Candidate Advice
Recruiter Advice
Changing Your Thinking on Recruiting
Employers are facing the worst labour shortage in over two decades. Here’s how you can update your approach to recruitment to help fill your vacancies as quickly as possible.
We’re facing a huge labour shortage
You’ve probably seen the headlines: in fact, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and accountancy firm KPMG have said it's the worst of its kind since 1997.
In August 2021, the number of job vacancies soared to more than 1m for the first time since official records began in 2001, rising by 35% in the space of three months across all sectors of the British economy (source: The Guardian).
90% of recruiters say that labour shortages are one of their biggest concerns for the remainder of the year, while skills shortages are a worry for 65 per cent.
Impact on The Manufacturing, Distribution and Engineering Sectors
As specialists in manufacturing, distribution and engineering recruitment, we’ve seen some employers left disappointed as highly sought-after candidates can choose between multiple offers. They get snapped up quickly or are being counter-offered by their employer who knows how difficult finding good candidates is right now.
But why are we facing such a challenging recruitment market?
Why is there a labour shortage?
A staggering 1.3 million non-UK workers have left the UK during the pandemic, due to both COVID and Brexit.
The furlough scheme has also taken people off the market, and although the scheme is set to end in September 2021, the expectations are that there won’t be a flood of new candidates onto the market when it ends.
Finally, the post-lockdown rush to reopen is also partly to blame. As businesses which were closed entirely or running at a hugely reduced capacity have started to reopen, demand for staff is at an all-time high.
How to attract the best talent
Despite the shortage of good candidates, there are ways to make your vacancies as attractive as possible. Here’s a roundup of some of the steps you can take:
Offer a decent salary
Of course, offering higher pay than your competitors will help encourage potential employees to choose your company, but it’s important to note that money is not the only consideration. Good candidates are looking for far more than more cash in their pay packets.
We know of businesses who are offering benefits such as free lunches or contributions to travel costs, where contracts allow.
Review your employee benefits package
If your competitors are offering a benefits package which includes more paid holiday, a company car and health insurance for example, and you don’t, you’re going to struggle to win candidates who have two offers on the table.
It’s worth considering what you can include as a benefit that you’ve perhaps not offered in the past. Your payroll expert or accountant will advise you on the types of expenses that are allowable for permanent staff, and we can offer advice about the best benefits to offer temporary workers.
Consider offering flexible working arrangements
In a post-pandemic world, offering flexible working arrangements could be a key way to help your firm attract talent. A recent survey found one in four businesses will continue to allow staff to work from home or will offer hybrid workplace and home working which many prospective employees find extremely attractive.
Of course, some staff simply can’t do their jobs from home and structured shift patterns are necessary in some industries, but even these can be adapted to offer greater flexibility that will appeal to the best candidates.
Use a recruiter
It’s never been more important to partner with an experienced, independent recruiter who knows your industry and the local area. In the current market, time is of the essence when recruiting, so you need to have a team on your side who have the know-how to source the very best talent.
We’ve got some of the best local candidates registered with us. Plus, our team are dab hands at attracting the best candidates with the skills you need.
Why not get in touch with our friendly, helpful team on 01256 334575 to see how we can help?
Get Set to Grow: How to Ensure you Have the Skills You Need
It was Churchill who said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
That saying has never been more true than now for businesses in the Basingstoke area and beyond.
We spend our days talking to managers in businesses of virtually every size about their growth strategies. For many, the past year has been more about surviving than growing, but as things start to fully re-open, forward-thinking businesses are turning their thoughts to getting their teams in the right shape for a phase of potential growth.
Getting Set to Grow
The Bank of England has predicted that the economy will grow by 7.25% this year, taking it back to 2019 levels.
As the recruitment partner for many of the local manufacturing, precision engineering and distribution companies, we’ve seen first hand what a rollercoaster the last year has been.
Some companies have decided to pause recruitment until the Furlough scheme ends in September so they can ‘see who’s on the market’ at that point.
