As we move into the second half of the year, we’re seeing some significant shifts across the head office recruitment landscape in the North West. Whether you’re planning to hire permanent staff, bring in temporary cover, or onboard contractors for specialist projects, here’s what you need to know.

📣 Team News

Baby News! You may remember our lovely Faye went on maternity leave, and we’re so happy to report she’s had a beautiful baby girl. Both mum and baby are healthy and enjoying bonding!

Meet Claire?

Claire has recently joined an online networking group called NetworkIn, they meet every other Friday morning at 7am online. The next meetings are 8th and 22nd August 2025. If you’d like to attend as a visitor completely free of charge as Claire’s guest, email claire@jfrecruitment.co.uk

Testimonial Tears

We received a lovely testimonial from Darren Jamieson after we helped his daughter find a temporary job for the summer. Brought Jo to tears, featured Jo and Darren presenting the accolade at an event.

Meet Jo?

Jo attends BNI Chester who meet every Thursday morning at Rowton Hall in Chester. She’s always looking to add to our list of trusted referral partners, so if you’d like to attend completely free as her visitor, email jo@jfrecruitment.co.uk

🧭 Quarterly Snapshot: What’s Happening in the Head Office Recruitment Market?

📈 Hiring Trends: Still Active, But Cautious While recruitment activity remains healthy, particularly in professional services and tech, many businesses are approaching hiring with more scrutiny than this time last year. Permanent hiring has slowed slightly due to budget caution, with more businesses choosing contract or temp solutions to manage headcount flexibility. Project-based hiring is growing, especially in IT and compliance – short-term, outcome-driven engagements are increasingly popular. Internal mobility and upskilling are on the rise as HR teams work to retain and develop existing talent. 👩‍💻 Role Demand by Function Here’s where we’re seeing the strongest activity this quarter: Function Roles in Demand Trend Insight HR HR Advisors, Talent Acquisition Partners Focus on retention, internal hiring, DEI IT 1st/2nd Line Support, Business Analysts IT transformation + project rollouts Accounts & Finance Credit Controllers, Management Accountants Pressure on cashflow, cost control Admin & Office Support Executive Assistants, Sales Admin High demand but fewer quality candidates Sales & Marketing Digital Marketers, B2B Sales Executives Demand for commercial growth and visibility Insurance Insurance Account Handlers, Underwriters Sector is steady; client servicing and cross-selling remain key ⚠️ Candidate Shortages & Expectations Candidate availability remains tight in key areas, especially: Experienced finance staff (Part-qualified, AAT, and Management Accounting) IT Support and Infrastructure Digital Marketing generalists High-level administrators and EAs Additionally, candidate expectations continue to evolve: Flexibility remains a deal-breaker – hybrid or remote options are highly sought. Salary transparency is more important than ever in job ads and initial conversations. Counteroffers are increasingly common – employers are working harder to retain their top people. 💷 Salary Movement Snapshot (North West Averages) Role Avg. Temp Rate Avg. Perm Salary (mid-range) HR Advisor £18–22/hr £32,000 – £38,000 IT Support (1st/2nd Line) £20–25/hr £28,000 – £35,000 Management Accountant £22–30/hr £42,000 – £50,000 Executive Assistant £17–21/hr £35,000 – £40,000 Digital Marketing Executive £19–24/hr £30,000 – £36,000 Insurance Account Handler £18–23/hr £30,000 – £36,000 Note: Rates can vary depending on sector, location (Manchester vs. wider North West), and contract length. 🔍 What This Means for Employers Speed is critical: Good candidates are going off the market in days, not weeks. Slow hiring processes risk losing top talent. Temp and contract talent is a smart buffer: For project spikes, absence cover, or budget-conscious hiring, it’s an efficient way to keep momentum. Partnering with a specialist recruiter can streamline your process, provide market insight, and ensure cultural fit – especially in a competitive climate. If you’re planning to hire , whether it’s a maternity cover, a full-time addition, or a short-term project role, we’re here to support you with up-to-date market knowledge, pre-vetted talent, and flexible recruitment solutions across the North West. 📞 Ready to talk? Get in touch to discuss current availability or salary benchmarking for a specific role. 01516015288.  CANDIDATE SPOTLIGHT Operational Manager  – Wrexham – £35-40k       Team Leadership & Management       Sales & Customer Service Expert       Client Retention & Service Improvement       Account Strategy & Revenue Growth       Team Building, Leadership Development       Data Driven Insights To hear more about our candidate contact Claire on  0151 601 5288 or email claire@jfrecruitment.co.uk Last Three Vacancies Filled Senior HR Advisor – Liverpool – £52k Office Manager – Wirral – £35k Service Operative – Wirral – £14.00p/hr. Just for LOLS Jobs of the Future (That Might Exist Sooner Than You Think…) Emoji Translator Because 😂 means different things in Tokyo and Toronto 🌱 Fun Fact There’s a species of jellyfish that can live forever. It resets its life cycle when under stress

This month, we’re taking a look at the rise of more transient career paths amongst Gen Z candidates and how we can embrace the change.

