Secretarial & business support recruitment update 2017

Secretarial and business support recruitment was extremely buoyant during the first half of 2017. The sectors with the greatest demand were property, construction and aircraft leasing. Financial services, particularly insurance / reinsurance, maintained steady growth and continued to be a particularly busy area during the first six months of the year.

Similar to this time last year, we are seeing an increase in contract and temporary positions across this sector. Candidates are showing more interest in contract positions as they offer a faster trajectory towards their ideal roles. The majority of these vacancies arise from seasonal openings, ad-hoc projects, customer demand and support cover. We have also seen a high volume of newly created permanent roles come to the market as business growth continues and additional support is required.

From the candidates perspective, the main factors motivating movement were career progression, salary increases and additional benefits. Many organisations hiring reception, office administration and customer services staff opted to hire on a temporary or fixed term contract basis with a view to permanency.

Salaries for candidates with solid skills and experience continued to increase into 2017. Clients have expressed a willingness to discuss salaries and benefits at every stage of the interview process to maintain interest levels and to avoid any unnecessary hurdles when identifying the preferred candidate.  Candidates are opting to look for new roles elsewhere if a salary increase with their current employer is not available. They are also looking for additional responsibilities and challenges to support the increases and expand on their own development. We have continued to see the inclusion of annual bonuses based on individual and company performance.

Contact us

To discuss any of your recruitment needs, please contact one of our experienced consultants on dublin@robertwalters.com or 01 633 4111.