In what has been described by recruitment companies as “clearly an employer’s market”, many job seekers appear to be taking a less aggressive stand when it comes to salary increases. “They’re largely just happy to remain employed, says Dr Lynn Ribton-Turner of RibtonTurner Management Services. “Many executives in the global companies have had low and even no increases in the past years while staff are prepared to take a cut in salary rather than face retrenchment,” she said. Salary expectations were always a fine balancing act, said Terri Smith of Tiger Recruitment. “We are struggling with one or two companies and the salaries that they give us. They want good skilled candidates but aren’t willing to pay for them.” Since the fortunes of the freight industry track the economic fortunes of the country, a lacklustre 2018 translated into a difficult year in terms of employment opportunities, says Jill Morris of Lee Botti & Associates. “The markets were seen to be much slower than usual, leading to recruitment freezes as well as retrenchments by many of our clients.” Skilled staff are however always in high demand, with Smith identifying entry clerks with tariff knowledge as well as estimators on her priority list. “The majority of our clients conduct entry assessments on the candidates before they allow for an interview and we are struggling to find candidates that pass these assessments,” she said. According to RibtonTurner, successful sales staff and business development managers are in short supply and in great demand. “These big hitters are frequently headhunted but often prefer to remain with their company if remunerated well with an attractive basic and an exciting commission structure. “Mid-level managers are often not replaced if they resign and supervisors promoted to handle the role. And at executive level I hear many corporate employers commenting that there is a short supply of experienced director level strategic thinking executives. There has been a steady flow of these individuals leaving South Africa to Europe the Mid-East, Australia and the UK,” she added. Morris agrees that successful sales staff are always in short supply, “as well as learners to join corporate learnership programmes, although these have declined too due to companies rather seeking skilled candidates. There is a definite decline in demand for temps due to changes in labour laws and the new ‘three month maximum’ employment policy.” In a tight market, job seekers need to realise that the competition for each and every role available is fierce, says Morris, and their best option in terms of getting recognition or consideration is to ‘think outside the box’ and open the channels of communication when applying for roles, particularly those that are online or through recruitment centres. “As there are fewer opportunities available, and companies are under pressure to perform, the organisations are becoming more selective when it comes to recruiting staff. They are looking to employ on required skill combined with the right attitude to adding value to their organisation.” And while technology is fast encroaching on the recruitment space, agents believe that while their traditional role may be changing, they still have a significant role to play. “Technology is certainly challenging to the recruitment industry. The many available recruitment websites can be accessed by HR managers, however often that screening could be aided by the experienced eye of a seasoned recruitment professional,” says RibtonTurner. “Social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn are also giving employers access to senior or junior individuals in our market; these individuals were previously on the recruiters’ database. High tech is the name of the game, particularly with younger employees in our freight market, and all employees young and old need to stay updated with market developments in technology and the packages utilised in our industry.”
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The markets were seen to be much slower than usual, leading to recruitment freezes as well as retrenchments by many of our clients. – Jill Morris
