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Tag: Talent

38% of staff have been approached by competitors

Great company culture is a top draw in retaining talent

Employers are poaching talent directly from competitors in a bid to mitigate skills shortages.

Talent solutions provider, Talent Works surveyed software and government professionals in the lead up to Talent Acquisition Day. The survey requested opinions on existing working policies and asked employees how often they’d been approached by other companies for new roles in the last year.

The research found that 38% of tech and government professionals were approached by competeitors more than five times in the last 12 months, with more than a fifth of employees saying that they’ll leave their current employer in 2022.

Other findings from the survey were:

  • More than a third of organisations don’t have work from home polices in place
  • Being asked to be in the office negatively impacts one in five employees
  • Software professionals, and employees aged between 18 and 34-year-old are more likely to want to be in the office than women, government professionals and those who are older than 35
  • Oppurtunities to advance their career (38%) and good company culture (33%) were things employees wanted most in their organisation.
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Recruiters struggle to find their own talent: LinkedIn

Demand for recruiters is rising exponentially across the UK and Europe, according to new data from LinkedIn, which had 6.8 times more recruiter roles on its platform in June 2021 than the same time last year.

The research from LinkedIn highlights several talent acquisition trends in the recruitment sector that are making it more difficult for staffing and talent solutions firms to find the quality and quantity of consultants they need. It found, for example, that fewer are hiring from outside the industry than in previous years so ‘they’re increasingly competing for the same narrow set of candidates’.

It found that the number hired from previous recruiting roles has almost doubled from 33% in 2020 to 59% in 2021, attributing this in part to redundancies last year and a preference in hiring those who need less training. “The current hiring pace makes it more challenging to hire outside of recruiting because it takes time to bring newbies up-to-speed with recruiting-specific hard skills,” said Erin Scruggs, LinkedIn’s senior director of talent acquisition.

Of those that are sourced from outside recruitment, the top roles were HR (35%) and sales (12%), including account managers, project managers, and customer service representatives.

Looking at incentives and key motivators for recruitment talent, the research found that work-life balance, compensation, and company culture were still most important, but job security increased to 21% as a priority followed by purposeful mission (up 19%), having influence over tasks and priorities (up 11%) and challenging work (up 9%).

“It’s positive to see that demand for recruiter roles is growing, a trend that we’re seeing around the world, and that demand has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels in the UK,” said Adam Hawkins, Head of Search and Staffing EMEA at LinkedIn. “After a particularly tough year, it’s perhaps unsurprising that job security is high on the priority list when recruiters consider new roles.”

With specialist consultants in such high demand, many of those made redundant or furloughed in 2020 have been tempted to start their own business. So are we likely to see a surge in staffing firms like the 46% spike in 2018 after nearly 8,500 new recruitment start-ups were registered at Companies House?

“A raft of talent tech solutions can help start-ups punch above their weight and it’s interesting to note from LinkedIn’s research that more want greater influence over their work, and perhaps more autonomy after a year and a half of working remotely,” said Alex Evans, Programme Director of TALiNT Partners and head of the PointSix network. “However, job security has increased as a priority for recruitment talent and work / life balance is hard to achieve as a startup founder. The best staffing and talent solutions firms to work for recognised by our TIARA programme this year have all invested in training, technology, brand and management to attract and retain recruiters – and prevent key people from becoming competitors.”

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Lack of diversity in job ads will hinder recruitment success post-Covid

With vacancy numbers hitting all-time highs in the UK since before the pandemic hit, online talent sourcing specialist, Talent.com, has warned employers that a lack of diversity in recruitment adverts themselves could hinder hiring strategies.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), shows that there are more job vacancies now than before the pandemic as employers look to bolster resources as restrictions ease and business demand finally increases after more than a year of uncertainty. However, Talent.com has warned that an audit of hiring process – including job adverts and descriptions – is needed to ensure they appeal to modern-day diverse audiences.

Values and “must-haves” for job seekers have changed dramatically in the last few years with the workforce placing large emphasis on things that matter as opposed to higher pay. There is far more focus on sustainability and diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the Black Lives Matters movement has served to accelerate the much-needed evolution of hiring practices and other business policies.

Without a more diverse approach to hiring practices, businesses could see limited hiring success in the second half of 2021.

Noura Dadzie, Vice President of Sales UK and International Markets at Talent.com said: “With unemployment levels dropping as vacancy numbers rise, the war for talent is accelerating exponentially. The challenge for hiring managers now is not just to get in front of the right people before the competition, but perhaps more importantly, have the right content to push to these audiences. Job seekers are placing greater emphasis on diversity initiatives and employment culture in a post-pandemic world, but as businesses attempt to replace lost resources, too many are falling into the trap of pushing out pre-Covid ads and job descriptions that are arguably out-dated and irrelevant.

“Job seekers are more likely to apply for a position if they can easily identify with the job description and advert. If these do not reflect the diversity of the new talent landscape, employers will be on the back foot – a less-than-ideal scenario in a growing economy.”

Should you have interesting news stories to share, please send them to the Editor Debbie.walton@talintpartners.com

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Skills mismatch ‘will prolong talent shortages’

City & Guilds warns that 22 million people don’t have the skills they need for future roles

The new Skills Index report from City & Guilds Group and Emsi is calling on education organisations, businesses and Government to focus on future jobs and skills as demand continues to outstrip supply.

Analysing data collected by the British Chambers of Commerce, the research found that only 54% of businesses said they can recruit the skilled individuals it needs and 28% cite the mismatch between skills they need and those gained through education.

