Employers worldwide are still finding it hard to fill vacancies, and the United Kingdom is no different, with Bloomberg reporting that nearly a fifth of U.K. workers say they plan to leave their current roles within the next 12 months — mainly to secure higher pay, more flexible working arrangements and better job satisfaction.
This appetite for remote and flexible work is reshaping the labour market, making it harder for employers to attract and keep top talent unless they adopt these working methods.
We aim to give U.K. employers clearer insight into the changes affecting the labour market. To do this, we surveyed over 500 British employers to identify which industries and locations are most impacted by The Great Resignation, the toughest skills gaps to close, and the approaches employers are using to overcome hiring obstacles.
82% of employers reported being affected by The Great Resignation during the last year
Our analysis of U.K. cities found Sheffield (in Yorkshire) leads the list. Ninety-two percent of the Sheffield employers we surveyed said The Great Resignation had directly affected their company.
Plymouth and London follow closely, at 89% and 87% respectively.
While these three cities top the rankings for employers facing difficulties because of The Great Resignation, the impact stretches across the country — from Edinburgh in Scotland down to Plymouth in England’s southwest.
The table below lists the top 10 U.K. cities with the highest share of employers affected by The Great Resignation.
Cities with the highest percentage of companies affected by The Great Resignation
Rank | City | % that reported The Great Resignation had 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 %.
92% of employers have found it difficult to fill job roles over the past year
Partly driven by The Great Resignation, recruiting to close internal skills gaps has become more challenging. With demand so strong, candidates hold the upper hand and can be far more selective about which roles they accept.
Our survey found that 92% of U.K. employers struggled to fill roles in the past year and used an average of nine recruiters to try to address skills gaps within their businesses.
The business areas U.K. employers are finding hardest to recruit for are software engineering, HR and data analytics.
Companies that struggle to attract candidates with these specialist skills should rethink how they can add value via employee benefit schemes and update existing packages to meet the expectations of the candidates they want to attract.
The table below shows the business areas or skills employers have struggled to fill during the past year, ranked from highest to lowest percentage.
The top 12 skills U.K. companies are struggling to recruit for
Rank | Business areas/skills | % of employers that have struggled to fill roles in 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 looked at which areas specific industries find hardest to recruit for. Almost every employer we polled in the U.K. logistics sector (96%) said they had struggled to fill at least one role in the past year, fintech firms reported the biggest difficulties filling HR roles (42%), and healthcare firms most commonly struggled with customer experience roles (25%).
Industry | % that have struggled to fill any job role (past year) | Business area | % that have struggled to hire for that 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 current staff to cope with recruitment challenges
Attracting and keeping top talent is a core priority for any growth-focused business. Traditionally, employers concentrated recruitment where they already had a local legal entity. Now, a global employment partner like Remote makes international hiring much faster, simpler and safer with employer of record services.
U.K. employers are using creative solutions to tackle hiring barriers. Half of those we surveyed (50%) provide training to existing staff, and more than a third operate referral schemes.
Only one-third of the employers surveyed recruit beyond their local area. That means over 60% of respondents are missing the chance to broaden their recruitment pool and access a much larger global talent market.
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 | % of employers using this approach |
|---|---|
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 programme | 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 was the strategy chosen by 33% of the employers we polled to tackle recruitment challenges.
33% of employers recruit internationally to resolve recruitment challenges.
The growing popularity of remote work and the tools that support it mean employers can now find high-calibre candidates worldwide. British employers no longer need to confine themselves to professionals based in the U.K..
Large pools of highly skilled professionals are ready and willing to work remotely in time zones close to the U.K., across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Asynchronous work practices can make recruiting from Asia, the Americas and the Pacific productive for U.K. employers — a major strategic asset for any organisation aiming for 24-hour sales or customer support coverage.
You may also like
United Kingdom — 5 min
Guide on hiring in the UK
United Kingdom — 1 min
Benefits to offer employees in the UK
United Kingdom — 3 min
How to pay remote workers in the UK
United Kingdom — 6 min
What are labour laws like in the UK?
United Kingdom — 4 min
What is IR35 and what does it mean for your business?
