We can all see that the economy is getting back on its feet which is fantastic. However, as we come out of this period of change, I just want to bring one thing to your attention now before it’s too late …………… staff turnover. If you are not already experiencing it, it is expected to increase dramatically in the near future.
The reopening of non-essential shops, pubs and hairdressers has spurred job vacancies to push past the level of those recorded before the first national lockdown in April 2020. The Office for National Statistics confirmed postings were now at the same level they were in February 2020, with vacancies improving across 16 of the 28 industries measured.
Given the state of the world and the impact it has had on businesses, many of your staff are likely to have valued and prioritised job security over progression during this turbulent year. However, as the country begins to open up again, those same employees are probably beginning to feel more confident and less risk-averse to making a move.
I predict that businesses will be facing a tremendous amount of staff turnover in the coming months – perhaps even up to 30 % in some sectors
Added to the natural labour turnover, if you are also predicting a change in structure and growth then as a leader you need to prepare and forecast for this staff attrition rate, putting provisions in place to ensure business continuity.
Consider the ways you can prepare for the inevitable:
- How can you protect your IP?
- What plans can you put in place to avoid the expense (time and money) of unnecessary waves of recruitment. Think about how you can try to stop the attrition in its tracks
- Can you offer up new development opportunities internally?
- Communicate early to HR and / or your Talent teams your recruitment predictions so they can resource accordingly
Since January The Curve Group has been experiencing the highest levels of client demand recruitment we’ve had for a long time, which is usually a strong indicator of the economy.
Whilst unemployment is high, there is still a skills gap and strong demand for experienced workers. There is a real perception out there that there are loads of candidates in the market desperate for jobs. That’s not been our experience, so don’t be complacent about replacing leavers. The time required to find the best candidates for your business must not be underestimated.
There are so many other businesses out there who are also vying for the attention of your talent. One CEO was explaining to me that they are losing average performing employees to competitors for an additional £5K on the employee’s salary.
Short and sweet but in my opinion, there are two things you should be focussing on now:
- Engaging your current employees, listening to them and doing what you can to respond to their needs to encourage them to stay with you. Keep taking temperature checks of what their wants and asks are as the world opens up again and demonstrate that you are a supportive, responsive employer.
- Making plans to manage employee turnover effectively so that your business will not suffer as a result. Are your recruitment processes and teams ready to act to backfill vacancies? Key elements to nail in order to be successful in such a competitive market are your Employee Value Proposition and attraction strategies – both of these need to be compelling enough to displace top talent.
One last thing – if you haven’t already, it’s worth considering recruitment of apprentices and graduates to help to plug your potential future skills gaps. However the development of those hires will require a significant investment of time from your business to make it worthwhile, so only consider this as an option if you can see it through.
