Training and development | The key to recruiting and retaining top talent?

UK wages have risen at their fastest rate in 20 years, excluding during the pandemic, but are still lagging behind inflation, with regular pay (excluding bonuses) increasing by 7.2% in the three months to April 2023 (ONS). Where organisations can’t compete on remuneration to attract talent, they need to look at other avenues that will allow employees flexibility and development opportunities along their career path. Kerry White, Associate Director at Macmillan Davies, explains some of the ways organisations are winning at differentiating themselves in the war for talent.

Invest in training and development

The findings of our HR insights survey which was published in January, revealed that 'pay' was the top reason for moving jobs for 61% of participants, followed by 'progression' for 51% and 'culture' for 44% of HR professionals.

According to a new study by Ciphr, 42% of people say they want more opportunities to excel in their current role, including better management responsibilities, opportunities for promotion, and career progression.

Laura Herbert, CPO of Manchester-based Tech firm, Apadmi has put training and development at the heart of her Employee Value Proposition, as she explains: “Whilst Apadmi may not always be able to compete on salary, we have been able to differentiate ourselves by offering our employees a range of training and development opportunities in our own training academy. This includes graduate development, professional Scrum certification, and mentoring. This is paying huge dividends to our growth strategy, including an increase in our staff retention rate, and, importantly, a 92% job offer acceptance rate.”

But is this happening in HR? “Some HR professionals can overlook their own training and career development, and instead spend their time focusing on the rest of the business,” says Kerry. “Working in HR, it can often be assumed that they would naturally action their own development needs and apply best practice to themselves, but this is not always the case.”

Remember cultural fit and soft skills are more important

Kerry continues: “When hiring, it is more important to find the right candidate from a cultural fit perspective and look at how you can develop them. For example, we are seeing an increase in requirements for HR Generalist positions to have a more metric/data and analytic skill set, and data literacy. These competency requirements extend beyond just being able to analyse sickness and absence data, and yet our latest poll found that more than half (55%) of HR professionals still feel they only have a little knowledge and understanding of AI.”

Businesses could be passing by good talent by focussing on hard skills requirements. One study by Deloitte stated that soft skill-intensive jobs will grow 2.5x faster than other jobs, and by 2030 soft skills jobs will make up 63% of all jobs. Skills requirements are going to continuously change but soft skills, particularly in HR, are far more indicative of future job performance compared to hard skills. Soft skills play a significant role in how a person approaches work-related tasks, builds relationships, and communicates with their colleagues and other stakeholders – you can’t teach these.

Flexibility is still key

According to the CIPDs 2023 report on Flexible and hybrid working practices, when thinking about a new role, 71% of respondents said being able to have a flexible working pattern is important to them, and said the ability to home work on a regular basis is important.

The same report also found that an estimated 4 million people have changed careers due to a lack of flexibility at work, while an estimated 2 million left a job in the last year for the same reason. In response, the CIPD has warned that businesses may face a talent exodus if they fail to offer flexible working options.

Not just about pay

Of course, financial reward remains a feature of people deciding whether to apply for or accept a new role. But the evidence is clear that people are looking for more than big bucks, and that includes working practices that reflect the demand for career progression through internal development and succession, and the need for a genuinely healthy work:life balance. These do work, carry appeal, strengthen the employer brand, and serve to set businesses apart.

Get in touch

Should you wish to have a confidential chat with Kerry White to discuss the current HR market or your search for work/recruiting into your team, please contact her directly at kwhite@mdhr.co.uk

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