As high demand drives recruitment and retention woes for many employers, upskilling remains the go-to response.
According to the Spring 2019 Labour Market Outlook from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), more than two in five employers are upskilling employees to tackle hard-to-fill vacancies:
Data source: CIPD Labour Market Outlook: Spring 2019 - https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/work/trends/labour-market-outlook
Other responses included; hiring more graduates, greater investment in labour-saving technology, outsourcing activities, work experience/placement schemes, offshoring, greater efforts to recruit workers over the age of 55 and greater efforts to recruit from disadvantaged groups.
Good news for candidates?
Recruitment difficulties have prompted 53% of employers to increase starting salaries across at least a minority of vacancies; however, 43% of employers are yet to make any increase to their starting salaries. Furthermore, the data suggests that employers are nearly as likely to say they have raised salaries for the minority only as they are to report increased offerings for the majority of employees.
Data source: CIPD Labour Market Outlook: Spring 2019 - https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/work/trends/labour-market-outlook
While the majority won’t benefit from increased salaries, better news for many will come in the form of upskilling opportunities with their existing employer.
Public vs private starting salaries
The number of public sector employers increasing starting salaries continues to decline, and there has been a 4% decline in the past three months in the private sector.
Data source: CIPD Labour Market Outlook: Spring 2019 - https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/work/trends/labour-market-outlook
Think long-term
Improving the packages on offer is a great short-term solution for businesses struggling to attract candidates with the skills and experience they need; however, investments in upskilling, internal training and your firm's employer brand are sure to reap rewards in the long-term with the right exposure (e.g. Glassdoor reviews, social media coverage).
And just in case you're wondering, lowering your recruitment standards probably isn't the way to go. For more information and to see the full Labour Market Outlook, please click here.
To find out how we can help you source the right people for your business, get in touch.