Raising starter salaries will NOT attract and retain talent amid candidate shortages

Now, as the UK faces both skill and labour shortages, job starting salaries are rising at record rates due to shortages in candidates, according to KPMG. In fact, the number of permanent jobs available in England rose at its fastest rate since 1997 June as the economy reopened. Yet the availability of workers hit a 24-year LOW, with uncertainty over job security causing a severe drop in candidates.

This has led employers – such as Goldman Sachs and Bumble – to implement employee retention strategies in an attempt to attract and retain top talent. Yet as Future Strategy Club believe, the short-term benefits of pay rises and unlimited paid leave may work temporarily, but the key to retaining talent post-pandemic is prioritising employees needs, such as a home-work life balance.

In this changing corporate culture, Future Strategy Club reveals what employees now want is to be understood within the workplace. This approach involves all employees asking questions and being comfortable with the answers. It also involves employees creating an environment of mutual exchange, where the internal strategy puts employees needs first and foremost.

If firms want to lure and retain talent, they must manage this upcoming transition period successfully. Future Strategy Club believes that this means employees must collaborate rather than pontificate, creating a horizontal structure with an employee-centred approach. This will not only foster high-quality results, natural team collaboration and productivity but ensure employees feel they have a true purpose within their place of work.

Justin Small, CEO of Future Strategy Club, discusses:

“Employers need to understand that Covid has fundamentally changed the power structure between employee and employer. Now, it is now essential that the UK workforce becomes more enticing for its employees. This means that creating a culture based on shared understanding and mutual respect. To collaborate rather than pontificate means that communication within the workplace must be thoughtful, meaningful, transparent.

This is how leaders can engage employees during the current return-to-work period and create a positive working environment. Further to this, to create high-quality results and natural team collaboration, employers should assign employees work that has clear meaning and purpose. This creates a passionate, innovative and thriving workplace.

Unlike the traditional agency model which assembles generic teams for client projects, talent at FSC only work on projects they truly want to. The outcome of having a horizontal structure, means the mutual exchange of how to run a successful project yields infinitely more productive results.”