How do you hold on to staff, in a tight market?

People are our most precious resource, people don’t work for money - they follow leaders, we have all heard this for years.  It is one of those things that is not a new concept.

What is new - is the sudden reopening of the UK economy has meant that the surge in demand for staff has taken a lot of companies by surprise, and not just at the bottom of the market - all levels.

The simple fact is that not every company got through the pandemic, and many only just.  Many others were living on borrowed time anyway, and now are getting the push.  The flip side of this is that this creates gaps in supply.  Demand is being driven up due to people not having it satisfied in the lock down.  Who buys a football shirt to watch football on the sofa?  Who goes to the pub when they are closed?  Why would an airline launch a replacement route when no one is allowed to fly?  Who has a vision for next year - when you don’t know what will be allowed in 3 weeks?

Obvious companies like retail, hospitality and services are all finding it difficult to suddenly recruit the vast majority of their staff, others have discovered that as they move to target new opportunities, they need to adjust staffing levels, the result - companies that have a clear target are getting and keeping staff - companies who have not yet got a clear plan are loosing staff to them.

The simple fact is that companies are opening up at all levels.  Gaps in the market, are being developed and exploited.  More and more people I am talking to are finding that the market is rapidly changing.  Staff that have been kept on, now need to know what the opportunity for the next 12 month holds where they are.  I have spoken to companies from advertising, IT, hospitality and retail, they are all struggling as much with retention as with recruitment. Staff that have been kept on have discovered that they have a value in the market, staff let go are not interested in returning, preferring to go to new pastures.  The result is management teams stuck in endless recruitment and onboarding cycles are feeling the pressure of trying to balance the setting of goals for the new markets, against keeping staff and filling the gaps that they need.    

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So lead to the question, are these problems isolated to a few players that are slow out the blocks, or is this something that is generally being felt?  And what is your company doing about it?  If you need some clarity - come and have a chat.