The Sheffield city business region experienced skill shortages for a long time—but the shortage has only got worse over the past few years. A KPMG survey stated that job vacancies rose at their fastest rate in the UK for more than 23 years due to the reopening of various sectors. Unfortunately, it will be hard to fill in these vacancies because the number of staff available for the roles has declined at the quickest rate since 2017.
As a result, businesses in cities like Sheffield are left with multiple unfulfilled vacancies. It’s uncertain when these skills shortages will end, which is why businesses must try to meet their staffing needs through these strategies:
Provide the benefits that professionals need
Big corporations and small businesses alike are racing to recruit skilled workers. So if you want to stand out from other employers, insurance firm MetLife recommends implementing unlimited paid time off plans in your workplace. Around 72% of employees expressed their desire to receive unlimited paid time off, and large corporations like Sony, HubSpot, and Grant Thornton are already starting to offer this benefit as a result.
The good news is that these unlimited paid time off plans cost less for companies. By implementing this benefit programme, you can save a few pounds while attracting more talents who are interested in what your business can offer.
Fill talent gaps by upskilling your staff
Sometimes, you don’t have to look too far to get the experts that you need. In fact, regular talent assessments are encouraged by LHH because this process allows business leaders to see the strengths and development opportunities in their current staff. By examining people’s skills and performance, leaders can identify high-potential employees who have the capacity to fill high-skilled jobs with a bit of training.
Once you’ve identified these high-potential employees, you can upskill them by giving them access to training programmes related to the high-skilled role. You can also partner them up with a mentor who can teach them the ropes in the workplace.
Develop a good working culture in your business
You can also attract more talent and maintain your highly skilled staff by creating a good culture in your workplace. In fact, a YouGov research study stated that 76% of professionals want to work for businesses with clear values, ethos, and culture. These factors should reflect why someone should care about working in your company.
First things first, start by setting out a long-term philosophy that reflects the approach and the offerings of the business, such as environmentalism or social responsibility. After, you’ll need to make this a part of your culture by showcasing visual reminders and implementing programmes that your current staff and prospective employees can see.
Encourage more people to join the industry
The skills shortage has been ongoing for many years in the UK. As such, businesses like CQ Strategic Marketing navigate through the skills shortage by enticing more people to join the industry and helping them to upskill within it. They recommend working with trade associations can also help increase awareness about job opportunities within the entire sector.
On top of that, experts also suggest using social media as a tool to promote the sector among kids. By increasing their interest in the industry through videos or articles, businesses can ensure that the skills shortage will be addressed within the next few years.
Businesses have to pay more attention to the needs of workers to be able to attract and retain them. By changing your culture and practices, you can resolve the skills shortage within your business.
