New research by global talent agencies Major Players and Arrows, reveals significant concern from business leaders about their ability to attract and retain top talent.
Following a finding that over a third (33%) of respondents see the skills shortage as a key threat to business growth, data — commissioned as part of a new Future of Work report — highlights how businesses are tackling this.
The research found that the vast majority (83%) aren’t focussing on internal mobility, and 85% aren’t adopting a skills-first approach during the hiring process, limiting their ability to equip their organisation with an agile, innovative and future-ready workforce.
Insights from over 100 business leaders across the UK, including Sky, Nestle, The Financial Times, Domestic & General, and Omnicom agency, Haygarth, reveal that almost a quarter of those surveyed (24%) do not have any form of internal training or development programmes in place.
Additionally, almost half (49%) of business leaders believe economic restrictions will inhibit their ability to attract and retain talent as they will not be able to offer competitive remuneration packages.
Joanne Lucy, Managing Director of Major Players & Arrows said ‘With a billion people globally — or one third of the workforce — needing to be reskilled before 2030, one thing is clear: businesses need to address their hiring policies to explore a skills first approach, whilst also prioritising learning and development programmes and internal mobility. The data in the report confirms what businesses need to do to successfully start navigating this changing landscape of work and how to compete in the war for talent.‘
The research also found that 30% of respondents believed a lack of internal opportunities would impact their ability to retain talent – with almost half (44%), filling less than 10% of their roles internally.
Featured image: Future of Work report 2024