Q4 Talent Market Insight Report

In my Q3 insight report I talked about a talent landscape that was beginning to thaw, however, in light of the huge tax grab that that was recently rolled out, we may not quite be out of the woods yet.

With a bit of luck, Rachel Reeves will take heed of the backlash and adjust her position in the April Budget, but don’t expect a floodgate of concessions to ensue, so the moral of the story for 2025 is to sharpen your pencil and cut your cloth accordingly.

Of course, there’s more than one way to improve margins to tackle the challenges of the budget and that’s through increasing topline growth alongside squeezing the bottom line. So, as far as opportunities in the FMCG commercial space go, the Sales & Marketing functions should be reasonably well positioned to ride out the storm if the economy starts to stagnate. 

Regardless of this, it’s likely that businesses will be forced to squeeze expenditure across the board, so even investment in commercial teams is expected to feel at least a little bit of the pinch. 

Of course, one of the main ways this is manifested is through additional pressure on talent teams and hiring managers to absorb the role that external recruiters usually perform. In fact, this is a phenomenon I’ve seen raise its head many times over the years, and much akin to the five stages of grief, often this ends with ‘acceptance’, and our services are called upon again. 

Unfortunately, we don’t always deal with the decision-makers who can often be found pouring over spreadsheets in their ivory tower. However, for those that we deal with who maintain a certain level of control over their talent strategies, a measured and balanced approach saves a lot of time and inconvenience in the long run.

Moral of the story as we move into 2025; don’t expect the world to be set alight with economic prosperity, but similarly, if you’re constantly hearing tales of doom and gloom, in our industry and professions it’s rarely as bad as it seems.

Bearing this in mind, it pays to stay ahead of the curve and adopt a strategic approach to talent, so if you want a review of your plans, or would like some insight into the wider market to enable informed decisions, don’t hesitate to give me a shout.

And if all else fails, and this will definitely be my motto over the Christmas period, have a glass of wine! So, on that note, if we don’t speak before, have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year. 

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