2021: A Year in Review

by Miriam Hanna, Director MadlinHanna Consulting

As the end of 2021 beckons, there is much to reflect on. We started the year in lockdown but have finished with most businesses having experienced a steady flow of staff into the office. What have we learnt from this year and what can we expect going into next year?

Competition for Talent

The most overused phrase this year is “the war for talent”. In our estimation, we have had about 18 months’ worth of recruitment activity all squeezed into the last 6 months of the year so the competition has, and will continue to be, fierce for good people. In-house teams who were previously quite risk-averse have been hiring and so agencies have really been on the backfoot. So, what is enticing people to move? Purpose. Almost all the candidates we have spoken with this year have said that they want to have a real sense of pride in their work and feel a purpose to it. That’s why we have seen a handful of people leave the industry, many move to in-house roles with businesses that have clearly defined vison and values, and others rule out opportunities that require working on clients they wouldn’t be proud to tell their family and friends about.

Salaries

The competition for people has inflated salaries across the agency market. The tricky thing to contend with has been that in-house hasn’t quite had to keep up the pace with agency salaries and candidates have had to make a real choice between that step in-house or securing a good package. The average salary increase secured by candidates we have worked this year has been 21% which is significant! Some work will need to be done over the next year to re-establish bandings.

Big Moves

Finsbury Glover Herring and Sard Verbinnen coming together; Brunswick selling a minority stake to a merchant bank and the seemingly sudden emergence of Dentons Global Advisors There have been significant changes across the industry in the last 12 months as businesses look to consolidate expertise, develop geographically and disrupt the status quo. This will only continue to be the case into next year and there are always rumours afoot about who will end up selling and to who. Expect the deal activity to increase!

All through the pandemic, teams and business have been working hard when confronted with one of the biggest communications challenges most will experience in their entire career. A break over Christmas is well deserved but it looks like next year will be just as dynamic!

MadlinHanna Consulting is a recruitment consultancy specialising in corporate affairs, covering public affairs, corporate communications and financial PR. Contact us on 020 8088 4102 for more information or a confidential conversation about these services and more.