Barriers to Growth

Recruitment and Retention of Staff

November 2018

cityofexpertise.co.uk

‘The City of Expertise’ is the name adopted by a diverse group of

professional services firms based in the District of St Albans. The aim

is to promote St Albans as a thriving business hub where there are

good opportunities for skilled employment. We want to understand

the barriers to growth facing the local business community and

collectively seek and share solutions.

There are approx. 9,000 business enterprises in St Albans across a

wide range of sectors one of the largest being professional services.

A useful resource as we have amongst the highest number of

entrepreneurs in Hertfordshire, no less than 13,000 self-employed

people.

80% of our businesses are expecting dramatic or moderate growth in

the next two years and 54% plan to enter new markets.

St Albans is the perfect place to build businesses and

work together.

The City of Expertise was set up in conjunction with the St Albans

District & City Council and comprises 22 members. Businesses

range from accountants, surveyors and property experts, legal

experts, financial and audit professionals and chartered engineers.

A full list of our members can be seen on the last page of this report.

What is the City of Expertise?

The City of Expertise ‘Barriers to Growth’ Research Report showed that the

greatest challenge for the businesses in the District of St. Albans area, both large

and small, across all sectors is:

Recruitment and Retention of Staff

To find solutions to the issues of recruitment and retention, 35 local business

representatives got together to brainstorm solutions – those participating in the

debate are listed at the end of this report but included; Legal experts, Accountants

and Auditors, Chartered Engineers, Recruitment Consultants, Marketing

Consultants, Local Government and others.

The following report shares the key findings from the workshop

20% of local businesses cited recruitment and retention of staff as the

biggest barrier to their growth.

Those sectors hit hardest were:

Professional

Services

20% (of those

responding had

issues in this area)

Construction and Engineering

Services

19% (of those responding had

issues in this area)

Sales & Marketing

19% (of those responding had

issues in this area)

Hospitality & Leisure

Industries

17% (of those responding

had issues in this area)

Barriers to Growth

Summary

The ability of a business to grow is driven by its ability to recruit and retain the

best staff at all levels. Those businesses that have rigorous talent acquisition

and management strategies will probably grow the fastest and go the furthest.

Today’s employment market, particularly in St Albans, is short of candidates at

all levels and in all sectors. The best candidates are hard to find, difficult to

attract and are constantly being approached by competitors. In addition, they

have different expectations and requirements from their employer than in

previous years. Gone are the requirements of ‘a job for life’, acceptance of

poor management, limited facilities or inflexible bosses. Today’s candidates

have their own agenda.

Recruitment is a two way process and the power is

evenly balanced.

Talent acquisition can be broken down into 4 key stages; finding the talent in

the first instance, attracting their attention and getting them along for interview,

the interview process itself and then how the successful candidates are

brought on board. The best companies will have a clear business proposition in

place alongside a defined culture, ethos, vision and mission. Social

responsibilities are also increasingly important. Today’s candidates have an

expectation that they will have a voice that will be heard, opportunities for

development and support in order to succeed.

It’s not just about the money anymore

Those business that have an understanding of the needs of candidates and

offer a competitive suite of benefits over and above the financial package will

attract the best candidates.

A job offer is just the start of the relationship

Once employed the onboarding process, the establishment of KPIs and

continuous evaluation is crucial. Each employee has individual circumstances

and those businesses that are aware of these and adapt to changing needs will

have reduced staff turnover and greater stability.

The following pages offers tips, ideas and guidance to

help build a strong talent management strategy.

The recruitment and retention of staff is a problem that is not unique to St

Albans and affects all businesses regardless of size and sector. Most

importantly, 80% of our local business are planning growth over the next two

years and just under 60% are expecting up to or over 10% growth in productivity

- this will only be possible if recruitment and retention of staff is given top level

priority.

“It’s become apparent that salary is not always the main draw to a role, flexible ways of working seems to becoming increasingly valuable to

today’s workforce.”

Kavva Andersen-Tufnell

The Issues

Today’s job seekers have more tools and resources available to help them find the right role than any past generation. In the current marketplace, where levels of employment are high and the attractiveness of the UK to overseas candidates has weakened, employers are having to work even harder than ever to find and keep the best candidates.

St Albans has over 72,000 listed positions, the largest number being in business administration and support, professional, scientific and technical and health occupations.

