Blogs by tag - Skills Shortage

Hiring the best staff during peak season can be a daunting task. With skills and labour shortages across many industries, it can feel like an impossible challenge to find the right people to meet your needs. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In this blog post, we’ll explore some key tips for beating the labour shortage and securing top talent for peak season. Read on to learn more about how you can hire the best staff for your business. Understanding the Labour Shortage During Peak SeasonAccording to the Office for National Statistics, the number of vacancies in the UK fell by 85,000 in April to June 2023. This decline in available employment opportunities makes it increasingly difficult for businesses to attract and hire candidates.​At the same time, employees' average total pay, including bonuses, grew by 6.9% in March to May 2023, while regular pay, excluding bonuses, grew by 7.3%. This has led to fierce competition among employers for top talent, and those who offer the most competitive pay and benefits are often the ones who can secure the best workers.​To beat the labour shortage and secure top talent for peak season, it's essential for businesses to understand the factors driving the shortage and develop a clear hiring strategy that takes into account the current job market. ​​Developing a Clear Hiring StrategyIn order to beat the labour shortage and secure top talent for your business, it's important to develop a clear hiring strategy. This strategy should cover all aspects of the employment process, from initial application to signing a contract.​Review your current process and identify any areas where improvements could be made. Delays in response, lack of communication, and unclear expectations can give a negative impression of your business and deter potential employees. ​One of the most important aspects of a clear hiring strategy is ensuring that job descriptions and postings are compelling and accurately reflect the position and company culture. Consider partnering with a recruitment agency to expand your pool of candidates. ​Also, consider the mobile friendliness of your application process. Research shows that most candidates apply through their mobile devices, so make sure your application works seamlessly on mobile.By developing a clear hiring strategy, you can beat the labour shortage and secure the best employees for your business.Creating Compelling Job Adverts and PostingsWhen it comes to attracting top talent, job adverts and postings play a crucial role. A compelling and accurate job advert can make a significant difference in the number and quality of applicants you receive. Remember that a description and an advert are different things! To create a compelling job description, be sure to highlight the key responsibilities, qualifications, and any unique perks or benefits your company offers. Use concise and clear language to effectively convey what the role entails and what sets your company apart. Avoid generic and vague language, as it may deter qualified candidates from applying.In addition, clearly communicate your recruitment process in your job advert. Let candidates know how long it typically takes for them to hear back from you and start their new job. Transparency about the timeline can help manage expectations and keep candidates engaged. Partnering with Recruitment AgenciesEnlisting the help of a recruitment agency can be a great way to quickly fill roles during peak season. We, as an agency, have access to a pool of pre-screened candidates who are ready and willing to work. However, it's important to work with your recruitment partner to ensure that they are promoting your business and not just the job. Provide them with as much information about your company culture and values as possible, so they can accurately convey this to potential candidates.​When working with a Recruiter, communication is key. Be sure to set clear expectations and provide feedback on the quality of candidates they send your way. This will help them to better understand your needs and refine their search accordingly.​Another benefit is the flexibility we can offer. During peak season, staffing needs may fluctuate rapidly. Utilising a specialist recruiter, like ourselves, allows you to quickly scale up or down as needed, without the hassle of onboarding and offboarding employees. As a Group we have been honing our skills for over 35 years, it’s what makes our Proven Process stand out from the crowd, you can read about how we help businesses get the best talent right here.​​​Conducting Effective Interviews The interview process is a critical part of hiring the best staff during peak season. Effective interviews can help you to identify the right fit for your business and avoid costly mistakes.​Start by preparing a list of questions that are relevant to the role, and make sure you ask each candidate the same questions. This will help you to compare their answers and evaluate their suitability for the role.​During the interview, focus on the candidate's skills and experience, as well as their attitude and work ethic. Use behavioural-based questions to assess how they have handled challenging situations in the past, and to gauge their problem-solving skills.​You should also consider conducting skills assessments, especially if you are hiring for technical or specialist roles. This will help you to verify the candidate's expertise in the required areas and identify any knowledge gaps that may need to be addressed.​Finally, be sure to follow up with each candidate promptly, whether they are successful or not. Take the time to provide feedback and thank them for their time. This will help you to build a positive reputation and attract top talent in future. Building a Positive Company Culture to Retain Staff Beyond Peak SeasonRetaining staff beyond peak season is a crucial factor in sustaining business success and reducing labour turnover costs. Building a positive company culture is key to this, and it involves creating an environment where employees feel valued and motivated to stay.​Building an online community can be an excellent way to attract staff. Social media platforms can help to spread the word about your company, and it can create a sense of community and belonging among employees.​Ultimately, pay rates are not always enough to retain staff. A positive work environment, including good leadership, effective communication, and a supportive culture, can be a key factor in keeping employees motivated, engaged, and loyal to the company. By investing in your staff and building a positive company culture, you can reduce the cost of labour turnover and attract top talent beyond peak season.​Update: Survey ResultsWe didn't get too many replies to our survey which isn't the norm for our community but we suspect that this is down to the time of year - it's called peak season for a reason after all! So we thought we'd share with you the results of our recent candidate blog survey instead, it has some really interesting feedback that as an employer you could find interesting...​We sent the survey out to over 40,000 people - thank you to everyone who took part we really appreciated your input.​We have run similar surveys to both our clients and candidates previously and it's always interesting to compare the results. For example, whilst 100% of employers said that they run an induction for new starters 64% of candidates stated they didn't think they'd had one. Now we're not comparing people who necessarily work directly together but with the difference in the numbers, it would be fair to say that communication could be an issue during on-boarding.​You can see a full summary of the results in the video below.​​​​For our final question we asked what advice our candidates would give to fellow job seekers and the feedback was solid. Many were a joy to read to be honest, a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to reply to this question with som solid and sage advice. Below are just a sample of what we recieved, please be assured the rest have been shared internally and we will be using on our socials in future.​​ By following best practices such as creating compelling job adverts, partnering with a specialist recruitment agency, and building a positive online community that reflects who you are as a business can increase the chances of hiring the best staff to meet your needs. If you’d like to discuss any of this further, or get more top tips for securing the best talent you can contact our teams right here.

​Over the past year, we have discussed ways that a business could become more attractive to employees. How Industry bodies are reacting to the skills shortage and what solutions they are offering, and this time last year we looked at what our candidates had to say. On the back of the blog's success, we've decided to do a follow up with fresh survey results, and the results are interesting... ​Looking back to last year we were all talking about the prices of petrol to pasta rising - now we're discussing price increases and inflation as it's our 'new normal'. Everything is increasing still. ​So, if you’re a business that is already working to tight margins what can you do to be a more attractive employer? Is increasing salary the only competitive edge a business can offer still, or are people looking for something different now?​The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) (May 2023) has said that the UK employment rate was estimated at 75.9% in January to March 2023, 0.2 percentage points higher than October to December 2022. The increase was driven by part-time employees and self-employed workers.​Key Points:The more timely estimate of payrolled employees for April 2023 shows a monthly decrease, down 136,000 on the revised March 2023 figures, to 29.8 million. This is the first fall in total payrolled employees since February 2021, more data due next month.The unemployment rate for January to March 2023 increased by 0.1 percentage points on the quarter to 3.9%. The increase in unemployment was largely driven by people unemployed for over 12 months.The economic inactivity rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points on the quarter, to 21.0% in January to March 2023. In February to April 2023, the estimated number of vacancies fell by 55,000 on the quarter to 1,083,000. Growth in average total pay (including bonuses) was 5.8% and growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 6.7% among employees in January to March 2023. In real terms (adjusted for inflation), growth in total and regular pay fell on the year in January to March 2023, by 3.0% for total pay and by 2.0% for regular pay.There were 556,000 working days lost because of labour disputes in March 2023, up from 332,000 in February 2023.We re-ran our survey with the same questions so we could compare the year-on-year results - there has definitely been a shift in mood. Let's take a look...​When looking for a new role what attracts you to a job the most?This is quite a significant shift. The swing from salary to career opportunities could indicate that people are thinking about their future. A salary increase will always be welcomed but at what point does that cap? Price increases aren't improving, everything is costing more. ​Talk about the great career opportunities that you have in-house with your current staff, training staff takes time which is effectively money so promoting within is not only better on your bottom line but it’s always a fantastic talking point when recruiting. ​Spotting, training, and nurturing existing talent within your own business is attractive. Working for a company that likes to promote from within can create a strong sense of loyalty and it's exciting to know that a job has become available because you promote from within.​'Guarantee of future career opportunities'​Which perks are businesses offering vs. Which perks do candidates find attractive?​We can see from the below that things have changed in terms of what employers are offering - this is great news. It looks like a lot of employers have taken some really positive steps to make themselves more attractive to candidates.​​'A career job with good training and a nice salary'​​​'Guaranteed regular hours on a day shift'​You can’t always help restrictions or competition with salary, but you can highlight why you’re a great business to work for. Just because somewhere has a high salary or maybe joining bonuses doesn’t mean their staff turnover won’t be high as well.​Think about your positives and highlight those, even something as simple as free parking can make a big difference to a household budget.​If you’re looking to talk about how you could make the most of your business's best points contact the team today.​

A recent Construction Skills Network (CSN) report has said that an extra 225,000 construction workers may be needed by 2027. So the recent review and updates to the Shortage Occupation List by the Government have been welcomed by the Construction industry. But will it be enough to plug the gap? Highlights from the report include:​225,000Additional workers will be required to meet UK construction demand by 2027 (45,000 workers per year, down from last year's figure of 53,200).​UK-Wide GrowthAll nine English regions plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are set to experience growth.​RecruitmentThe major sectors for demand are:Private housingInfrastructureRepair and maintenance2.67 millionWorkers in the construction industry by 2027 if projected growth is met. With demand higher than ever and skill shortages remaining an issue across the industry, it’s great news that five more trade sectors are to be added to the UK’s Shortage Occupation List (SOL) making it easier for skilled trades to apply for work visas and fill the skills shortage gap.​What is the SOL?The SOL contains key jobs thought to be in short supply within the UK by the UK Government. These roles are given more relaxed criteria for sponsored work visa applications.Those working in a shortage occupation can be paid 80% of the job’s average salary and still qualify for a visa while benefiting from a lower visa application fee. ​To help meet demand for labour in key sectors, the government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to undertake a ‘rapid assessment’ of the existing SOL for the construction industry.  