Employers globally continue to find it difficult to fill vacancies, and the United Kingdom is no different, with Bloomberg stating that close to one in five UK workers expect to move to a new role within the next 12 months — mainly seeking higher pay, more flexible working arrangements and greater job satisfaction.
This demand for remote and flexible work has unsettled the jobs market, making it harder for employers to attract and retain top talent unless they accept these working patterns.
We aim to assist UK employers in understanding labour market disruptions; to that end, we surveyed over 500 British employers to identify which sectors and locations are most affected by The Great Resignation, the skills gaps proving hardest to close, and the approaches employers are adopting to tackle recruitment obstacles.
In the last year, 82% of employers report being affected by The Great Resignation
We examined U.K. cities to find those with the greatest share of firms affected by the “Great Resignation.” Topping the list is Sheffield, in Yorkshire, where 92% of surveyed employers reported a direct impact on their business.
Sheffield is followed by Plymouth and London, at 89% and 87% respectively.
While these three cities lead in employer disruption from The Great Resignation, the effects are widespread nationwide — spanning from Edinburgh in Scotland down to Plymouth in England's southwest.
The table below lists the top 10 U.K. cities with the highest proportion of employers affected by The Great Resignation.
Cities with the highest % of companies affected by The Great Resignation
Rank | City | % that said The Great Resignation has impacted their company* |
|---|---|---|
1 | Sheffield | 92% |
2 | Plymouth | 89% |
3 | London | 87% |
4 | Birmingham | 87% |
5 | Brighton | 87% |
6 | Southampton | 86% |
7 | Glasgow | 85% |
8 | Newcastle | 84% |
9 | Bristol | 80% |
10 | Edinburgh | 80% |
*Figures rounded to the nearest %.
In the past year, 92% of employers reported difficulties filling job roles
Partly due to The Great Resignation, recruiting to address internal skills gaps has become more difficult. With demand elevated, candidates now have greater bargaining power and can be more selective about the roles they accept.
Our research shows 92% of U.K. employers struggled to fill roles over the past year and, on average, turned to nine recruiters to address skills shortages.
The business areas U.K. employers find hardest to recruit for are software engineering, HR and data analytics.
Companies that struggle to attract candidates with these specialist skills should reassess how they can add value through employee benefit schemes and adapt their existing packages to match the expectations of the candidates they are targeting.
The table below ranks the business areas or skills employers have found hardest to fill in the past year, from highest to lowest percentage.
The top 12 skills UK companies struggle to recruit for
Rank | Business areas/skills | % of employers that have struggled to fill roles within these areas in the past year* |
|---|---|---|
1 | Software engineering | 27% |
2 | HR | 26% |
3 | Data analytics | 24% |
4 | Customer experience | 23% |
5 | Business operations | 23% |
6 | Executive leadership | 23% |
7 | Marketing | 20% |
8 | Sales | 19% |
9 | Product management | 18% |
10 | Finance | 17% |
11 | Design | 17% |
12 | Legal | 12% |
*Figures rounded to the nearest %.
The survey also examined the particular job areas where industries face the greatest recruitment pressure. Nearly every logistics employer we surveyed in the U.K. (96%) reported difficulty filling a role during the past year; fintech firms most often struggled to recruit for HR (42%), while healthcare employers reported shortages in customer experience roles (25%).
Industry | % that have struggled to fill any job role (past year) | Business area | % that have struggled to hire for business area |
|---|---|---|---|
Fintech | 92% | HR | 42% |
Healthcare | 90% | Customer experience | 25% |
Logistics | 96% | Data analytics | 50% |
Marketing & Advertising | 91% | Marketing | 45% |
Technology | 94% | Software engineering | 58% |
*Figures rounded to the nearest %.
Half of employers are offering new training to existing staff to manage recruitment challenges
Securing and retaining top talent remains a core priority for any growth-focused business. Historically, employers have concentrated recruitment within countries where they already operate a local legal entity. A global employment partner such as Remote now makes international hiring substantially faster, simpler and more secure through employer of record services.
U.K. employers are adopting creative solutions to recruitment obstacles. Half of survey respondents (50%) now provide training to current employees, and over a third run employee referral schemes.
Only one-third of employers surveyed recruit candidates from outside their immediate area. Consequently, more than 60% are foregoing the chance to broaden their search and tap into a far larger global talent pool.
The table below shows the tactics employers are using to overcome recruitment barriers, ranked from most to least popular.
Ways employers have tried to overcome recruitment struggles | % that said The Great Resignation has impacted their company |
|---|---|
Offering training to existing employees | 50% |
Offering a referral scheme to current employees | 35% |
Recruiting outside of the city where you are based | 33% |
Offering an apprentice program | 33% |
Hiring external recruitment resource | 33% |
Recruiting internationally | 33% |
Proactively sourcing more diverse candidates | 33% |
Outsourcing work to freelancers and contractors | 29% |
Offering bursaries and scholarships in the underskilled areas | 26% |
*Figures rounded to the nearest %.
Hiring internationally can solve recruitment struggles
Hiring internationally has been adopted by 33% of the employers we surveyed as a way to address recruitment challenges.
33% of employers recruit internationally to address recruitment challenges.
The growth of remote work and the technology that enables it means employers can now source high-quality candidates globally. British employers need no longer confine their search to professionals based in the U.K..
