Recruitment and retention of staff will continue to be a top priority for businesses in 2024 a leading HR expert has predicted, as companies navigate the challenges of the current climate and candidate demands.

Economic pressures and the cost-of-living crisis will continue to impact both businesses and their employees, say award-winning people specialists HR Solutions.

At the beginning of the year, the Kettering-based HR consultancy’s 2022/23 SME Business Survey said 36% of businesses believed recruiting staff would be a major challenge.

They anticipate that this year’s 2023/24 survey results are likely to explore how we can ease the challenges presented by recruitment, for example through apprenticeships, skills-based recruitment, and AI solutions.

HR Solutions suggest that in order to recruit the best possible staff, companies should review their policies and employee benefits to ensure that they are competitive in the market.

CEO Greg Guilford said: “Company culture is vital. You must ensure that your business values are aligned with your employees – this will help you to retain and attract top talent.

“You need to create a culture within your business that makes employees want to stay, and encourages potential candidates to join, as well as showcase your team, give the world an insight into your day-to-day operations and recognise and reward your top performers.

“It’s important to take a deeper look at why employing people is proving difficult. The UK is still in a candidate driven market, meaning that candidates are demanding higher pay, making it increasingly difficult for businesses to bring the right people on board.

“Candidate demands coupled with an ongoing talent shortage mean recruitment is arguably more competitive than before.”

HR Solutions’ latest SME Business Survey is live now and the team are urging small and medium sized enterprises to share the obstacles they expect to face over the next 12 months, not just with recruitment but for all business issues.

The barometer is organised by the award-winning human resources experts in partnership with local digital marketing firm Qoob Agency and Pulse Group Media – publishers of Business Times and Business MK newspapers.

HR Solutions use the results to gain a deeper understanding of the economic landscape and discover how SMEs plan to navigate the changing business climate.

Greg added: “The results of our SME Business Survey help us to predict the challenges businesses are likely to face in the coming year and provide a support network in response to that to offer the information they need to help them to succeed.

“There is still time to complete the survey. It doesn’t take long to do and your involvement will really help us to get a clearer picture of what businesses need from us right now.”

To take part in the 2023 SME Survey, visit https://www.hrsolutions-uk.com/business-support/sme-business-survey before 15th December.  

For more information about HR Solutions visit www.hrsolutions-uk.com