Which skilled construction trades have been added to the SOL visa list?Bricklayers and MasonsRoofers, Roof Tilers and SlatersCarpenters and JoinersPlasterersConstruction and building trades N.E.C.Further construction trades awaiting a review decision for inclusion are: Steel ErectorsScaffolders, Stagers and RiggersRoad Construction OperativesCeiling FixersMobile Machine Drivers and Operatives N.E.C.Elementary Construction OccupationsWith that in mind, how do we attract new people into the industry?The CITB Construction Skills Network forecast has said that Construction has bounced back quicker than expected from the Covid-19 pandemic, but the demand for skills is higher than ever.​To compete, thrive and grow in an ever-changing industry, new skills are essential, any business looking to compete for staff in this market must look at their long-term plans as well as the immediate issues. A successful apprenticeship scheme will be central to that.CITB Policy Director Steve Radley said:‘It’s great to see construction coming back so strongly and creating lots of job opportunities. We need to adopt new approaches to meet these growing skills needs and deliver these quickly. We are working closely with the government and FE to build better bridges between FE and work and make apprenticeships more flexible. We are also making significant investments in supporting work experience that make it easier for employers to bring in new blood.’​Encouraging courses from a young age could help guide young people into construction careers via the apprenticeship route.​So, what is out there currently to attract people into apprenticeships as well as tapping into new talent pools?​CITBCITB's Strategic Plan 2021-25 supports employers to bring people into work and provide the training they need. The Plan includes expanding work experiences, creating a new pathway from FE into apprenticeships and jobs, and boosting the number of apprentices completing their programmes.​Highlights of the Strategic Plan include:​Investing £110m to support apprentices and employers, on top of grant support, to increase overall numbers and completion ratesSupport for 28,000 taster experiences and investment in Go-Construct to give people the chance to see the wide range of opportunities construction offers and how to access themUsing the Grants Scheme and other funding to help employers invest in training to first rebuild after the pandemic and then modernise and raise productivity.The Strategic Plan can be seen in full here​Want to find out more?If you’re feeling inspired and would like to find out more about how your business could get involved? You can do that right here.Women into ConstructionWomen into Construction is an independent not-for-profit organisation that promotes gender equality in construction.​They provide bespoke support to women wishing to work in the construction industry and assist contractors to recruit highly motivated, trained women, helping to reduce skills gaps and create a more gender-equal workforce.​They support workers and businesses with:Bespoke Short Employment ProgrammeSeconded WiC Project ManagerStudent Mentoring ProgrammeSub-contract Entry to Employment ProgrammeWork PlacementsWith women making up half the population, it’s great to see the industry looking at tapping into this talent pool. Want to find out more about how your business could get involved? Click here. These are just some examples of initiatives that are focusing on a long-term solution for the staffing and skills shortage. Construction has the potential to offer real career opportunities for young people and women, whatever their background – we need to let them know what is available to them.​Future talent pipeline is something that we talk about a lot as a team, let us know your thoughts on what’s currently available around the skills shortage. Know of another great initiative? Let us know!​

Money is definitely a hot topic right now. Whether it’s salary, the value of the pound or how much we’re now paying for food and heating – everyone is thinking about it. With that in mind in this blog, we’re looking at average pay rates from job boards across the country for our hottest jobs. How do they compare? Keep reading...​​​Two-thirds (64 per cent) of UK businesses say more employees are asking for pay rises, research has found.​​Salary calculators and information around job pay rates are available online via multiple job boards, we get that as busy hiring Managers you won’t always have time to look into each job. Below we have collated information from the latest Indeed salary checker for three hot jobs in the industrial sector. If you currently advertise on Indeed and haven't taken a look at their Hiring Insights tool we recommend that you do, it has some great information available for you to benchmark where your jobs are in the current market.Both tools are interesting and whilst they can give you a good base idea of pay rates being advertised it would still be best to speak with your Recruiter about the end pay rate – these can differ from job board reports.​My team have plenty of examples where a pay rate needed to be raised. This has a lot of contributing factors, area, duration, urgency etc.​And it’s easy to ask why pay rates weren’t higher, to begin with, but the reality is projects/ orders/ tenders are processes that have been done months if not, in some cases, years in advance when we were in a completely different economic time. The value of the £ has changed.​If you’d be interested in getting more information regarding salaries and rates specifically for your jobs, please get in touch with the team and we can go through this with you.​In a couple of weeks, we will be sending you a survey to get your feedback on this blog a key part of it will be to gauge our communities desire for a salary guide based on our own data. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to give your opinion, it helps us to shape to content we send to you.​Warehouse OperativeProduction OperativeFLT Driver​As mentioned at the beginning of this blog these are averages based on pay rates advertised and whilst they're great as a starting benchmark they could be different to what is currently being paid. If you’d be interested in getting more information regarding end salaries and rates specifically for your jobs, please get in touch with the team and we can go through this with you.​​

