The aftermath of COVID-19 brought a wave of change and adaptation for businesses.

As the UK labour market fluctuated, vacancies hit record highs in what became known as The Great Resignation – a period of high job turnover and employee job-hopping.

Now, as we continue to move towards a new normal, the landscape shifts again.  The latest CIPD Labour Market Outlook indicates a sluggish labour market with dropping employment rates and declining staff turnover.

The Great Resignation is over, making way for a new kid in town… THE BIG STAY!  In this blog, we delve into what this shift means for your business and why if you are an employer looking to recruit, you need to be attracting people out of their jobs to work for you!

What is the Big Stay?

A phrase coined by the CIPD, it signifies the current period where staff turnover is falling, and vacancies are expected to decline. Employees now prioritise stability over change, resulting in less job openings and fewer people quitting their jobs.

How are employees responding?

Job stability tops their wish list. With a cautious ‘better the devil you know’ mindset, they prefer familiarity over risk and are opting to stay put for now. Post-pandemic, they are less inclined to switch employers or bounce from one job to the next.

What does this mean for business owners?

With lower staff attrition predicted in 2024 and a return to pre-pandemic conditions, the labour market power balance is finally tilting in favour of employers – yippe I hear you cry!

According to the CIPD’s report, a staggering 55% of employers are focusing on retaining their current workforce, the highest level since 2016-17.  So if you really want to make sure you retain your top talent, now is the perfect time to invest in learning and development, training and upskilling opportunities to retain and empower your workforce.

But, what if you are looking to recruit, this means it might be harder to find great people doesn’t it?

Yes, it does! If you’re recruiting for new roles, it might be more difficult for you to find the people you’re looking for.  So, working on things like your;

• Employer Brand – which is how you “sell” the opportunity of what it’s like to work for you and why people join you and stay, your culture, your values are all important in this area and promoting them at every opportunity on your website, in your job advertisements is key.
• Your Employer Value Proposition – this is what employees get for working for you. So this isn’t just about salary, it’s about the added little extras, like the fact that you might offer Hybrid Working or Homeworking, you might offer great training and upskilling opportunities, or other benefits like being able to bring your dogs to work, or an extra day off on your birthday, free tea and coffee or breakfasts at work.
• How you advertise your role – did you know that people only look at a Job Advert for 6 seconds before they decide whether to apply or not? So, if you have been cutting and pasting a Job Description onto the job boards and wondering why you don’t get anyone applying for your roles, then you might need our help with writing your Job Adverts! On average we receive 30 good quality applications for roles that we have written the Job Adverts for.
• How you design your Recruitment Process – is your recruitment process hitting the mark? Are you making your candidates feel like they want to join you or making them run away? How you treat people from the moment they apply for your role could be the key to your recruitment success. We’ve helped lots of our clients improve their recruitment process with great results!

Need some help with your recruitment or a confidential chat?

If you’d like to talk about any aspect of your HR, then book a call with us here.