Recruiters ‘must take notice of five top trends affecting global market’

Nick Elvin

Recruiters should adapt to and capitalise on the five key trends affecting the global recruitment market, according to the chief executive of APSCo.

Ann Swain was speaking at the recent NPA Conference in Bali, where she gave a presentation to delegates from the global network of independent recruiters, covering the challenges facing firms in an ever evolving global landscape.

She said: “As well as globalisation, the other key trends include political and economic instability, the growth of the RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) and MSP (Managed Service Provider) model, continued technological evolution and of course, demographic change.

“As if that’s not enough our profession also has to contend with complex legislation, an increasingly sophisticated customer base and, of course, the growth of in-house recruitment.”

Swain said that 43% of organisations have some form of centralised recruitment function, and gave the example of Capgemini, where she said between 80 and 95% of roles are sourced by staff referral schemes.

“That’s food for thought, and so recruitment firms need to be proving how they are adding value by being innovative around resourcing and making sure that their teams really understand – and can sell – the benefits of external supply.”

Swain also made the point that while during the recession recruiters focussed on efficiency, post-recession they need to focus on effectiveness and differentiation.

“The global market is evolving rapidly,” she added. “If change on the outside is faster than change on the inside – we are in trouble.”