Sue Denver - Boost Business Lancashire
I’m working with clients with really complex recruitment issues. A specialist care home has 34 vacancies at the moment and is working with its solicitor, who is engaging with the government to be able to bring in some staff from Africa because there is such a shortage in the industry. It is having to use agency staff at the moment.
It’s a big issue in the care sector and also in hospitality. One owner of a bar and café is looking for a third chef in as many months and since buying the business 12 months ago. The business is under threat if they can’t find a chef.
There are a lot of vacancies, particularly in hospitality, and chefs are just moving around from one job to another. In the care sector it is not all about pay, it is the hours people have to put in and the training.
Turning the issue on its head a little bit, we’re working with local colleges who have asked us to go in and talk to the students about starting their own business. They’ve got a business idea but they don’t know what to do. It is taking them through that process.
When it comes to hybrid working, it has worked for me for the last 21 years. It is about flexibility and trust. It all goes hand in hand. Ian Hartley - Pendle Doors
We are based in Darwen and struggle to find people willing to travel, which means we are looking at a very small pool when it comes to recruiting.
One thing we do recruit on is values. We have values in the business which we brought in last year. We asked all the staff to engage with them and asked for their opinions as well.
We’re also just about to start putting our succession planning in place, so people can really see where they can go and where they can develop. It is trying to keep them interested. We’ve tried reward schemes and we have suggestion boxes all over the factory. No idea is a bad idea.
Twice a year we bring in an outside consultancy in to sit with all our staff. It just gives them the opportunity to speak freely and confidentially. It is all reported back to us as a board of directors and we try to put everything in place that has been asked for, though we can’t always.
We recognised hybrid working for office staff was fantastic, so we give them the opportunity to work one day a week from home if it helps them. We needed to do something for the shop floor and so we give them the option of two start times. You wouldn’t have a business without the people that work there, they are key.
Purves Ali - Boost Business Lancashire
Recruitment is the problem and a key area and skill set is engineering. That’s the big one but it is across the board - in every sector people are talking about the same thing, they can’t find the right staff.
They are not too bad at retaining people, recruiting is where the struggle is. Looking at the labour market, people are looking for work, but it is about finding the right staff. I speak to the job centres, I speak to colleges, to companies, and everybody says the same thing.
Companies are trying to look further down the line. They’re thinking, ‘Do we need to recruit? Do we retain staff? Which way do we go forward?’
Workplaces are changing. I’ve seen a massive change in the office and workplace environment. Open plan offices and open kitchens where people can go and talk with each other, play areas with pool tables and television screens. Production areas are also changing.
Dennis Letts - Hall and Lets
We manufacture sofa beds for the hospitality industry and during the pandemic it was difficult because that was the first thing that closed down. For nearly two years we didn’t sell anything.
When we came out of the pandemic the hotels didn’t have any money to pay for anything. It was a nightmare. We look after our people. We didn’t furlough anyone, we didn’t do any of that, and it was a simple decision for us.
When it comes to being an attractive employer, we try to put ourselves in the shoes of whoever we employ. We say to everyone that we manufacture the best sofa bed in the UK and we try to get our staff to feel they’re part of this. We ask them if they want to have a look at the end product of the work they’ve done. We try and engage. It is about getting the right balance, some people just want to come in and work,
As a business, our values are ‘old values’. We talk to staff, we go round in the morning, wish them ‘good morning’ and ask how they are. At one time we used to employ around 80 people and I’d go round and talk to every one of them, every morning. It is just a simple thing, a simple way of showing that you care.
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