FROM SEPTEMBER'S 2016 RECRUITER MAGAZINE

How can a predominantly UK-focused, technology recruitment business cope with Brexit – or any constitutional change of such magnitude for that matter? The answer? Through the traits that alway define the best recruiters: agility and resourcefulness. 

Agility is a key skill of any successful recruitment business and as professionals, we are all aware that changing economic factors can dramatically affect hiring practices. I’ve found that unearthing talent creates opportunities, whatever the prevailing market conditions. So what if a seismic change happens to the UK tech recruitment market over the next few years and the focus shifts from candidate to client-driven?

Dexterity will be our strength. 360 recruitment professionals are constantly balancing the search for candidate talent with investment in client networks. In essence, 360 recruitment consultants wouldn’t exist if the ability to build and develop client relationships was lacking.

Right now, no ‘seismic shift’ has taken place across the UK technology recruitment market; what we have seen is an uplift of contractor recruitment (felt similarly across several market sectors). In reality, this subtle shift was first felt in Q4 of 2015, possibly down to pre-emptive caution pending the   

EU Referendum or the putative signs of a slowing global economy, perhaps both. The actuality in the tech market has been that hiring perm talent started to get tougher as 2015 drew to a close.

Brexit will do nothing to alleviate the ‘war for talent’ for the best technologists out there – but nor does this represent an insurmountable problem for a specialist 360 recruiter. Where pressure is exerted on perm supply, opportunity arises for contract and that appears to be the case at the moment. With pre-defined talent networks encompassing both permanent and contract candidates, expert consultants will identify the opportunity to leverage roles for both. What’s crucial is that we draw no conclusions about a significant trend for contract over perm, as the needs of each customer will differ widely and these will evolve over time.

The key behaviours needed to seize opportunities during any period of change, I believe, include:

• Specialise – find the candidates our clients can’t. Recruiters must be maestros in their chosen field and build relationships through creative, tailored activities, not transactional, KPI [key performance indicators] chasers.

• Talk – shatter the notion that tech and online tools are our primary sources for finding talent or engaging with our clients. During periods of change and volatility, companies and individuals will be affected in different ways and should be addressed individually. We need technology and analytics but an expert recruiter also needs creativity and refinement.

• Best opportunities – Unlearn the notion that the primary purpose of a recruiter is to fill a job and recognise that our purpose is to find the best people the most appealing opportunities. 

Now, more than ever, as external factors in the UK shift, we mustn’t lose sight of the core principles of specialist recruiters: these must remain constant to ensure we to continue to succeed. Through investing in the practices that underpin 360 recruitment, we can create opportunities and strategies to provide the foundations to accommodate change.

Derek Mackenzie is managing director of technology recruiter onezeero.