Natasha Makhijani

1. Natasha Makhijani After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree from City, University of London and a Master’s from DePaul University in Chicago, I began my recruitment career on the Graduate Scheme at Hays. Fast-tracked into management roles, I achieved four promotions in four years and took a team from billing £10,000 to £80,000 a month. From Hays I then moved to Michael Page, where I worked on a hybrid desk across permanent and interim senior leadership roles. I was given responsibility for growing Michael Page’s Public Sector division from its offices in London. I soon became the company’s number one biller in HR across the UK, but I always wanted to pursue an entrepreneurial route. Having already set up executive desks at both Hays and Michael Page, I switched my focus to establishing a business of my own, and in 2011, Oliver Sanderson was born. What started as one woman on a laptop has grown into an international business at the cutting edge of executive search, working with big clients, winning awards, and making a difference internationally! Oliver Sanderson Oliver Sanderson is an executive search firm with a difference, combining experience and expertise with innovation and fresh thinking. Our Values of Honesty, Integrity and Passion are at the heart of everything we do. Our aim is to help clients achieve greatness by attracting, developing and retaining professionals of the highest calibre. We ensure that clients strengthen their organisations by identifying and recruiting the very best individuals, as well as supporting their progression into accomplished leaders. Oliver Sanderson has built up a strong track record of senior and C-suite appointments at FTSE 100, FTSE 250, and Fortune 500 companies. We offer end-to-end recruitment and consultancy solutions and our team of highly experienced consultants offer a bespoke service designed to

2. satisfy all recruitment and consultancy requirements. Unlike other recruiters, we offer a genuinely consultative service that ensures we listen to the client’s needs and tailor the search process accordingly. This ensures that we can comprehensively search for candidates that are the best possible fit for the company and role. Our pioneering digital solutions set us apart from the competition. With our innovative suite of digital apps, including Snapp –the world’s first voice-technology enabled mobile jobs platform with exclusive Amazon Alexa integration – we are leading the way in discovering the next generation of business leaders. How Flexible Working is Changing The recruitment marketplace is set to undergo some significant changes in 2024, driven by a shift in working habits, the widespread adoption of new technologies, and an emphasis on environmental and social responsibility. Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, flexible and hybrid working models have seen a huge increase in popularity. We saw three years of an upward trend since the beginning of 2020, as hybrid working became the norm. However, according to the Timewise Flexible Jobs Index for 2023, the proportion of job adverts which offer flexible working appears to be stalling. The 2023 rate of 31% represents a negligible advance on 30% in 2022, indicating that perhaps the year-on-year increase has plateaued. Many major companies including Apple, Google and Meta are recalling employees to the office full-time. The complexity of this situation will be compounded by the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023, which has been passed in parliament but has yet to come into effect. Employees will have the right to request flexible working from day one and can make two requests in any 12-month period. However, this does not make flexible working a right – the decision is still ultimately down to the

3. employer. The future of flexible working seems to be at a critical juncture. How Technology will be Further Integrated into Recruitment Processes Technology and automation can help massively to reduce recruiter workloads and help relieve pressure. New tools and evolving technologies are entering the recruitment space all the time, and 2024 will be no different. Of course, there’s no substitute for a talented recruitment team, but HR tech stacks can include solutions for chatbots, candidate screening, AI skills matching, video interviewing and much more! This can all help to streamline the recruitment process and help the recruiter focus on what they do best. However, there is a growing distrust of AI. According to the ONS, 28% of UK adults believe that AI brings more risks than benefits, while 43% believe there are equal benefits and risks. Only 14% believed the benefits outweigh the risks. Will these fears slow the development and adoption of AI tools? The Focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) continues to be a focus for many employers and society at large. They are no longer only buzzwords, they are essential elements of forward-thinking and successful organisations. Research shows that companies that champion diversity and inclusion are more successful and innovative, and more attractive to customers, staff, and potential job applicants. McKinsey’s study (2018) showed that companies with ethnically diverse leadership are 33% more likely to outperform on profitability and 21% more likely to have above-average profitability with gender diverse leadership teams. In hiring processes, companies should give priority to DE&I initiatives, such as using inclusive interviewing techniques and diverse placements.

4. This trend aims not only to meet societal expectations but also to foster innovation and create a more robust and dynamic work environment. Successful Leadership I think it is vital to be aware of the needs of the sector, the job market, and the requirements of one’s company and people. I firmly believe that a leader should have passion, drive, energy, honesty, integrity, and humor, to name a few! A leader has to be open-minded and find solutions through difficult times. They must be challenged, actively listen, constantly know that they are always learning, and be open to others guiding them. As a business grows, a leader should be apt at identifying and cultivating talent - proper succession planning is vital to longevity. Never be afraid to speak up in the boardroom and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other leaders, but at the same time be open to listening and change. Nobody knows everything and there is always room to learn from others in industry. Our team has driven our growth from day one, and I work hard every day to keep my team motivated and engaged with our vision and our journey. As a leader, it is vital that I am always challenging, supporting, and inspiring them. We set monthly and annual targets to hit for our team across a number of areas, from sales to social media engagement. But we also support each other, understanding that growth isn’t always linear, and we sometimes learn more from failure than from success.