The issue for employers is they are not just dealing with high attrition rates, but they are also struggling to make themselves attractive to job seekers.
As a result, in this tug of war between employers and workers, organizations are largely losing the battle as they grapple with not just high attrition rates, but also managing to make themselves attractive to job seekers.
Research by SD Worx found that 59% of European employers are having difficulty in attracting talent, with two third saying they had never had such a hard time positioning themselves as an attractive employer.
65% of Belgian organizations are having difficulty hiring, compared to 59.1% of British employers, 54% of Dutch companies, and 53% of Irish organizations. The main issue is that 56% can’t find candidates with the right skills – this rises to 70% in Belgium, 63% in Italy, and 61% in Germany.
Six in ten European employers also said that filling their vacancies is taking longer than ever before.
How to win the ‘tug of war’ for talent
SD Worx calls the hiring challenges employers are facing as a ‘tug of war’ which they are losing. Workers have the power to decide who they work for, and they are expecting more and more from employers when deciding whether to stick in their current job, or look for a new one.
In this context, what can companies do to more successfully attract (as well as retain) talent?
Talking about the study, SD Worx’s UK HR country lead Colette Philp commented: “Recruitment issues are now running at record highs with companies facing a raft of major challenges to overcome at speed to keep apace in the heat of an intense war for talent.
“With an unprecedented lack of availability in the workforce, our research confirms that employers will have to be more inventive and investment orientated to ensure business growth and survival.”
For Philp, “this means thinking strategically to open up new pools of talent in the existing workforce through investing in training and development, as well as instituting the new, yet hardened, employee expectations of flexible working hours and arrangements to land essential talent.”
SD Worx’s survey found that just 35% of companies are already offering flexibility about when and where people work, while only 27% are offering learning and development opportunities. This is concerning as these are well known caused of the ‘Great Resignation’.
Other innovative solutions include ensuring employees feel fulfilled at work and doing meaningful work that is both interesting and challenging (just 32% of the organizations surveyed are doing this).
In addition, given that a recession is on the horizon, and this is creating anxiety for workers, employers who step up to provide job security and financial stability for employees will be ahead of the curve as the ‘Great Resignation’ wages on.
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