Research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies and Vacancysoft - a research-based publishing business - has shown that despite vacancies for HR roles having plummeted by 40 per cent at the start of lockdown last year, recovery is now well under way as lockdown measures begin to ease.
The research showed that the reduction was, in the main, caused by a general slowdown in hiring triggered by the first lockdown - which saw overall hiring drop by 80 per cent in April last year, when compared to the previous year.
Nevertheless - according to the study - HR vacancies started to recover as the year continued, resulting in a 12 per cent increase on the same period in 2019.
Ann Swain - CEO of APSCo - remarked that it was no surprise that demand for HR professionals fell last year but that the recovery was now “well underway”.
She stated:
“As we progress throughout 2021 and lockdown measures are eased, we expect to see the recruitment market for HR professionals continue on a positive trajectory.”
CV-Library also conducted research which showed that HR roles were amongst those most in demand. Throughout May, searches for HR jobs increased by 21.4 per cent compared to the same period in April 2020 - making them the third highest in demand, after construction and sales.
Lee Biggins - founder and CEO of CV-Library - said:
“Demand for jobs is continuing to increase and this is widespread across a huge variety of sectors. We have people who have been made redundant and desperately need a new role; people who have been placed on furlough but actually want to get back to work and people who may have been looking for a job before lockdown who are picking their searches back up as the economy starts to show signs of recovery. The coronavirus has put lots of strain on business, with HR often being asked to lead and make difficult decisions.”
Richard Rendell - Chief of People and Performance at Royal Brunei Airlines - remarked:
“I think the rise in popularity in HR reflects its ever-increasing importance to the business and how we as HR professionals can shape and lead business.
A new kind of HR professional is emerging to manage this transformed function - someone who deeply understands not only talent-management processes but also an organisation’s strategy and business model.”
From April to May, advertisements for HR consultants saw the steepest rise - increasing by 57.1 per cent, whilst adverts for HR business partner and HR assistant - both at 31.3 per cent - also saw steep rises. Week commencing 18 May showed a 37.9 per cent increase in recruitment roles and a 108.6 per cent increase in adverts for management roles - the top area of vacancy on the site.
A Senior HR Business Partner stated that the increase in job ads could be a sign that HR personnel are looking to change careers and Richard Rendell said the rise in recruitment roles was particularly interesting, adding:
“As talent management becomes a make-or-break corporate competency, the HR function is responding with a shift from managing the monetary levels of human resources—compensation, benefits, and other expenses—to increasing the asset value of human capital, as measured by intangibles such as employee engagement.”
The Senior HR Business Partner added:
“HR is needed right now. I have seen a surge in HR vacancies which could be attributable to companies needing help with people management issues, things like advice on furlough managing remote workers. and post-COVID transition to the office.”
