Employers’ costs increased in early April, impacting all business sectors in the UK. However the double whammy was the additional energy costs. This trend, combined with the ongoing skills shortage in many sectors (e.g. manufacturing, technology, health), means organisations must tackle and overcome recruitment and retention challenges.

“The scarcity of workers with the skills needed by businesses means it’s a competitive market out there,” says Emma Clack of Heneom HR & Recruitment. “Digital skills are especially hard to acquire as so many sectors are looking for similar expertise. The current perfect storm of higher employment costs and skills shortages places a greater emphasis on retention and training. Employers need to review how they value and develop their teams. What’s your competitive edge when attracting and retaining talent?”

Improving Retention

Across UK industry, 33% of employees are planning to look for a new role in the next 12 months … retaining employees simply must be a priority. What steps can you take to retain talent?

A good starting point is understanding why your current employees work for you. What do they value about being part of your organisation? Be brave … ask the big question!

The answers are incredibly valuable. What do employees love? Are these opportunities available throughout the organisation? Can you do more along a similar theme? For example, if flexibility is valued, can this be extended to other departments or developed further via shift patterns or flexible working? The result can be a valuable X factor that can be used for external recruitment as well as retention.

Similarly, understanding potential problems before employees leave your organisation gives you the opportunity to tackle issues and retain workers. Do you need to address workplace culture?  Do some teams have leadership issues? If you don’t ask, you don’t know … and you may end up with vacancies to fill.

Better Recruitment

Seven stages of successful recruitment are:

1. Identifying needs and requirements of the vacancy.
2. Planning how and where to promote the role and attract suitable candidates.(Remember your X factor!)
3. Designing the interview process – should a series of interviews be complemented by a project to complete, for example?
4. Finding candidates, using both internal and external sources.
5. Screening candidates and sending interview invitations.
6. Hiring the successful candidate(s) and onboarding them.
7. Evaluating your recruitment process – how did it go? How can it improve?

“In a challenging employment market it’s especially important for organisations to offer extra value to potential employees”, says Emma. “Your vacancy is competing with thousands of others, so it’s vital you stand out from the crowd.”

Blending Benefits for the Biggest Win

To attract candidates and retain employees, think beyond the obvious terms and conditions. For example, we know employees value flexibility, as it’s the biggest retention factor. What can you do to enhance the flexibility of your job roles? Flexibility can include:

• Flexible hours
• Option to work from home
• More holiday
• Wellbeing benefits (such as a gym membership
• Employee discounts
• Office perks (such as free snacks)
• Social events

Think creatively and give both candidates and employees a reason to choose your organisation!

Need a hand? Heneom HR is here to help. Let’s dispel the HR myths, demystify the actions needed and keep you on the HR straight and narrow. Contact us for an initial discussion without obligation.