The issues most commonly faced:

The best candidates are in high demand and know this

Pay and benefits are no longer the only determinants

The pull of London, to younger employees in particular, is an ever present

threat

Candidates are choosy about the company they want to work for, cultural fit is

increasingly important, social responsibility is a serious consideration

Employees want good progression paths & learning opportunities

Candidates and employees want to work for a company that looks after its

staff at all levels

Flexibility and work life balance are very important and will differ depending

on age & career stage

Social life within work may be very important

The cost of living in St Albans is a challenge

The cost of travelling and / parking costs & availability can be

a problem

Candidates and employees want to understand

‘what’s in it for them’

“Pay & benefits are not the only determinants”

To simplify the results of the discussion the report will group the feedback under

the following headings that reflect the process of recruiting and retaining staff:

Finding candidates

Attracting them to interview

The interview process

Post interview processes

Retaining the best employees

Recruitment & Retention — The Ideas and Solutions

“It was great to share ideas and listen to other professionals talk about how they

approach recruitment and retention. I found it reassuring to hear that although we work in quite different businesses we all seem to face the same recruitment challenges. More importantly, however, is knowing that we all shared a common goal in attracting – and keeping - talent in St. Albans!” Jane Kassel

1. Job descriptions need to sell the job, the company and the future

2. Advertising needs to stand out with the USPs of the business – think ‘Why

should a candidate talk to us?’ – particularly for less well-known businesses

3. Make sure your website reflects your brand and offers clear insight of vision

and mission, ethos and celebrates the staff as well as clients

4. Put showcase careers on websites – use peers to share experiences

5. Choose marketing channels that reflect where your candidates are — not eve-

ryone is on LinkedIn or reads the local paper

6. Throughout all marketing channels make sure the brand values and the USPs

and the culture and style of the company are reflected

7. Profile & avatars in the digital space need to reflect the brand and the team

candidates want to know – do they look like me?

8. Succession planning should be in place so you can attract talent early

9. Get involved with local education - employers should be going out to share

their knowledge and experiences with potential employees and their networks

10. Be present at career fairs, school fairs, student fairs, graduate fairs and other

networks where candidates may be gathering

11. Create workshops for potential candidates

12. Become known as a good employer at the local Chamber of Commerce, work

placement bodies & recruitment agencies

13. Build the reputation of St Albans as the City of Expertise day and night

14. Talk to the local press about business success and promotions and careers

Top Tips for Finding

Candidates

1. Have in place graduate schemes

2. Offer apprenticeships to all ages

3. Offer work experience opportunities at all ages

4. Offer paid internships

5. Showcase what your business can offer in terms of guidance, CPD, technical

support, buddying etc.

6. Appoint influencers and ambassadors for the brand from within the business

and externally—and ask them for referrals

7. Offer joint events for job seekers, CV shaping, interview training

8. Share knowledge of what makes a good employee.

9. Sell your business ethos, culture and make it ‘the place to work’

10. Show what St Albans has to offer - promote the benefits of the area as well

as the job

“The recent Barriers to Growth proved to be a fascinating insight and discussion in understanding the issues all of us have in hiring and maintaining talent.

It was reassuring to appreciate that everyone has similar problems and it was great to work together to collectively consider ideas for change.”

Nick Silverstone

Top Tips for Attracting

Candidates for Interview

1. It is important to remember this is a two way conversation – don’t forget that

you need to be selling your job and your company if you want to attract the

best candidates

2. Ask for input on the interview process from relevant employees

3. Make sure the process, from meeting at reception to leaving the premises, is a

positive experience

4. Find out what is important to the candidate before sharing all the benefits of

working for you in St Albans. Focus on those that are of key interest

5. Be prepared with company information, training options, career path

examples, access to websites, lists of staff activities, local sports etc.

6. Introduce other people who are at the same level to share their experiences

and career paths

7. Be thorough and rigorous regardless of the level or early decisions – all

candidates can become referrals or advocates even if they don’t get the job

8. Ask for input on the interview process from relevant employees

9. Give constructive interview feedback, be timely and thorough

Developing the

Interview Process

Businesses need to work on their employer brand to attract candidates out of London. Increasingly it is work life balance, flexible working space and a vibrant culture which attracts the best candidates.

The relationship companies have with their recruitment agency also needs to change. A partnership model needs to be adopted with a shared vision to really maximise the opportunities from talent acquisition strategies.”

Daniel O’Mahoney

“I believe it is vital we promote St Albans as a viable alternative to a career in London.

We need to be ahead of the curve, offering flexible working, reduced hours and excellent benefit packages with opportunities to progress.

The interview process needs to become a good experience for the candidate and it is essential to provide feedback if they are unsuccessful.

