2022 – The Only Way is Up!

As 2021 draws to a close.

It’s that time of year, to wish a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Curtis Recruitment Limited to our valued candidates and clients.  We have all been through a very testing couple of years and unfortunately, it is not over yet.  Let’s hope that 2022 brings positive changes.

It’s not all doom & gloom, and the days will be getting longer, soon.

On the positive side, vacancies are a record high in the country, and we have almost 80 vacancies registered currently.  Within practice/finance recruitment, our specialist sector, business is booming, and more and more clients are saying that this will be continuing through next year as the accountancy firms we work with are incredibly busy with more new client referrals weekly.

Audit, tax, accounts, payroll, bookkeeping etc all seem to be booming and clients are very busy with the personal tax deadline looming.

We have been very fortunate as a business to work with a large number of successful firms with many as regular clients that have successfully navigated and traded through the pandemic.  It has been a tough year for everyone, and for us, our successes have been hard fought for within a market that has been challenging to say the least.

But successes there were, and we are extremely pleased to have placed some extremely talented people, into brilliant roles with fantastic firms, allowing them to continue with their career progression and personal development, and that’s what it’s all about for us.

The pandemic has dramatically changed how we work.

When I started in accountancy recruitment 36 years ago, it would have been inconceivable that we would be assisting candidates to secure new roles with clients via Zoom/Teams etc.  We have seen first, second and sometimes third interviews online, candidates onboarded online and working 100% from home from day one!  However, it does seem to have worked well which is not only positive but a great influencing factor to recruitment in the future.

Whilst there has been an ongoing shortage of quality accountancy staff for the past five years, and this is tighter now more than ever, there are still people looking to make that all important move into a new role.

Like many, we as individuals had to work from home for over a year due to medical issues, we returned to the office in September and prefer getting on with the serious business of recruiting for our clients, in a more professional environment.  The dining room worked well but it’s not the same!

See what tomorrow brings?

Only time will tell as to what will happen over the next few weeks.  On the positive side, businesses in many cases know that they can continue to work and provide excellent service levels to their clients, with staff working from home and in most cases, the infrastructure is already in place should it be needed.  I will say, we get asked more and more by candidates about the working from home policy, and most are looking for a hybrid working environment.

Also, companies who supported their staff to work from home; assisting to get them online, being supportive around family responsibilities, mental health awareness and being aware of stress and loneliness due to isolation, have retained their staff well.

Our plan for 2022 is to start each day afresh and endeavour to do the best for our clients and candidates alike, no matter what is thrown in our path, with the intention of our efforts affecting positive change and continued growth for all concerned, including ourselves, both personally and for our business.

Wishing you, your family, and friends a Happy Christmas and a positively wonderful New Year.

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