Employers Who Snooze Are Losing Admin Staff

Media release
For immediate release
April 20, 2005

Employers Who Snooze Are Losing Admin Staff

Salaries for some Office Support roles have increased by more than 30%

April 20, 2005 – Competition is fierce among employers as they vie for potential office support staff, according to the Office Support Remuneration Guide released by Hudson today.

The Report coincides with Professional Administrators’ Day that was established in 1952 to acknowledge secretaries for their contributions in the work place and to attract people into administrative roles. The day was later renamed Professional Administrators Day to reflect the expanding responsibilities of today’s administrative workforce.

Skills shortages are having a dramatic effect on office support salaries, some of which have increased by more than 30 per cent since 2003, according to Hudson, a global recruitment and human resource consulting company.

“In this skill-short market, job seekers with solid office support skills and experience have unprecedented job opportunities. Candidates who possess excellent communications skills, the ability to multi-task and problem solve, together with strong customer service skills are in hot demand,” said Liza Viz, Office Support Manager at Hudson New Zealand.

“With New Zealand’s unemployment rate at a record low, there is huge competition for a limited pool of talent. The competition is so tough in fact that, in many instances, we’re losing candidates at the referee check stage. Old employers are finding their former staff are back in the market so they make a counter offer,” she added.

“Job seekers with those sought-after skills are finding jobs within a week – from the day that they start looking until the day they are placed in a job. Candidates often have several job offers during this time so employers need to respond quickly if they want to hire a candidate.”

Hudson recommends that employers be flexible in their recruitment approach.

“The main way that businesses can increase their chances of filling a position is to broaden out their ideas of the “ideal” candidate. Employers should anticipate that their new employees will require training in certain areas.”

In addition, employers would ideally make themselves available to hold interviews outside normal office hours to help ensure they get to see the candidate first. Hudson has also found that offering additional benefits, such as parking, gym memberships or flexi-hours help to attract and retain staff.

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About Hudson:

Hudson is a worldwide leader in the provision of specialised recruitment and human resource consulting services.

Hudson works with a variety of employers to attract, select, engage, develop and retain the people they need to succeed. Likewise, Hudson assists job seekers to explore and discover permanent or contract opportunities that utilise their abilities and advance their careers.

Hudson is a division of Hudson Highland Group Inc (NASDAQ: HHGP), one of the world's leading professional recruitment, retained executive search and human capital solution providers. More information about Hudson is available at www.hudson.com.

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