Hays Office Support - October 2007

Hotspots

A definite upswing in office support vacancies is a clear result of the shortage of experienced skills, with solid candidates snapped up with speed.

In particular demand are legal secretaries and legal personal assistants, while experienced receptionists are also required at the $30,000 to $35,000 level, as these candidates typically seek career advancement opportunities outside the reception function to tackle new challenges.

Entry-level candidates are also required as employers actively progress the career of their administrators through internal promotions in order to retain their knowledge. Vacancies are generally around the $26,000 to $35,000 level and those with one to two years basic administration experience are ideally sought. These vacancies generally offer excellent opportunities for career progression and development.

High-level executive and personal assistants with advanced skills in Word and Excel and specialist knowledge in TRIM, SAP and Oracle are also required for long-term temporary roles. These candidates need high-level skills so they can hit the ground running as employers lack the time to train candidates into the role.

In addition, some employers value a temporary candidate who can commence immediately for a handover with the departing staff member while a permanent employee is sourced. Increasingly these candidates are then offered the role on a permanent basis once they have proven their abilities in a temporary capacity.

The coming quarter

The volume of permanent and temporary jobs will continue, with vacancy activity for temporary staff increasing particularly. For newly created roles, employers prefer to employ temporary staff initially until the full functions of the role are established to allow maximum benefit to the company. This is ensuring the market remains active, although often these candidates are offered the role on a permanent basis, which further stretches the available temporary candidate pool.

In addition, healthy turnover as we approach the end of the year will keep activity high.

While temporary vacancy activity is high, the process has slowed. Employers are considering multiple candidate resumes for short-term assignments, which protracts the process often leading to disappointment since the ideal candidate commences another assignment by the time a decision is made. Employers who instead act quickly are securing their ideal temporary candidate.

Senior recruitment

Significant requirements for executive assistants with four or more years experience remain, however demand outstrips supply, particularly for those with IT industry experience. Project management experience or specialist knowledge is also often sought. Executive assistants are no longer seen as administrators but rather as part of the management team who need to have business acumen.

Demand is not only centred on the permanent market; highly skilled EA's are in demand for holiday and maternity cover contracts.

Salaries

Salaries are expected to remain steady or increase only slightly this quarter in response to the demand for quality candidates, although given demand for experienced contractors more flexibility surrounding temporary rates is expected. Salary increases have been highest over the past year for candidates with specialist backgrounds, such as in information technology and financial services, while personal and executive assistants have also received strong salary increases over the past 12 months as a result of the demand for their services.

Employers are offering additional benefits such as health care, parking, social activities, bonuses and regular salary reviews, to differentiate their company from others.

Some candidates in demand seem to feel they can dictate how much they should be paid and their salary expectations are sometimes inflated. This results in a differentiation between employer and candidate expectations. However while companies will increase salaries to secure candidates, there is a limit and candidates should be realistic in their expectations.

The Hays Salary Survey is a guide to typical market salaries and can be viewed at www.hays.com.au/salary

Candidate trends

A higher number of senior executive assistants are exploring permanent opportunities at present, while there has been a decrease in candidate availability at the entry-level as these candidates are often employed quickly.

Employers have raised hourly rates to attract temporary candidates. But some candidates are leaving their current assignment before the completion date to secure a role with a higher rate. This is however only a short-term gain; employers value demonstrated commitment and when several temporary roles are abandoned early, future potential employers will question your commitment.

The traditional influx of overseas travellers arriving in Australia for summer will assist the supply of staff to the temporary market, particularly for basic all-round administration and reception roles.