Employees are the cornerstone of any business, big or small, and creating a team with a good work culture, benefits, and staff can be challenging, especially after the pandemic, which has put more demand on skilled employees, a better work-life balance, and staff benefits. At the Chamber, we understand the importance of employees and the struggles employers face. That’s why, throughout the year, we conduct research to find patterns, trends, and behaviours in businesses that are either recruiting or retaining employees, and support businesses throughout their recruitment journey.
Recruitment
Recruitment has taken a confusing hit over the last 5 years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with trends not always following what has been predicted. Depending on where you look, recruitment is at an all-time high; however, studies show businesses are struggling to recruit. Our most recent quarterly economic survey revealed that 28% of businesses experienced recruitment difficulties, with professional and managerial roles being the hardest to recruit for. However, this has seen a dramatic decrease since the last quarter of 2023, which we reported as 66% of businesses facing recruitment difficulties.
So, as a Chamber, how can we help those facing recruitment difficulties? Every year, in partnership with Hewett Recruitment, we conduct research across the two counties to find out what benefits and salaries businesses are offering to their employees. With the data collected, we created our Salary and Benefits Report, a free report that gives an in-depth analysis of salaries and benefits offered across the main employment sectors, including engineering, industrial, HR, PR, marketing, and IT and technology. It also covers holiday entitlement, working arrangements, and other company benefits. Businesses can use this data to amend offers to potential employees and to help retain existing staff.
Retaining staff is also a challenge that many businesses face. The competitiveness of salaries and the new phenomenon of ‘job hopping’ mean people are less likely to stay at one place of employment for more than a year. However, increasing salaries and benefits isn’t always possible, especially with smaller businesses, so how do you retain your staff?
New Member Benefit
To help employers recruit staff, we are making the most of our expansive business network and are introducing a brand-new Member benefit, the Member Jobs Board. The dedicated page on the website will be a free benefit for Chamber Members to promote their vacancies. Like on our existing Members Events page, there will be no limit on the number of vacancies you can post. The aim of the jobs board is to make your recruitment process as easy as possible. We also hope we can bring the business community together and help individuals through their career journey. Contact our team for more information.