MARKET

INSIGHTS
2017

gcsrecruitment.com
 CONTENTS
3 ATTRACTION
5 WORKING ENVIRONMENT
7 ENGAGEMENT & RETENTION
9 PAY & REWARDS
11 TRAINING
13 RECRUITMENT ACTIVITY
14 ARE WE ALWAYS AT WORK?
15 CONTACT US

Results taken from a survey conducted by

GCS Recruitment Specialists in November
2016 with over 2,000 responses.

2 3
ATTRACTION ATTRACTION

Passive job-seeking is a recently defined concept wherein WHAT NEEDS TO BE

employees are happy in their role but still willing to consider PASSIVE JOB-SEEKERS DONE TO ATTRACT
new positions. Percentage of workers GENERATION Z?
We have seen an increase in passive job-seeking due to who consider themselves Most employers
the skills shortages in many industries, meaning candidates to be passively seeking believe no special
are regularly approached about new opportunities instead new employment treatment is needed
of actively seeking them out. Also, the rise of job boards
Wages in line

and social media platforms like LinkedIn mean that
employees CVs are effectively online 24/7, making it
With Generation Z beginning with current
to enter the workplace, there has
easier to be headhunted.
been much discussion around the cost of living

22%
best way to attract people who
The factor most likely to persuade candidates to switch

70%
may have grown up with a different
companies is the location of the workplace, with the rising
notion of work to previous
cost of housing and transport likely being a major influence.
generations. They are said to
The benefits package is losing more steam every year, with
expect a better work/life balance
only 7% now considering it the most important factor.
and with the cost of living rising,
will expect to be paid in-line
with this inflation in order to
benefit from as much financial
Modern
security as the baby-boomers
before them. Nothing workplace
different
19%
WHATS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR
WHEN CONSIDERING A NEW ROLE? However, their expectations
(Aside from money)

32%
are yet to be met. Most
employers (32%) believe

theres no need to give

them any special treatment.
Although, employers do have
28% their finger on the pulse in
24% terms of the cost of living
dilemma, with 22% of them Increased
18% expecting a more financially
demanding future workforce.
flexible
13%
10% Tailored working
7% benefits
Location Role/
Project
Working
Environment
Company
Culture
Flexible
Working
Benefits
Package
package
16%
4
11% 5
WORKING ENVIRONMENT WORKING ENVIRONMENT

Once again, workers consider FLEXIBLE WORKING EMPLOYEES

the working environment to be PREFERRED

38%
Companies that have increased
more important than their benefits
package. This is unsurprising, as flexible working this year WORKING
ENVIRONMENT Open plan office
62% of people report being unhappy
with their benefits package.
Open plan offices are the most

60
59%
In line with the move towards popular choice amongst employees,
flexible working and increasing although the recent idea that we
expectations of a better work/life go to a workplace instead of the
balance, 59% of companies have office has resulted in the rise in
increased flexible working this popularity of flexible workspaces,
year, compared with just 48% and accessible remote-working
last year. technologies have led to more people
working from home.

ENVIRONMENT VS BENEFITS
Its clearly important for
employers to get their Flexible
60
64% space
workspaces right. However,
Employees who value their

27%
a balance must be struck
working environment over between employees
their benefits package comfort and employers
concerns over productivity.
Despite moves towards
more flexible workspaces,
68% of employers believe
hot-desking has a negative
Cubicle

13%
impact on productivity.

60
68% Work
from home

22%
HOT-DESKING
Employers who believe
hot-desking has a negative
impact on productivity

6 7
 ENGAGEMENT & RETENTION ENGAGEMENT & RETENTION
Employees appear to be looking at other facets of working However, employers know that ultimately money is still
life aside from money to determine where they will work. With the main motivator for most employees. In fact, 39% WORK/LIFE BALANCE
salaries stabilising and a focus on the working environment of companies increased salaries specifically to retain How satisfied are you with your
and work/life balance, there is an emerging idea of human key staff.
workplaces where emphasis is put on valuing employees and work/life balance?

39%
satisfying their needs. Employers do appear to realise the value
of their staff, as 48% believe it is the people that makes their RETAINING KEY STAFF Happiness with work/life

70%
company a great place to work, compared with just 5% who balance has remained the
believe its the pay and rewards. same since last year (70%),
so companies looking to Satisfied
engage and retain key staff
should consider increasing
the availability of flexible
working to appease a further
HOW WOULD YOU IMPROVE 30% of people. 47% of
YOUR WORK/LIFE BALANCE?

those would choose the

option of working from
Sabbatical home to improve their work/
Increased of employers increase salaries
5%
life balance which, despite
holiday the accessibility of remote
allowance to retain key members of staff
working, is still a surprisingly

11%
high figure.

