Cascade’s HR manager Donna Larvin considers the UK’s current employment landscape, and asks if businesses need to be doing more to retain their staff…
Labour Market Statistics, released by the ONS earlier this month, showed that there has been a large increase in employment figures, in recent times. Between February and April 2014, there were 345,000 more people in work, than there had been in the previous three months. We also found out that the percentage of people aged 16-64, that were economically inactive, fell to 21.8% for the same period – the lowest figure since 1990.
Such findings indicate a gradually more positive trend for the employment landscape, and we hope this upturn will continue as the UK recovers from recent economic difficulties.
But what does this all mean for employers? On the one hand, you could argue that greater employment figures indicate more jobs. So, if you are considering recruiting new staff over the coming months, now is the time to think how you are going to do that.
Do you have processes and procedures in place to ensure non-discriminatory recruitment best practice is followed? Are you doing all you can to source and select the highest quality candidates available to you? Can you minimise the administrative burden that a recruitment drive may cause your HR department and management team?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, you may wish to consider investing in new recruitment functionality. At Cascade, for example, we offer a ‘back office’ recruitment solution, plus a dedicated online recruitment module designed to help employers and candidates alike.
Of course appointed candidates will undoubtedly be pleased with the security of a new job, especially given the somewhat stark employment environment of recent times. However, companies need to also bear in mind that, the more jobs that exist, the greater the potential likelihood that employees will be attracted to opportunities elsewhere.
So, what is your retention strategy? How are you motivating and engaging staff to maintain their job satisfaction levels? Do you have a training plan in place to continually nurture their professional development?
These are all further questions that Human Resources teams need to be asking themselves and, again, HR software can help. At Cascade for instance, our training module can help clients manage and cultivate their talent. We can even ensure you have a succession plan in place, so that you are always prepared for the future.
Our self-service functionality can encourage stronger dialogue with managers and employees, and we can even support you with your appraisals process, to ensure reviews appraisals are carried out effectively, at the right time, and most importantly, with follow up targets and actions allocated accordingly.
If you feel monetary reward is deserved, our fully-integrated HR and payroll software can handle the remuneration of bonuses or pay rises with ease. But if you think employees may be more motivated with a more qualitative reward, why not utilise our survey tool to actually ask them what would boost their morale?
This is hopefully plenty food for thought, and a gentle reminder that, as the external employment situation continues to evolve, so too should our considerations for retaining the people that matter to our business the most.
If you would like to speak to a member of the Cascade HR team regarding the content of this blog post, or the ways with which our HR software could help you better recruit and retain employees, then contact us on 0113 255 4115, email info@cascadehr.co.uk or request a call back.
