2010 Finance Professional Salary Survey

The Netherlands is emerging from one of the worst recessions in recent history. Recovery continues to be slow as growth fluctuates and a feeling of uncertainty remains with the majority of Dutch employers. We remain hopeful of a V shaped economic rebound but It could take at least a year before it returns to its previous peak of early 2008.

The financial employment market has seen what can only be described as a turbulent eighteen months. Although the Dutch
economy shows the lowest employment rate throughout the whole of Europe, unemployment rose across the board with jobs in scarce supply. Martin Ward Anderson witnessed an overall reduction of financial job flow, and a significant increase in candidate applications throughout 2009. Time to hire has also been extended as employers approach the recruitment process with extreme caution. With organisations operating so leanly the majority of assignments continue to be business critical. To intensify the situation many obstacles exist in getting approval for
new permanent headcount.

Throughout 2009 there was immense pressure on employers to restructure or downsize to improve efficiencies. At the same time there was a very real need to focus on the retention of key employees to maintain a certain level of stability and deal with mounting workloads. Where recruitment has occurred, many employers have found it difficult to protect their employer brand as streamlining their recruitment processes has become increasingly challenging. Unfortunately in many cases this has had a knock on effect on their recruitment strategies in 2010 as they struggle to attract premium new talent.

As the market starts to show signs of an upward trend we are optimistic that 2010 will prove more promising. The last two
months have seen an up tick in the market as more permanent vacancies become available. We anticipate a new influx of qualitycandidates actively seeking new opportunities. For many candidates the uncertainty of the market prevented them from moving despite the lack of career progression in their current roles.

A recent survey conducted by Martin Ward Anderson on 220 finance and accounting professionals indicated that almost half of the accountancy professionals surveyed (48 per cent) plan to look for a new job when the economy becomes more stable.

The research further shows that employers have been applying greater pressure to their workers during the recession. Three quarters of the accountants surveyed said they had been asked by their employers to take on work that was previously undertaken by colleagues more senior or junior to themselves. These individuals have been expected to do considerably more work by their employers during the recession. Unfortunately, this workload has not been accompanied by an increase in salary in the majority of cases.

While the Netherlands may be officially out of a recession, it is far from being out of the economic woods. Despite an increase in consumer confidence, household debt remains uncharacteristically high.

The financial services sector remains under the spotlight with mounting pressure from the government and general public for tightening controls to their staffs’ remuneration and bonuses despite positive financial results over the last few quarters.

Despite the recession there have been pockets of success. For example companies within FMCG and storage and transhipment for bulk liquids have continued to hire over the last twelve months.

Above all, employers should plan their recruitment strategies carefully in 2010. The creation of easy to use and increasingly
sophisticated online recruitment channels has empowered many businesses to recruit directly. However, when trying to
attract specialist candidates, particularly those with niche skill sets, the need to partner with a professional recruitment
consultancy remains paramount. Those companies that are adopting a long term strategic view to talent management
acknowledge that relationships and depth of market knowledge remain the key differentiator when recruiting
business critical staff.

Whilst market conditions undoubtedly remain uncertain we look forward to 2010, as we continue to capitalise on the core strengths of our business. A pedigree of expertise in the finance and accountancy sector coupled with a leading brand provides us with a track record of attracting and building long term relationships with the very best finance professionals across the board.


Sieto Engelmoer

Director Netherlands