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Increasing pay is not the only way to attract staff - businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire are told

Increasing pay is not enough to attract new staff with more companies offering flexible working to tackle labour shortages, business in Coventry and Warwickshire have heard.

More than half (54 per cent) of organisations who have had recruitment difficulties are now offering greater work flexibility to address recruitment difficulties, according to CIPD’s (Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development) resourcing and talent planning report – produced in partnership with Omni RMS.

And almost three quarters (68%) of organisations who offered hybrid or remote working found it has allowed them to attract and retain more talent, according to the report, which is based on a survey of more than 1,000 HR professionals in the UK.

The report findings were discussed at a joint event with Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, CIPD Coventry & Warwickshire Branch and Leamington law firm Wright Hassall on recruitment issues and how to build a workforce fit for the future.

Sukhy Carey, Talent Acquisition Manager at CIPD, told delegates: “Flexible working is increasingly important for many people.

“For many people they have shown they have been at home and can deliver, so there is no value in being nine to five in the office.

“Increasing pay is great but if you give absolute autonomy for staff to arrange their own working patterns, that is just as attractive.”

Wright Hassall Partner & Head of Employment Law Tina Chander told the event that while hybrid working is becoming the new default way of working, businesses must implement it effectively with manager buy-in for it to succeed.

And she urged companies not to take a “one size fits all approach” to hybrid and flexible working, which instead require two different policies – emphasised by the fact that only flexible working is recognised in law.

The event also heard from Olivia Parrish, Director at HR support specialists Leap People Solutions, who spoke about the challenges of employers understanding workers impacted by the menopause.

She said 3.5 million women in the UK’s workforce are of menopausal age, but almost a million said they felt under pressure to quit their job last year because they felt they were not supported enough by their employers when they experience symptoms.

Matthew Hammersley, HR Manager at Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This was a really interesting event on something very topical at the moment.

“What has become increasingly evident across a number of sectors is the growing difficulty in attracting – and retaining – highly-skilled talent.

“The topics discussed here present a snapshot of the current challenges in the labour market and the recognition that there are a growing number of considerations which will shape the future of our workforce – not just today, but for years to come.

“As a Chamber, we want to ensure that we make members aware of the ways they can attract and retain talent to ensure that they are able to continue to grow.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .