Majority of Irish employers expect to increase headcount in 2013
30th January, 2013 – Morgan McKinley Ireland 2013 Salary Survey Highlights:
• 55% of hiring managers in the permanent market will be recruiting new employees this year
• Qualified/experienced professionals are predicted to be most in demand this year
• Only 9% of employers are concerned that emigration will be a challenge to sourcing talent
• The majority of permanent and temporary hiring managers predict salaries will remain at 2012 levels
• Others predict a rise in pay: 41% in the permanent professional hiring market and 21% in the temporary/contract market
• Pay rises will be modest with any increases being only up to 10%
• Respondents anticipated attraction and retention of talent would mainly drive increased pay.
Hiring intentions
Morgan McKinley Ireland carried out a survey focused on pay and hiring intentions with over 300 hiring managers in Ireland in January 2013. Of those responsible for hiring permanent professionals, 55% plan to do so this year and across the entire market the focus is on professionals who are either qualified or experienced. In addition, 30% will be looking to add graduate or entry level roles to their workforces.
Contrary to recent reports highlighting emigration of skilled professionals, this was not identified as a significant challenge to sourcing talent over the course of the year with only 9% citing it as an issue. Instead, employers expect to be focusing on matching candidates’ skills to their exact requirements and ensuring their employer brand, benefits and other aspects of their business are appealing to job seekers.
Forecasts for pay
The results of the survey also show that the majority of respondents expect pay to remain relatively subdued over the course of the year – with 55% of permanent hiring managers and 73% of temporary/contract hiring managers expecting pay to remain at 2012 levels.
A further 41% of permanent hiring managers and 21% of temporary hiring managers forecast that salaries and pay rates will actually rise. However, respondents were cautious; any increases are likely to be modest with most expecting to see pay packets increase by 1- 10%.
The most likely reason for employees to see their pay rise this year is employers’ desire to keep the best people and also, to attract new talent – according to 41% in the permanent market and 35% of those who recruit temporary employees.
Sectors forecasting growth
Survey respondents identified accounting & finance, IT and sales & marketing as the functions where they will most likely be hiring over the course of the year.
Karen O’Flaherty, Chief Operations Officer, Morgan McKinley Ireland commented:
“While Irish businesses continue to operate in such a fluctuating business climate, it’s imperative to understand from those with hiring responsibility what their expectations and resourcing needs are for the year ahead. In comparison to our Ireland 2012 Salary Survey it’s pleasing to see a rise this year in those who expect salaries and contractor rates to increase in 2013.
“The fact that most respondents actually predict no increase in pay is not surprising. Hiring is still at a much lower level than previous years and it is only recently that employers are starting to have slightly more visibility of the coming months. It’s also fair to say that small businesses and indigenous companies continue to face challenges to their growth aspirations and as a consequence are more downbeat in their expectations for 2013. Following the last couple of years where pay hasn’t increased dramatically across the board, hiring managers continue to be cautious about forecasting large uplifts in pay.
“Our key takeaways from this survey are that employers will be hiring this year, across all levels. They are very conscious of the need to be competitive in their approach to attracting new talent and keeping the best people they already have. In addition, their focus must be on sourcing professionals with the right skills to add value to their businesses. Increased activity across sales & marketing is a positive indicator which we very much hope will add to business growth in 2013.”
Click here to view the full Morgan McKinley Ireland 2013 Salary Survey