Pay clearly remains a key reason why employees move jobs, while a majority of employees say an organisation’s purpose is critical to why they would work want to there. Such factors mean the public sector can still fight its corner in terms of real attractiveness to workers who might consider a jump from the public arena.
Adrian McGennis, chief executive of Sigmar Recruitment, says that in 2022 slightly more than 10 per cent of all jobs placed by his agency were in the public sector, and that demand has remained relatively level over the past number of years.
“The public sector has got its challenges and positives. It’s still obviously relatively stable, although maybe not as stable as it was. And their recruitment policy is very much process-driven, which can render the application quite onerous. However, overall key attractions include stability and attractive pensions,” says McGennis.
With regard to salary, McGennis points to salary benchmarking over the past decade which has resulted in public sector packages becoming relatively attractive.
“If you say to someone under-30 that job security is one of the attractions of working in the public sector, then they would look at you if you were crazy. Anyone older will understand that attraction. And despite the frothy conditions in the private market, there are good, secure jobs to be had in the public sector.”
The Hays Salary and Recruiting Trends Guide 2023 was published in November 2022. It received over 1,600 responses from employers and professionals across Ireland between August 29th and September 26th, 2022.
"We have a fundamental misunderstanding of our housing need."
One of the key findings was while pay remains the top reason employees moved jobs last year (42 per cent), some 85 per cent of employees said an organisation’s purpose was important when applying for a new role.
This sentiment is echoed by co-founder and director of Lex Consultancy, Michelle Nolan. Her company was founded 16 years ago but in the past six years it has really expanded, with more than 60 per cent of the total revenue based around recruiting and offering recruiting services to the public and civil service.
Nolan has been active on hiring panels for a number of clients, and “purpose” is regularly offered as a reason by candidates for wishing to join the public service.
“We’ve run a number of large campaigns recently and while the volume of applications isn’t that high, the calibre of candidates is definitely up.”
Some of the public bodies Lex Consultancy works for are frequently on the covers of newspapers delivering a real difference to Irish society.
“People are definitely motivated to give something back to society. We recently recruited for the Residential Tenancies Board. The work they do is at the coal face of Irish housing and candidates want to make a difference.
“Candidates relish the opportunity to become involved in real issues and be able to make a difference in their work.”
Balancing work-life post-Covid has attracted top professionals from the private sector to look to transition to the public sector
— Michelle Nolan, Lex Consultancy
Another reason to consider joining the public service lies in the educational opportunities for employees. The public sector is very supportive both in terms of time and financial support when it comes to further education, and Nolan has followed the careers of previous candidates who not only progressed up the career ladder, but also engaged with further education and earned degrees and masters while working.
Nolan points out that even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the public sector offered very flexible work conditions and sizeable holidays.
“We’ve all had a taste of a different work-life balance since Covid, and being able to take more time off to spend with our families is very much to be welcomed if possible.”
Of course, people working in the public sector don’t get some of the perks that come with the private sector. Nolan references the instance of the Christmas party in her company, where employees are predominantly women. Treats such as hair and make-up are provided for the staff before the party if desired, but such treats are not common in the public sector.
In a related thought, Covid decimated much of the service-end of the private sector, with people working in beauty and hairdressing losing their jobs and income. However, Nolan finds that people with customer-facing skills are in great demand in the public sector, especially at executive levels.
“There is a need for people able to understand good customer service to be the front line for many public bodies and we find people really enjoy the transition, bringing great customer skills with them while enjoying better hours and longer holidays.”
And while it might not be an obvious career move, most people have native computer skills and can therefore apply for entry-level positions.
Lex Consultancy covers recruitment from entry level all the way to the top, including principal officer grades. Salaries for these positions are competitive and can be in the €90,000 bracket. Assistant officer grades might attract €70,000, which is still an attractive salary even if it would be lower than comparable private sector roles.
“Again, balancing work-life post-Covid has attracted top professionals from the private sector to look to transition to the public sector. And we find the candidates are pretty much balanced between men and women.”
It would appear that seasoned and successful professionals in the over-40 category are looking to the public sector to offer a better balance, security of tenure, more holidays, access to further education if required and flexible working hours. There are some things that money just can’t buy.
In conclusion, Nolan pointed out that increasingly she is having conversations with professionals looking to switch sectors. It’s only a chat, she says – anyone is welcome to make an appointment.
Either way, a top line result from Hay’s Salary and Recruiting Trends Guide 2023 is that nine out of 10 employers are still hiring. In addition, Maureen Lynch, operations director at Hays, said that challenges will persist in the year ahead as employers and employees “continue to grapple with the rising cost of living and inflation and a more cautious mood in the Irish tech sector”.
“Skills shortages remain a persistent problem for employers, the majority of whom have had to increase wages to both attract new talent into the workplace and retain in-demand existing employees. This is a trend that shows no sign of slowing down in the year ahead,” she said.
So, it appears it’s still a candidate’s market, regardless of sector.