However, this could be a risky strategy.
If you don’t start looking for new people until the autumn, your organisation could potentially miss out on capitalising on this summer’s anticipated period of growth.
As Priority’s Business Manager Tracy Welch explains, “There is a bit of a myth going around that there are loads of good people on the market after the last year. But whilst unemployment rates are sadly still quite high, if you want to find the best people, you need to act now as demand for people with key skills outstrips supply in many sectors
‘Manufacturing Outlook Brightens’
There is much talk of a bounce back in manufacturing and related industries in particular, following a year where the double whammy of Brexit and COVID has tested many companies to the limit.
A recent report from the CBI was headlined ‘Manufacturing Outlook Brightens, as it shows that UK manufacturers have recorded the sharpest rise in optimism since 1973.
The poll of 288 leading industrial companies in the UK showed that business sentiment increased in the three months to April 2021 at the fastest pace for almost four decades.
The report also says that manufacturers plan to hire staff at the fastest rate since 1974 in the next three months.
This means that putting off starting to find the right people to support growth could be a very costly mistake.
The Right People in the Right Jobs
One of the most challenging issues that HR and team managers tell us that they’re facing right now is deciding which roles to recruit for. So many are choosing to change the balance between hiring for permanent roles and taking on temporary staff to give them the flexibility to ramp up or scale back resources as the next few months demand.
It’s a delicate balance.
That’s where building a long-term relationship with an independent local recruitment partner can really pay dividends.
We spend our lives talking to candidates and other businesses, so we have early insight into which roles are becoming most sought-after, and where there are likely to be issues with finding good-quality candidates to take on specific types of jobs.
Quality Hires
The key for many employers right now is finding the best people, with very specific skills.
In its report Recruitment and Recovery published in February 2021, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) stresses that businesses that are gearing up for growth are primarily concerned with finding the best people, avoiding the cost and wasted time of bad hires and seeking people who can ‘hit the ground running’.
The report says:“Businesses believe that the quality of their staff and recruitment is the second most important driver of their success. This comes just behind the quality of their end product - and is more important than management expertise, proprietary research or physical investment.”
Here at Priority Appointments, our professionalism and partnership approach means that we take finding you the right people to help your business grow as seriously as you do.
For a no-obligation chat about the recruitment market in Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire, please contact our friendly, helpful team at office@priorityappointments.co.uk, Tel: 01256 334575.
How to Make the Most of Temps
Using temporary or contract staff as part of your team gives you optimum flexibility at a time when planning your workforce is particularly challenging.
With resources stretched to the limit, many manufacturing, distribution and precision engineering companies are finding that taking on temporary staff enables them to add key skills wherever they are needed in the business, from support and office functions through to the warehouse or shop floor.
Making temporary staffing easier
According to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s Recruitment and Recovery 2021 report, 61% of businesses are currently hiring staff on a temporary basis.
As Priority's Business Director Tracy Welch explains, “Companies want to keep their headcount as flexible as possible this year so they can scale up or scale down as their order book demands. As one of the leading temp agencies in Basingstoke, we’re finding a growing number of companies want to add key resources to back office and support functions quickly.”
One of the key advantages of using temps is that you don’t need to make any changes to your payroll, set up pensions or do the paperwork associated with onboarding new permanent members of staff.
Luke Arnott, Manager of our Industrial and Technical Division says, “When you need to scale up for a big order or to meet a contract, using temporary staff means you can quickly put additional resources in place to give you maximum flexibility.”
So if you think that using temporary staff could be a good solution for you, how do you ensure you get the best value from your temps or contract staff?
The Benefits of a Flexible Workforce
Here’s our short guide to getting the very best value your temporary or contract staff:
1. Speed up recruitment
Recruiting a full-time, permanent member of staff can be a slow business as you will probably need to see them twice, and multiple managers may need to interview them too. Once you’ve chosen the right candidate and agreed terms, they’ll probably need to work out their notice with their existing employer before joining your organisation.
