In response to your front-page news story, ‘Mass redundancies lead to overloaded HR jobs market’ (Personnel Today, 10 May), I strongly believe that the position is nowhere near as bleak as you assert.
While there have been a series of redundancies in large organisations, which are distressing for those concerned, we must not forget the strength of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market.
SMEs contribute more than 50% of the UK’s turnover, and account for more than half of the UK workforce, according to figures from the DTI.
For many SMEs, recruitment is high on the agenda, and redundancy a far-off prospect. Small firms face a shortage of skilled workers, and are always interested in skills that HR professionals from larger firms can bring.
HR roles in smaller organisations can offer real scope to develop broad experience in a dynamic and challenging environment – presenting HR professionals with diverse and exciting opportunities. A far cry from the doom and gloom of the current press coverage of the recent round of redundancies.
Lynne Hardman
Managing director, Hays Human Resources