Following on from our very interesting Breakfast webinar yesterday discussing “The Impact on Temporary Labour Post-Brexit”. Onsite Managing Director, Paul Doherty gives his thoughts on what truly has been a crazy year. “What a strange and eventful year this has been.In the closing stages of 2020 the year is best described as chaotic, ever changing and uncertainty posing challenges for employers and employees alike. In Staffline Onsite we spent the end of 2019 preparing and putting plans in place for a successful 2020. Success for us is measured in going over and above to deliver client and applicant satisfaction in the recruitment marketplace. Like all best prepared plans, we had contingencies in place to allow us to navigate through all eventualities, but little did we know what was around the corner. In March we got blown off course, went into lockdown and had to change the way we worked, which for some people was changing the habits of a lifetime. Many people faced uncertainty in the workplace and had to adapt and change to the new working environment. People have adapted and we have placed many people in roles different to what they were used to demonstrating our resilient workforce. Once again with Brexit around the corner we are facing uncertainty and unchartered waters. The free movement of candidates throughout the EU will end and a proposed firm and fair points-based system will be introduced to attract high-skilled workers. This will create huge challenges for employers and employees in the low skilled arena as these roles are mainly paid minimum wage with high turnover. As a supplier of contingency labour we will take the key learnings from the pandemic to face the Brexit challenges. This pandemic has taught us to be resilient, to pull together and focus on the areas where we can make a difference . Faced with a potential shortage of staff we have 2 key focuses. To attract the best talent for our clients To retain the talent To be able to respond quickly, employers need to assign greater urgency to undertake strategic workforce planning that will help identify the skills and knowledge required for the future and how to attract them. While we focus our attention on filling bookings and vacancies, as a matter of urgency for our clients, a robust bespoke recruitment process (Employers of choice will attract Applicants of choice), developed with each client will ensure we are recruiting the right candidate for every job. We have seen over the last 8 months that the key drivers for the majority of applicants joining new companies has been stability of work and career progression in a financially stable organisation. First impressions last. From the onboarding process the real work will begin to retain all new candidates. Better efforts to retain staff should be at the forefront , as this will counter attrition and increase candidate satisfaction levels. Our workforce is seen as our greatest asset and our greatest source of advertising. In the current economic climate many have found themselves without work however we can look forward to better times ahead as we head towards a candidate driven market where opportunities will be available for all skill sets who can demonstrate resilience.” If you would like to find out more about managing your temporary work force or would like more advice on how to become an Employer of Choice please feel free to email Paul directly on [email protected]