The research also found that 61% of working age adults (equivalent to more than 22 million people) don’t feel they are equipped with all the skills they will need to unlock new opportunities over the next five years or even remain employable. In addition, 30% have not received formal workplace training in the last five years and 64% have not received any training in the past year – despite 41% of employers saying changing customer behaviours or expectations are most likely to change the skills they need in the future.

“Covid-19 has radically disrupted the labour market displacing almost a million people from their jobs, yet paradoxically employers are telling us that skills gaps remain a chronic issue for them,” said Kirstie Donnelly MBE, CEO of City & Guilds Group. “Solving this skills mismatch requires a shift in mindset from the individuals themselves as well as employers and the UK Government. It is no longer possible to leave full time education at 18 or 21 and never reskill again, we will require people and businesses to upskill and reskill throughout their working lives.”

Fifth of workers ‘hiding in their job’

A survey of 500 recruiters conducted by LinkedIn in May found that 46% have seen a rise in the number of people “sheltering” in their current job. A separate LinkedIn study of 2,025 job seekers found that 21% of UK workers been too worried about pandemic uncertainty to concentrate on career progression.

“It’s understandable that people are feeling anxious about the prospect of moving jobs during a pandemic, particularly if they have good job security, a steady income, and their employer has treated them well over the past year,” said Adam Hawkins, head of search and staffing at LinkedIn.

However, as talent shortages create a candidate’s market, Hawkins expects career progression to become more of a priority with employers expected to offer training as well as flexible working.

Rise in job ads for skilled occupations

REC’s latest Jobs Recovery Tracker reported a total of 1.63 million active job adverts in the UK in the first week of June, up 300,000 on the previous quarter and a similar level to early March 2020, pre-lockdown.

Teaching and other educational professionals (+17.8%) was the occupation with the highest weekly increase in active job postings in the first week of June. This is likely to reflect seasonal demand, as teachers moving schools in September have to resign by 31 May. There was also growth in adverts for other skilled roles such as welders (+6.6%), metal working machine operatives (+3.7%) and other skilled trades (+3.5%). Demand for bar staff continued to rise (+4.0%) as more people returned to pubs and restaurants.

“By far their biggest worry right now is the shortage of candidates for jobs,” said REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry. “The pandemic has made existing skill and labour shortages in the UK worse. Governments and business need to work together to ensure access to training opportunities and unemployment support so that there are pathways for everyone into growing sectors.”

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How will Brexit affect recruitment?

Danny Brooks, CEO of VHR

With just six months to go until the UK leaves the European Union, and no deal yet in place, 61% of employers are worried about leaving the EU. How will Brexit affect UK recruitment?

How will Brexit affect hiring candidates?

Although 25% of UK businesses currently employ staff from the EU, an August 2018 survey reveals that over 50% UK business leaders would be put off employing someone from the EU after Brexit changes the UK’s immigration laws.

Recruiting EU nationals currently working in the UK – In July the Home Office published the new mandatory registration scheme for EU nationals. After Brexit occurs on 29th March 2019, all 3.8 million EU nationals living in the UK and EU nationals wanting to enter the UK will need to register for ‘settled status’ to continue to work and live in the UK. Settled status, with its supporting technology still in the testing phase, aims to protect the rights and jobs of EU nationals currently working in the UK, but what about recruiting EU nationals after Brexit?

Recruiting EU nationals after Brexit – From 1st July 2021, EU citizens and any family members living with them must hold or have applied for UK immigration status to legally work in the UK. This new status could present a challenge for hiring managers and recruiters, who may have to adapt candidate selection processes to comply with new editions of immigration law in the next three years. The new status will require UK businesses to adopt a longer-term talent attraction strategy that either focuses on existing UK-based talent pools or accommodates the required time and resources to bring EU nationals to work in the UK for the first time.

Increased skills shortages – The effects of Brexit could be further exacerbated by existing UK skills shortages across industries. In Q4 2017, 22% of UK engineering business leaders and 42% of UK aviation industry leaders identified a labour shortage as the most urgent challenge they will face in the next five years. Global demand for aviation skills alone is set to overtake supply by 2027, and with skilled candidates already under-represented amongst a rapidly reducing workforce, skills shortages will become an increasingly dominant UK business issue.

Increased need for marketing and talent attraction – In May 2018, LinkedIn reported that 96% of hiring strategies had already been impacted by Brexit. The same study found that 44% of recruiters believe that working in the UK is becoming a less attractive prospect to EU citizens, with 39% seeing international candidates who are reluctant to move to London.

How can we mitigate against the effects of Brexit on recruitment?

Retain existing workforces – To protect against the possibility of losing employees who are EU citizens, business leaders can ensure employees are aware of their eligibility to apply for British citizenship or settled status before Britain leaves the EU and communicate the specific details and urgency of registering for settled status.

Build UK-based skills from wider talent pools – As 67% of UK graduates say that they now work in a role completely unrelated to their degree and 1 in 3 graduates are unhappy in their current job, fewer young people than ever are getting into apprenticeships and joining industries such as manufacturing, engineering, aerospace and automotive. VHR’s divisional director and aviation recruitment specialist, Ryan Abbot, advises on the UK skills shortage, “In a globally connected world where students are bombarded with choices, we need to shout louder to reach potential talent who are unaware of what our industries can offer. Business leaders and recruiters can partner with colleges and schools to directly engage with students and show them the variety of successful careers open to them across UK industries.”

Outsource from non-EU countries – The world is rich with talent just waiting to be found. Depending on local labour laws and specific remits, business leaders could turn their recruitment strategies towards candidates based outside the EU and secure the expat workers needed for business growth and success. VHR ethically recruits skilled and experienced candidates across 45 countries and four continents – find out more.

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