The new favourite in transfers

The booming economy and rising investments have resulted in considerable activity in transfers of middle and lower tier management. During the first 40 days of 2007 alone the demand at human resources’ companies was one third of the figure for the whole of 2006. Experts note that economic stability has meant that executives now have confidence in themselves and can change jobs more easily. They say this trend will continue and increase. The most active sectors are Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), telecommunications, banking, construction, IT and retailing and transfers of middle and lower tier management.

The general manager of an industrial company draws attention to a recent development, commenting: “The unemployment figures that are announced paint a negative picture. But we just cannot find the personnel we are looking for. We are having difficulties finding technical staff, engineers and, most recently, middle management.”

Human Resources General Manager Aylin Coşkunoğlu made a similar evaluation. She said that, particularly as a result of the inflow of foreign capital, people are facing severe difficulties in finding middle tier managers. Coşkunoğlu said: “It is really difficult to find a good manager at this level who knows a foreign language.”

In fact, it is not just these two executives. The HR directors and consultants at the leading companies in Turkey all make similar assessments. They say that the demand for middle tier managers has doubled or tripled since 2004.

The sectors in which the demand for managers has risen the most are fast moving consumer goods, telecommunications, banking, construction, IT and retailing. An increase in demand is inevitable in sectors which are growing and being restructured. New projects which are being developed in the banking sector, the growth in the construction sector, the new investors in the retail sector have produced a rapidly rising demand in these sectors. In recent years demand has been concentrated in lower and middle tier managers and it is expected to continue in 2007. The data for the first 40 days of 2007 in the database on the yenibiris.com website confirm this picture. Moreover, in the first 40 days of 2007 demand was equivalent to one third of the whole of 2006. The sectors in which demand is expected to increase in 2007 include finance, retailing, information technology, automotives, fast moving consumer goods and the construction sector.

The increase in demand for middle and lower tier managers also increases the frequency with which people change jobs. The increase in the circulation of personnel has a negative impact on companies because when executives who have become accustomed to their corporate culture move on to another job they take with them an investment made by the company. In order to overcome this problem, some companies offer their employees career possibilities and the opportunity to develop themselves, such as oversees training.

For Consultants The Demand Has Doubled Or Tripled
The demand for middle and lower level managers increased several fold in 2006. When one studies the data for companies which select and place personnel, one can see that the demand has doubled or tripled since 2004. Yenibiriş General Manager Deniz Ceylan Kılıçoğlu says that demand for middle tier managers rose by approximately 15 percent in 2005 compared with the previous year. Kılıçoğlu says that this demand increased by another 150 percent in 2006. “Of course this situation also applies to lower levels. In 2005 there was an increase of around 25 percent compared with the previous year. In 2006 demand approximately quadrupled compared with the previous year.” Pembe Candaner says that 2,862 advertisements for middle and lower tier management positions were placed in 2004, adding: “In 2005 this figure rose by 83 percent to 5,236. In 2006 the figure virtually tripled to 15,482.”

Adecco Sales and Marketing Manager Asiye Özçelik Yıldırım says that demand for middle managers intensified in 2006 and that there was an increase of 50 percent compared with 2005. She adds:

“Of course, this is not just for new positions. There was also some circulation. The freezing of entry level recruitment after the 2001 crisis has created demand which is rising every year, particularly in lower tier positions. In certain sectors it is possible to talk of a rate of 60-70 percent.”

Secretcv.com Sales Manager Mehmet Önadlı says: “In terms of the increase in advertisements, in 2004 the advertisements for middle management positions accounted for 27 percent of the total, in 2005 42 percent and in 2006 they reached 44 percent.”

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