For the last few years, 2into3 has tracked the level of senior recruitment activity in Ireland. The quarterly snapshot allows us to see any mini-trends as they are happening, and to understand who is recruiting, and for what roles.

It will come as no surprise that the data we captured during the second quarter of 2020 show a significant decline in recruitment activity versus the previous year, before COVID-19 took hold. But looking a bit closer at the numbers does show a few interesting variations on an all too common theme.

The total number of management level roles advertised in this period from April to June was 95, a 45% drop from the 173 recorded in 2019. The data also showed a 42% drop in the number of organisations recruiting at a senior level, dropping from 128 in 2019 to 74 in 2020.

Breaking this down further, we can see that only 2 sub-sectors saw an increase in the level of senior recruitment (Local Development & Housing and Religion). Every other sector had reduced activity, some significantly so (e.g. Health and Social Services).

Management Roles Advertised by Sub Sector
	Q2 2019			Q2 2020			Diff.
Advocacy, Law & Politics​​	11	6.36%		6	6.32%		-5
Arts, Culture & Media ​​	4	2.31%		1	1.05%		-3
Education & Research​​	18	10.40%		11	11.58%		-7
Environment​​	1	0.58%		1	1.05%		0
Health​​	32	18.50%		17	17.89%		-15
International​​	11	6.36%		2	2.11%		-9
Local Development & Housing​​	17	9.83%		23	24.21%		6
Philanthropy & Voluntarism ​​	2	1.16%		2	2.11%		0
Professional & Vocational​​	1	0.58%		1	1.05%		0
Recreation & Sport​​	6	3.47%		3	3.16%		-3
Religion​​	1	0.58%		3	3.16%		2
Social Services​​	65	37.57%		24	25.26%		-41
N/A​​	4	2.31%		1	1.05%		-3
	173			95			-78

 

Of those organisations who were recruiting and where financial information was available (59 out of 77), 39% had an annual income of over €10M, while 22% were under €1M.

Every one of the main types of roles that we track saw a reduction in recruitment levels, but again with variation across the range.

Management Roles Advertised by Role Type
	Q2 2019			Q2 2020			Diff.
Administration, Strategy & Governance​	20	11.6%		3	3.2%		-17
CEO/Executive Director​	18	10.4%		14	14.7%		-4
Communications & Marketing​	13	7.5%		2	2.1%		-11
Finance ​	9	5.2%		8	8.4%		-1
Fundraising & Business Development​	40	23.1%		10	10.5%		-30
HR​	11	6.4%		3	3.2%		-8
Service Delivery & Operational Management​	62	35.8%		55	57.9%		-7
	173			95			-78

 

CEO recruitment dipped slightly, from 18 roles in 2019 to 14 in 2020 (down 22%), while Fundraising and Business Development roles experienced a dramatic 75% decline from 40 in Q2 2019 to 10 in Q2 2020.

Others were relatively unscathed, with Finance roles dropping from just 9 to 8 in the comparable periods, and while there were 7 fewer Service Delivery & Operational Management​ roles, this represented a drop of just 11% (62, down to 55).

In terms of what this data tells us, the most obvious learning is that COVID-19 has had a significant effect on recruitment at a senior level in the not-for-profit sector, but then, we really didn’t need to conduct a detailed analysis to know this.

It does show however that there is a variation in how the pandemic is affecting different sub-sectors, with some pulling back on recruitment more than others. This may well reflect the inescapable need for certain organisations to maintain their staffing levels and the option that others may have to postpone recruiting new staff members, or even replacing departing colleagues.

Anecdotally, 2into3 has had one of its busiest quarters in recent years in terms of our senior recruitment, with 17 roles being managed by us between mid-March and August, so there is still a significant level of activity in the sector. Whether this continues, and whether it continues to impact different areas in different ways will only become evident as we make our way back to the “new normal” in the second half of this exceptional year.