The candidate shortage will probably be exacerbated next year by the issues associated with Brexit.

Putting a tool kit for success in place for all hiring managers will make the process fast and efficient with the best chance of a good outcome.”

Louise Wynne

1. The welcome process and introductions to staff members and teams is crucial in setting the scene and settling a new employee

2. Have access cards, computer log-ins, phone lines, stationary etc ready and waiting at the work base

3. Offer welcome packs with business information, local services information, so-cial events etc

4.Create a proper on-boarding experience that is rigorous for all levels

5. Establish requirements relating to pay, travel, accommodation childcare etc.

6. Create a probation review timetable with KPIs and expectations based on a ’we

want you to succeed’ principle

The Importance of the

Post-interview Process

Retention— Keeping the best

staff is crucial to success

1. Follow a rigorous review process - 360° if possible. People want to know where they stand and honesty is the best long-term policy

2. Include training programmes internal and external if possible – adopt a ‘known’ Up-Not-Out policy

3. Offer guidance workshops or events with more senior personnel

4. Offer CDP and professional/technical qualifications studying

5. Offer buddying with comparable or more senior personnel

6. People want a voice – think how you can provide this internally

7. When circumstances change — offer flexibility and work life balance

8. Offer relevant benefits vouchers, sports club memberships, health and well-

being, days out, socials, competitions, group charity events

9. Consider incentives at all levels - not necessarily money

10. Consider share schemes (Is this a money share scheme?

11. Develop brand advocates to enhance loyalty and support a referrals system

12. Consider travel and housing costs, interest free loans, discounts on parking/

travel etc.

13. Continue to develop the culture of the company and communicate values,

ethos, vision and mission—staff want to know where the business is going

Keeping the doors open - losing

employees is a part of business, tips

to make the best of a bad situation

1. Make the send-off sweet for those that are leaving – do not let anyone leave

on bad terms you don’t know when they might be useful

2. Make sure you can and do to keep in touch with those that leave. You may

want them back

3. Create alumni groups on social media

4. Create past employee events – or invite them to current ones if appropriate

5. Keep in touch on LinkedIn – follow their careers and congratulate them and

let them know when more senior vacancies arise within the business

6. If they are going to non-competitive businesses in different regions make

sure they know your doors are open for clients that they can’t support that

you may be able to – make sure they are advocates

Questions to ask your business when developing talent strategy and other

thoughts to consider

How are you as employers going to adapt to the new generation of employees – how are you sharing these strategies with your employees?

We are competing with everywhere – Milton Keynes, London etc. Understand why someone would or should choose St Albans and share this openly

The Millennial mind-set is a given, accept it and work with it – don’t fight it

Beware job hoppers and consider the hidden costs to recruitment

In Conclusion

The recruitment and retention of staff is a problem that is not

unique to St Albans, it is not going to get any easier and affects

all businesses regardless of size and sector.

80% of our local business are planning growth over the next two

years and just under 60% are expecting up to or over 10%

growth. Productivity growth will only be possible if the

recruitment and retention of staff is given top priority.

Every stage in the process of recruitment and retention needs

to be considered if a business is to succeed in attracting the

best talent. And only those businesses that put the wants and

needs of potential and current employees at the forefront of

their thinking will win in this very competitive employment

marketplace.

Thank you to all of those who attended the

recruitment and retention workshop

What’s Next:

The response to this workshop was excellent and The City of Expertise wants to

continue this solutions process by running further workshops that address the other

key issues that were raised by local businesses in the Barriers to Growth research.

Other issues that we want to consider are:

Regulatory change and red tape - the rules are forever changing, how do

we keep up and plan for possible changes to keep our businesses growing in the

right direction?

Lack of specific areas of expertise - different sizes and sectors have

different skill requirements but how best can business fill the gaps in their

knowledge and get the support they need?

Cash Flow - 25% of our businesses have successfully raised finance in the last

two years and 17% intend to do so within the next year. What is the best approach

to getting investment, what should business be investing in and what is best

practice when it comes to financial managing during growth periods?

If you would like to part of these workshops to try to find solutions to these issues

please get in touch by emailing Lawrence.Hewitt@stalbans.gov.uk.

The City of Expertise has many events across the year; an example is organised

events aimed at the ‘’Young professionals’ of St Albans.

Each event is tailored to not only create business relationships but are designed to

be informative and introduce new skills to those attending.

If you would like to hear more about the events please visit

www.cityofexpertise.co.uk

City of Expertise Members

cityofexpertise.co.uk

Achieving More Together