We’ve certainly had a busy and positive start within Alternatives in 2018 with mid-level and senior marketing roles across all sectors being sourced for.  We’ve seen a real increase in multifaceted marketing roles and niche roles within marketing becoming common with an emphasis on either technical skillsets or specific situational experience ie: Change management, technology implementation etc.

We still see a large demand for good brand and marketing management at mid-to-senior level and this will continue to be in demand, as will people with languages and experience in global marketing and selling to international markets.

We’ve also seen a huge demand for great insights and strategic planning candidates, particularly with strong stakeholder management skills that can influence the broader organisation. And of course, digital strategy, e-commerce and customer experience continue to be in demand across all industries.

With the demand for skillsets growing and  unemployment rates dropping to a record low; it begs the question:

–How are employers going to attract talent in Ireland and when they do- How do they retain them?

Interesting figures from “The Year in Job Search report” produced by job site Indeed revealed that the number of Irish people searching for jobs using the term ‘remote’ surged 171pc. Most interesting is the number of people searching for part-time roles has increased by 441pc in Ireland. This reinforces that Irish attitudes to work have changed and to attract the right talent, employers need to reflect this.

Dealing with candidates on a daily basis there has been a real shift in terms of what they are looking for and what’s important to them in accepting a role.

The majority of people I talk to want to work within a great culture which is transparent and collaborative. They want to have flexibility and autonomy with their work. Some want to have options for a shorter working day or the opportunity to work a 4 day week. Parents want to know they can do the school run and still have a challenging career.  With increasing rents and traffic within Dublin; people want the option to work from home if that saves them hours commuting a week.

An important thing to remember is that this doesn’t reflect the level of their commitment or working output. A happy employee is a productive employee and an employee that will stay and grow within a company is committed to the business and invested in the success of that business.

My advice to employers would be to keep an open and flexible recruitment model when attracting talent and be open to hiring the right person and skillset. Start asking the employee what makes them happiest and most productive and you’ll soon find that people will happily overachieve in their work if some of their personal pain points are elevated.

 I believe the trend to hire part-time / flexible working talent will only continue to grow in Ireland and I believe this will be a positive move not only for the workforce but also for people’s quality of life.

Here in Alternatives, we believe in embracing diversity and fighting the talent time bomb with alternative ways of hiring.

To talk to us about the outlook for 2018 or to access the best customer-centric talent, please give us a call. You can contact us at hello@alternatives.ie or call us on +3531 6618889