S P E C I A L F E ATURE In some countries, wage increases will still not cover the cost of inflation Scott Cook, Managing Director of niche international mobility recruiter RELOcruitment, says with most relocations time critical meaning they cannot be postponed and requiring skilled removals personnel, short-staffed movers have little option but to use costly alternatives sub-contracting work to ensure the move is carried out... this in turn squeezes margins even tighter, at a time when costs for businesses are spiralling. Ultimately, some companies are having to turn down work or are unable to bid for new contracts, restricting their revenue flow and business growth. At Movers Search Group, owner Mark Gray says: The increasing difficulty of recruiting for virtually all household goods agency positions has prevented movers from realising their profit potential due to the inability to service the demand. Post-COVID, there is a pent-up demand for quality moving and storage services, that the HHG industry just cant accommodate given the employee shortage. Sector-wide shortages The industry shortages are evident across a wide range of mobility jobs. Cook says, globally, vacancies have reached a 15-year high and that moving firms are particularly struggling to fill coalface operational roles. Finding dedicated drivers with removals experience has always been difficult, but more now than ever before, he says. Gray agrees: With companies like Amazon and other no-touch freight companies, it has become harder and harder for the moving and storage industry to attract quality drivers... especially when those drivers have the extra burden of having to load/unload the shippers household goods. Cook says movers are finding similar difficulties recruiting porters, packers, foremen and warehouse staff. Recruiters are citing significant scarcity in other areas, too, from mid-management and coordinator roles to business development and consultancy positions. Gray says he is finding that people going for operations managers and general managers positions have, for unknown reasons, become more particular as to their preferred locations for relocation, not to mention their increased expectations as to compensation and benefits. Job vacancy numbers around the world will inevitably fluctuate with the economy, and a descending recession may provide a serious curb in many markets. However, most recruiters agree that the current shortages have been produced not by the usual ebbs and flows, but rather by a paradigm shift in what employees want from their careers, and how employers must respond to this. What workers want With salaries on the up, candidates are increasingly confident about their value to their prospective employer. Many people have seen companies adapt their working conditions radically during the pandemic and accordingly are more willing to ask for the terms they really want from a job. Rogers says: The first question you used to get from a candidate was: What are the opportunities and the pay? Now its: What flexibility does your company offer? 28 FF308 Dec-Jan 23 pp24-31 Recruitment.indd 28 06/12/2022 11:18