‘Agility and breadth of experience most desired traits in refreshed retail boardrooms’

But this year, as with last, the rule book has been ripped up. New client assignments are coming in thick and fast as retailers look to get ahead of the market. All the signs suggest activity will continue right up until the start of the festive holiday.

This partly reflects pent-up market demand for new talent following another year of disruption and uncertainty. After a bleak start to the year, with a third national lockdown, my expectation was that job market activity would bounce back in the autumn.

This never really materialised as supply chain issues – most notably the fuel crisis – diverted business’ attention elsewhere. Now, however, the floodgates have opened and I expect that momentum to continue into the first quarter of 2022.

Trends on the high street reflect those in the jobs market. Retailers I have spoken to recently say they have taken strong sales momentum into the golden quarter. This is reflected in the latest Office for National Statistics data that shows October sales were more than 5% higher than in February 2020, the final month before Covid-19 took hold in the UK. Just as the jobs market is set to be hugely busy and competitive in the New Year retailers will be hoping trading stays similarly strong. 

“When one person has oversight of multiple functions they can make business-critical decisions quickly and ensure a minimum of conflict between different departments”

Back to recruitment – I’ve noted before how old job specifications are being ripped up. At the most senior level, one-dimensional roles are rapidly disappearing. Executives who excel in just one discipline risk finding themselves exposed. Going forward, retail leaders will require a genuine breadth of experience across multiple roles and business functions.

We’re also seeing a continuation of the trend for businesses to combine roles such as retail and property director, or digital and marketing director. Agility is the key word in boardrooms at the moment. Speed is of the essence to stay one step ahead of competitors and keep on top of market trends. When one person has oversight of multiple functions they can make business-critical decisions quickly and ensure a minimum of conflict between different departments.

Of course, it’s important we all stay mindful of the potential impact of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. This week, the government moved to its ‘Plan B’, which involves working from home guidance and vaccine passports in large venues.

While we all hope trading can continue unrestricted throughout the winter, it is only right that we remain vigilant in the weeks ahead. I’ve spoken with numerous businesses that have cancelled or postponed their Christmas parties out of an abundance of caution.

So here’s to a safe and successful Christmas – both professionally and personally – and to hit the ground running in the new year with exciting business plans delivered by exceptional people.