The Flow of the Gen-Z Workforce

The notion of a lifelong career in a single field is fading, with the rise of Gen-Z (people born between 1997–2012) workers who fully expect to change careers multiple times.

According to recent studies, Gen-Z workers expect to change careers three times more than any previous generation. This shift reflects a generation not driven purely by financial gain but also a desire for improved work-life balance, and a longing to work for companies that resonate with their personal values.

Many professionals agree that leveraging transferable skills from previous experiences is essential. Whether it’s analytical thinking, effective communication, or project management skills, these abilities can often be applied across various industries.

By leveraging transferable skills, individuals can navigate the path to a rewarding and fulfilling career journey and companies need to take this into consideration when it comes to recruitment and retention.

So should you embrace a more flexible and open recruitment process? Happy to have transient talent working with you and therefore look to improve how you allow talent to flow into and out of your workforce? Or should you be looking to elevate your brand, making your company an enticing prospect where people come to enjoy a long and illustrious career?

Whichever you think is the right position to take, creating a desirable working environment that stands for growth and having a solid company brand identity will attract the best candidates.

If you’d like to discuss how to improve your talent planning and recruitment process to keep in line with current trends, get in touch…

CANDIDATE SPOTLIGHT

Customer Service Administrator – Wirral – £25k

• Appointment setting, diary management and arranging appointments
• Liaising with high net worth clients via telephone, email and face to face
• Managing own workload of clients
• Working to KPIs and deadlines
• Strong Admin background with a vast amount of sales, customer service and account management/client liaison

Just for LOLS

Jobs we’re glad aren’t a thing any more… 

Slubber Doffers

Usually children working in the textile industry who spent long days removing the empty bobbins from looms after the rovings (slubbings) had been removed.

Fun Fact

A chicken once lived for 18 months without its head.

When you’re short-staffed you may feel like you’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off! Don’t wait 18 months, get in touch to recruit and fill that position, fast!

 

 

 

This month we’re excited to share the details of our fab collaboration with the wonderful Hi-Impact, to bring you the complete recruitment package. And we think this partnership is a match made in heaven!

JFR

As award winning, Wirral based recruiters covering various sectors including insurance, pensions, investment, property and head office roles. We are incredibly successful at placing candidates across the North West and nationally, covering roles with salaries from £20k to £150k.

At JFR our team of dedicated recruiters, account managers and recruitment coordinators
have always prioritised our client’s success, helping them from start to finish to recruit candidates that are a perfect match for them. In fact out of the last 1000 candidates we have placed into employers, we have had a 99% success rate. This is unheard of within the recruitment industry and we feel partnering with Hi-Impact is a great opportunity to help our clients further.

Hi-Impact

Hi-Impact’s immersive tools help businesses to attract and cultivate talent through their Gain, Train, Retain dynamic multimedia packages. These online experiences have emerged as a powerful tool to support businesses in attracting and training new talent as well as building employee retention across the business.

Gain
Working with your team, hi-impact plan, shoot and produce videos to build interest and increase awareness of your organisation and current opportunities.

Train
Virtual training resources allow you to train your staff before they even step foot in the door. Through the use of innovative 3D virtual tours and video technology, hi-impact build platforms that can build recruits understanding of your business and key areas from any device, at any time.

Retain
To keep employees up-to-date and secure in their position, producing high-quality, informative videos can be the way to go. You can use them to highlight important internal updates in training and company values.

When you combine all the magic offered by both JFR and Hi-Impact, something special happens. By working with both companies, you’ll have the edge you need to find and keep top staff!

Did You Go To The Open Golf Championship at Royal Liverpool?

Let us know if you spotted Jo there! She was there for the whole week and loved every minute of it. Not even the rain could dampen her spirits.

How many golf fans have we got out there?

