The Importance of Executive Search in Post-Covid-19 Economic Recovery
The recruitment industry is tainted with a bad reputation, often due to the limited regulations and low barriers to entry within the industry. This generates a challenge for executive search firms who strive to convey honesty and integrity in all operations, as changing opinions has to be achieved through how the service is delivered consistently and continuously. It is only after working with such a firm that clients and candidates begin to appreciate the value of recruitment professionals and their networks, which is what we are always striving to deliver.
Here I will share some facts, figures and data from industry research (REC, 2021) focused on how the recruitment industry, inclusive of executive search firms, is helping to accelerate economic recovery subsequent to COVID-19 disruptions.
- The recruitment industry supports £86 billion in gross value added across the economy. That is the equivalent of 4.3% of GDP, around the same size as management consulting and larger than either the accounting or legal industries.
- The jobs matched by the recruitment industry support £29 billion in annual tax revenues. That’s around the same amount the UK spends on incapacity and disability benefits, or more than twice as much as the Government’s R&D budget.
- In total, the recruitment sector is increasing UK productivity by an estimated £7.7 billion a year by improving the quality of matching. The overall cost of a bad hire to a business can be three times higher than just a wasted salary.
- According to businesses, the quality of their staff and recruitment is the second most important driver of their success, behind only the quality of their end product.
- Only 52% of Britons think that companies in the UK do a good job at recruiting efficiently.
- 40% of Britons say they have used a recruitment agency at some point during their career to look for a permanent position, and a third (31%) for a temporary role. Over half of companies say that they are currently making use of an external agency to help with recruitment.
- In 2019 the UK recruitment industry made over 1,000,000 permanent placements and an average of 985,000 temporary or contract workers on assignment per day.
- The UK recruitment industry employs over 119,000 staff directly, working in 31,000 different recruitment enterprises.
- Only Japan (€50bn) and the US (€119bn) generate more sales revenue from recruitment than the UK (€39bn). What is more, the UK has the highest penetration rate of agency work of any advanced economy.
- 77% of companies said that on average the workers that they found through a recruitment agency were a good match.
- 62% of companies said that using an agency helped them to increase the diversity of the candidates they considered.
- 84% of businesses with temporary workers said they found some of them through an agency.
- 62% of those who had used a permanent recruitment agency had found a job through it.
- In total, we estimate that every 21 seconds somebody finds a permanent role through a recruitment agency
See the full report here: https://www.rec.uk.com/our-view/research/industry analysis/recruitmentand-recovery
The recruitment industry is being increasingly recognised for its importance and contribution to post-COVID-19 economic recovery. As the world moves towards a new working environment, encapsulating the flexible working fuelled by stay-at-home orders, recruitment professionals are increasingly essential in liaising with clients and candidates smooth out the onboarding process for both parties. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC, 2021) also highlights that recruitment professionals are front-and-centre in “Supporting candidates with skills transitions and new directions” (REC, 2021) following mass restructuring across the majority of industries.
If the global pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the people are important over and above materials or systems. In business, this translates to the value of your employees, moving past simply monetary cost to culture fit and personality matches too. Considering this, building the right team is essential moving forwards and recruitment firms are here for just that.
As neatly summarised by the REC: “After all, which CEO goes to court without professional lawyers? If people are top of your list of business concerns, you need systems that reflect that.”
See the full article here: https://www.rec.uk.com/our-view/insights/business advice/recruitmentand-recovery-changing-course-river
