Companies today face a rare situation where there is a high demand for workers but a shortage of people. According to a survey, nine out of ten businesses believe that a shortage of qualified applicants will hinder their ability to expand. It’s doubtful that this situation will improve anytime soon. Most businesses are aiming to keep employees and attract new ones, while also upskilling current employees. This will create a more valued workforce.
There is a massive lack of workers across all industries. Frontline workers like social care workers seem to be suffering the most. There are alternative methods being put in place to attract talent. Programs are being put in place due to the lack of availability of people. This means ex-offenders are working with workplace rehabilitation to fill the gaps.
Solving Skill shortages
There is also a way that you can attract talent by job crafting, where employees are encouraged to find ways to customise their jobs to better meet their interests and ambitions.
Business managers are allowing employees to consider a non-traditional type of career progression while facilitating invaluable cross-functional learning opportunities and helping to solve skills shortages.
If an employee joins an organisation because they are aligned to its purpose, mission and values and they’re ready to progress or want to learn more. However, we need to look for other ways to ensure we retain them in the organisation.
Enticing Employees to stay
Over ninety-five per cent of all businesses are now addressing retention rates. A big part of retaining staff is by making them feel valued and valuable. Giving people a valid sense of belonging is clearly key to engagement in the post-pandemic world. Most permanent changes occurring within organisations are also intended to influence the entire workforce.
Hybrid and flexible working will remain a feature of working life in a post-pandemic world. Though offering hybrid and flexible working isn’t the primary change organisations are seeking to retain their people.
However hybrid or flexible working continues to transform the employment landscape. According to a survey, sixty per cent of organisations are receptive to considering moving towards a one hundred per cent remote working model. This would have been unimaginable before the pandemic. Our survey also highlighted how fifty-seven per cent of employers would prefer hybrid workers to spend at least two or three days per week at their premises. Companies may have different views of what’s important for employees compared to the perspectives of employees themselves. This will continue to create difficulties in implementing hybrid working arrangements. This model only works in certain industries.
Despite rising expectations around pay, work-life balance and flexibility are still more important to people. Employees don’t want additional fixed days at home either, but rather need work to actually fit around their personal lives. Personal choices and individualism are important factors for employees when negotiating relationships with their employers.
To retain staff, employers need to fine-tune their organisation to fit employee needs. Perks such as an early finish on a Friday or offering employees free fruit no longer add value to people’s working lives. If we want to continue to attract, retain and develop talent, it’s essential to redefine workplace culture. Having a greater focus on the reasons why people choose to stay is important in retaining staff.
Companies are also focusing more on measuring performance based on outputs rather than inputs. Organisations will have to continue evolving their approach when managing talent. An important aspect of this is removing rigid performance frameworks and giving leaders greater autonomy to choose how they manage their teams. Being flexible will result in employee development and better performance.
As companies create more flexible and agile workspaces, creating opportunities for all employees to reach their potential is becoming important. Leaders must be creative about how they connect with staff. This will establish environments that improve individual development.
Here at Carrington Blake Recruitment, we are experts at finding the right talent for your business. We have got to know our candidates so we can be sure that they are the right fit. If you want a role filled get in touch today!