TRENDING NEWS

• Childcare-cost boost for universal-credit families
• Spain grants 3 days paid menstrual leave a month
• Employer confidence in hiring and UK economy on incline according to REC update
• Universities focussing on AI literacy

JUST FOR LOLs

Jobs we’re glad aren’t a thing any more…

Chimney Sweep – Most people think of the charm of Dickensian children straight out of Mary Poppins, but it was hard work cleaning chimneys and often came with health risks.

Fun Fact – The Spanish national anthem is one of only four national anthems to have no official lyrics.

Summer is almost here, the sun is shining, and we’re kicking off June with some exciting news. JF Recruitment‘s very own Joanne Finnerty has been nominated for Corporate Director of the REC (Recruitment & Employment Confederation).

It’s an elected role so if, like us, you feel that Jo would be a wonderful asset to the position, and you can spare 20 seconds, you can cast a vote for her here.

The good news doesn’t end there! Our Claire been offered an interview to join the Professional Standards Committee for the REC. This committee upholds the standards of the REC’s code of practice for all members and are responsible to the board for any making decisions on breaches. The fact that she has been invited to interview for such an important role demonstrates Claire’s commitment to REC, and our service and compliance as recruiters.

Workplace Mental Health and Wellbeing

May was Mental Health Awareness Month, and we were thrilled that many of our clients reached out to discuss how they can improve or implement a wellbeing policy in the workplace.

According to the Achievers 2022 Engagement and Retention Report this is a critical area for employers to focus on when it comes to staff retention and employee engagement.

The report tells us that 41% of employees do not feel valued at work. It goes on to tell us that two thirds of employees might job-hunt this year, and that culture in businesses is suffering due to lack of communication and culture.

But it’s not all bad news! By taking the right steps, you can retain your top performers, and attract the best talent.

Here’s our advice for boosting communication and connection in the workplace. (This is super important as 91% of organisations suffer from stress-related absences according to HealthAssured).

• Create a wellbeing survey to assess the areas your teams need and want support
• Make sure your business has a wellbeing action plan
• On-board senior staff members to champion workforce wellbeing
• Consider an Employee Assistance Programme
•  Appoint mental health first aiders in the business
• Use regular employee check in surveys

We work with a couple of excellent mental health professionals and HR wellbeing experts so if you need advice we can recommend someone suitable for your business.

JFR NEWS

Our Jo was spotted by Wirral Life Magazine when she attended the first event of the year hosted by Mandy Molby and WUTH Charity in aid of Tiny Stars Neonatal appeal which raised £6500.

Our Claire has been busy preparing for her wedding in June, and we all had a laugh at her Harry Potter themed hen party last weekend. The hit of the night was the themed cocktails, deciding between Dumbledore’s lemon drop, a Weasley sour or the Death Eaters dry martini was super fun.

CANDIDATE SPOTLIGHT

Marketing Professional – £25k+ 
Wirral

• Content Creation, social media, video editing, Instagram reels, YouTube channel management
• Creating engaging and innovative campaigns for multiple industries
• Working alongside design and copywriting team
• Content, presenting and produced 200+ podcasts
• Carousel video content for homepage
• Account Management

TRENDING NEWS

• Approx. 80 street parties for Queen’s Jubilee across Wirral
• Wirral born Premier Guarantee celebrates 25th Anniversary
• Wrexham takes ‘City’ Status
• Liverpool International Music Festival Returns
• Energy firm SSE announces £1.5bn operating profit

Just for LOLS

Jobs we’re glad aren’t a thing any more…
Lamp Lighter – these poor fellows used to venture out in the dark and light our first street lights when they were torch or candle lit rather than the electric ones we have today.

Fun Facts
Since it’s the Queen’s Jubilee shortly, we figured we’d go with some fun royal facts for you…
Did you know the Queen doesn’t need a passport and is allowed to drive without a licence?

The Mountbatten-Windsor household is too competitive and they’re not supposed to play Monopoly.

And finally, we may have all been cheering on Liverpool for the win, but our Queen might have had other ideas… did you know she’s an Arsenal supporter?

Let’s give a cheer for…

On the heels of National HR Day, it’s a great time to celebrate our brilliant HR contacts who have worked ever so hard during the pandemic. After a difficult couple of years, you guys really deserve recognition for everything you’ve done!

Jo’s Top Tips

We speak to businesses at all levels and our first advice is often the same:

You need outsourced HR support; or if your business is large enough, you need a dedicated HR advisor.

If you’d like a discussion about this, get in touch with one of the team.