Money is definitely a hot topic right now. Whether it’s salary, the value of the pound or how much we’re now paying for food and heating – everyone is thinking about it. With that in mind in this blog, we’re looking at average pay rates from job boards across the country for our hottest jobs. How do they compare? Keep reading...​Two-thirds (64 per cent) of UK businesses say more employees are asking for pay rises, research has found.​Salary calculators and information around job pay rates are available online via multiple job boards, we get that as busy hiring Managers you won’t always have time to look into each job. Below we have collated information from the latest Indeed salary checker for three hot jobs in the Hard and Soft Services sectors. If you currently advertise on Indeed and haven't taken a look at their Hiring Insights tool we recommend that you do, it has some great information available for you to benchmark where your jobs are in the current market.​Both tools are interesting and whilst they can give you a good base idea of pay rates being advertised it would still be best to speak with your Recruiter about the end pay rate – these can differ from job board reports.​My teamhave a stack of examples where a pay rate needed to be raised. This has a lot of contributing factors, area, duration, urgency etc.​And it’s easy to ask why pay rates weren’t higher, to begin with, but the reality is projects/ orders/ tenders are processes that have been done months if not, in some cases, years in advance when we were in a completely different economic time. The value of the £ has changed.​If you’d be interested in getting more information regarding salaries and rates specifically for your jobs, pleaseget in touch with the teamand we can go through this with you.​In a couple of weeks, we will be sending you a survey to get your feedback on this blog a key part of it will be to gauge our communities desire for a salary guide based on our own data. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to give your opinion, it helps us to shape to content we send to you.​Gas Engineer​Air Conditioning Engineer​Cleaner​As mentioned at the beginning of this blog these are averages based on pay rates advertised and whilst they're great as a starting benchmark they could be different to what is currently being paid. If you’d be interested in getting more information regarding end salaries and rates specifically for your jobs, please get in touch with the team and we can go through this with you.

Money is definitely a hot topic right now. Whether it’s salary, the value of the pound, or how much we’re now paying for food and heating – everyone is thinking about it. With that in mind in this blog, we’re looking at average pay rates from job boards across the country for our hottest jobs. How do they compare? Keep reading...​ Two-thirds (64 percent) of UK businesses say more employees are asking for pay rises, research has found.​Salary calculators and information around job pay rates are available online via multiple job boards, we get that as busy hiring Managers you won’t always have time to look into each job. Below we have collated information from the latest Indeed salary checker for three hot jobs in the construction sector. If you currently advertise on Indeed and haven't taken a look at their Hiring Insights tool we recommend that you do, it has some great information available for you to benchmark where your jobs are in the current market.Both tools are interesting and whilst they can give you a good base idea of pay rates being advertised it would still be best to speak with your Recruiter about the end pay rate – these can differ from job board reports.​My team has plenty of examples where a pay rate needed to be raised. This has a lot of contributing factors, area, duration, urgency, etc.​And it’s easy to ask why pay rates weren’t higher, to begin with, but the reality is projects/ orders/ tenders are processes that have been done months if not, in some cases, years in advance when we were in a completely different economic time. The value of the £ has changed.​If you’d be interested in getting more information regarding salaries and rates specifically for your jobs, please get in touch with the team and we can go through this with you.​In a couple of weeks, we will be sending you a survey to get your feedback on this blog a key part of it will be to gauge our communities desire for a salary guide based on our own data. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to give your opinion, it helps us to shape to content we send to you.​LabourerJoinerBricklayer​​​​As mentioned at the beginning of this blog these are averages based on pay rates advertised and whilst they're great as a starting benchmark they could be different from what is currently being paid. If you’d be interested in getting more information regarding end salaries and rates specifically for your jobs, please get in touch with the teamand we can go through this with you.

