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DEBATE RECRUITMENT
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
NOT JUST THE JOB
Attracting staff is a growing challenge to Lancashire businesses in all sectors. Together with Boost Business Lancashire we brought our expert panel to the offices of MHA Moore and Smalley to discuss the situation and what companies can do to secure the talent they need to thrive and grow
PRESENT:
Richard Slater - Lancashire Business View (Chair) Lisa Brady - Perfect Recruitment
What are the recruitment challenges facing Lancashire businesses today?
SD: We work with a complete mixture of businesses, and they all have their own challenges. There are manufacturers that need to increase productivity by digitising processes, but they need to either retrain their current staff or upskill and find new staff. It can be a really difficult situation.
LB: A lot of businesses in the hospitality industry can’t open seven days a week because they just don’t have the people to staff the front of house and the kitchen. People want a lot more money than they did before. We’ve lost a lot of staff to different industries. We’ve had Brexit and a lot of eastern Europeans left and didn’t come back after Covid. Unfortunately, hospitality is on its knees.
Debbie Chinn - Boost Business Lancashire Rebecca Coombes - MHA Moore and Smalley Sue Denver - Boost Business Lancashire Sam Fletcher - 21 Digital
RC: There seems to be a real shortage of qualified professional staff, and when we do get candidates through, they are seeing another four or five businesses and it’s very likely that they’ll end up with offers from all of them. You have to compete and make sure you’re that employer of choice. We are also seeing huge wage increases in the sector.
SF: Recruitment is really restricting the growth of the business right now, there is a big challenge when it comes to skilled roles and there is a lot of competition. We work with a recruitment agency, and we’ve been looking to fill one role for almost 12 months.
There is a lot of expectation since lockdown about working remotely and that just doesn’t work for me as a business owner and the team I want to create. Salary expectations are also
Gavin Hall - Business Utilities Group Simon Milnes - Lucardo Rawtenstall Escape Rooms Andrew Pickup - Plumbs Zowi Whittaker - The Fox Group
rising. There also seems to be a lack of talent coming out of universities and colleges. We believe apprenticeships will give us a good foundation to nurture local talent.
AP: We’ve been looking for a head of digital for over 12 months and we still haven’t managed to employ somebody. We could probably double the level of orders, but we can’t get the staff to make stuff. European workers have gone home because of Brexit and Covid while people have been spending more money on home furnishings.
Also, the average age of our sewers is probably somewhere between 55 and 60, so it’s a ticking timebomb. Up until recently there was no apprenticeships for sewing. We’re working quite closely with UK Fashion and Textiles to put something in place.
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