Hays Accountancy & Finance - Public Sector
January - March 2012
Hotspots
Payroll candidates and Assistant Accountants remain in short supply for the public sector. Candidates with specific payroll system skills, such as CHRIS payroll, are in particular demand.
Statutory Accountants will also still be needed in the education sector this quarter to complete financial year end work.
Candidates with strong budgeting and forecasting experience are in demand as organisations gear up for the budgeting season. Candidates with business improvement experience will also be sought as organisations look for accounting and processing efficiencies.
Employers are also looking for Management Accountants with good excel and analytical skills who have previously worked with their organisation. Given the shortage of such candidates, we are working with employers to identify those with experience in similar roles and transferable skills.
Overcoming skills shortages
We are cross-skilling our temporary staff in the Shared Services space in order to fill internal gaps. This is proving to be a successful strategy to overcome the shortage and ensure workloads are completed.
We are also advising employers to plan ahead, particularly when they will need a candidate with specialist skills.
The coming quarter
Vacancy activity will be driven by large Not-for-Profits and State Government Organisations which are restructuring and looking for cost savings.
In November 2011 an additional efficiency dividend for most Federal Government Departments and Agencies was announced, which will force them to find savings in their administrative budgets. This quarter will reveal what impact this is likely to have on the recruitment market. The machinery of government changes of almost 12 months ago are also impacting recruitment spends.
We are also seeing a big drive on temporary-to-permanent roles, with employers using this as a strategy to trial a candidate in a role before committing to them on a permanent basis.
Employers are also going beyond skill fit when recruiting, and are looking for candidates who also offer the right cultural fit with the organisation. This is a useful measure to help ensure they recruit a candidate who is likely to be a long-term addition to the team.
In South Australia, the temporary market will be active this quarter as SA Health projects commence.
Executive recruitment
There is a current requirement for Group Financial Managers and CEOs in response to natural movements in the market.
Employer trends
Towards the end of 2011, salaries levelled and we are not expecting an increase in salaries for some time. Having said this, high calibre candidates are always in demand and are able to command a premium since they usually receive multiple offers. This means that for those top quality candidates, employers still need to move quickly and remain competitive in their offer.
As noted above, employers are looking for candidates with the right cultural fit with their organisation. Also important is previous public sector experience.
Candidate trends
Candidates have become more conscious of stability and are consequently requesting assignments of three to six months in duration rather than shorter assignments.
Towards the end of 2011 we noticed a significant decrease in the number of skilled and qualified candidates.
