Looking back at the Finance recruitment market in Switzerland in Q1 2022, it is apparent that what looked like it would be a straightforward period of continued recovery took a number of unexpected twists, with the sudden and swift rise in COVID-19 cases, coupled with the unfolding situation in Ukraine.
From a Finance & Accountancy recruitment perspective, the first three months of 2022 continued in a similar fashion to Q4 2021, with high volumes of advertised vacancies in the visible Finance recruitment market - approximately 30% higher than we witnessed in the same quarter of 2021.
Competition for candidates remains fierce, with some candidates securing multiple job offers. These candidates have found themselves in the privileged position of choosing the best option in terms of career development, long-term potential and improved financial package.
Many employers found recruitment difficult, due to a shortage of desired candidates and greater competition for them, and had to adapt their recruitment processes to increase the chances of appointing, often by speeding up the process or by combining - or even removing - some stages.
Hybrid working remains an important factor in Finance & Accountancy recruitment, particularly as the recent rise in positive COVID cases in Switzerland has returned focus to this issue.
The next quarter
Predictions are difficult in the current climate and, although many companies are working hard to support staff in regions affected by recent global events, we have not seen any evidence of a slowdown in recruitment or business planning in Switzerland.
There has been evidence of some companies returning to greater home working on a voluntary basis, but hopefully this is just a short-term impact.
We would like to hear from you
The team is planning to run a LinkedIn Live discussion in May, where a number of HR and Finance professionals from key companies in Switzerland join us to discuss recruitment and the challenges it faces, such as candidate shortages, salary pressures, skills gaps and recruitment difficulties.
Whether you are job seeking or planning recruitment, please send your questions to John Byrne and we will factor them into the discussion: [email protected]
As we enter the second quarter of the year, John Byrne, Country Director, takes a look at the Procurement & Supply Chain recruitment market in Switzerland since the start of 2022…
Another very busy quarter for all involved! I don’t recall a period with such a consistency of topics raising crisis management demands and solutions across the Procurement and Supply Chain disciplines.
With these ever-changing demands placed upon you all, it has maintained a strong and stable need from our clients and candidates alike to support on talent gaps, talent development and general market mapping exercises to help maximise each of our clients' position in their market.
The number of assignments we partnered with clients on last quarter rose sharply, resulting in our vacancy completion rate also rising. Last quarter saw an increase of 23% on the previous quarter, closing our financial year 27% up on last year. This is the seventh successful YOY growth - this represents a consistent desire from our clients here to keep strengthening their teams and their offices throughout Switzerland.
We are now able to get back amongst our clients and candidates again throughout the last quarter on a far more consistent basis than before, with offices opening - and we fully expect this to gain further momentum as we approach the summer period.
This is becoming more and more important as the talent market continues to seek a stable balance between work versus lifestyle desires - something we anticipate will take the remainder of this year to stabilise. Hybrid working is here to stay from the consensus of our network, so we are working hard with both our clients and candidates to understand the most productive methods for both.
If you wish to have a discussion about how this is impacting the middle to senior recruitment market, then please reach out for a confidential discussion: [email protected]
Despite the current working from home restrictions and the rising COVID-19 case numbers, the start of 2022 feels much more positive than 2021 in Switzerland's Finance employment market, as businesses have learnt to adapt to different ways of working and confidence remains high.
Although recruitment slowed slightly in December, it was only to the level that is normally expected at that time of year and the first quarter of the year is likely to see a growth in opportunities available within Finance & Accountancy.
What happened in Q4?
We saw further evidence of the competition for talent and many candidates found themselves in the fortunate position of having a choice of job offers to choose from, including counter offers from their current employer, due to the desire and need to retain talent.
The temporary work from home restrictions raised the subject of hybrid working again and businesses requiring four or five days in the office found that their choice of candidates was more limited. Should this trend continue, then companies recruiting 100% office-based employees will seriously damage the quality of their workforce.
Following on from our market insight article in July 2021 around increasing interest in candidates with strong data visualisation experience, we have seen a rise in the number of employers asking for Finance professionals with advanced skills in Power BI, Tableau and other such packages. When we have identified good candidates with this profile and taken them to market, there has been a positive response, resulting in both interviews and placements.
One of the things that has become increasingly apparent, but over a much longer period of time, is that the continued relocation out of Switzerland of transactional and more junior Finance roles at international companies has made recruiting at this level far more difficult, as the audience for these roles has reduced in size.
What do we expect in 2022?
Businesses have been dealing with change due to COVID-19 for nearly two years, and have introduced new working practices and methods to ensure continued operation and progress. This improved change management capability, coupled with the mitigation of COVID-19 impact provided by vaccines and boosters, suggests that 2022 will be a stronger year than 2021, with more opportunities for Finance professionals.
Competition for staff will remain strong and may result in pressure on salaries and benefits, as candidates have more options available to them.
