approaching CV screening with a tick-box to strategically assessing capability. If a person’s CV meets most of the technical remit, interviewing that individual will extend and improve your talent base. I’ve lost count of the number of applicants rejected on something innocuous, who our consultants have persuaded the client to reconsider, only to go on to be successful for the very role they were rejected for. Our talent pool is diverse; therefore, CVs will be.” 

SRG is the UK’s leading scientific recruitment organisation. SRG provides market-leading services

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Talent Solutions

TALiNT Partners and Stratigens are proud to announce a strategic partnership which will provide an unparalleled range of talent intelligence solutions to the needs of our members, partners and clients.

Alison Ettridge, CEO of Stratigens said “Companies do research on their customers, their markets and their competitors to inform decisions all the time. With Stratigens, they can now do research on the greatest asset –access to the workforce and people they need to deliver their strategy. Our partnership with TALiNT Partners will support our mission of putting human capital at the heart of business decision making. We are really excited about working with the team to overlay the insight that TALiNT Partners’ network brings with labour market data to empower HR, TA and business leaders to make critical strategic decisions.”

Ken Brotherston, CEO of TALiNT Partners added “for some time we have been looking for a partner to support the insight generated by our network with global workplace data to bring a unique offering to the market. Stratigens is the perfect partner to help us achieve this and together we look forward to continuing to help raise capability in how employers find and keep the people they need, and how staffing and talent solutions providers can better support their clients.”

About Stratigens

Stratigens software is helping the world’s best companies make smarter decisions about where to grow, who to hire from and the diversity of their workforce. We join the dots between the labour market, economics and locations. Putting human capital intelligence at the heart of decision making.

We live in a world rich with skills and geo economic data, but the data is messy, unstructured, big and in thousands of places. Stratigens uses the latest in machine learning and big data to gather, extract, categorise and label the data, and put it into a format that’s easy to digest. So our clients can make smarter, faster, more informed decisions.

Stratigens – https://www.stratigens.com

About TALiNT Partners

TALiNT Partners connects the talent ecosystem. We bring together a global network of leading employers and solution providers to make better talent and technology decisions. Providing intelligence, insight and peer-to-peer networking that drives quality, innovation and improves inclusion across the talent ecosystem

TALiNT Partners – https://talintpartners.com/

 

If you would like to know more about the partnership, please contact Ken Brotherston, CEO of TALiNT Partners, ken@talintpartners.com

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Acquisition strengthens Nash Squared as a major MSP

Nash Squared, a provider of talent and technology solutions, has become a major force in Managed Service Provision with its recent acquisition of Het Flexhuis – a Managed Service Provider (MSP) of talent and recruitment services based in The Netherlands.

Het Flexhuis has a strong track record in delivering outsourced recruitment services for government, public services, and commercial organisations and will operate as an independent brand within Nash Squared’s recruitment business Harvey Nash.

Bev White, CEO of Nash Squared, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Het Flexhuis into the Nash Squared family. It is our vision to help our clients access talent and technology in every way possible, and offering a high quality MSP solution is an important next step for us. Het Flexhuis brings enormous experience and expertise with them, and I am excited by the potential.”

Occo Lijding, MD of Harvey Nash The Netherlands, commented: “This represents a step change in how we can help and support our clients in talent and technology. I have long admired the team at Het Flexhuis, and when we met I was struck by how similar our values and ambitions were. They are the perfect fit for us, and I look forward to working with them.”

Frederieke Schmidt Crans, Managing Director, Het Flexhuis commented: “We are thrilled and excited to become part of Nash Squared. Our company was established ten years ago with a mission to create a world-class MSP with great people and processes at its core. We see joining Nash Squared as the natural next chapter in that success story.”

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Search engines combine forces to accelerate Adzuna’s growth in the US

On Tuesday, 14 June, Adzuna announced their acquisition of the US job search engine Getwork.

The Getwork team, under the leadership of Brad Squibb, will be working alongside the Adzuna team, intending to accelerate Adzuna’s growth in North America.

Getwork links job seekers with vacant roles at North American companies by indexing millions of verified jobs daily directly from tens of thousands of employer career sites.

Adzuna, with headquarters in London, UK, Indianapolis, IN, and Sydney, AU, uses AI-powered technology to match people to jobs. The company has recently launched in Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and Mexico. Their operations now cover 20 markets globally.

The two companies will operate as independent brands with their own established communities.

Doug Monro, CEO, and Co-founder of Adzuna, comments: “Adzuna acquiring Getwork will help us supercharge our growth in North America. The Getwork team’s stellar reputation for great service and delivery has led them to be trusted by an impressive roster of household name companies in the US. It’s also a great fit as their team and mission are so aligned with ours. The US enterprise market is crying out for strong alternatives to existing offerings and we’re looking forward to combining Adzuna’s marketing expertise, global footprint and programmatic job matching technology with Getwork’s deep industry knowledge and reputation to deliver even better for our customers. The US is the fastest-growing part of our business and this acquisition will accelerate our profitable growth trajectory.”

Brad Squibb, President of Getwork, comments: “Adzuna is a truly global business, operating across 20 countries, which creates an exciting opportunity for us to scale into new markets with the help of a brand that has already paved the way for international expansion. We can’t wait to join Doug and the team on this journey.”

 

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Despite efforts there is still massive room for improvement in UK management and reporting

In research released today, findings reveal a lack of focus on progressing diversity in the workplace. In the study conducted by SD Worx, it was found that while 68% of UK companies are committed to removing unconscious bias in the recruitment process, many have failed to implement a reporting system to track progress on meeting ED&I objectives.

The survey revealed that only 26% of UK companies evaluate managerial commitment to achieving ED&I-related objectives. A further 32% admitted having no systems allowing employees to report discrimination.

The UK ranked third in its commitment to removing unconscious bias at 68% when it comes to ranking. Ireland ranked first at 74%, with Belgium coming in second, at 69%.

As far as rankings for equal access to training, the UK is slightly lower than other countries, with 64% of companies investing in equal access to training and development. Ireland (72%), Belgium (71%), and Poland (69%) topped the list.

While 64% of UK companies include transparency about ED&I goals and actions to attract a diverse workforce in their mission statement and corporate values, only 60% of the UK companies surveyed said that they promote ED&I in job advertisements, social media, and their websites.

The survey also revealed that countries vary in their level of focus concerning educating and involving managers in their ED&I policies. For example, in the UK, 60% of companies stated that they actively involve their managers in ED&I policies, and 60% provide internal training on the topic.

Colette Philp, UK HR Country Lead at SD Worx commented: “It’s no longer enough for businesses to say they prioritise diversity and inclusion. Instead, they must prove their commitment to achieving a more diverse workforce, both internally within their business and externally to attract talent.”

“There is more awareness than ever before regarding diversity in the workplace and it’s a deciding factor for many when it comes to searching for a role or staying with a business. A diverse workforce brings new experiences and perspectives and an inclusive environment allows individuals to thrive. If businesses aren’t already putting ED&I as a top priority, it’s essential they act now to do so.”

Jurgen Dejonghe, Portfolio Manager SD Worx Insights, added: “It’s important that companies start investing in an active reporting system about their actions concerning diversity, equality and inclusion. On the one hand, that data offers a strong basis for optimising the diversity policy with concrete and consciously controlled actions. On the other hand, such a system also provides clear evidence whether companies are effectively putting their money where their mouth is and not making false promises to (future) employees.”

For ED&I initiatives to be successful, change needs to come from the top, with proper rollouts and reporting system to track their progress.

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