66 RECRUITMENT
Dr Jenni Barrett
Emma Clay
Stephen Cutler
Charlotte Gittins Continued from Page 65
SC: We’ve had quite a few challenges over the last six months in terms of retention and recruitment and getting that next generation coming through.
As a business formed through Covid, we recruited talent based on many things including flexibility. We created a brilliant culture.
Post pandemic we’ve seen people reassessing things and some taking a step back. We’ve certainly had a problem when it comes to account director roles, experienced people who see clients, assess risks and advise.
We’ve got to fill that gap and we do it through offering flexible working. We’ve got to be quite adaptive to people’s needs at the end of the day. Stability in the workforce makes a more resilient business.
VW: Recruiting chefs is an absolute nightmare, people don’t want to be in the kitchen anymore. As a result, you have got this agency vibe and they are just hunting. It’s £25 an hour to have a basic chef in the kitchen.
It’s difficult, you have budgets to work within and you have to maintain the product. Job Centres are just ticking boxes, zero-hour contracts are very important to us, our businesses are so flexible, and there’s talk about those being taken away.
GW: Recruiting for senior management is a hot market. You find people at that level will rate the organisation against others, asking if it is as attractive as aerospace or automotive. You have to compete and since Covid we’ve had people getting counter offers. High-knowledge senior people are very discerning and you have to sell your organisation to them.
The other side of this is generation Z and trying to interest youngsters. Young people want to combine their passions with work. They want to find a bit of joy within work and that is a big challenge for traditional manufacturing businesses.
CG: I recruit and work with every type of business from manufacturing and engineering to construction and the public sector. These amazing businesses do amazing things but externally, who knows about them? Storytelling
Amanda Harvey and that external message is key.
VW: It’s a generation thing, for younger people it is all about what they can see. If they can’t see you then you are not relevant. They need to be able to find out as much information as they can before they are interested.
GW: In terms of recruitment and retention you have to be good at comms and engagement. You’ve got to have an active talent mapping programme so people can see the right performers getting on. You need a whole raft of stuff to make it a great place, once you’ve got people in your business.
The engagement of generation Z is a topic that we’re grabbing hold of. I love having conversations with young people and getting involved in things like mock interviews and work experience.
RR: We are the fourth largest local authority in the country. Some of our challenges are around
Arran Kelly interview they’re invested and fully informed.
There is a need to shift from the mindset of putting an advert out for applications, hoping something sticks and when it doesn’t, doing the same again.
RR: The best ambassadors for our brand and organisation are the people that work for us. We’re doing a significant amount of work to encourage more people to come and have a look.
EC: I see a lot on company websites and in job descriptions in terms of benefits, free car parking spaces. They don’t go into more detail about their ‘Family Lunch Fridays’ or initiatives like that. Companies talk less about their whole values and their proposition and talk more about the physical things.
CG: When I speak to somebody about an opportunity, I’m less bothered about job descriptions. They tell you what you do day-to-day but people want to know about the business.
It was so difficult that we had to re-evaluate our
talent management and recruitment strategy and stop and reconsider what we had been doing
having a workforce that’s representative of the communities we serve.
We’re developing an early careers strategy, we run a number of graduate and intern schemes, we run T Levels, work experience, we have over 500 apprenticeships across nearly 60 different occupational standards.
We have an excellent career map and excellent opportunities. We are trying to engage more with local schools and colleges to help the younger generation understand what the council does
CG: The big thing when it comes to recruitment is people’s perceptions. Go on most company websites and they are not particularly that interesting to somebody looking for an opportunity.
They tell you the nuts and bolts but not why they would want to work for that business. It is about building a picture so that when people go for an
The questions they ask are, ‘Who’s that person and what are they like?’ and, ‘Why would I want to work there?’ The message has to be right because it’s the story that’s important.
AH: It’s not just senior people you have to appeal to. We’ve seen more and more warehouse operatives coming in for an interview, sitting down and saying, ‘The reason I’m here is because we’ve seen you’re a great place to work’. Top to bottom, you have to have a story to tell.
EC: If you don’t get this right ultimately the company that you’ve built will suffer because the people in your business help you to grow. It’s getting that people element right, that culture. Keep creating and taking a moment to reflect on your strategies.
Companies that continue to review want to grow and everybody to know about them. If you get that bit right everything else will fall into place.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74