By taking on temporary staff, you can have someone in place within days, with the peace of mind of knowing that all their paperwork Is taken care of by us.
2. Scale up (or dial down) on-demand
Large orders, seasonal peaks and staff absences can all affect the number of staff your company needs, while particular projects may mean that you require specific experience and skills on a short-term basis.
By using high-quality quality temps, you can adjust the size and skillset of your workforce and very quickly increase the headcount, or dial it back down, as the business demands.
3. Prepare for the unexpected
In addition to dealing with the normal pattern of sick leave, managers now need to cater for people who have to self-isolate for a period if they have been in touch with someone with COVID-19, or ahead of routine hospital appointments.
One local manufacturing company we have worked with for many years had a challenge in its finance team due several members of staff being on long-term sickness leave. This affected key processes which needed to be completed for supplier invoices to be approved and paid.
We provided them with four experienced temporary finance assistants who were able to ‘hit the ground running’ and cleared the backlog quickly, meaning supplier invoices were brought up to date and the supply chain remained uninterrupted. Several of the temporary finance assistants we provided have now been offered permanent roles.
4. Keep your options open with temporary to permanent
If you are not completely sure about the skill set you need in a particular role, employing someone on a temp to perm basis gives both you and the employee a chance to scope out the new role, and to make sure that you are a good fit for each other.
One of our clients, a well-known international distribution company, needed up to 30 temps to support their core customer service team in a particularly busy period and asked us to help them find the right people.
We were able to engage the new team quickly and provide in-house testing to assess their customer service, problem-solving and written communications skills before they were offered longer term roles as part of the assignment process.
Once again, several of the people we placed have been offered permanent roles with the company.
5. Gain a new perspective and additional knowledge
Where teams include a high number of staff who don’t have extensive experience in a given role, it can be useful to bring in an experienced specialist on a contract or longer-term temporary basis.
Not only will they have the functional skills you need, but less-experienced members of staff can also learn from someone with extensive experience to uplevel their own skill set.
Many teams have lost momentum over the past year, especially if people have been working from home and unable to meet up face to face. Including some temporary members of staff in the team can help bring new energy into the business.
The right temporary hire could also bring experience with processes and procedures from other organisations to spark fresh new ideas and help the in-house team grow and develop.
6. Be certain about what you pay
At Priority Appointments, we can offer local temporary pay rate benchmarking to help make sure you’re offering the right rate to attract the best people with specific skills for your temp roles.
We also make sure that you know exactly what you’re paying for. When you use temps through us, our Transparent Pricing commitment means that you see exactly what you will pay for each temporary member of staff. We clearly explain all our hiring processes, procedures and pricing, which is based on a fixed margin per hour, not a percentage margin or mark-up. This means that if a temp’s pay rate increases, as a result of a pay rise or overtime for example, there are no nasty surprises as the hourly margin you pay remains as agreed.
7. Choose an accredited temp agency
Many people underestimate how much paperworks is involved in placing temporary staff and performing compliance checks. Not only do we meet with candidates face to face to ensure the team fit is right but we follow rigorous compliance checks to ensure candidates can present the correct right to work documentation as well as evidence of any specific qualifications that are required for the role.
By choosing a recruitment partner which is a member of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, you can be sure that we will undertake all the necessary checks so that you don’t inadvertently breach any regulations with the people you employ.
8. Benefit from Continuous Support
Once we have placed a temporary worker, we will keep in regular contact with you to ensure their work performance is as expected and to provide support if you need it. We will also contact the temporary worker from time to time to check how they are doing.
If you are ready to find out more about how to make the most of temporary and contract staff for the choppy business waters ahead this year, please get in touch for a no-obligation conversation. Tel: 01256 334575 or email us at office@priorityappointments.co.uk
There's Nothing Artificial About Our Intelligence!
Every time you use your phone or social media you are benefiting from some degree of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or machine learning which makes doing everyday tasks a bit easier, and more personal to you.