How can EMEA Recruitment help you?
In a market that is changing quickly, the most valuable commodity to both job seekers and employers is timely and accurate insight. As specialists in Finance recruitment in Switzerland, the Finance & Accountancy team at EMEA Recruitment has this in abundance and is happy to share with both candidates and clients.
If there is anything you would like to know about the market, to either help you plan your next career move or to assist you in recruiting more effectively into your business, we would be happy to talk to you: [email protected]
Throughout Quarter 4 2021, the Finance & Accountancy employment market for job seekers remained strong in the Netherlands.
EMEA Recruitment has seen, across the board, a desire for a more hybrid working life amidst the continuing work from home requirements. We have also witnessed a trend in job applications falling and the need for a more direct approach within the market in order to attract the most suitable candidates.
From an employer perspective, there has been a continuous need to streamline and improve recruitment timelines to avoid missing out on desired candidates who are in multiple processes. As a result of this, high levels of competition for talent are pushing salaries upwards. This is particularly reflected at the more junior end of the market, with Accountants, Payroll Specialists, Financial Analysts and VAT Specialists remaining in high demand. As ever, there is a continued need for Dutch or German-speaking candidates within the market at this junior end.
If we look towards the more senior end of the market, we have seen an increase in candidates looking for new opportunities, but recruitment processes becoming more protracted as companies are biding their time in order to hire niche skillsets.
The demand for talent has been most prevalent within sectors focused on production, pharmaceuticals, bio tech and energy.
What do we expect in 2022?
2021 was dubbed the “great resignation”; we saw an increase in more passive candidates open to considering new opportunities. This - coupled with employers feeling more confident with the economic stability and growth within the Netherlands - saw an increase in opportunities across Finance functions.
Despite the impact of COVID-19 continuing into 2022 and the return of full-time WFH, we predict that the employment market within the Netherlands will remain buoyant. Employers will have to continue to adapt to the world post-COVID. Optimism is strong and many employers are focussing on a balanced work life and reward strategy to improve staff retention and wellbeing.
If you’d like to discuss the market with us further, please don’t hesitate to get in touch: [email protected]
When should the line manager be involved in interviewing a candidate? We took to LinkedIn to hear your thoughts...
At EMEA Recruitment, we firmly believe there is never an exact right or wrong way for a business to run a hiring process – every role, organisation and circumstance are different, and can be affected by a multitude of factors at any time.
Although, of course, there are certain elements that are essential for a successful recruitment process, most notably that of the relationship that is built between the candidate and the hiring manager.
Neil Cope, one of our Directors, recently conducted a LinkedIn poll exploring this, to provide a snapshot from our network. In response to the question: Which stages do you prefer to see the direct line manager involved during the interview process?, we found that over 90% of respondents feel that the line manager should be present either at every interview stage or at least on the first and last interview stage (8% noted that the first stage only is sufficient).
This highlighted to us how important that relationship build is for both candidates and employers alike. But how do you make this work in practice? Some processes have three, four or even five interview stages, depending on the seniority and complexity of the role. Is it practical for a hiring manager to be present at each stage? Indeed, in some cases, could it not hinder the process? If, for example, one of the stages was with an important stakeholder who might benefit from having that one-to-one conversation with the candidate without the hiring manager present.
One thing is for sure – the relationship with the prospective hiring manager is an absolutely vital element and is one of the top factors for candidates when choosing whether to accept an opportunity or not.
If you would like further information on this or the hiring process in general, please reach out to Neil: [email protected]
EMEA Recruitment is proud to be launching Women in Leadership initiatives for Procurement & Supply Chain functions in Switzerland.
Q4 2021 saw us host our first Roundtable within Procurement & Supply Chain, focusing on Women in Leadership. We explored the gender gap in Switzerland in the context of Procurement & Supply Chain leadership specifically.
Women represent only 30% of leadership roles in Switzerland, and under 5% of roles at VP level and above. We looked at statistics that demonstrated which industries and roles were more greatly affected, and discussed the main challenges to creating a diverse workforce and supporting women into leadership roles. We also explored the steps that can be taken to provide women with opportunities that will allow them to move into senior leadership positions.
Interesting topics ranged from:
We had some incredible feedback from the participants, and we would like to extend a thank you to all of those who joined us and a special thanks to our co-hosts, Alejandra Garcia (VP Procurement at DSM), and Pauline King and Varsha Asarpota (CIPS Switzerland).
In this initial session, there was an interest to further explore the topic of inclusive language and techniques to attract and retain women. We will therefore be rolling out some coaching sessions on this subject.
Diversity & Inclusion is high on our agenda at EMEA Recruitment; we would love for you to engage with us further in this area.
Please contact Charlotte Cruise, Senior Consultant, directly if you would like a full breakdown of the initial Roundtable, or to be included on the invites for the linguistics training or future events centred around Diversity & Inclusion and women’s careers: [email protected]
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