During peak season, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the (potential) chaos. Do we have enough Engineers to complete the maintenance requests? Have we planned enough holiday cover? In this blog, we’ll share our top 3 tips to ensure you’re ahead of the curve and hiring the best staff for your site during peak.​COVID-19 certainly brought new challenges to the jobs market, it’s changed what workers are looking for in a job and that change seems to be here to stay. The days of posting a job and having applicants galore are long gone. The pandemic gave people time to look at what they really want from their employer, in our previous blog, Skills Shortage: What Are Candidates Really Looking For? we shared the results from our candidate survey that went to over 40,000 people and the results are interesting, if you haven’t already read the blog take a look today.​And the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates that over the previous quarter, there was an increase in the employment rate, while unemployment and economic inactivity rates decreased.​The UK employment rate increased to 75.9%The number of full-time employees increased during the latest three-month period to a record high.The most timely estimate of payrolled employees for June 2022 shows a monthly increase, up 31,000 on the revised May 2022 figures, to a record 29.6 million.The unemployment rate for March to May 2022 decreased by 0.1 percentage points in the quarter to 3.8%.The number of job vacancies from April to June 2022 rose to 1,294,000The data is showing what businesses are feeling right now – everyone is busier without enough staff to get everything done. We all know that getting a head start in terms of hiring for peak season is a good business move, but with labour shortage still being a real issue what can you do to stay ahead of the curve?​Have a Plan in PlaceDo you have a hiring strategy in place? Being prepared for the peak hiring spike can ensure that your candidates get the right first impression of your business. Establishing best hiring practices for your business is a great place to start and will make the process far less stressful.Remember, it’s a candidate market. If you want to hire the best, you’re going to have to treat them with respect, flexibility and sensible job offers.Focus on why working for your company is great. The support, flexibility, improved technology, training budget etc. Whatever it is you are doing well, shout about it! Can you offer different shift times? A selection of our clients has already done this, and they’ve seen great results. By changing their previous hours to suit school hours as well as part-time they’ve attracted more staff and retained them. Building an online community is a great way to attract staff. Pay rates will always be an attraction, but it doesn’t always compensate for being happy in your job.Spend some money on your recruitment. Whether that is with agencies like us, advertising, specialist job boards, sponsored Facebook adverts or an internal refer a friend scheme etc. A free advert on Indeed is not going to get you the staff you need.​Do You Have a Solid On-Boarding Process?Take a look at your current process. This is more than just when someone walks through the door, what experience do they have leading up to that? From application to signing a contract each step of your process is an opportunity to show what kind of business you are. Delays in response, information, interview dates etc. don’t give a good impression of what it’s like to work for your business.​A big part of well-being from a jobseeker’s perspective is a feeling of being wanted, unfortunately, some companies are failing to address it.​During the pandemic, some employers needed support and hired quickly, as a result, poor habits started to creep in. For example, delays getting back to candidates with interview feedback and with offer letters or contracts. These might seem like small things, but they feed into the sentiment of feeling wanted.​If you’re not making a good impression in the recruitment and onboarding process, the reality is that people will leave and go to your competitors who are doing it better.​Many candidates are getting two or three offers at the same time, so emotion comes into not only the recruitment process but the pre-start phase and first days in the job.​Make the Most of a Recruitment SpecialistWork with an agency. Make sure they are promoting your business (not just the job). At Thorn Baker Construction we focus more on what staff are looking for now. Working with your recruiter will ensure you get the best outcome, it’s what we do all day, make the most of our knowledge and connections.Enlisting the help of a staffing firm can aid in sourcing top candidates and developing a strong talent pipeline. Staffing firms can source candidates from a vast talent pool. Leave the candidate sourcing to the experts so you can focus on onboarding.Competing with other businesses. This is something that’s not always thought about, but if you’re already working with an agency communicate with them what your own plans are. You will undoubtedly end up in competition with each other on jobs – and in the end, you’ll end up spending more money than you need to.​​Update: Survey ResultsFirstly, we'd like to say thank you to everyone that took part in our survey, it was sent to over 45,000 people we're delighted to share the results with you.​​We've added some key findings to our video below, overview includes:​​70% of businesses surveyed said that they do plan ahead for their hiring peaksAnd they rated the effectiveness of their plan to deal with potential issues as 7.5/10100% have an onboarding process in place. And give it a rating of 4.5/5Over 70% said that they're finding it more difficult to hire this yearAnd that's why over 90% said that their plan includes working with a recruitment agency.When asked If you could add one thing to your current onboarding process what would it be? The top 3 answers were:​​More time to plan the trainingBigger team to deliver the trainingMinimise the paperwork involved.​From a worker's perspective, we got some really interesting feedback, including:​They're Looking for Feedback​A large portion of responses stated that they don't always get a response at all when they apply for a new job.They'd like feedback as to why they weren't suitable for a role.For responses to be personal, where possible to be a call not just an automated responseSolution: Take the time to call applicants and discuss the role as much as possible, if you're dealing with a high volume (lucky you) then ensure that the people who won't be successful receive an email. They may not be right for you today, but that doesn't mean they won't in future, a strong and professional process can ensure that applicants would come back to you.​​A Speedier Process​A shorter time between application and feedback (when they receive it)​Maybe it's time to review your application paperwork. It's easy to have duplicated questions if you have extensive paperwork. Take some time to look through and see where you could trim down the process.​Solution: Research from Indeed states that 66% of candidates could be applying from their mobile phones - does your application work on mobile? Make it clear on your job advert what your current recruitment process is, how long does it usually take for someone to hear back from you? How long does it normally take for them to start their new job?​At Thorn Baker EFM we’re absolutely committed to improving the recruitment process and helping businesses during this peak season and labour shortage.​We work with businesses that struggle to hire Air-Conditioning Engineers, Cleaners and Gas Engineers every day. Contact the team today to find out how they’re already helping your competitors and how they could support your hiring needs. Or complete our enquiry form here and we'll contact you.

