Admin, HR and office support jobs are in high demand with the majority of UK employers concerned that they’ll be unable to hire for these roles over the next year.
Robert Half’s 2023 Salary Guide, which analyses market salaries, hiring trends and skilled requirements across the UK, found that this has resulted in many candidates choosing to wait until they’re headhunted instead of searching for the roles themselves.
According to the report, these skills shortages are being exacerbated by evolving skills requirements across admin, HR and office support functions, as more businesses are needing Excel and data analytics skills for these roles.
For example, respondents revealed that roles for junior HR professionals are increasingly requiring tech skills and larger responsibilities, creating a potential drain of early career talent across HR.
Shelley Crane, Market Director for Marketing, HR & Executive Support, at Robert Half, commented, “Skills shortages are being widely talked about in remits that we expect to see a dearth of resources such as the STEM fields, but in reality, the effects of the war for talent are being felt across every function.
“Admin, HR and office support staff have a critical role to play in keeping businesses running, but our data suggests that the current hiring landscape is making recruitment across these roles difficult.
“Financial incentives can only go so far in attracting and retaining talent across these core operational functions. When we look in more detail at what motivates this segment of the workforce, clear evidence of and commitment to diversity has a clear role to play.
“We’re already seeing employers without a clear and concise DEI strategy and communications plan facing tough questions from candidates, and this will only become more commonplace as time goes on and younger socially aware employees join the jobs market.
“While businesses may need to first recruit the resources to drive diversity and inclusion actions, those that are seemingly doing nothing at the moment will struggle. Any steps – no matter how small – to drive more meaningful and transparent diversity conversations will improve a firm’s attractiveness to this segment of the workforce.”
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