CIPD report says employers must treat EU departure as an opportunity to get better at developing their workforce
Almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of HR professionals are concerned that competition for well-qualified talent will escalate when Britain leaves the EU, according to research released today.
Three-quarters (75 per cent) of the 1,068 HR professionals polled for the CIPD and Hays’ Resourcing and talent planning survey also reported recruitment difficulties over the last 12 months, and nearly two-thirds (61 per cent) predicted further problems with recruiting senior and skilled employees over the next three years.
Nearly nine out of 10 (89 per cent) respondents said their organisations had been making efforts to improve their employer brand over the last year. However, just 16 per cent said they currently measure the return on investment of their recruitment activity, and more than half (56 per cent) said they don’t calculate the cost of people leaving the business.
“Brexit, and its impact on the labour market, should act as a stimulus for organisations to focus their attention on building a stronger, more productive workforce, by staying alert to potential changes in their skill needs,” said Claire McCartney, associate research adviser at the CIPD.
“However, they can’t effectively do this unless they are measuring, evaluating and strengthening their recruitment and talent strategies. This will give organisations the insight to attract, select and retain people with the best skills and potential for their business.”
Nigel Heap, managing director of Hays UK & Ireland, added: “As we move towards an EU exit, organisations should consider reviewing their recruitment strategies to help them secure access to the right talent. Although we are still faced with some ongoing uncertainty, most sectors remain competitive so now isn’t a time for complacency.”
Tom Hadley, director of policy at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, told People Management that competition for talent was “intensifying”, and would continue to do so for the foreseeable future. “Employers need to take a thoughtful approach to bring in the skills they need,” he said. “This includes looking at how they can reach out to people who might find it more difficult to take on full-time work, such as parents or older workers.
“The challenges that employers face because of the tightening jobs market must also be seen as an opportunity for the UK to get better at developing the domestic workforce. Encouraging employers to become more open to candidates within underrepresented groups is one part of this. We need to see policy-makers, educators and employers working together to invest in skills and career advice for UK jobseekers. At the same time, we need our immigration system to be agile enough to reflect and adapt to evolving labour market needs.”
Almost two-thirds of respondents to the CIPD and Hays survey also agreed the skills they were recruiting for were changing, with leadership (58 per cent), digital (54 per cent) and commercial awareness skills (51 per cent) being the most likely to increase in demand over the next year.
Previous research suggested that Brexit was already taking its toll on the labour market. Office for National Statistics data published last month revealed that net long-term migration had fallen to +248,000 in 2016, down 84,000 on 2015’s numbers.
A separate CIPD study, published in February, found that 27 per cent of employers had already seen evidence suggesting EU nationals in their organisations were considering leaving the business, or the UK, in 2017.
Meanwhile, research released last week from HR and benefits platform bob revealed that almost half (47 per cent) of Brits have rejected a job offer, with 41 per cent doing so because they felt the company culture was not right for them, suggesting employers need to do more to improve their brand if they want to secure top talent.
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