We are pleased to report that the dynamic Saas recruitment market in the UK and Europe continues to evolve. This is driven in part by rapid technology changes, a highly competitive labour market and an increasing number of millennials in the workforce who embrace change and non-traditional recruitment methods.
Here are some key trends we believe will continue to shape Saas recruitment activity in the UK in 2017…
Saas Recruitment Business as Usual
The uncertainty around Brexit hasn’t adversely affected the UK Saas marketplace with growth particularly in the Martec, Security and Big Data sectors continuing apace.
In tandem to growth is the continued focus on revenue. Vendors remain lean and mean, very much focused on the bottom line. We see this in the continued evolution of Customer Success roles where upselling and revenue generation skills are increasingly important rather than the relationship management ones. Likewise, with senior Sales management roles where revenue generation quotas remain the norm.
Stiff Competition
Fierce demand for Sales and Engineering candidates will continue. This competitive environment will drive a more creative approach in connecting with the right candidates. Thinking outside the box and exploring some of the less obvious avenues of recruitment will increasingly be required to find candidates with in-demand skills. Personal networks will remain a powerful tool and be invaluable in sourcing the right skilled software professionals.
Onboarding
Onboarding and retaining talent will continue to be important in the new year. Losing a quality candidate at the offer stage or even a few weeks in the role is painful. Building a personal connection should start with the first phone conversation, build rapport by finding out the goals and aspirations of your potential recruit. Also, try to be flexible for example, with start dates and notice periods and take this into consideration when planning your 2017 recruitment, it could be 3 months before someone can start a new role after they have accepted the position.
Automation
As resources continue to squeezed, organisations will continue to look to automation technology to enhance recruitment efficiencies where possible. Automation can increase the speed of screening candidates, minimize human bias, and help assess soft skills more precisely. Ironically on the flipside of this trend, is the continued importance of the human touch and experience in the recruitment process that can mean the difference between success and failure.
New EU Data Protection Laws
The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that comes into force on 25th May 2018 will need to be addressed in 2017 as organisations ensure they are compliant with requirements around implicit consent, the right to be forgotten, managing access requests and data security breaches as well as appointing a Data Protection Officer.
Hefty fines for infringements (up to €20M or 4% of the offending company’s global annual revenue, whichever is higher) means that this issue will remain centre stage across all departments that handle data including HR.
