78% of businesses can’t find quality or volume of talent they need to thrive

A new survey reveals that UK recruiters are struggling with serious talent shortages.

The survey of 1,500 UK-based hiring managers by international talent acquisition and managed workforce solutions provider, Guidant Global, saw  78% of all respondents admit they are currently finding it difficult to access the quality and volume of talent their businesses need to thrive, with 39% of hiring managers finding that uncertainty around Brexit has directly impacted access to talent.

It seems that most businesses are now looking to develop internal staff to fill these dire skills shortages.  Almost half of businesses surveyed (47%) said that that developing staff internally will be their greatest opportunity from a talent management perspective over the next three years.

Other measures that those surveyed plan on implementing to bridge current and future skills gaps include using technology to plan and manage workforces more strategically, and tapping into underutilised talent pools, which were favoured by 22% and 16% of respondents respectively.

A further 8% of hiring managers plan on taking a more global approach to sourcing and managing staff, while 5% are maximising the potential of contingent talent by flexing workforces to meet demand.

Commenting on the findings, Simon Blockley, Managing Director, EMEA, at Guidant Global, said:

“While the chronic skills shortages which are impacting the UK labour market have been well documented, these findings demonstrate that smart businesses are working hard behind the scenes to mitigate against future talent gaps.

“It’s encouraging to see that a significant proportion of businesses are concentrating on training and developing existing teams as part of their wider talent management strategy, particularly when you consider that skills demand is shifting rapidly in line with the digital revolution. Taking this approach also has the added benefit of increasing engagement levels, which is proven to have a positive impact on retention and productivity long-term.”