The market is at its most competitive with demand outstripping supply, meaning talent has more choice and power than ever before. Businesses are having to look at all aspects of their attraction strategies in order to access, attract and retain talent.  ​

The pandemic has offered an opportunity to change the face of work forever; seeking out new ways of working, customising the employee experience and re-imagining the "where" and "how" of our working lives.

Bespoke flexible working  

Flexible working is now expected, meaning organisations have been forced to adopt remote and hybrid working practices for the long-term. From market research conducted by Rethink talent experts, employers who have mandated return to the office have seen an increase in attrition.

‘Bespoke work arrangements’ - a term coined by Forbes, has shown employees to be looking for more advanced flexible working options, which includes modified arrangements per employee; from working hours; starting late and finishing late, allowance for building a school pick-up into a work schedule, or simply the formalised opportunity to work remotely.

Investment in mental and physical health

Health and wellbeing are also now a key consideration for talent. Not only physical health but mental health support, especially with burnout rates increasing globally post-Covid.

​As the lines between home and work blur, burnout remains a risk in the workforce, with a recent survey from Mind (as reported on by the Guardian) that 41% of UK employees said their mental health had worsened during the pandemic. An inability to ‘switch-off’ after a working day, ‘Zoom-fatigue’, and working through periods of sickness are just some damaging effects of this shift.

Some leading organisations are beginning to offer condensed working weeks, mental health days, and simple initiatives like banning video meetings on Friday, to begin to combat this.

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Competitive salaries

Rethink's research has found that salaries have been pushed across the board with 20%+ increases for lateral moves to similar organisations. New starters are also seeing significant growth to their pay packets, further adding to the competition and wider war on talent.

An analysis of more than 100,000 jobs posted over the last 12 months, found professional services firms are planning to increase their pay rise budget from 10 to 15% this year. This will be the largest increase seen since 2008 and almost x3 the inflation rate.

Upskilling & employee training

Employee Retention and Talent Acquisition sit in the Top 5 HR challenges for UK businesses in 2022 according to a recent HR Director report, with Retention being a big concern for 45% of organisations.​

Employers in multiple industry sectors face skills shortages which can't be solved by hiring more people; so investing in existing employee training is not only a evergreen solution, but a win-win for employees and businesses. As we move forward post-pandemic a new conversation must occur, that reframes upskilling and reskilling as the new norm, rather than automatically reaching externally for new people.

Employer brand

Brand strength in the traditional sense, (think Google, Microsoft, or IBM) is no longer enough. These organisations would not previously have thought of “doing anything different” in the branding space, since the brand name alone attracts employers to work for them.

Put simply, some brands are more appealing and aspirational to candidates than others, so organisations must work harder to improve their offering, and build a differentiated employer brand; something that stands out and speaks authentically to the best talent.

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Looking to access, attract and retain top talent?

Our team has hundreds of year's worth of expertise helping thousands of businesses solve their recruitment problems.

Get in touch with our Rethink talent experts today.

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