2024: What's in store?

As we jump into 2024 and look towards the year ahead, there are several predictions we can make as to what to expect for the Built Environment industry in the coming 12 months. From a recruitment perspective, the market remains client led, but this is unsurprising given the widespread tech workforce reductions and hiring freezes that led to the sharp rise in candidate supply in H2 of last year. However, the ever-changing nature of the industry means that there is no saying that the power won’t shift back into the hands of candidates as the industry begins to open back up.

Findings from Google’s two future of work research studies conducted mid-last year showed that employers and job seekers hold both ‘optimistic’ and ‘resilient’ outlooks about the 2024 job market. Amongst US hiring decision makers, 39% plan to increase their financial commitment toward hiring this year, and 70% of job seekers surveyed felt either somewhat or very confident about their prospects of finding a new job.

Hiring trends

Companies focusing on growth

As the economy rebounds from the turbulent macro-climate of 2023, many companies will be preparing for growth in Q1 of this year, increasing the hiring demand for skilled professionals. According to Robert Half’s State of US Hiring Survey, amongst managers who plan to increase hiring, two-thirds cited company growth as the primary factor influencing their hiring decisions for the first half of 2024.

Soft skills versus AI

As artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies continue to transform and dominate the industry, technical skills and experience remain a sought-after trait amongst employers. However, this year will see a growing emphasis by hiring professionals on candidates who can provide soft skills – those that these new advanced technologies can’t offer. Uniquely human traits like working in a team, communication and adaptability are becoming increasingly important for employers as the business landscape continues to change and evolve, with companies wanting candidates who can adapt to new situations, technologies or methodologies.

Roles

In the beginning of 2023, we saw lots of product and technical hires like data and software engineers being made. The reason for this is that many people predicted it was going to be a tough year from a VC and investment standpoint, therefore they were trying to better prime themselves for viable investment opportunity.  At the end of Q2, businesses realised that they were lacking in revenue as they had laid off their sale’s adjacent teams, resulting in a domino effect of technical hires being made redundant, with an increase in clients hiring offshore technical teams to save money. At the same time, we saw new business hires being made, like account executives and business development representatives, with redundancies continuing to be made across marketing and customer success roles. As a result, at the backend of last year, we saw a lot of new business coming in but no one to look after these accounts. Going forward, it is likely that there will be an influx in customer success and account management adjacent hires moving into Q2 of this year.

Job Seeker trends

Shifting priorities for the new generation of job seekers

This year, the new generation of job seekers entering the workforce will continue to place a larger emphasis on company culture, DEI initiatives, ESG & Sustainability practices, and flexible working benefits. For hiring managers and companies looking to expand their team, they will need to ensure that their internal practices and benefit packages that they offer include a wide range of practices that fit the needs of the new generation of job seekers, such as mental health support or flexible working arrangements. This will not only mean candidates will be more inclined to join their company, but it will also significantly widen the pool of top-tier talent to pick from, as factors like candidate location, commuting logistics and childcare arrangements won’t be as much of an issue. Whilst flexibility is in high demand, there are some roles where remote working is not possible. These companies can promote flexibility in other ways, like increased PTO, autonomy in hours/ shifts, compressed workweeks etc.

Learning and development

LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends report found that companies whose employees excelled at developing skills in the last 12 months have a 15% higher internal mobility rate than companies whose employees lagged. The report cites that overall, employee confidence in career development is declining around the world. Findings from LMRE’s 2023 Salary and Culture benchmark report found that when individuals felt undervalued by their employer, the proportion of those actively seeking new job prospects surged from 40% to 75%. This year, employer’s need to focus on providing a roadmap of career progression for both new and old employees, as well as providing learning and development opportunities to not only increase retention but to attract new talent.

If you are looking for a recruitment partner, get in touch with one of our consultants here at LMRE and they will help you in your search! Our CRM holds details of the industry’s top talent, with candidates who are either actively or passively seeking new job opportunities. Paired with our consultant’s expert market and industry insight, we are here to help both clients in their hiring process and candidates in their job search.