Large numbers of skilled professionals are available and willing to work remotely in time zones similar to the U.K. across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Asynchronous work practices can make it productive for U.K. employers to open up their recruitment pipeline to Asia, the Americas and the Pacific – a serious strategic asset for any organisation aiming for 24-hour sales or customer support coverage.
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However, not all employers choose international recruitment as a response to The Great Resignation. 8% said they do not sponsor work permits, and a further 8% indicated they require employees to be able to attend the office when necessary.
Remember, U.K. employers can still hire internationally and permit their employees to work abroad legally with the assistance of an employer of record like Remote.
If your business operations allow for remote work, you do not need to provide relocation packages or arrange work visas to access overseas talent. Provided your overseas candidates have the legal right to work in their home country, Remote enables you to hire and pay these team members in compliance with relevant labour laws through our fully owned local entities.
When recruiting, does your company consider international candidates? | % |
|---|---|
Yes, because we have a remote working policy | 40% |
Yes, because we work with international clients | 36% |
Yes, but they are offered a wage representative of where they live | 22% |
Yes, but only if they have the right to work where we are based | 20% |
No, because we don't sponsor work permits | 8% |
No, because we want to ensure employees can come into the office when needed | 8% |
No, but it is something we are considering | 6% |
No, because we do not have a remote working policy | 5% |
*Figures rounded to the nearest %.
Nearly half of employers (46%) are now willing to negotiate salaries due to recruitment pressures
To stay competitive and address skills shortages, almost half of U.K. employers we surveyed said they have become more willing to negotiate salaries since The Great Resignation began.
Employers are also more open to negotiating other areas such as health benefits and annual leave.
This greater readiness to offer a fuller total rewards compensation package may also help retain current staff and prevent further employee turnover.
The table below lists the areas where employers have become more willing to negotiate with employees and candidates since The Great Resignation.
Area of negotiation | % that said they have been more open to negotiating in the last year |
|---|---|
Flexible working policy | 49% |
Salary | 46% |
Remote working policy | 46% |
Annual leave | 43% |
Training benefits | 43% |
Health benefits | 42% |
Home office allowance | 40% |
*Figures rounded to the nearest %.
Unsurprisingly, remote working policy is a key area businesses now consider, given the significant increase in this style of working since the COVID-19 pandemic. For many sectors and firms, flexible working hours are already embedded in permanent working policy.
How can employers attract high-quality talent to close skills gaps?
Securing experienced hires to plug skills gaps, as well as retaining current staff, is demanding at the best of times and becomes especially hard when labour markets grow more competitive.
Where, then, should employers begin when looking to attract the talent they require?
Be transparent in job advert specifications
Transparency is vital for all parties in recruitment, particularly prospective applicants. Vague or hard-to-access listings risk confusing and deterring candidates.
Set out the responsibilities of the role in plain terms, including required experience, any specific skills, and the reporting lines within the organisation. Rather than labelling salary as ‘competitive’, we recommend employers specify a salary band.
Our research found that 41% of employers don’t always include salary information in every job description and nearly 50% omit progression opportunities for roles.
Employers can also make job adverts stand out by listing key benefits and perks. Even values-based benefits such as flexible working hours, remote-work provisions and mental health support programmes can distinguish your offer.
Employers lack transparency in job adverts
41% of employers don’t always put salary information on job descriptions for every role
47% of employers don’t mention progression opportunities for each role
Inaccessible language can cause confusion and deter candidates from applying
Evaluate existing benefits plans
A major consideration for candidates is the benefits package and the value it adds to their lives. If you recruit internationally, benefits must be appropriate to the country in which the employee is based.
We advise employers to design tailored benefits packages that reflect the needs of their workforce, taking account of geographical and demographic differences.
Beyond benefits, employers should regularly review salaries to ensure pay remains fair and competitive. Our survey revealed that 17% of UK employers do no salary benchmarking at all, while the 80% that do review pay roughly once every five months on average.
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Remote's global HR experts provide practical guidance on building locally relevant and globally compliant benefits programmes to help you attract and retain the world's best talent.
Download your 2018Global Benefits Guide and attract top global talent
Download your 2018Global Benefits Guide and attract top global talent
Remote's team of global HR specialists provide practical, actionable guidance on designing a locally relevant and globally compliant benefits programme to help you attract and retain the world's finest talent.
Reconsider return to office policies
Employers who still require staff to visit the office regularly should reassess that position. With remote work well established, many employees who value flexibility will be unwilling to relinquish it, particularly when rival employers offer indefinite remote arrangements with no caveats.
Adopt inclusive hiring practices
Not only is adopting inclusive hiring practices the ethical choice, it also prevents employers from excluding talent from diverse backgrounds.
As a starting point, we recommend educating recruitment teams about how both overt and unconscious bias can affect hiring, and reviewing live job adverts to ensure inclusive language is used.
Our research indicates employers must take an employee-centric approach to recruiting for 2022 and beyond, revising recruitment and retention strategies to show the value they add to the lives of existing and potential candidates. This may include personalised training for current staff, hiring internationally to access a broader talent pool, or offering flexible working policies suited to diverse lifestyles such as those with childcare responsibilities.
To support employers in filling open roles, we have compiled specialist guidance from Remote’s experts and employment professionals covering every step of the remote hiring process — from checking remote readiness to making offers and scaling global teams. Our guide to hiring remote employees includes practical tactics and strategies to help employers fill skills gaps with internationally sourced talent.