The Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce‘s 2019-20 Salary & Benefits Report, in association with Hewett Recruitment, gives an insight into the issues facing businesses in recruiting and retaining the right staff, barriers to growth and a comprehensive breakdown of salaries and benefits from 350 businesses around the local region.
The report will prove an invaluable tool for businesses operating in the midst of a national skills shortage. The report has case studies from the likes of; Hewett Recruitment, Titania, Southco and VisionLabs to name a few. This is a free report available to download with the aim to help organisations across the two counties to better recruit and retain talent.
90% of businesses who contributed to the report attempted to recruit during the past year. This figure sits well above the year average (52%) for Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
The sectors which experienced the greatest challenges during recruitment included the Public/Voluntary sector, Wholesale/Retail, Manufacturing and IT & Cyber Security. Sales, Engineering and Technology/IT roles were the most difficult roles to recruit candidates for.
The report outlines the parameters of a competitive salary for over 50 roles across the two counties. Businesses can compare the salaries they offer to staff in relation to other businesses of a similar size across the two counties.
The report also provides a summary of the options that businesses, who are looking to supplement lower salaries with a strong benefits package, currently offer. On average, a new starter receives 23 days annual leave, however 43% of businesses offer 25 days or more. This is a result of a change in how certain employees are thinking and are fitting their work around their personal lives and consider flexible working and annual leave allowance just as important as their salary, it has never been more crucial to compare the salary and benefits that your business offers in order to attract and retain staff. This is demonstrated by the fact that the percentage of companies offering working from home has increased from 24% last year to 33% this year.
Although the local labour market remains strong, there are signs that the national labour market is softening. While in the UK unemployment rate remains historically low, falling employment suggests that the previously robust UK labour market is no longer holding the weight of relentless uncertainty and a sluggish economy (ONS, 2019). Regular pay growth (excluding bonuses) has slowed from 3.6% from 3.8%. At the same time there were an estimated 800,000 job vacancies in the UK, 18,000 fewer than in the previous three-month period (ONS, 2019).
Operating in a challenging labour market brings its challenges for businesses who are looking to retain and recruit staff. To find out more about how to overcome these obstacles, download your free copy of the report here.