Headhunting: The art of finding talent in a shrinking labour market

KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and BDO -chartered accounting firms and business consultancies - are the main companies to which Jamaican corporates turn for headhunting services. However, there are also sole practitioners who are finding their feet in a climate in which human resource management and talent hunting is in big demand.

Also known as an executive search, headhunting differs from traditional recruitment. It is used to hire high level employees such as CEOs.

The work of headhunters is getting harder in Jamaica. Wilfred Baghaloo - Partner, Advisory Services - PwC Jamaica comments, “We simply do not have enough qualified persons to provide necessary services to our clients locally and internationally in the financial advisory space. I believe we have reached the point (maybe four years ago) where we need to rethink our working permit immigration plan /approach.

“Allowing more immigration and work permits will help us in the financial advisory space and also the country as whole from many different perspectives.” 

Locally, headhunters are recruiters hired to find skilled professionals into specific positions.
Joni-Gaye Cawley who is employed in HR Consultant and trainer pursues both run of the mill recruitment and headhunting through her HR consultancy Joni-Gaye Cawley & Associates with reasonable success, despite the complaints of the wider workforce in search of talent.

She shares, “I have heard people complain that the labour market is tight, but I have been able to fill 97 per cent of vacancies within 30 days, so the tight labour market is not affecting my business as yet.”

Because there is low unemployment, companies might find it difficult to fill technical and professional roles such as engineers and accountants.

Cawley asserts, “I am finding Engineers and Accountants, but the issue is that companies' salary budget of many companies is too low and therefore unattractive, or that the Engineers don't have the required experience managing teams, or lack some specific competence that the company needs, so that is a challenge.”

Headhunters and HR solution providers remain in high demand in Jamaica.  Cawley said, “Based on requests I receive on a daily basis, there is heavy demand for HR services, especially general HR services and recruitment. Companies are willing to pay retainers of $200,000 or more per month for part-time HR assistance.”

Her own business started on August 25, 2020 during the COVID19 pandemic while she worked at DHL Jamaica Limited.

Small business owners would reach out to her for HR advice because they were not sure how to lay off staff, make positions redundant, and communicate salary reduction changes to staff during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Cawley was discontented with corporate life, specifically the lack of time freedom, she says, “I decided that it was time to resign and three weeks after resigning I registered the business. I must add that I have been providing HR advice to small businesses as a side hustle since 2004.”

Initially, her attempt to find start-up funds almost stalled as no financing was available for her line of business.

But the HR professional states, “I am now grateful that they all (banks) declined my applications. [ Since that time], “I have earned enough funds to pay for everything I would have borrowed the money for. I am less indebted and on my way to becoming debt free.”

Joni-Gaye Cawley holds HR designations which include Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the HR Certification Institute, USA and Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) from the Society for Human Resource Management, USA.

Additionally, she holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Wales, UK and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree Human Resource Management Major, Marketing Minor from the University of Technology, Jamaica.

In January 2023 Cawley also received the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute, of which she is a member.

Originally, she served as Group HR Manager for Amber Group, Operations Manager for DHL Jamaica Ltd and before that, Human Resource and Training Manager for DHL Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

Prior to joining DHL, she served in the roles of Senior Director, Human Resource Services and Lecturer in Human Resource Management at the International University of the Caribbean.

Cawley also worked for nine years at GraceKennedy, working directly with the Chief Human Resource Officers for both the Investments and Foods Divisions at various junctures during her tenure.

Running her own shop by 2004, she was then forced to be 100 per cent self-funded. “I did not qualify for loans,” she explained.

She reflects, “During the first five months of business operation, I was not earning enough to service my loans. As a result, frequently loans were in arrears of upwards of 90 days. This was bad debt and is reflected on my credit report.”

While she has since regularized or cleared the loans, she still is unable to qualify for a loan as a result. “Banks, credit unions and micro financing firms have all rejected my loan applications,” she reflected.

Later, however, she was glad they did. She has since cleared all loans. Cawley invested $500,000 at startup and additional funds along the way to purchase office furniture and equipment. All the investments have been recouped.

Annual revenue is now over $8 million per annum with the company’s financial year running from January to December.

Cawley says that, compared to the first year of operation, “I have made five times more profit (less than $1 million profit 2021 then $5 million profit 2022).

With a target market of CEOs and HR managers, her company’s services include headhunting to fill senior roles or positions that are hard to fill, recruitment, psychometric testing, HR audit, performance management, training, employee engagement initiatives, termination support, and outplacement services among other business needs

The sole proprietor also runs the HR Expert Academy, a company she created which provides an HR internship programme for unemployed graduates of HR degree programmes.

Her chief competitors in the talent seeking space, meanwhile, are company recruiters and large headhunters. However, she notes, “I don't think of myself as competing with anyone. I collaborate with all. If I have too many clients' projects at a time, I will give projects to other HR consultants.”

She currently also has clients right across the Caribbean, including in Belize, Barbados, Trinidad, Cayman and Guyana as, as the need arises, companies reach for assistance.

Cawley says, “I don't specifically target countries, my business comes from referrals.” Her company meanwhile has no permanent staff, as she works instead with a talent pool of eight HR Associates, noting also, “Other HR Consultants work on projects with me as the need arises.”

Recruitment comprises 80 per cent of company requests while the demand for training makes up the rest.

One major challenge is managing receivables with Cawley noting, “Some clients do not pay on time and that negatively affects my cash flow.”

Her advice to companies is: “If you have difficulty hiring, explore multiple talent sources such as advertising on all social media platforms, ask employees and friends for referrals. If you are still not successful, seek assistance.”

Photograph: Joni-Gaye Cawley, CEO of HR Consultancy Joni-Gaye Cawley & Associates.

-Picture contributed

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