Retention becoming just as vital as recruitment to maintain workforce

Many UK businesses are facing challenges when it comes to maintaining a steady workforce, with data showing record vacancy levels across all sectors.

Commenting on the recent ONS figures, Jonathan Boys, labour market economist for the CIPD, explained, “Today’s figures show that employers will have to work even harder in 2022 to both find and keep staff as vacancies remain at record levels and more workers take advantage of a job-seeker friendly market to find a new and better job.

“There is no doubt many employers will be under more pressure to raise wages this year as they face the twin pressures of helping workers deal with rising cost of living and further tightening of the labour market. The playing field is level here as all employers face this same pressure. However, not all are able to raise pay. Encouragingly, the CIPD’s research shows that many employers are thinking about the employment offer in the round, including opportunities for training and development.”

Boys added, “Employers must work harder to design jobs that suit everyone’s preferences. This means increasing focus on job quality and making reasonable adjustments to help those with long-term health conditions to stay in work.

“Organisations need to ensure they advertise jobs as flexible wherever possible. Investing in staff development and creating internal progression opportunities will also be key to both broaden the range of candidates employers can attract and address skills gaps by training and promoting existing staff where they can.”

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