It's that time when one tends to reflect on the year gone by. In this case, not just a year but a whole decade. It seems only yesterday that I was standing out in the cold waiting for both the start of the new millennium and the famous 'River of Fire'. Many of us will have made predictions then for the first few years of the millennium but I doubt that we would have predicted the steep rise in all things financial (bar interest rates) that pushed house prices into the stratosphere and also encouraged many to think there would never be a down turn! In the latter half of 2008 there were rumblings and we heard the words credit crunch for the first time. BBC News became almost unwatchable - the graphics dominated by a vibrant red graph in free fall. The word recession was whispered but quickly replaced by credit crunch if anyone in any sort of authority was listening! Lehmans became a notable casualty and then it became clear that all was not well in the world of work. Recruitment business that weren't operating in relatively recession proof areas (social care, nursing, midwifery) certainly noticed a change. We did. Almost as if a tap were turned off on 1 January 2009 temporary jobs dried up as organisations thought very carefully about whether they need to replace leavers, cover for absence or start new projects. (There are many reasons to have a temporary worker - not just for holiday cover!) Soon our broader client base cut permanent recruitment. Posts were frozen and there was little activity in any of the varied sectors in which we work. March, usually a busy month as clients use up budget allowance was quiet and in April all recruitment activity was down by around 75% on the previous year. So what has happened since? I hear you ask. Well things have changed slowly and are much more positive now as we head for 2010. (I don’t want to hear the word double dip - but it is still feasible that things could recess again). Jobs being notified to us are twice that of March and April, but still forty or fifty percent down on the average for 2008. Interestingly though, the jobs are different. They tend to be 'one offs' - come from different clients and are often at a much high level than our average roles. Temporary contracts are being offered for longer periods of time again. We certainly had to make changes, after so long desperately seeking candidates it was a novelty to have too many and to be in the situation of sourcing roles that they could fill. We turned our business processes around and found new ways of working that accounted for the different emphasis. Additionally we examined everything we did (and bought) carefully and realised that in good times organisations carry far more fat than they realise. There is no shame in that as much of it is not wasted, just not totally necessary to run the business. My aim was not to shed staff as good trained people have a value that is inestimable. So we cut elsewhere. We found creative ways to market and advertise at no cost (that saved two peoples wages), and we forwent our weekly desk massage, reverted to tap water, renegotiated the electricity, changed phone suppliers, the rent and other 'fixed' costs thus saving two more people. Fizz on Fridays and fruit on Mondays remained sacrosanct, however. When the words credit crunch first appeared back in 2008 we made the decision not replace anyone who left. In hindsight that was a good move. We were not put in a position of enforcing departures to trim numbers. In fact we kept our faith and launched a new division - market research recruitment - bringing in a new team member to develop that. I'll always be glad that we had no debt as it meant we were able to make our plans on our own terms, not those of others - who ironically in times of hardship are reticent in declaring what they will do for you. We look forward cautiously to welcoming both the new year and the new as yet un-named decade. We've had a great 'naughties' albeit with the gloss taken off somewhat in the final year. We've kept our team, our clients and our candidates and hope soon to see the balance tilt in favour of the job seekers. It will be with Prosecco not Champagne that we toast as the clock strikes midnight on 31 December. But we're not proud and good Prosecco is just what we like. If 2010 is half as good as the Prosecco then we will all be happy Season greetings to you all and our very best wishes to you for 2010. - Sue