Boom time as firms chase market share

“I think we are through the recession,” she said. “What we are seeing on the ground is busier than the economic statistics may suggest. In fact, there is more demand for specialist skills and less supply.”

Ms James is a director at Robert Half UK with responsibility for the North of England, Scotland and the Midlands.

Although her base is Birmingham, much of her time is spent at the nine offices under her jurisdiction. At the Leeds office, there are 25 members of staff with plans to expand.

Ms James said: “We are investing in a significant headcount in our Leeds office. We are doing that on the basis that there is business there and that business will increase. It is very positive.”

Born and bred in Birmingham, Ms James joined Robert Half in 2003 as a consultant and held a number of roles before her promotion to director two years ago.

Prior to joining the organisation, she worked in IT recruitment following a year out in Kenya running a bar and teaching people how to play pool. She is an expert on workplace and employment trends and is actively involved in the Yorkshire business communities.

Robert Half was founded in 1948. Today it operates five separate divisions in the UK including recruitment for finance and accounting and high-calibre banking and capital markets professionals. There are more than 345 locations worldwide. The company’s revenues were more than $4bn in 2012.

In the UK, three quarters of Robert Half’s business focuses on finance and accountancy. And, although the past five years have been turbulent, Ms James believes that the future is bright.

“Our Leeds operation covers Yorkshire and it was difficult when the recession hit. But the last 12 months in Yorkshire have been strong for us.”

She added: “Every single CFO (chief financial officer) is now telling us that they are going after market share.

“Two years ago they were all after cost reductions. The last three months have been the strongest in our permanent [contracts] division for five years. It is boom time for financial services because of all the regulatory work. Financial services is hot again.

“When the economy collapsed, financial recruitment went off a ledge. Now the risk skill set is in demand as is compliance and financial accounting.”

Research by Robert Half, conducted in the second quarter of 2013, found that almost three in ten senior executives in the North of England anticipated the creation of new, permanent roles in the second half of the year.

Three in five said they were planning to maintain headcount levels by filling vacated positions, rather than leaving the roles empty.

Several factors have contributed to this rise in recruitment in the North, Robert Half believes.

The majority of senior executives cited new market penetration, followed by new projects and initiatives and product or service expansion.

Ms James said: “A lot of people are moving out of London in order to take a new, specialised job. There are significant financial hubs in Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh.

“For example, people who are Leeds born and bred, who went to London for work, are now coming back.”

Ms James didn’t plan a career in recruitment – she holds a law degree and landed her first job in the field after temping at an agency – but she loves her job.

“We deal with people. Candidates want certain things for their life and their careers, that’s why we do our job.

“It’s personal for us, we build relationships with these people. You get passionate about your candidates.

“And you hear privileged information and end up knowing a lot. You get to know the trends and these trends are constantly changing.

“It’s been the weirdest few years but because of that it’s been really interesting.”