2004 has seen a substantial increase in employer demand for good quality permanent staff around the UK, according to recruitment specialists Kelly Services.
Evidence collected by Kelly indicates that while demand has grown, the supply of skilled candidates has remained limited. This means that employers need to do a better job in promoting and selling themselves to potential recruits.
This is a substantial turnaround from the position just 18 months ago when the emphasis was on candidates to demonstrate their excellence in order to have any chance of securing a job.
Kelly reports applicant shortages across all sectors. However employer demand is very strong in the service industries, with particular challenges in recruiting experienced customer service and telesales staff. In many cases strong applicants can have a choice of between 8 and 12 vacancies at any one time.
Clare Francis, Kelly’s Communications Manager, said, The pressure is now on businesses to promote and sell themselves to potential candidates if they want to attract the right sort of talent - and that’s where we can help. One factor that’s very clear to us is that companies with complex and lengthy recruitment processes are losing out in the race to employ the best talent in the current environment. High calibre applicants with a choice of job opportunities are less likely to be willing to go through multiple interviews.
With competition for the best staff looking likely to hot up over the coming months many employers are reviewing salaries and benefits to attract the best candidates. Kelly recently conducted a nationwide office survey, which asked employees to rank a number of benefits in order of importance. Employers looking to attract and retain permanent staff should take note of the results.
The Kelly office survey identified that employees are keen to improve themselves with 70% listing ’More training’ as a key benefit. A company pension and more holiday time were also selected as important benefits by over 50% of respondents. ’Gimmicky’ benefits such as loan of laptops, retail discounts and company mobile phones all scored relatively poorly.
Key Benefits
More Training - 70%
Company Pension - 60%
More Holiday - 57.5%
Flexi time - 45%
Medical insurance - 25%
Loan of laptop - 15%
Retail discounts - 15%
Company mobile - 12.5%
With such strong competition for the best candidates, businesses who want to get on the inside track should talk to their nearest Kelly branch who can share some of their insight into the local job market. For more information visit the Kelly website:
Employers chasing perm staff
Shortage Of Good Candidates Means Businesses Need To Sell Themselves Better
