How is the communication job market faring? Claire Tuffin examines the trends

"Recruitment tends to be a good barometer for the economy”

What’s been gratifying about the last four years (and it’s often difficult to see the positives!) is how corporate communications has grown in professional standing. References to “spin” are becoming a distant memory as the requirement for effective reputation management grows.

However, corporate communications has no immunity to the downturn, and it’s widely acknowledged that recruitment tends to be a good barometer for the economy generally. When business is booming, companies employ more people and individuals are confident enough to move freely between jobs. In more difficult times, recruitment and the search for talent get put on the back burner until things “return to normal”. But the entrenched downturn means we must ask the question: is this the “new normal”?

The sluggish recruitment market has potentially far-reaching consequences. If talent is not nurtured, where are the leaders of the future to come from? If people don’t move roles, how are best practice and new approaches passed on?

When recruitment is taking place, a notable trend is the length of time the process now takes. Of course companies should exercise due diligence when employing a new team member, but there is a lot to be said for adjusting the timing of the process and trusting your instincts more.

Delays are often caused by a long wait between taking the brief,the first interview and then subsequent interviews. This has a number of negative side effects. Firstly, there is a natural momentum to recruitment that is lost if the process is too slow. There’s also the message that long delays send out to potential employees, as well as any current employees involved in the process. Is this a company that is naturally indecisive? Are they serious about building the team?

But the most serious consequence is potentially losing the right candidate because they have been offered something else. In this era of increased caution and accountability, one important element of the recruitment process is often disregarded and that’s gut-feel. Going on instinct may not be a measurable skill but it remains one of the most effective recruitment tools. It is the best way of gauging culture fit, a requirement which has shot to the top of the list over the past few years. Skills can be learnt, but personality is inherent.

Movement in sectors has waxed and waned over the past four years. We’ve seen the financial sector decimated and built back up again. The brakes were well and truly put on the public and third sectors but there are nowsome positive signs as teams rebuild under increased scrutiny.

The key area that has weathered the storm and continued to develop is internal comms. Communicating effectively with employees has never been more vital. We’re also starting to see the appointment of corp comms directors from an IC background, as their strategic skills are more widely acknowledged.

With the number of roles pretty static in the UK, more opportunities, particularly at the senior end, are emerging overseas. Over the last two years we’ve seen an increased demand for experienced professionals, both in-house and agency, in Europe and AsiaPac. Naturally, in Europe, language skills are a requirement but less so in Asia for senior professionals.

It seems that everyone is waiting for a recovery in the economy to herald resurgence in employment but perhaps that’s the wrong approach. Employing good people, in clearly defined roles with set goals and accountabilities, can add greatly to a business’s success.

To achieve this you need the right person for the right job and they are not always the obvious ones. Finding the best people remains a talent in itself.

Claire Tuffin is group managing director at VMA Group, specialists in comms recruitmentr