At a time when businesses in the UK are desperately looking for talented staff to hit the ground running, industries are facing a chronic skills gap. Research from the Inclusionary Leadership Group predicts that the nationwide talent shortage will reach 23 million workers by 2020.
To survive in the modern market place, businesses need to start addressing their outdated recruitment strategies and focus on automation, upskilling, training and nurturing existing talent. Employers have for decades followed the same recipe for hiring but this approach is no longer working. Organisations have to deal with disruption from all corners such as economic and political uncertainty as well as emerging technologies and pressure from customers for the latest products and services. To be able to effectively address these changes, businesses need to focus on new skills.
Recruitment versus talent acquisition
Many people may think that recruitment and talent acquisition are essentially the same, however, the reality is that one is a quick fix, while the other involves long-term planning. Essentially, recruitment concentrates on filling vacancies and talent acquisition is an ongoing plan to find leaders and specialists for the business. Talent acquisition is generally focused on more long-term human resources planning and finding the right candidates for positions that need a specific skill set.
Digital technology is revolutionising talent acquisition. Employers are using social media to advertise more efficiently and cost-effectively while being able to reach out to candidates. Big data is providing companies with more information and with blockchain, this can now be achieved securely. Analytics is now also far more advanced and allows employers to find the right candidates more easily.
Investment in training and development
Talent acquisition is more than just finding the best talent. It’s also about nurturing their skills and moulding them into becoming the best and most effective employee they can be. Employers need to invest more in their on-boarding and training processes for new staff members along with taking more responsibility for training their talent acquisition team to understand what they need to be looking for when recruiting.
Employers and HR Teams should look to take a multi-channel approach to training and offer staff easy to access tools so they can learn quickly on the job. This may include webinars, short videos, eLearningor classroom-based sessions. Training should be adapted to the specific requirements of the workforce to ensure their learning is as enjoyable and effective as possible. Research by the Manpower Group found that over half of businesses are now investing in learning development tools to upskill their workforce and grow their pipeline of in-house talent.
Hospitality staff shortage
Boosting the image and reputation of the organisation’s industry can help to engage potential candidates and position an organisation as an industry leader. The service industry is just one sector currently experiencing a major skills shortage. However, 79% of service managers believe that there is the workforce available in the UK to fill potential gaps in hospitality recruitment in the future, according to research by High Speed Training.
In its report, the online hospitality training provider blames Brexit for the industry’s skill shortage. High Speed Training’s research indicates that waitressing is the hospitality role most at risk of staff shortages, followed by bartenders and baristas but the hospitality industry is determined to transform the perception of the service sector to boost recruitment and future talent acquisition. Seven years ago, it launched the first of its annual National Waiters’ Day to promote the hospitality sector as an attractive sector to work in and to champion the role of the waiter.
Looking ahead
Recruitment will continue to have an important role in filling vacancies quickly, whilst talent acquisition forms a longer-term strategy that can make hiring much more efficient and fruitful. New recruits will be attracted to the company and see it as a great place to work, helping the business to thrive. While talent acquisition may take much more time and resources initially, down the line it will help companies to build the best possible team for their organisation.
Recruitment support
At HR Solutions we can help you with your recruitment requirements, and also help you to formulate your Resourcing Strategy. Call 0844 324 5840 to find out more.
