Hays Office Support - July 2008

Hotspots

Experienced legal secretaries are the prime hotspot of demand in Australia's office support market, yet there is a shortage of experienced candidates, particularly since employers are doing more to retain their legal secretaries through improved incentives, which include bonus schemes, profit share and flexible working hours. The more solicitors a firm attracts, the more experienced support staff they require. Litigation experience remains a constant area of demand since there are many avenues to pursue.

Receptionists are another hotspot. Few candidates view this function as a career path, hence the movement out of the function into administration roles. Employers are reacting in a similar fashion to the demand for legal secretaries, by increasing retention strategies such as higher salaries.

General administrators and data entry clerks are another area of demand. Similarly to the trend with receptionists, these candidates can be very transient and often use their role as a stepping-stone to more senior office support roles. Despite this, the demand for their skills means they have more choice than ever in the market, and so candidates content to remain in a role long-term are rare.

Candidates in specialised areas such as medical typists, , fleet administrators and those with financial services experience are in demand, with particular emphasis placed on industry experience.

Western Australia and Queensland have huge demands for office support staff with construction, mining and oil & gas experience, for both contract and permanent roles. Contracts administrators are a particular hotspot due to the level of development activity.

The coming quarter

An ongoing increase in activity is envisaged throughout the office support commercial sector, with new roles created in line with market growth, and internal promotions opening up more opportunities. There is also a trend of candidates deciding to move from a current position to pursue more lucrative positions and to build a career path.

Employers need to be aware of the speed of the recruitment market. Permanent vacancies are being filled within timeframes traditionally expected for temporary roles.

Senior recruitment

There has been an increase in senior executive assistants seeking permanent and temporary work, however the salary expectations of these candidates often divert initial employer interest in their skills.

Salaries

The 2008 Hays Salary Survey, detailing typical salaries across Australia and New Zealand, has been released. The survey includes over 30 office support roles in 11 locations and is available from www.hays.com.au/salary

Candidate trends

Some candidates prefer temporary/contract positions to gain exposure to a new industry and increase their skills, however many temporary candidates seem unaware of current market rates and are asking for higher hourly rates than employers are prepared to offer.

Candidates are moving jobs more frequently, and the demand for skills, particularly for those in hotspot areas, is so high that any one candidate will typically receive several employment offers.

We cannot emphasise enough how important stability is to future job prospects. Regularly changing roles to chase short-term salary increases will be detrimental to your career long-term, as in today's skills short market where opportunities are plentiful for experienced candidates, employers prefer a candidate with demonstrated tenure who is seen as more likely to remain in the position longer-term.

Candidates should also ensure they apply for vacancies that suit their experience and skills, rather than applying for roles for which they lack the required skills.