Dec 9, 2013 | IT
Key points
- Permanent salary growth at six-year high amid declining candidate availability
- Overall vacancies increase at fastest pace since July 1998
- Permanent and contract appointment rise at strong, albeit slower rates
Slower but still marked growth of staff appointments.
The number of people placed in permanent and contract roles continued to rise in November.
Vacancies rise at strongest rate in over 15 years.
Overall demand for staff increased at a faster pace in November. Private sector demand for staff continued to show a much stronger trend than public sector demand.
Permanent salaries increase at fastest pace in six years…
Growth of permanent staff salaries accelerated further, reaching the strongest rate since November 2007. Contract staff pay rose at a solid pace that was sharper than October.
…as decline in candidate availability gathers pace
The availability of candidates to fill permanent roles fell further in November, with the rate of decline quickening to the sharpest since July 2007. Contract staff availability meanwhile fell at the fastest pace in nine years.
Permanent IT staff skills in short supply – Business Analysts, C#, C++, Developers, Java, PHP, Software Engineers.
IT Contractor staff skills in short supply – Developers, Infrastructure, .Net, SAP, SQL.
Staff appointments
Our IT consultants reported a further increase in the number of people they placed in permanent jobs in November. Strong growth of available job vacancies underpinning the latest rise in placements.
Billings received from contract workers continued to rise in November. The rate of growth was strong due to increased client activity levels.
Vacancies
Demand for staff increased further in November for both permanent and contract. The rate of growth was considerable, having accelerated to the strongest in over 15 years.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that job vacancies were up 12.6% on an annual basis in the three months to October.
Demand for staff by sector
Permanent staff – Growth of demand was broad-based across all key types of permanent staff with engineering remaining the most sought-after category and IT moving to third place.
Contract staff – A shift in the market with Blue Collar sector showing the highest level of demand. The IT sector stays strong in 4th place.
Staff Availability
The availability of candidates to fill permanent job vacancies continued to fall in November. Moreover, the rate of decline was the sharpest since July 2007 with strong IT professionals in short supply.
Contract candidate availability declined for a fifth successive month in November – the sharpest for nine years.
Remuneration
Average starting salaries awarded to people placed in permanent jobs rose further in November. The higher salaries attributed to a combination of strong demand for staff and shortages of skilled candidates.
Daily rates for contractors also continued to increase in November.
Household Finance Index
The latest HFI survey provided a positive signal for the UK labour market, as workplace activity increased for the tenth successive month and at a solid pace.
IT was the strongest performing sector for workplace activity, followed by construction and manufacturing.
About Langley James
Langley James was founded in 1999 by James Toovey, a highly respected recruitment industry professional. James wanted to provide something unique: a bespoke recruitment service which was founded on service excellence. With offices in London and Manchester, we are now providing our ‘boutique style’ recruitment services throughout the world and over the last 14 years, have worked with some of the most respected companies in the world.
To find out why so many companies turn to Langley James for support for fulfilling their IT recruitment needs, call and speak to one of our specialist consultants today on 0845 124 9555.
Dec 2, 2013 | IT
A practice first coined at Hewlett Packard in the 1940’s and subsequently embraced by Steve Jobs, even in the current technological age, Managing By Wandering Around or MBWA has been proved to deliver far greater dividends than computer processing or watching the pennies.
It is all too easy to get embroiled in worrying if your company is doing well and forgetting about the people on the ground that make it happen and why those people chose to work for you.
How often do you say ‘hello’ to employees on a regular basis? Do you let them know how important they are to the success of the company? Do you know every employee by name?
You may be aware of the Hawthorne effect – the increase in productivity in the workplace when people feel that they are cared for. This doesn’t mean spending hours, chatting aimlessly about their weekend, or their holiday plans, but simply remembering to take the time to ask “how are you?” When employees are happy, loyal and engaged they miss less work, perform better, are more supportive of change and this results in profits being higher.
As managers and directors, we achieve success by leading a group of individuals to meet goals. A recent study by the Institute of Leadership and Management revealed that 82% of managers said that their teams knew exactly what was expected of them. However, employees were not so sure with only 58% knowing what they are supposed to do.
MBWA is a smart approach to making sure that these goals are being communicated and helps you lead a team by keeping your ear to the ground on developments and issues, as well as ideas. Identify individuals as Human Beings, not Human Resources and identify those who are living the values and making a difference and let them know it isn’t going unnoticed. At a time of intense competition and rapid change, it is vital to maintain close connections with your team to make change happen.
Most days in the office can be seen as simply routine by employees, but enjoyment has been sited as the single most effective motivator, with 59% rating it as one of the top 3 in the ILM study, it is more important than ever to ensure that you not only have a productive, driven workforce but also a happy one.
You may have been among the thousands that watched the recent BBC2 fly-on-the-wall documentary into Iceland. The series trained the lens on everyday life at the HQ, with singing, dancing and all sorts of high-jinks. Even though fun can be seen by some as an odd concept within the office environment, Iceland boast impressive staff retention figures and are regularly named among the best employers in the country so they must be doing something right.
Your people are your business – a happy work environment attracts good people and helps the people who work for you do the best for the company. And remember, company culture doesn’t just happen, it is something that is earned. Now, where’s that gorilla costume?
Written by Lucy Rawes, Operations Director
Dec 2, 2013 | IT
Results from a recent report conducted by IT security firm TrendMicro reveals a shocking culture of carelessness among the UK population with regards to their attitude towards their work devices.
Out of the 2,500 UK Citizens that took part in the report, a shocking 52% reported losing a phone or other mobile device that contained sensitive work data with 27% having lost up to 3 work devices.
Compare those figures to only 11% of those surveyed losing their personal smartphone device and it indicates not only a careless attitude, but also a lack of awareness around the reputation and financial cost to businesses when sensitive data is stolen. In fact, 47% don’t worry much or at all about losing client or customer details and 55% don’t worry much or at all about losing intellectual property.
Over half were out drinking when their devices were lost or stolen and with Christmas around the corner and the festivities already underway, surely this is set to increase over the coming weeks.
26% of devices were lost or stolen on London Underground with 25% of those using Central and District lines.
And it doesn’t stop there!
- 25% of people have emailed sensitive work data to the wrong person
- 31% use WiFi hotspots regularly with 56% never or rarely checking security levels
- 57% didn’t even set up a password lock on their device
Should IT departments be concerned? Absolutely!
The report highlighted that 29% were not even sure what to do to protect their data if the device was lost or stolen and only 10% said that they would notify the IT department if this happened.
This careless culture is endemic to UK businesses, leaving them vulnerable to intrusion from cyber-criminals looking to acquire data for financial gain.
Education is required to help employees understanding the importance of protecting corporate data and also the protocol for notifying you should a breach occur.
Written by Lucy Rawes, Operations Director
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