However, not all employers choose to recruit internationally to ease the impact of The Great Resignation. 8% said this is because they don’t sponsor work permits, and a further 8% said they need employees to be able to come into the office when required.
Remember, U.K. employers can still hire internationally and let those employees work overseas legally with the support of an employer of record like Remote.
If your business operations support remote work, you don’t need to offer relocation packages or arrange visas to bring foreign talent to you. Provided your overseas candidates have the legal right to work in their home country, Remote can help you 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 %.
Almost half of employers (46%) are now open to negotiating salaries because of recruitment pressures
To stay competitive and meet skills needs, almost half of U.K. employers we surveyed said they’ve become more willing to negotiate salaries since The Great Resignation began.
Employers are also more open to negotiating on areas such as health benefits and annual leave.
This greater readiness to offer a fuller total rewards compensation package could help retain current staff and reduce further employee churn.
The table below shows the areas where employers have become more open to negotiating with candidates and employees since The Great Resignation.
Area of negotiation | % that said they have been more open to negotiating in the past 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 %.
It is unsurprising that remote working policy is a key area businesses will consider, given the large increase since the COVID-19 pandemic. For many sectors and organisations, flexible working hours are already built into permanent policy.
How can employers attract high-quality talent to fill skills gaps?
Hiring experienced staff and retaining existing talent is challenging at the best of times, and it becomes more difficult as the market grows more competitive.
So where should employers begin when looking to attract the talent they need?
Be transparent with job advert specifications
Clarity is essential for everyone involved in recruitment, especially prospective applicants. Vague or hard-to-find listings can confuse and discourage candidates.
It’s best to set out the role’s responsibilities plainly, including the experience level required, any specific skills needed and who the role reports to. Rather than describing salary as “competitive”, we recommend stating a salary band.
Our research found that 41% of employers do not always include salary information on job descriptions and nearly 50% don’t mention progression opportunities for each role.
In addition, employers can make job ads stand out by listing key benefits and perks. Even values-based benefits such as flexible hours, remote work provisions and mental health support programmes can set your offer apart.
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 confuse and put candidates off applying
Evaluate existing benefits plans
One of the top considerations for candidates is the benefits package and the value it adds to their lives. If you hire internationally, those benefits must be relevant to where the employee is based.
We recommend designing bespoke benefits packages that reflect the needs of your workforce, taking account of geography, demographics and other factors.
Alongside benefits, regularly review salaries to ensure pay remains fair and competitive. Our survey revealed 17% of U.K. employers don’t carry out salary benchmarking at all, while the 80% that do review pay roughly every five months on average.
Download your Global benefits guide and attract top global talent
Remote's global HR experts share practical advice for building a locally relevant and globally compliant benefits programme to help you attract and keep the world's best talent.
Download your global benefits guide to attract top international talent
Download your global benefits guide to attract top international talent
Remote's global HR experts provide hands-on guidance for designing a locally relevant, globally compliant benefits programme that helps you attract and retain the world's best talent.
Reconsider return to office policies
Employers that still require regular office attendance may wish to rethink that position. With remote work well established in many people’s working lives, those who value the flexibility are unlikely to give it up, particularly when other employers allow indefinite remote working.
Adopt inclusive hiring practices
Inclusive hiring practices are not just the ethical choice; they also stop employers from excluding parts of the talent pool from diverse backgrounds. inclusive hiring practices the ethical way to operate, but it also stops employers from excluding portions of the talent pool who come from diverse backgrounds.
As a starting point, train your recruitment team on how overt and unconscious bias can affect hiring, and review live job adverts to ensure inclusive language is used.
Our research suggests that to close skills gaps, employers should adopt an employee-centred approach to recruiting for 2022 and beyond, adjusting recruitment and retention strategies to show the value they add to current and prospective staff. This may include personalised training for existing employees, hiring internationally to widen the talent pool, or offering flexible working policies to suit candidates with different lifestyles, such as carers.
To make it easier for employers to fill open roles, we have compiled practical advice from Remote’s experts and employment professionals covering every stage of the remote hiring process — from checking your remote readiness to making offers and scaling your global team. Our guide to hiring remote employees includes practical tactics and strategies to help employers fill skills gaps with internationally sourced talent.