During peak season, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the (potential) chaos. Do we have enough Trades and Labour to complete the scheduled works? Have we planned enough holiday cover? In this blog, we’ll share our top 3 tips to ensure you’re ahead of the curve and hiring the best staff for your site during peak.​COVID-19 certainly brought new challenges to the jobs market, it’s changed what workers are looking for in a job and that change seems to be here to stay. The days of posting a job and having applicants galore are long gone. The pandemic gave people time to look at what they really want from their employer, in our previous blog, Skills Shortage: What Are Construction Candidates Really Looking For? we shared the results from our candidate survey that went to over 40,000 people and the results are interesting, if you haven’t already read the blog take a look today.​And the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates that over the previous quarter, there was an increase in the employment rate, while unemployment and economic inactivity rates decreased.​The UK employment rate increased to 75.9%The number of full-time employees increased during the latest three-month period to a record high.The most timely estimate of payrolled employees for June 2022 shows a monthly increase, up 31,000 on the revised May 2022 figures, to a record 29.6 million.The unemployment rate for March to May 2022 decreased by 0.1 percentage points in the quarter to 3.8%.The number of job vacancies from April to June 2022 rose to 1,294,000The data is showing what businesses are feeling right now – everyone is busier without enough staff to get everything done. We all know that getting a head start in terms of hiring for peak season is a good business move, but with labour shortage still being a real issue what can you do to stay ahead of the curve?​Have a Plan in PlaceDo you have a hiring strategy in place? Being prepared for the peak hiring spike can ensure that your candidates get the right first impression of your business. Establishing best hiring practices for your business is a great place to start and will make the process far less stressful.​Remember it’s a candidate market. If you want to hire the best, you’re going to have to treat them with respect, flexibility, and sensible job offers.​Focus on why working for your company is great. The support, flexibility, improved technology, training budget, etc. Whatever it is you are doing well, shout about it! Can you offer different shift times? A selection of our clients has already done this, and they’ve seen great results. By changing their previous hours to suit school hours as well as part-time they’ve attracted more staff and retained them. Building an online community is a great way to attract staff. Pay rates will always be an attraction but it doesn’t always compensate for being happy in your job.​Spend some money on your recruitment. Whether that is with agencies like us, advertising, specialist job boards, sponsored Facebook adverts, or an internal refer a friend scheme, etc. A free advert on Indeed is not going to get you the staff you need.Do You Have a Solid On-Boarding Process?Take a look at your current process. This is more than just when someone walks through the door, what experience do they have leading up to that? From application to signing a contract each step of your process is an opportunity to show what kind of business you are. Delays in response, information, interview dates, etc. don’t give a good impression of what it’s like to work for your business.​A big part of well-being from a jobseeker’s perspective is a feeling of being wanted, unfortunately, some companies are failing to address it.​During the pandemic, some employers needed support and hired quickly, as a result, poor habits started to creep in. For example, delays getting back to candidates with interview feedback and with offer letters or contracts. These might seem like small things, but they feed into the sentiment of feeling wanted.If you’re not making a good impression in the recruitment and onboarding process, the reality is that people will leave and go to your competitors who are doing it better.​Many candidates are getting two or three offers at the same time, so emotion comes into not only the recruitment process but the pre-start phase and first days in the job.​Make the Most of a Recruitment SpecialistWork with an agency. Make sure they are promoting your business (not just the job). At Thorn Baker Construction we focus more on what staff are looking for now. Working with your recruiter will ensure you get the best outcome, it’s what we do all day, make the most of our knowledge and connections.Enlisting the help of a staffing firm can aid in sourcing top candidates and developing a strong talent pipeline. Staffing firms can source candidates from a vast talent pool. Leave the candidate sourcing to the experts so you can focus on onboarding.​Competing with other businesses. This is something that’s not always thought about but if you’re already working with an agency communicate with them what your own plans are. You will undoubtedly end up in competition with each other on jobs – and in the end, you’ll end up spending more money than you need to.​At Thorn Baker Construction we’re absolutely committed to improving the recruitment process and helping businesses during this peak season and labour shortage.​We work with businesses that struggle to hire Labourers, Joiners and Bricklayers every day. Contact the team today to find out how they’re already helping your competitors and how they could support your hiring needs. Or complete our enquiry form here and we'll contact you.

