Britain is one of the only developed countries to fail to get people back into the workforce following the pandemic. We have 600,000 missing workers. We’ve recently seen headlines about MOTs for the over 50s to encourage them to offer up their skills. In every other country the workforce have returned, so why not Britain? This is a major challenge for a huge range of industries who find the availability of people their number one restraint.
There are a number of structural challenges we face, BREXIT has meant working in the UK is now more restrictive for many, this is coupled with higher childcare costs than anywhere else in Europe and less support for those with caring responsibilities for elderly relatives. Those who are most financially secure and have cleared mortgages don’t see the incentive to return especially with financial tax burdens linked to lifetime and annual pension caps.
So what can we do to attract a plentiful, committed, highly capable workforce? These are my tips for you:
- Recognise that many, many people have realised the value in flexible working. We’re seeing some organisation push for a return to the office, I would urge you to maintain flexibility.
- Show you are an empathetic employer. Your people will thrive and perform best if they can manage both their personal and professional life effectively.
- Encourage your people to take good care of themselves, this might mean you consider supporting exercise, private health or wellbeing subscriptions.
- Make sure every potential employee who contacts you has a good experience and are treated with respect, positive word of mouth will spread quickly!
- Finally, be clear about you and your values, your vision needs to sell your organisation, this way the people who join will be truly aligned to what you’re trying to achieve.
By Amy Southwell
Amy is an experience recruiter with over 20 years’ experience. She is currently Director of Southwell-Kelly Recruitment.