Many of our clients in manufacturing, engineering and distribution are at the forefront of deploying AI and machine learning to enhance and streamline aspects of their businesses from manufacturing processes through to the warehouse floor.
AI can be helpful in recruitment too, especially when used in conjunction with the human touch of an experienced recruitment/talent acquisition professional.
As Aleksandra Mojsilovic, a research fellow in AI at IBM explained, “it’s not about replacing human intelligence, but rather about complementing it.” (HR Director magazine Oct 2020)
Keeping it Human
As recruiters, we know that whilst AI can be helpful in the early stages of screening, nothing can replace expert insight when it comes to matching the right candidates to employers.
The information included on a CV - even one that has been optimised for automated systems - can only tell you so much.
A candidate may tick the box when it comes to skills, but unless they have the right personality to fit in with the existing team, the placement is unlikely to be a success.
When possible we visit every one of our client’s premises, so that we not only see the physical working environment, but also get to understand what makes their teams tick:
- Is there a lot of banter between colleagues or is it a calm, quiet environment?
- Do people muck in to help each other out, or do the company’s systems and processes mean that it is vital for people to respect boundaries and roles?
- Are there good opportunities for career progression, for example from the warehouse floor to management, which might make it appealing to those wanting to move up the ladder?
None of these factors can be assessed through software or data analysis, but determine whether a placement is likely to be successful or not.
Sourcing the Best Talent
Whilst software can be useful during initial screening, it takes a talented individual to spot true talent in others and to make an ideal match.
At Priority Appointments, we deal with people, not CVs. By looking at more than a person’s employment history, assessing their soft skills and suggesting any upskilling that may be useful, we help make sure that they’ll be a great fit for the type of role they are looking for.
A prime example of this is our partnership with Testerworld, a local pharmaceutical company which prefers to recruit their employees on a temporary to permanent basis and which often needs multiple roles to be filled quickly and efficiently.
They know and value our stringent, in-person selection processes, so they have complete confidence that every candidate presented to them has been interviewed by us and that all the necessary eligibility checks have been carried out. This means that they get the team they need to turn around large orders fast, and candidates have access to high-quality local employment.
Testerworld’s Warehouse Manager explained how our Lead Consultant Luke Arnott helps them: “Luke knows our business inside out and knows exactly which candidates to select for us - candidates who can maintain our high productivity levels and fit in with the team. We trust Luke to deliver every time and he doesn’t let us down and because he understands recruitment and our business implicitly, we value his consultative advice too.”
Blending Tech and Human Insight
Whilst we know AI can enhance the recruitment process it’s not the most important thing in a recruitment partner. For us ‘AI’ also means that we’re:
Absolutely Independent - as an independent recruitment consultancy, we pride ourselves on going above and beyond when it comes to supporting our clients. As a local business ourselves, we’re part of the fabric of the local business community, finding great people for great companies in Basingstoke and the surrounding areas for over 20 years.
Always Interviewing - because this is what we do all day, every day we intuitively know what good looks like - even when we can’t meet candidates face to face.
We spend time screening candidates so that when we present employers with a shortlist, they can be sure that they are all suitable for the role.
Actively Inspired - we don’t just have our core values up on a poster on the wall, we live by them every day in our work with every client and candidate.
We are your smart, professional, flexible, caring, supportive, partners in recruitment, adding value at every step from HR support service to on-site redeployment workshops, transparent pricing policy and salary benchmarking.
Awesome Individuals! - our team of professionals offer far more than just recruitment services. They provide honest advice and support to employers and candidates alike to make sure every placement is set for success.
Contact us today for help with finding ideal candidates with specialist skills in Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey and the surrounding areas.
To get started with finding your next handpicked temporary or permanent employee please call us on 01256 334575 or email office@priorityappointments.co.uk
The Living Wage and National Minimum Wage
The new levels of the National Minimum and National Living Wage come into effect from 1st April 2021. The UK's minimum pay scales are governed by two different sets of regulation:
- National Living Wage regulations were passed through parliament in 2016 and from April 2021, apply to anyone aged 23 or over.