During peak season, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the (potential) chaos. Do we have enough workers to complete our orders? Have we planned enough holiday cover? In this blog, we’ll share our top 3 tips to ensure you’re ahead of the curve and hiring the best staff for your site during peak.​COVID-19 certainly brought new challenges to the jobs market, it’s changed what workers are looking for in a job and that change seems to be here to stay. The days of posting a job and having applicants galore are long gone. The pandemic gave people time to look at what they really want from their employer, in our previous blog, Skills Shortage: What Are Candidates Really Looking For? we shared the results from our candidate survey that went to over 40,000 people and the results are interesting, if you haven’t already read the blog take a look today.​And the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS)estimates that over the previous quarter, there was an increase in the employment rate, while unemployment and economic inactivity rates decreased.​The UK employment rate increased to 75.9%The number of full-time employees increased during the latest three-month period to a record high.The most timely estimate of payrolled employees for June 2022 shows a monthly increase, up 31,000 on the revised May 2022 figures, to a record 29.6 million.The unemployment rate for March to May 2022 decreased by 0.1 percentage points in the quarter to 3.8%.The number of job vacancies from April to June 2022 rose to 1,294,000The data is showing what businesses are feeling right now – everyone is busier without enough staff to get everything done. We all know that getting a head start in terms of hiring for peak season is a good business move, but with labour shortage still being a real issue what can you do to stay ahead of the curve?​Have a Plan in PlaceDo you have a hiring strategy in place? Being prepared for the peak hiring spike can ensure that your candidates get the right first impression of your business. Establishing best hiring practices for your business is a great place to start and will make the process far less stressful.Remember it’s a candidate market. If you want to hire the best, you’re going to have to treat them with respect, flexibility and sensible job offers.Focus on why working for your company is great. The support, flexibility, improved technology, training budget etc. Whatever it is you are doing well, shout about it! Can you offer different shift times? A selection of our clients has already done this, and they’ve seen great results. By changing their previous hours to suit school hours as well as part-time they’ve attracted more staff and retained them. Building an online community is a great way to attract staff. Pay rates will always be an attraction but it doesn’t always compensate for being happy in your job.Spend some money on your recruitment. Whether that is with agencies like us, advertising, specialist job boards, sponsored Facebook adverts or an internal refer a friend scheme etc. A free advert on Indeed is not going to get you the staff you need.​Do You Have a Solid On-Boarding Process?Take a look at your current process. This is more than just when someone walks through the door, what experience do they have leading up to that? From application to signing a contract each step of your process is an opportunity to show what kind of business you are. Delays in response, information, interview dates etc. don’t give a good impression of what it’s like to work for your business.​A big part of well-being from a jobseeker’s perspective is a feeling of being wanted, unfortunately, some companies are failing to address it.​During the pandemic, some employers needed support and hired quickly, as a result, poor habits started to creep in. For example, delays getting back to candidates with interview feedback and with offer letters or contracts. These might seem like small things, but they feed into the sentiment of feeling wanted.If you’re not making a good impression in the recruitment and onboarding process, the reality is that people will leave and go to your competitors who are doing it better.​Many candidates are getting two or three offers at the same time, so emotion comes into not only the recruitment process but the pre-start phase and first days in the job.​Make the Most of a Recruitment SpecialistWork with an agency. Make sure they are promoting your business (not just the job). At Thorn Baker Construction we focus more on what staff are looking for now. Working with your recruiter will ensure you get the best outcome, it’s what we do all day, make the most of our knowledge and connections.Enlisting the help of a staffing firm can aid in sourcing top candidates and developing a strong talent pipeline. Staffing firms can source candidates from a vast talent pool. Leave the candidate sourcing to the experts so you can focus on onboarding.Competing with other businesses. This is something that’s not always thought about but if you’re already working with an agency communicate with them what your own plans are. You will undoubtedly end up in competition with each other on jobs – and in the end, you’ll end up spending more money than you need to.​Update: Survey Results​Firstly we'd like to say thank you to everyone that took part in our survey, it was sent to over 45,000 people we're delighted to share the results with you.​​We've added some key findings to our video below, overview includes:​​70% of businesses surveyed said that they do plan ahead for their hiring peaksAnd they rated the effectiveness of their plan to deal with potential issues as 7.5/10100% have an onboarding process in place. And give it a rating of 4.5/5Over 70% said that they're finding it more difficult to hire this yearAnd that's why over 90% said that their plan includes working with a recruitment agency.​When asked If you could add one thing to your current onboarding process what would it be? The top 3 answers were:​​More time to plan the trainingBigger team to deliver the trainingMinimise the paperwork involved.