Also easily implemented is

a flexi-time scheme (23%)
Work from home

47%
Compressed and compressed hours
WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY

hours 48% (17%). Luckily for employers,

14%
A GREAT PLACE TO WORK? increased holiday allowance
and sabbaticals were the
least popular the options Unsatisfied

30%
that have the most impact
on businesses due to
Flexi-time staff not being present

23%
24% to complete work. This
suggests staff are more than
willing to put the hours in,
14%
but would like to be trusted
9% to do so in their own time.
5%
People Company Project/ Working Pay &
culture work Environment Rewards

8 9
PAY & REWARDS PAY & REWARDS
Company exceeds targets Above

28%
WHEN ARE BONUSES HOW DOES YOUR REMUNERATION
AWARDED? PACKAGE COMPARE TO THE average

16%
INDUSTRY AVERAGE?
Bonuses were awarded at most (78%) (Employers) Average

58%
organisations in one form or another,
with the majority (36%) offering them
as part of a yearly scheme. However,
a number of employers (28%) offer 58% of employers believe the remuneration package
bonuses only if the company exceeds they offer is in line with the industry average, with a
further 26% actually believing theirs to be below average. Below
financial targets, and a surprising Awarded yearly Do not offer bonuses
average

36% 22%
Employers should address this as they know what keeps

26%
22% offer none at all.
people in their organisation happy 38% believe pay
and rewards have most impact on employee satisfaction,
and 22% believe Generation Z will demand more money
than previous generations.

Employee
performance
WHAT HAS THE MOST IMPACT ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR BENEFITS PACKAGE?
ON EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION?
What employees say has the 14% (Employees)

most impact on their job satisfaction

38%

Yes
38% Pay &
Rewards

30% Company
Employees are generally content with their pay and rewards

62%
Culture
62% believe their remuneration package is average for their
industry, with an equal amount (19%) believing theirs is either
below or above average.
No
27% Working
Environment
However, benefits packages once again appear to be
missing the mark with employees only 38% are happy

5% Benefits with theirs. Companies should be looking to more tailored

Package benefits packages, as the one-size fits-all approach no longer
fits anybody!
10 11
TRAINING TRAINING
HOW MUCH TRAINING HAVE YOU ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE AMOUNT OF WHEN ARE As part of a career
HAD COMPARED TO LAST YEAR? TRAINING SUPPORT YOUVE RECEIVED? YOU OFFERED
TRAINING SUPPORT? development plan

55%

Most companies (55%) offer

training as part of a career
development plan, although
judging by the dissatisfaction,
perhaps this is not enough.
Worryingly, 17% of employees have
More
No

67%
As part of a
40%
to request training themselves,

Same as
and 3% of employers offer no company-wide
training at all!
previous year plan

50% No training
offered
Upon 25%
request

10% Less
3% 17%
41%

Employers should remember the importance of training,
not only for increased productivity for their business, Yes

33%
27%
but also for employee satisfaction. The hunger for skills
PREFERRED WAY TO TRAIN STAFF
development is higher than ever, with a 7% increase
20% The most popular training method is traditional in-house
from last year to 67% of employees feeling unhappy
training, but employers also like to put their trust in
with the amount of training support they have received.
12% professional training methods with 27% sending their
staff to gain industry accreditations. The increase in
Although 50% of employees report no change in the
availability of e-learning has resulted in 20% of employers
amount of training received from last year, and 40%
believing online training and webinars are the best way to
actually say they received more, what employers are
train their staff.
offering is still falling short of demand. In-house Industry Online/ Seminars/
Training Accreditations Webinars Events

12 13
RECRUITMENT ACTIVITY
HAS BREXIT HAD AN IMPACT
ON YOUR RECRUITMENT ACTIVITY?
Yes 11%
No 89%
The hot topic of 2016. Much has been discussed on how
Brexit will affect recruitment and the economy as a whole.
However, aside from a little caution immediately
after the result, theres little evidence to suggest
46%
its had an impact on hiring. 89% of companies
say Brexit has had no impact on their recruitment
activity so far, and 46% of companies say their
recruitment activity will remain the same in
2017, with 43% saying they are actually going
to hire more.
With a country so divided on the matter,
theres inevitably people who may take action
after Brexit 21% of candidates say they are
more likely to work abroad following Brexit.
14
ARE WE ALWAYS AT WORK?
21%
HOW WILL YOUR RECRUITMENT Smartphones have had a massive impact on the way we OUT OF HOURS
ACTIVITY COMPARE TO LAST YEAR? work. Emails on your phone is now commonplace. But
does this always have a positive impact? Are we now always
at work?
Recruit
21% of employers expect their staff to always be contactable
outside of work hours (within reason). In fact, 64% of
employers expect their staff to be contactable when the
more
43%
matter is urgent, meaning to some degree at least 85% of
employers expect to be able to contact their staff outside of
work hours.
of employers expect their staff to always
be contactable outside of work hours
64%
Its interesting to compare this to the fact that 30% of people
are still unhappy with their work/life balance. Its important
for employers and employees to strike the right balance
between work and rest in order to maximise productivity
employees need to be at work to work but also need to be
rested enough to produce the quality and quantity of work
Recruit that employers desire.
same
However, it does seem like employers are taking strides
towards maintaining a happy, productive and motivated
workforce, as 59% increased their flexible working allowances
last year. To continue in this positive direction, employers
should listen to their staff to understand exactly what sort of
of employers expect their staff to be
flexibility would work best, and maintain an open dialogue in contactable outside of work hours
order to stay ahead of the curve and retain their workforce. when it is urgent
15%
Recruit
less
11% of employers never expect their staff to
be contactable outside of work hours
15 15
CONTACT US
We understand that finding and retaining individuals FOLLOW US:
with the relevant skills and experience is what every
business aspires to do. At GCS, we have been helping @gcsrecruitment
organisations to do just that since 1991.
/gcsrecruitment
Whether you need short-term solutions or long-term
results, require one individual or a whole project team, /gcs-recruitment-specialists
we have the level of expertise to help secure the best
people for your organisation. @gcsrecruitment

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