22.08.2022

How can we help combat the staffing crisis?

By Antony Woodcock, Managing Director of GIG

When lockdowns ended in the UK and sectors began seeking a return to business, there was hope that the bounce back would be strong once life kicked back into gear. However, the impact of the pandemic on the job market has cast a much longer shadow than hoped.

The upheaval prompted a shift away from industries such as facilities management, events and hospitality that had to close their doors, and instead towards those who continued to operate and even thrive during the lockdowns - such as warehousing for online orders. It has meant that post-lockdown, the staff that were lost from these sectors have not been returning at the pace they left.

According to the British Chamber of Commerce 76% of businesses were facing recruitment difficulties in the second quarter of 2022. Amongst these, manufacturing, logistics and hospitality were industries seeing some of the biggest struggles. The knock-on impact this has been having has only exacerbated rising costs amidst rising inflation and global disruption.

There has been some sign the situation is improving - between May and July 2022 the number of vacancies had fallen from the previous quarter - making it the first quarterly fall since mid-2020. But this is of little reassurance to those sectors still unable to recruit.

Recent research also showed that Brexit has worsened the difficulties faced by organisations, and in sectors such as hospitality and security which rely more heavily on EU workers, there have been continued struggles to attract and hire the staff needed to keep things running smoothly.

So how, with the odds seemingly stacked against us, can we attract more vital workers into these roles?

The recruitment crisis we’ve seen in the past year isn’t going away on its own, we’ve got to rethink what we offer the workforces of the future.

Another big impact that the pandemic has had on the job market is the way in which it has redefined working rules for many. In some cases, this meant the introduction of a level of flexibility that they’d previously been unable to take hold of, whilst for others it meant reevaluating priorities, taking on new responsibilities or opting for different lifestyles.

Now, more than ever people are seeking out flexible working options - including those not necessarily linked to long-term contracts or experience periods.

Flexible work can be an attractive solution for workers struggling to get “traditional” jobs after long gaps in their CVs caused by unemployment, health conditions, maternity or other circumstances. Others may simply find that the 9-5 doesn’t fit around their responsibilities or lifestyle, but still want the security of regular shifts and a single employer.

The more we truly embrace flexibility, the more we open up the job pool to fresh talent who may otherwise feel excluded from the market.

However, whilst this may be an attractive prospect for workers, for employers there are alarm bells in the form of fears over the increased admin and training costs that come with a regular turnover of staff, combined with the logistics of managing a greater range of flexible options.

But industries such as facilities management which rely on a variety of staff, employed on different bases, can really benefit from staffing levels which match fluctuations, adjusting at short notice and reducing inefficiencies.

This is what we hoped to achieve with GIG - adopting the best aspects of the gig economy - the flexibility - and mitigating the worst - complex administration and uncertainty. Our systems mean that a business needing a few extra staff to cover busy periods can access GIG’s pool of workers, whereas others may want to offer more regular shifts through the GIG platform.

The pandemic has taught us that in lots of cases, flexibility doesn’t have to come at the expense of productivity or cost. In reality, the most significant cost to any sector is not acting quick enough to combat the staffing crisis head-on.

Businesses who see embracing flexibility as an expense they can't afford could risk missing out on attracting vital workforces. Rethinking how you hire staff, the opportunities available, and even the shift patterns on offer, can be the difference between continued recruitment struggles and a thriving business.

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