Addressing the challenges faced by Hiring Managers at the start of the year
January and February can be a challenging time for Hiring Managers in Asia. Rather than sit still and wait for decisions to come from post Chinese New Year discussions, the most proactive recruiters can tackle the issue head on and get ahead of the game. This will see them operating with fully functioning teams while their competitors are still working to build theirs.
The rise in the three months’ notice period
A three months’ notice period is becoming increasingly common in compliance. Companies are using this as a retention mechanism, with the longer process sometimes putting off other firms from approaching their talent when quick hiring is required.
Hiring firms are having to pay higher salaries for the top candidates to entice them to join them, they have to wait longer and they find themselves with unmotivated staff for three months as they are forced to work out their notice period.
This all makes it even more important for firms to get a head start in their recruitment plans this year and identify the best talent. It’s imperative that a firm can really sell their roles to the right people and this is where a specialist in the market like ourselves can really add value.
Bonus time
One of the biggest challenges of trying to recruit at this time of the year is bonuses. A lot of clients find that potential candidates are sitting tight for the bonuses they have worked hard all year to receive. They have the option to offer large percentage increases in compensation to incorporate their expected bonus as well as their previous annual package, but this can be a very expensive way of working.
Recruiters like ourselves, with good relationships with our network know the motivating factors of our candidates. We can approach them with non-fiscal benefits such as holiday, flexible working conditions or career progression that we know will be superseding incentives.
We are able to have meaningful discussions with candidates, helping them to see the bigger picture when it comes to making a move; working for a better company, getting a better job, a bigger annual package etc can mean so much more than one bonus. We are also able to encourage candidates to enter the recruitment process earlier than they usually would so that they are ready to leave as soon as the bonus hits their accounts.
Knowledge of international organisations and sectors that have different bonus periods is useful for navigating around who to approach; Asset Managers have often paid in December, many US firms pay at the end of January and European firms pay in February and March.
Compliance worldwide will continue to be a strong market as the market only continues to prove the threat and vulnerabilities compliance aims to address. If you would like our support in finding the right people for your team please get in touch.
