Professional Services Recruitment Team

And keep the wage bill down

Executive pay has come under criticism in social housing. In the largest 100 housing associations, pay in the top job has risen by 5.5 percent. It stands out because this is not matched in the lesser ranks and also because Government legislation is sucking out the surplus for many.

The ‘pro’ view for increasingly higher pay has been around the lack of skills and expertise within the sector; that salaries are benchmarked, that this is the going rate, and that ‘their’ particular organisation has twice the housing stock and consequently demands a premium rate - the latter metric having a curious and anomalistic alignment with worth.

The senior appointments team at Morgan Hunt has been placing top execs in the public and not for profit sectors for the past decade and there is some growing concern around the concept of ‘closed shop’ creeping under the boundaries of housing top level jobs; that a precondition of employment for the Chief Executive role is experience within the sector.

“It’s true, that the learning curve at the start of a job might be steeper if the person who is hired is not sector experienced, but there is no evidence to suggest that someone from outside the sector cannot do the job as effectively” says Frazer Thouard, Director, Senior Appointments Division, Morgan Hunt.

Economists always view long run investment curves with a dip to start with and then with increasing returns later on. An example of outside sector recruitment is Carolyn McCall, appointed Chief Executive of Easy Jet in 2010 after 25 years in the newspaper business. Aviation, media? Not a lot in common apart from both being high fixed cost businesses, but it has not mattered judging from her performance.

Are boards too close; do they lack objectivity when it comes to making decisions on pay and candidate selection, should there be more independence, more vision, a wider scope?

Both recruitment and Ftse 100 companies have been lambasted for being too narrow in their search and selection of candidates, including the appointment of non-executive directors.

We should not condone top pay for top skills. Skills of this kind often command three times higher in commerce and industry. Also there is an increasingly larger enterprise remit entering into social housing; and, given their social purpose, the shifting balance will be a higher and more challenging wire to walk for any CEO.

Yet talent in social housing does not solely exist within a homogenous housing group and the laws of economics will drive up price where supply is restricted. “Looking beyond the immediate social housing community can bring in much needed new talent and innovative thinking.” says Thouard. “If social housing is to evolve, it should look outside for fresh ideas. If the sector is doing all right then it’s ok to recruit from within, but it isn’t, and swapping around directors is not the best solution. This would be a mind-set change for the industry”.

This viewpoint is clearly not held by all. And there are issues in attracting good quality candidates from outside the sector due to its image, yet there is still enough within the remuneration package for recruiters to market with confidence.

For example the vast majority of Chief Executives (80%) are on defined contribution pension schemes; this is rare in commerce and industry. With employer contributions of up to 30 percent, recruiters need to wise up on the lure of these increasingly scarce additions.

For more information on Morgan Hunt Senior Appointments email us.

Are you a pro at coming up with slogans? Have you got a passion for statistics, research and creative writing?  Or perhaps you just want to put your mad men box set to good use.

Whatever the reason, if you’re the person who always gets asked to contribute to communications, effortlessly handles presentations and is always jotting down ideas for the next great TV ad, you might find a career in marketing a rewarding and exciting prospect. Not sure where to start? Here’s some top roles to whet your appetite and our top tips on how to improve your chances to securing them.

Marketing Assistant

What they do: Supporting the marketing manager, you’ll be at the heart of driving marketing campaigns for the department. An important cog in the marketing wheel, you'll be expected to be involved at all levels, including drafting press releases, updating clients and organising promotional events.

What you need: Competition to start a career in marketing is fierce and applicants with a degree in marketing, business or commerce will have an advantage over other applicants but this isn’t necessarily the case all the time.

Earning potential:  At an entry level position you can look to earn anything up from £17k but once you get some experience this can rise to anything between £18K - £25K.

Perfect for: People who like to be behind the scenes.

View all marketing assistant roles >

PR & communications

What they do: Working with the media to portray a positive reputation through communication,  building good relationships and creating understanding between an organisation and its public.

What you need: To be successful in PR and communications, the ability to build relationships with people is essential. It’s not all air kisses and muahs daahhling.  It’s a real understanding of influencing opinion and behaviour to protect reputation.

Earning potential: A £16,000 - £24,000 starting salary but as with anything, it depends on the type of company you work for.

Perfect for: People with good communication skills, powers of persuasion and can spin a good yarn.

View all PR and communication roles >

Digital Marketer

What they do: Digital marketing roles have a special focus on all things “online”, typically complimenting the offline marketing of the business and digitally transferring it via website, social media and search facilities.

