Gaining and retaining talent - ready for the Big Debate?

The theme of the debate certainly resonates with us, here at Hartley Fowler LLP.

Despite being a successful and established firm of chartered accountants, in the last few years we have encountered unprecedented difficulties when it comes to recruiting new members of staff.

With offices in Brighton and Wimbledon, historically, we have had access to a pool of strong candidates. But now, post-pandemic, recruitment is in uncharted territory.

As we seek to grow our business, we are on the lookout for talented people who also align with our company culture and team values but many times it seems that the ideal candidate evades us.

Dan Chapman, one of our partners, says:

“We are regularly looking for talented and professional people to join us; whether starting out in their career, recently qualified, experienced or with aspirations of becoming a partner.

“In recent years, as is doubtless the case for many businesses, we have found it difficult to recruit for all levels and positions. It seems that applicants are either unsuitable or the strong candidates are highly sought-after with a number of prospects available to them.

“In practice, this candidate-driven market has increased the price of job roles within the sector. As a friendly, close-knit team, in addition to recruitment, we seek to promote staff internally and to focus on the retention of high calibre members of the firm”.

Navigating recruitment in the post-pandemic landscape

There are multiple factors that feed into the current tight labour market - a high number of vacancies vs a shortage of qualified people. However, we believe that one of the biggest contributors is a change in attitudes.

‘The Great Resignation’ - coined by the media in 2021 - continues to feature heavily in today’s labour market. The term describes the record number of employed people who have opted to leave their jobs since the beginning of the pandemic.

Following a period of furlough or working from home without a commute, it seems many have reevaluated their approach to work and careers.

It is our experience that a work-life balance, general wellbeing, job fulfilment and flexibility now play a greater role in considerations about employment. With swathes of professionals dipping out of full time employment, those who do remain are now in high demand. This is confirmed by data from PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey.

Retaining good people

Another documented feature of today’s labour market is the increasing pressure to retain talent. Although this isn’t something we have encountered so far, there is always the threat that a recruiter or competitor will poach a member of our highly valued team.

With such a shortage of quality candidates, recruitment consultants and HR professionals are proactively targeting people who may not have considered making the jump. With platforms like LinkedIn, it has never been easier to size up a prospective candidate and make an approach that is too good to resist.

So what next?

To understand the pressures on recruitment and retention and - crucially - gain insight into what we can do differently, we encourage you to join Brighton Chamber’s Big Debate on Wednesday 16 November.

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk