Organisations have started recruiting with gusto in the New Year, with a rush of people looking for new jobs.

In a timely warning to employers, Beilby Chief Executive Martin Nicholls said, "Job advertisements in the first quarter would feature the broadest selection of roles than at any other time in 2005."

Mr Nicholls urged managers to address discontent among staff to avoid losing key people. He identified dissatisfaction with leadership, career progression and training and development as the three main reasons why people left their jobs.

“People don’t leave organisations, they leave leaders,” Mr Nicholls said.

Mr Nicholls said an organisation’s cultural fit was becoming increasingly important to jobseekers.

“Today, we are more interested in working for an organisation which promotes values and behaviours similar to our own. That way our expectations can be managed accordingly,” he said.

“People also expect a two-way value relationship with their employers – the master-servant association does not apply anymore.”

Mr Nicholls said a number of factors had contributed to the New Year hiring frenzy. Firstly, many people had taken stock of their work situations over the Christmas holiday break and made a New Year’s resolution to look for an alternate career direction.

Employers also tended to have high hiring demands in the early months of the year.

“Many companies made redundancies just prior to Christmas so that all parties can make a fresh start in the New Year,” Mr. Nicholls said.

“Companies that do not have their headcount in place will want to get this sorted as quickly as possible. This has lead to increased levels of job advertisements and the headhunting of key staff from competitors.”