13 November 2007

UK recruitment companies place to much onus on beefing up starting salaries for job-seekers?…not the same in South Africa, says Abacus Recruitment….

Despite a report from the UK that recruitment companies add real value to the job seeking process – as well as negotiating better salaries for candidates - local IT recruitment agency, Abacus Recruitment, said a recruitment agency should consider both the employer and the job-seeker when negotiating packages.

Recent research conducted by UK-based online recruiter Jobsite in the run up to their Recruit Rank Awards – to be held in November – reveal that recruiters add real value to the job seeking process, as well as making a positive impact on the candidate’s starting salary. They also increase the speed of job hunting.

But Karen Geldenhuys, MD of Pretoria-based IT recruitment company, Abacus Recruitment, said it is not the job of the recruiter to “talk up starting salaries”.

“Recruiters do speed up the recruitment process, adding value to both the job seeker and the prospective employer, but when it comes to negotiating salaries, a recruiter needs to consider both parties – both parties are clients. Simply pushing for a higher salary for the job seeker is not the right route to take. It has to be a win-win situation for both parties.”

Meanwhile the survey conducted by Jobsite revealed that 35% of recruiters said they believed they could negotiate a higher salary for job seekers – as much as &501 - &2000. Twenty four percent said they expected to increase the overall starting salary by between &2000 - &4000. A further 10% claimed they could ‘uplift’ the starting salary by as much as &4 000- &6 000, and one percent claimed they could end up increasing the salary by more than &6 000.

Twenty four percent said that trying to negotiate a higher salary for the job seeker was not core to their overall role.

Abacus Recruitment’s Geldenhuys concurred, saying that “negotiating a higher salary for the candidate is not our prime goal”.

“We do not only focus on money. It is about career opportunities, a skills fit, and ensuring that the candidate fits in with the culture of the company – and will be able to perform. In the same breath, we also try and ensure that we find the most appropriate posting for our candidates – and that the job not only suits them, but provides them with career opportunities.”

Meanwhile 59% of recruiters surveyed by Jobsite claim it takes them one to three months between first speaking to a candidate and placing them successfully in a role. Thirty-five percent claim it takes them less than a month.

Geldenhuys said the “placement performance is similar in South Africa”. But she did say that due to South Africa’s skills shortage – and due to its black empowerment regulations – some posts remained unfilled “indefinitely”. “This is particularly true in the IT industry,” she added.