- National Minimum Wage regulations have been in force since 1999 and from April 2021, apply to anyone under 23.
The rates from April 2021 are:
- £8.91 for people aged 23 and over
- £8.36 for 21 - 22 year-olds
- £6.56 for those aged 18 to 20
Penalties for employers who flout the regulations are punitive. If an employee can prove that they have not been paid correctly, HMRC can issue a fine and insist that employers pay any arrears. If these monies remain unpaid, the employment tribunal could impose fines of up to £20,000. You can find out more about your responsibilities as an employer on the ACAS website.
Voluntary ‘Real Living Wage’ Scheme
In addition to this mandatory scheme, there is also a scheme known as the ‘Real Living Wage’ run by the Living Wage Foundation, which is based on the cost of living.
There are currently around 6,685 accredited employers who support the scheme which, according to the Living Wage Foundation, helps them attract the best staff.
As a reputable consultancy with some 20 years experience, we understand the nature of the local job market, which means we can offer you guidance on the optimum hourly pay rates and salaries to attract the best candidates.
For more information about setting appropriate pay rates, please contact Tracy Welch at Priority Appointments on 01256 334575 or email us.
Your Smart, Friendly, Local, Flexible Recruitment Team!
As one of the best-rated recruitment agencies in Basingstoke, we specialise in placing all roles within the Manufacturing, Distribution and Engineering sectors, especially in Operations, Production and Supply Chain.
Just give us a call on 01256 334575 or email office@priorityappointments.co.uk - we’re here to help.
Areas We Serve
We look after clients in the following towns within Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire:
Aldermaston, Aldershot, Alton, Andover, Basingstoke, Bordon, Bracknell, Camberley, Farnborough, Farnham, Fleet, Frimley, Hartley Wintney, Hook, Newbury, Overton, Whitchurch, Winchester, Winnersh, Wokingham, Yateley and the surrounding areas.
Send Us Your CV or Profile
It’s easy! Just upload your CV from your computer or cloud - or just ping us your Linkedin Profile
SEND NOW
Our Clients
Testimonials
"A Very Positive Attitude"
Congratulations to Lauren, our Temp of the Month.
Lauren is currently working at a Hampshire-based company that prides itself on putting its people and customers at the heart of the business.
Her manager nominated her for the recognition for her ability to learn and her comitment to the role, and commented:
"Since joining our shift, Lauren has had a very positive attitude. She is very enthusiastic and a hard worker. She has shown genuine interest in what she has been asked to do and has learnt very quickly.
"Lauren has fitted in well within the team and has quickly become a very useful team member.”
"A Great Attitude to Work"
Congratulations to Richard, who has won temp of the month with our client for his work supporting their CNC capabilities.
His manager said, “Richard has a great attitude to his work, is very proactive in helping to achieve the task given to him and always been commercially aware of the need to meet deadlines.
"He has fitted in with the team seamlessly and has been quick to pick up our processes and procedures, sharing his skills and experience and listening to the engineers' requirements. He has enabled us to move forward with our CNC capabilities and production.”
If you need skilled and proactive workers like Richard to boost your team, please call us on 01256 334575.
"Very Deserving of this Award"
Ian, who is currently working for a manufacturing company in Basingstoke, has won our latest Temp of the Month Award after being nominated by his manager.
His line manager said he deserved the Award as he's made such a difference in a short space of time.
He told us, "Ian is very reliable, hard working and his attention to detail is outstanding. He has only been with us for a short period of time and has very quickly picked up tasks. He also attempts tasks without being shown what to do."
Congratulations Ian on becoming such a valued member of the team!
Temp of the Month David is a Star Performer
Our Temp of the Month is David (on the left in the picture), who works for Sealock, a large adhesives manufacturer in Andover.
David's manager commented, "David has actively integrated with the existing workforce and responds to all the training he's given."
Congratulations to David on showing such great commitment to his role.