What you need: Have a strong interest in digital trends, creativity, excellent copy writing skills and the ability to throw around technical terminology is essential. There are no specific qualifications that are a requirement for this role but any qualifications that demonstrate a strong familiarity with the internet and web design is a bonus.

Earning potential: Can vary greatly depending on the size and profitability of the company. While it is often in line with the salary of offline marketers (typical salaries ranging between £25,000 and £40,000) but with specialised skills in related fields like e-commerce, digital marketers can end up earning more than their offline counterparts.

Perfect for: People who are the first to download that new app everyone’s talking about and then review it to the enth degree.

View all digital marketing roles >

Market Research

What they do: Plan, implement, control, analyse and report on information that you gather. The data you collect will normally revolve around what organisations or people buy, need, do or think and the reasons why.

What you need: An analytical mind and strong knowledge of statistics.  An interest in psychology and behavioural science helps too.

Earning potential:  Starting on £15,000 to £20,000 a year which, with experience, would rise to around £28,000.

Perfect for: People who like collecting and interpreting data.

View all marketing research roles >

Top tips

1.       Set your Goals
The first step is the most difficult. Visualise the job you want. If the end goal is a stretch too far at this point, break it down into realistic and achievable steps.

2.       Know your capabilities
It’s time to look in the mirror and get to grips with your own strengths and weaknesses. Be brutally honest, know where you are in relation to your goal, but don’t let this put you off. You’re on a journey and that journey may take you onto some ‘B’ roads before you hit the motorway.

3.       Get a Personal Development Plan
Craft a Personal Development Plan and decide what actions you need to take to reach your goals. Be specific, make your actions measurable and write a date in which you are going to hit the milestones and stick to them!

4.       Take advantage of the many opportunities for in-house training that working in the charity sector offers. Talk to your line-manager about doing external courses or gain additional experience by shadowing others. If you’re working with suppliers they often offer free events to join that will add to your knowledge base. Take advantage of any free learning that is going on offer.

5.       Talk to someone who is where you want to be
Find someone doing what you want to do. Now that you have a role model ask yourself what is it about them that has made them successful. Maybe sit and have a coffee with them and talk about their career journey. Find out their secrets-of-success. You will find that people are often more than happy to talk about themselves and offer this key information quite freely.

6.       Connect with others
Build connections with people who can help you. Join communities and professional networks – these may be specific functional groups or skill-specific associations. Build a LinkedIn profile. Be relevant to their conversations and be prepared to hold your own opinions. It’s important to share your passion but stay on piste and develop an antenna to tamper down when necessary.

7.       Be prepared for change
Change is constant – get on board or get left behind. Keep your eyes-open to new deployments in your sector and do not be afraid to offer your services and get stuck in to any new project.

8.       Brush-up on your knowledge
Keep abreast of your profession, read sector related magazines and journals attend events and talk to people in commerce to get a fresh and up-to-date perspective.

9.       Adopt a commercial mind-set
Providing value-for-money in the charity sector is not good enough. The whole sector wants to see a measurable cost benefit and accountability for service delivery. Demonstrate that you can not only achieve targets but know how you can make these relevant to your publics.

10.   Finally...
Passion and ambition is infectious. Your drive and energy will elevate you to stand out in the crowd. Be generous with your ideas and treat others how you wish to be treated yourself.

The Morgan Hunt marketing and comms team has extensive experience in connecting great candidates with exciting vacancies in the charities, not-for-profit, education and arts and heritage organisations. Contact us or call the team on 0207 419 8900 to find out more.

Surge in demand for digital marketers leads to skills shortage across marketing sector

Where are all the digital marketing professionals? With 71% of businesses planning to increase their investment in digital marketing, the demand for specialist digital marketers with strong content creation, social media, SEM and online community management expertise has significantly increased.

Brands are increasingly taking advantage of digital channels for the delivery of their marketing campaigns in response to the shift in the way companies communicate with their audiences. Today there is a real focus on building communities and using content and social media to facilitate brand engagement directly with audiences to develop an awareness, as well as an affinity, with that brand. It’s not just about increasing brand exposure but establishing a position in the digital market as a thought-leader, driving quality traffic to the site, lead generation and improved search rankings.

The result? A shift in mindset to prioritise investment in digital marketing, resulting in new roles being created by employers to move their digital marketing in-house where it may have been previously outsourced.

Talent shortage within digital marketing sector

The Econsultancy/Responsys Marketing Budgets 2013 Report revealed that 71% of businesses plan to increase their investment in digital marketing compared with 20% looking to increase their offline marketing spend. In addition, a 2013 report looking into content marketing in the UK by the Content Marketing Institute revealed that 94% of respondents use the tactic in their campaigns.

