Tsunami of resignations in war for talent hampers businesses’ growth across UK
Fierce competition for talented new hires is forcing business leaders across the UK to compromise on the quality of their recruitment, while almost half saying they are not confident in being able to attract the right talent to fulfil their businesses growth potential.
A wave of resignations, by professionals joining another company or making a career change, is also leading many businesses in the UK to rethink their organisational approach.
According to research from talent operating system Beamery, shared with City PM this morning, nearly 8 in 10 business leaders say that talent has now overtaken technology as the key priority for business transformation in their organisation.
Meanwhile, almost nine out of ten (88 per cent) of business leaders say acquiring and retaining talent is more important to the business now than it was 18 months ago.
Job vacancies his record high
The Great Resignation has also led to the highest number of job vacancies in the UK in 20 years, with many workers deciding to switch careers or leave long standing jobs.
More than 8 in 10 business leaders in the UK are now concerned about losing talent from their business.
Over a quarter (27 per cent) of leaders say 25 to 49 per cent of their employees are holding back their organisation due to a lack of skills or mindset, with over half (58 per cent) saying that a lack of critical thinking and problem solving is most lacking in their organisation.
Business leaders are divided, however, as to whether skills (53 per cent) or mindset (47 per cent) is the bigger issue in their organisation right now.
At the same time, 79 per cent of business leaders are concerned about the accessibility to key skills in their organisation to make an improvement.
The major recruitment and retention challenges identified by leaders over the next 12 – 18 months are focusing on operational issues rather than strategic issues around talent with many focusing on skills more than mindset in recruitment (80 per cent), focusing more on recruitment than retention (79 per cent) and a focus on younger, new recruits rather than more established and experienced workers (78 per cent).
Developing talent
However, some organisations are successfully managing and developing their talent to an advanced level.
Businesses that have been identified as ‘talent first’ in the research were described by business leaders as being ‘globally renowned for nurturing talent and making leaders’ and ‘having an excellent talent management system’, explained Abakar Saidov, co-founder and CEO at Beamery .
Saidov told City PM this morning: “Talent retention has become one of the most pressing issues that business leaders face today, and solving it quickly is critical to the growth of every organisation, not just in the coming months but also in the coming years.”
“Progressive thinking companies not only have ambitious targets in place around talent transformation goals, but have already introduced processes and tools to achieve them,” he continued.
“Adapting to different working styles and creating an environment that promotes talent mobility, in which people want to stay, grow and develop is what will see the best engagement and retention of talent. For those moving too slowly the consequences will be dire,” Saidov concluded.