Salaries reflect tough economic environment

South Africa’s bleak economic

outlook has taken its toll with a

number of companies retrenching

as a cost-saving imperative in a tight

economy.

“We have seen candidates

relocating mainly

from Durban to

Johannesburg

in search of

positions,”

said Lee Botti

& Associates

director Kim

Botti. “And

with

fewer

jobs available many people are

struggling to find employment.”

The majority of vacancies are

recruited in this region, she said, and

the oversupply of candidates for not

enough jobs is reflected in levels of

salary and increases.

“There have been indications of

candidates accepting positions at

lower salaries than previously,

just to secure employment.

Salary increases, meanwhile, are

generally in the 6-7% range,” said

Botti. “Some organisations have

not been in a position to provide

increases, while others have given

2-3% when inflation is currently

sitting at 5%.”

With desperate times calling for

desperate measures, in the

recruitment industry this

often results in misrepresentation of

credentials. It’s been rife in the public

sector with several prominent public

sector figures being caught short.

“As industry specialists we have

built good relationships with our

candidates and clients over the past

38 years and this assists in checking

people out,” said Botti.

“The checking and pre-screening

of candidates has become more

critical. As a recruitment agency

we have seen how important these

checks are, in particular obtaining

the right reference checks. Many

organisations are becoming quite

thorough in checking they have

the right candidate for the job and

have taken on personality profiling,

emotional intelligence and

integrity testing, reference checks

and criminal checks,” she said.

The bottom line for most

companies in a challenging market

is skills, she added.

“Clients want qualified

candidates with stable track

records who can jump into the

role and immediately become

productive. They no longer have the

luxury of seeking potential,” she

said.

With companies cutting down

on training in order to cut costs,

Botti believes the few learnership

opportunities available play a key

role in bringing in new talent and

increasing the skills pool.

“Learnerships offer the

opportunity for youngsters to

gain training and exposure in the

industry at entry level,” Botti said.