HR Market Update – Q4 2024-2025
Looking back at the final quarter for 2024-2025 financial year, businesses across Scotland continued to navigate economic uncertainties while making strategic hiring decisions. The last three months have seen a cautious approach to recruitment, with many organisations opting to ‘do more with less.’ However, as we approach April 2025 and the start of Q1 for the 2025-2026 financial year, there are signs of renewed confidence in hiring activity.
Hiring Trends & Market Insights
- Many businesses have delayed recruitment decisions, prioritising cost efficiencies and workload redistribution instead of replacing outgoing staff.
- At the transactional HR level, it remains a client-driven market, with high candidate availability due to redundancies and frustration over increased workloads in static teams.
- Emma and Anthony attended the Annual CIPD Conference in Scotland (hopefully you managed to catch them and say hi!) which highlighted optimism for the months ahead, with businesses recognising that lean staffing models are not sustainable for long-term growth and profitability.
Temporary & Contract HR Market
- The Scottish temporary HR market has been stable, with around 4.9% of employees in temporary roles.
- Employers are using temporary HR professionals to bridge gaps, cover project work, and provide flexibility during uncertain times.
- While permanent recruitment has slowed in some areas, demand for short-term HR support remains resilient due to the critical role HR plays in business strategy and workforce planning which our interim specialist Gemma has been taking full advantage of.
Looking Ahead to Q1 2025-2026
- April 2025 marks the beginning of the new financial year for many Scottish businesses, which could drive fresh hiring budgets and increased recruitment activity.
- Companies recognising the need for strategic HR investment are likely to resume hiring plans, particularly in areas such as Learning & Development, Employee Engagement, and Organisational Change.
- The market remains competitive, and employers looking to attract top HR talent will need to balance salary expectations, hybrid working preferences, and career development opportunities.
Networking/Roundtables
Off the back of our successful HR Leadership Round Table session around utilising AI in HR, we are in the planning phase of our next event!
We are looking to bring HR/Talent Acquisition Leaders within the Legal sector specifically, together to openly share insights, challenges, and best practices, helping each other navigate the unique hurdles of legal recruitment. One key topic is around how firms are tackling the challenge of attracting talent without being able to advertise salaries—but we will also look to cover areas like employer branding, market reputation, and innovative ways to engage candidates in such a competitive space.
The wheels are also in motion for a Manager Capability session which we also hope to pull together across Q1 2025-2026.
If you would like to get involved or have any suggestions around topics you would like covered, please reach out to Emma!
Final Thoughts
While recruitment remains cautious, we anticipate an uptick in hiring as businesses reassess their workforce needs for the new financial year. As always, we’ll be monitoring trends closely and keeping our clients informed.
For more insights or to discuss your hiring needs, feel free to reach out to the Iconic Resourcing HR team!