Australia’s office support jobs market has seen a significant increase in the number of permanent and temporary roles on offer, with demand being particularly high for candidates with like-for-like industry experience, according to recruiting experts Hays Office Support.
Sales Administrators, Customer Service Administrators and Personal Assistants are topping the list of skills in demand in the latest Hays Quarterly Report for July to September 2015.
“Most organisations are confident and going through a period of growth,” says Alex Jones, Senior Regional Director of Hays Office Support. “Today they are focusing more on sales and business development rather than restructuring and consolidating roles.
“Therefore we are seeing more jobs in office support functions to help businesses through peak busy periods, projects and maternity leave cover.”
Adding to jobs growth is the continued focus on systems upgrades and IT projects, in particular SAP, while some SME businesses have moved across to XERO, says the recruiter.
“Given all this vacancy activity, the market has shifted and is now candidate short. It is very common for good candidates with relevant experience to receive two or three permanent job offers. Likewise the temporary candidate pool is shrinking as individuals secure permanent positions.
“We have also seen an increase in the number of temporary-to-permanent job opportunities. The challenge for employers offering such roles is that they need a candidate prepared to take a temporary role initially however top talent usually receive an immediate permanent offer elsewhere.”
Demand for Sales Administrators and Order Processors is currently high due to an increase in sales and therefore customer demand, says Alex. “Sales Administrators need Salesforce, SAP or other CRM systems skills and knowledge of purchase orders and invoicing. They also need the ability to take orders via phone, email and fax, and then process and follow up each order.
“Soft skills are also now a big factor, especially for team administration and sales administration jobs. Organisations are less keen to train people into these roles and therefore candidates with previous experience are required.
“We have also seen an increase in demand for Customer Service Administrators who want to remain in customer service. Candidates with SAP are also sought by the FMCG and manufacturing industries.
“Personal Assistants with intermediate experience and a relevant industry background are needed too. Candidates at the intermediate PA and team administration level who are ready to step up into their next role are highly sought. We’re seeing demand for PAs with traditional skills in minute taking and high end secretarial, but such skills are diminishing and often candidates do not want to perform these duties.
Other roles in demand include Personal Assistants, Executive Assistants, Office Managers, Receptionists, Administrators and Service Coordinators.
“A trend we have noticed is that the high volume of roles in the market has led to candidates becoming more particular about the jobs they will consider,” says Alex. “Increasingly candidates are looking for more from their employers than just a job; they want career planning and support as well as a clear idea on where the organisation is going.”
For the full list of skills in demand, please view our Hays Quarterly Report.
Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.
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For further information please contact Lucy Sharp, Regional Marketing Manager of Hays, on +61 2 8226 9885 or [email protected]