Slowdown, but not out
12 September 2012
One way recruiters have been coping with downturns in particular sectors is by transferring consultants to other, more buoyant areas. Colin Cottell reports.
Recruiters are adapting to the economic downturn by switching staff from areas hit by the slowdown to those areas which are still prospering.
Peter Reynolds, chief executive of construction and social care recruiter Beresford Blake Thomas, told Recruiter that due to a collapse in hiring activity in the UK's private sector construction market, the company has recently moved eight UK-based staff on to the UK team serving the Middle East, where activity is buoyant.
"Their jobs are exactly the same but the clients they are speaking to are more remote," he explained. Reynolds said the plan was "to grow them into reasonably large teams".
The company was adapting to the changes in the market, he said, with potential candidates "hunkered down to see how things develop next year". Those few candidates who were looking to move don't want to go to Leeds and Sheffield, "they want to go to the Middle East", he added.
Reynolds admits that some of the staff could have lost their jobs had this alternative not been available. "We are a commercial organisation," he said.
Dave Way, managing director of specialist financial recruiter WH Marks Sattin, told Recruiter that during the past nine months, the company has switched three of its staff in response to the ups and downs of various areas of its business.
"We have recently moved an individual from corporate finance, which has been a bit lumpy, into commerce and industry, which has been buoyant," he said. Others have joined the company's interim management team.
Way said that sometimes the moves coincide with promotion. They is also an opportunity for staff to broaden their experience by working in a different environment.
He emphasised that switching to another area of the business is not an alternative to being made redundant. "It happened even during the good market — it's not a case of disaster recovery," he said.
Martyn Makinson, director of construction recruiter Bromak, told Recruiter that the company first began to take action eight or nine months ago after the residential construction market began to slow. Since then the company has switched one person from each of its private residential teams to the public sector team. "Rather than be reactive we decided to take decisive action sooner rather than later," he said.
Makinson said Bromak had decided not to go down the same route as "a lot of companies" who he claims "are using the market slowdown as an excuse to get rid of people".
He added: "You never get rid of your best people. Rather than lose them out of the business, because they have a proven ability to generate revenue, we used them somewhere else. And rather than let them leave we decided to give them the opportunity to make more money."
Makinson concedes that there could be a temporary loss of earnings as consultants get up to speed in their new role. But he said: "It depends on the individual; if you are a good consultant, you can generate revenue within four weeks."
Peter Reynolds, chief executive of construction and social care recruiter Beresford Blake Thomas, told Recruiter that due to a collapse in hiring activity in the UK's private sector construction market, the company has recently moved eight UK-based staff on to the UK team serving the Middle East, where activity is buoyant.
"Their jobs are exactly the same but the clients they are speaking to are more remote," he explained. Reynolds said the plan was "to grow them into reasonably large teams".
The company was adapting to the changes in the market, he said, with potential candidates "hunkered down to see how things develop next year". Those few candidates who were looking to move don't want to go to Leeds and Sheffield, "they want to go to the Middle East", he added.
Reynolds admits that some of the staff could have lost their jobs had this alternative not been available. "We are a commercial organisation," he said.
Dave Way, managing director of specialist financial recruiter WH Marks Sattin, told Recruiter that during the past nine months, the company has switched three of its staff in response to the ups and downs of various areas of its business.
"We have recently moved an individual from corporate finance, which has been a bit lumpy, into commerce and industry, which has been buoyant," he said. Others have joined the company's interim management team.
Way said that sometimes the moves coincide with promotion. They is also an opportunity for staff to broaden their experience by working in a different environment.
He emphasised that switching to another area of the business is not an alternative to being made redundant. "It happened even during the good market — it's not a case of disaster recovery," he said.
Martyn Makinson, director of construction recruiter Bromak, told Recruiter that the company first began to take action eight or nine months ago after the residential construction market began to slow. Since then the company has switched one person from each of its private residential teams to the public sector team. "Rather than be reactive we decided to take decisive action sooner rather than later," he said.
Makinson said Bromak had decided not to go down the same route as "a lot of companies" who he claims "are using the market slowdown as an excuse to get rid of people".
He added: "You never get rid of your best people. Rather than lose them out of the business, because they have a proven ability to generate revenue, we used them somewhere else. And rather than let them leave we decided to give them the opportunity to make more money."
Makinson concedes that there could be a temporary loss of earnings as consultants get up to speed in their new role. But he said: "It depends on the individual; if you are a good consultant, you can generate revenue within four weeks."
