Posted 9 Feb. 2023 at 15:09Updated Feb 9. 2023 at 05:47 PM
Private sector salaried employment stalled late last year, but companies are still determined to recruit at the start of the year, especially executives. This is what emerges from the quarterly barometer of the Association for Executive Employment (Apec), on hiring intentions in the first quarter. And what does not fail to surprise its general manager, Gilles Gateau.
“We expected a decline given what we know about the economic forecasts for the first half. In fact, it’s the opposite. Not only is there no downturn, but the momentum is even stronger,” he highlighted on Thursday, detailing the results of the survey.
High for a year
Specifically, on the strength of a better ability to anticipate their activity, 14% of companies plan to hire at least one manager by the end of March, i.e. 2 percentage points more than last September, a highest for a year. These intentions progress regardless of the workforce.
Another indicator that reinforces this optimism: the number of job offers posted on Apec.fr continues to increase, despite variations depending on the sector (+10% over one year in industry, for example, but -9 % in the food industry).
All this bodes well for a record 2022 vintage for executive hiring (the results will be known in early April), with around ten very buoyant professions: IT specialist, accountant, industrialization engineer or – the body creating the function – responsible for recruitment .
Longer lead times to find the right candidate
How can such a trend be explained despite sluggish growth? Gilles Gateau gives a reason. In his view, companies have no interest in pausing their hiring projects given the longer lead times to find the right candidate, talents becoming rarer and more expensive. “The average time to recruit a manager is 8 to 11 weeks, or nearly three months,” he said.
Overcoming recruitment difficulties also appears to be the number one challenge, since six out of ten companies experienced them in 2022. To the point that one in four had to give up on at least one of its projects for lack of a candidate. Tensions will remain at a high level this year, despite a slight easing anticipated in the first quarter, according to Apec.
age stereotype
Faced with this situation, employers are changing their practices, by diversifying the sources of candidates, by opening up to skills other than those sought, by increasing the remuneration offered or even by relaxing the conditions of experience desired.
This last criterion seems to benefit young people more. The hiring of senior executives remains a black point while, pension reform obliges, the subject has never been so much debated. If the executives as a whole enjoy an unemployment rate of 4.1%, therefore full employment, that of the over 55s is higher by 2.7 points. About 100,000 people in this age group looking for a managerial job are registered with Pôle Emploi, more than a third of them for more than a year and 20% for more than two years.
“Age remains a stereotype for recruiters, synonymous with less adaptability, higher pay or difficulty using digital tools,” laments the deputy director general of Apec, Laetitia Niaudeau. However, the association’s polls show that senior executives are ready to reduce their demand for compensation or the type of contract. And that they stay on average longer at their post than a young person, more tempted to look elsewhere.
Is the senior index project able to get things moving? A joint association, Apec cannot take a position on a subject that is assessed differently by the unions or the employers. “This can be a way of accelerating the awareness of companies with factual data related to recruitment and retention in employment”, nevertheless advances Laetitia Niaudeau, who also highlights the exchange of good practices.
intertitre
To note
Nearly one in two executives aged 45 and over plans to retain partial activity once retired, according to Apec.