RECRUITMENT COMPENSATION & BENEFITS HR PROFESSION
Singapore - Recruitment for HR professionals is heating up with organisations aiming to secure the best HR talent to boost their talent management and retention strategies for anticipated business growth this year.
The latest Robert Walters Salary Survey 2010 found that the positive business growth predicted for 2010 has given companies the push to hire the best people in the HR sector to help recruit talent for various business units. There is now a high demand for mid-to-senior level HR generalists, with a strong focus on talent management function. The survey said organisations, especially those in the financial services sector, are viewing talent attraction and retention as critical to their business strategy. Reward specialists and in-house recruiters are also highly sought after by banks and financial institutes as part of their hiring plans in 2010.
HR practitioners, however, would not be receiving high salary increments even though retrenchment figures for the profession are kept "relatively low", reported the survey, as companies still view cost control a must this year. There would be "on average, a 3% to 5% salary increase" for HR professionals this year, says manager for Robert Walters' human resources division Joanne Chua. But she foresees high performers being paid slightly more because "these are people organisations want to retain".
Variable bonuses should also be more attractive for HR this year, compared to 2009, Chua adds, especially for companies that hit their financial targets. But she says employees would still "need to demonstrate excellence", including exceeding key performance objectives, before they can justify any pay increases. Going for additional certification or self-development courses might not necessarily give HR practitioners the salary increment they want either. Chua says, "It's important to note the economy has not fully recovered so I would caution employees not to assume that it's about time their companies pay premium dollars to them."
Interestingly, the survey said HR professionals' top industries of choice to work for are in FMCG and healthcare. This is unsurprisingly with the pharmaceuticals, FMCG, retail and telecoms sectors providing the most jobs in the labour market. Besides being "almost recession proof", Chua explains that HR professionals can relate to both the FMCG and pharmaceutical businesses because they "sell products people are familiar with". With plenty of consolidation such as mergers and acquisitions within the pharmaceutical sector, Chua says both fast-paced industries are providing competitive opportunities for HR practitioners to challenge themselves and "get involved in exciting projects".
Sales, retail operation and business development professionals with excellent customer service remain in high demand in these industries. In the financial sector, front office recruitment has also picked up with companies seeking talent who specialises in areas such as equities, commodities and fixed income. Backend positions in finance business partnering, compliance, credit risk continue to be in demand.
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