Rising Pay
Reports are showing us that pay is on the up for the years ahead. Most likely down to skills shortages and a general economic confidence, there may be pressure on employers to increase salaries in order to gain and retain their desired employees. UK workers are already enjoying a 2% rise in earnings, as low inflation helped to boost income and spendable pay. However a disproportional amount of these wage rises are going to London (and South East) based employees, highlighting the north / south divide.

Focus on Equality
Earlier in the year the Government pledged to help close the workplace gender gap, requiring businesses to publish details of pay gaps and announcing steps to help women in the workplace. This of course is no new issue and we’ve reported before on the rise of women in technology roles, however the fact remains that women still earn less than men. Just this week, a study by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills was released that found women earn less then men in nine out of ten industries (mainly the financial and insurance industries) and that in 2014 women were earning, on average, 19.1% less than men. Despite the fact that girls consistently outperform boys at school a Glassdoor survey revealed that less than one third of females received any kind of bonus, as opposed to 44% of males.

Connecting with Passive Talent and Pipelining
In LinkedIn’s UK talent solutions report, they found that 68% of respondents thought passive candidates were an important differentiator for their business. Half of these candidates are apparently interested in speaking to recruiters. Building on-going relationships and really getting to know and understand these candidates is key to what any good recruiter should be doing anyway, but it seems firms are becoming more aware of the importance of pipelining the best and most suitable candidates. It’s increasingly difficult to grab candidate’s attention and a thoughtful, one-to-one approach is a trend that spells a positive experience for candidates but also allows recruiters to find the most genuine match, quickly.

Branding to Differentiate
Organisations are increasingly becoming aware of the effect their branding has on recruitment. A positive brand image across online platforms, collateral, offices and through communication can be a real differentiator to job seekers. Firms are developing strategies around this in order to remain competitive and are investing more in their brand image in direct relation to staffing.

Here at Langley James, we’re always keeping up to date with the latest developments and trends within staffing to ensure we can give the best and most relevant advice to our clients. If you’re thinking about recruiting or would like some advice, contact one of our consultants here.