Archive for July, 2012

What’s happening on the job market in London? Boyce Recruitment update

Friday, July 20th, 2012

 

The past 12 months has been a turbulent period for recruitment on the London job market with a harsh austerity budget being unveiled by the new coalition government, and  shockwaves from the eurozone crisis affecting decision making domestically and abroad.

The outlook for the remainder of 2012 and 2013 remains cautious. The European Commission has lowered its growth forecast and austerity is still the keyword in the economic strategy of the British government.

The impact that these past austerity measures and economic instability have had on salaries has meant that yet again salaries in 2012 are comparable with salaries in 2010, with a small number of exceptions.

The retail, consumer and digital/ technology areas were the main drivers of recruitment whilst the financial services and social sectors still remaining stagnant.

There is mixed sentiment from the healthcare, travel, media and b2b sectors, with about half  our clients expressing a positive outlook for the rest of 2012. The other half have a more pessimistic view as they  are affected by cuts in spend and streamlining processes from their customers.

Nearly all of our clients have worked hard on talent retention and we have seen the  number of counter offers increase in the second quarter this year . In addition some of the larger firms have focused on controlling  their staff turnover and worked hard to build good solid career paths.

In addition the  impact of  AWR  (Agency workers Directive) is still unclear as many firms are still confused about how this will impact their business and have not set up robust enough systems to ensure that they are on top of things.

Manuela Boyce : Director

What makes a good market research project manager?

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

What makes a good Market Research Project Manager

I was amazed to hear from one of our clients last week, that despite 28 first interviews  held in their last recruitment process, they only managed to secure one hire in the whole process. I was chuffed to bits that after sending only 2 people, the chosen shortlisted candidate was mine.

This didn’t really help the client much as they are still left with a number of roles to fill.

Sometimes it is difficult to spot a good candidate until you meet them but here are my top 5 pointers that make the difference between an average candidate and a good market research project manager candidate:

  • time management  (this is critical as all projects have a time scale and deadline, sometimes it is about understanding what the real deadline is, and whether this can be achieved without sacrificing the integrity of the project and the  end result)#
  •  ability to juggle priorities  (frequently project managers work on more than one assignment and they need to be able to juggle what is urgent and what is important
  • an understanding of the demands of a market research project   (knowing what the chain of events is and how this affects different parts of the business is critical in understanding how to be successful)
  • managing relationships  (internal and external)  this is critical, being able to deal with difficult people;  being able to extract the exact information you want from a client who isn’t very willing to give it;  being able to manage their expectation and achieve a win/win situation
  • knowledge of the market research agency process. The industry is extremely competitive and being able to sound like an expert, or certainly someone who knows how to run the whole process is critical to success.

In many ways these elements are typical to the success of many roles and jobs in London but they are definitely good pointers when applying for a new role . How does your application for in with the above?

ARE YOU PREPARED ?

Monday, July 16th, 2012

Our recent employee survey which took place across all three divisions of our business (namely Media & broadcast, Market Research & Insight and Corporate Support services)  over May- June 2011 highlighted the fact that over 70% of employers had not made any plans to ensure the Olympics caused minimum disruption to their  business.

Despite the Olympics being very close to starting, many employers have not put any plans in place to cover any  related absences,  leave or delays in travel.

92% of respondents lived in London and whilst a mere 9% had tickets for one or more Olympic event, 26% were definitely planning to attend and 46% hadn’t made up their minds yet. 

Although a  small percentage had booked time off to attend events w, with a greater number attending events during the weekends or evenings.

In the next couple of weeks with the run up to the opening ceremony building  interest , there is the potential that many candidates availability for work and also interviews may change.  

In the likelihood that Britain does well in the events,  only 28% steadfastly specified they would still have no interest in watching.  We anticipate many employers having to adjust staffing plans to accommodate “Olympic fever” as the games approaches.

Only a minority of those surveyed had anticipated and planned to take time off for events although others said they would decide nearer the time.

Over 54% of employers had not made any plans or asked their employees about their travel . journey to work and updated them with details of already specified travel disruption.  Very few employers  supplied details of travel issues, flexible working or allowing any time off to watch the games.

Some firms have chosen to install a TV to allow viewing whilst some of the major events takeplace although only 5% have been made aware that their workplace is showing events.