This surge in demand for digital marketing professionals from companies looking to quickly step up their game in this space has inevitably led to a skills shortage across the marketing sector. Unsurprisingly, the limited number of experienced and skilled candidates seeking a new job don’t stay on the market for long.

Latest employment data from The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) - the APSCo monthly hiring trends report - reveals that the marketing and media recruitment sector continues to suffer from a talent shortage. Permanent placements have collapsed by 21% year on year, but actual job openings have risen by 2% - indicative of an ongoing shortage of experienced and available digital marketing candidates.

Offline marketing still key

Despite this change in emphasis there is still a demand for marketing professionals with an offline marketing background – particularly evident within the charity and not for profit sectors where there is still a strong focus on print and offline marketing as key strategies.

There is also increasing uncertainty from businesses regarding digital marketing's ROI, with 18% of respondents to the Econsultancy/Responsys report rating their understanding of it as 'poor' or 'very poor' – an increase from 10% in 2010.

With many digital marketing strategies still in their infancy, it’s time to up-skill and gain experience within these sought-after sectors; evolving your career to meet the changing demands of the market.

At Morgan Hunt our dedicated marketing and communications team maintains in-depth knowledge of the sector. We understand how industry and market developments affect hiring trends and we’re able to advise clients on effective recruitment strategies and advise our candidates on how to adapt career plans to the changing requirements of the market. To find out more contact us or email marketing@morganhunt.com.

Is the repeal of the 2017 and 2021 reforms to the off-payroll working rules as part of last month’s ’Mini Budget’ statement the good news our contractors, employers and agencies wanted? What do you think? Are you ready for a change and do we actually know what the new legislation will mean?

Dave Hedges is a tax partner at Azets and says there is “an absence of fine detail” around how HMRC will manage the transition over the coming months. “While the changes are welcome and have been lobbied for, we are advising clients throughout the engagement chain to tread carefully pending clarification,” he said.

Some questions remain following the chancellor’s announcement that the Off-Payroll Working (OPW) rules are to be repealed from April 6th 2023. There are three main reasons for this:

1. Is it really going to happen? Nothing has changed yet and we have a Budget coming up in November, preceded by a government already doing a U-turn on its 45p tax rate plan. The possibility of further U-turns therefore seems significant. Fingers crossed that this promised repeal of the OPW rules goes ahead. But it’s not certain.

2. End-clients (both public and private sectors), agencies, umbrella companies, accountants and IR35/OPW advisers are all taking stock and wondering how this could affect their business. And yes, that goes for me too!

3. Contractors are realising that unless they have always been outside IR35 and working for ‘small’ companies (not affected by the OPW rules), that their own circumstances are complicated.  Notably where the contractor is:

   1. currently with an umbrella, or

   2. holding an SDS where the client has stated ‘inside IR35’, or;

   3. regularly jumping between their PSC and an umbrella company depending on the IR35/OPW assessment.

At this stage (Q4 2022), nobody knows how the repeal of the OPW rules will work. That’s the unpopular, hard truth.  Many commentators are reaching for their crystal balls, with some suggesting that there will be new rules for contractors added onto the IR35 rules of old (2000), such as requiring contractors to complete Status Determination Statements. There’s even the odd whisper that end-clients will continue to determine IR35 status; that blanket bans on using PSCs will continue indefinitely, and that HMRC will declare some sort of ‘amnesty’ on prior SDSs with ‘inside’ results. As interesting as they are, these really are only opinions at this stage and should be taken as nothing more.

So what can we do now? Every part of the contracting chain needs to use this time to analyse the effects on their own businesses and it is vital that all get up to speed with IR35 version one (2000). 

• Keep watching the contractor press for developments (the contractor ‘press’ that doesn’t just stick a press release up!).

• Decide what you want to do -- if you could.

• Collect and keep all evidence including SDS outcomes, online IR35 status tool outputs, end-client correspondence, contract review results, and working practices changes/opinions.

• Find out about your personal situation now, to see what the options and (above all else) the risks are, and if a change in your status is feasible.

• Speak to your client and find out what their position may be come April 6th 2023, especially if you are contracting with an organisation that has banned PSCs.

• Take advice from only those that, as impartial as possible, understand all the rules (from 2000 onwards), and ideally those with hands-on experience of successfully defending IR35 HMRC investigations.

This could be great news for professional interim and self employed workers, it could be great news for large private companies and the public sector to attract and retain key skills to help them deliver growth and it could be great news for those involved in the supply of these people. For now, keep up to date, get planning and be ready, April will soon be here…