Event Industry Recruitment Trends: January to March 2023

YOU Search & Select – the specialist events industry recruitment agency – can announce the first in a quarterly series of recruitment trends, with comment from founder Robert Kenward:

“This quarter the key word is uncertainty. Companies are still recruiting and jobseekers are applying for roles, but there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding both parties and this is impacting on the eagerness of people (especially in senior positions) to move companies. The great resignation has floundered by the need for security and stability in an uncertain world.”

The three key trends this quarter are:

FO-LI-FO: The ‘Fear of Last In First Out’

“Rises in inflation, mortgage rates and the general talk of the worsening of the economy is driving fear into job seekers who were thinking of moving jobs. Redundancies are often decided on a ‘last in first out’ methodology and this is scaring people enough to decide not to move jobs now and to stay tight for now,” says Kenward

The Rise of the Counter Offer

“The fear of moving jobs is also leading to more employees accepting counter offers from employers instead of following through on a resignation. Suddenly it feels safer to stay put rather than move jobs. Candidates are becoming more timid and risk averse as the risk of redundancies would impact more on new starters, and because redundancy packages are based around length of employment,” states Kenward

Long Recruitment Processes

“The recruitment process is taking far longer than usual. Uncertainty in the economy, in UK politics and the general unease around the rise in interest rates and cost of living has resulted in companies becoming far more cautious when it comes to recruiting. Recruitment is still happening at a good pace, but processes are slower and the rush to employ has halted to a jog instead of a sprint,” comments Kenward.