​From a worker's perspective, we got some really interesting feedback, including:​They're Looking for Feedback​A large portion of responses stated that they don't always get a response at all when they apply for a new job.They'd like feedback as to why they weren't suitable for a role.For responses to be personal, where possible to be a call not just an automated responseSolution: Take the time to call applicants and discuss the role as much as possible, if you're dealing with a high volume (lucky you) then ensure that the people who won't be successful receive an email. They may not be right for you today but that doesn't mean they won't in future, a strong and professional process can ensure that applicants would come back to you.​A Speedier ProcessA shorter time between application and feedback (when they receive it)​Maybe it's time to review your application paperwork. It's easy to have duplicated questions if you have extensive paperwork. Take some time to look through and see where you could trim down the process.​Solution: Research from Indeed states that 66% of candidates could be applying from their mobile phones - does your application work on mobile? Make it clear on your job advert what your current recruitment process is, how long does it usually take for someone to hear back from you? How long does it normally take for them to start their new job?​At Thorn Baker Industrial Recruitment we’re absolutely committed to improving the recruitment process and helping businesses during this peak season and labour shortage.​We work with businesses that struggle to hire Warehouse Operatives, Pickers and Packers and FLT Drivers every day. Contact the team today to find out how they’re already helping your competitors and how they could support your hiring needs. Or complete our enquiry form here and we'll contact you.

Recently we have discussed ways that a business could become more attractive to employees. How Industry bodies are reacting to the skills shortage and what solutions they are offering, now it’s time to look at what our candidates have to say. In this blog, we will share our survey results.​Times are getting harder for all of us, from petrol to pasta everything is getting more expensive. While the below figures do suggest that more people are coming back to employment, we still need more staff.​So, if you’re a business that is already working to tight margins what can you do to be a more attractive employer? Is increasing salary the only competitive edge a business can offer?​The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) (January to March 2022) has shown that over the quarter there was a decrease in the unemployment rate, while the employment and inactivity rates increased.​Key points:​The UK employment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points in the quarter to 75.7% but is still below pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels.Total job-to-job moves increased to a record high of 994,000, driven by resignations rather than dismissals.No. of payrolled employees for April 2022 showed a monthly increase in March 2022, to a record 29.5 million.For the first time since records began, there are fewer unemployed people than job vacancies.The number of job vacancies from February to April 2022 rose to a new record of 1,295,000Our survey was sent to over 40,000 people and we’re delighted to share the results with you – from key job attractors to favoured benefits and perks.​Our first question might be the most obvious but it’s an interesting result...​When looking for a new role what attracts you to a job the most?Not really a surprise that salary hit the top of the list. But what’s interesting is that career opportunities came a pretty close second.​​If you’re a business that is already working on a tight budget you can’t always amend the salary but you can change the positives about your business that you promote. Talk about the great career opportunities that you have in-house, training staff takes time which is effectively money so promoting within is not only better on your bottom line but it’s always a fantastic talking point when recruiting.​It’s attractive to potential staff to know that a job has become available because you promote from within.​‘I’m looking for training and long-term career opportunities.’And the below graph backs this point up.​When asked which they would rate the most attractive feature when applying for a job (bar salary) career opportunities were the clear winner.​​Which perks are businesses offering vs. Which perks do candidates find attractive?This is quite interesting when you look at the results there are some surprises (and some that aren’t) and on the surface, there seems to be a mixed bag of responses but if you look a little closer there could be some quick wins for your business.​​A couple of things stand out from the above, the first being Refer a Friend. This is something that we as a business do and we have found that it gets quite a lot of traction (read about it here). It’s something simple to organise and implement, it boosts your online content, and it rewards your current workforce. Sounds like a win.​The second is paid training. We recently shared with you some resources currently available to help with training in our blogSkills Shortage: What Training is Available? Money is going to be tight for everyone for some time it seems, so when you look at the advantages of making the most of training help and support it makes sense.​We already know that workers are looking for career advancement opportunities and if they’re currently working for your business you know their potential, make the most of this and help give your current workers the chance to train, progress and ultimately spread the word about how fantastic it is to work for your business.​The third is the staff canteen. Now, this isn’t always possible, it’s dependent on your site so it’s not going to apply to everyone. If you do have one on-site it’s clear from the above that you should be talking about it, and if not what could be done?​Maybe you’re on an Industrial estate or on a site, is there a great cob/roll/barm (depending on your location) van nearby? A breakfast cob can be a great thing on a Friday we all know that especially when the weather gets colder. If you’ve got one nearby why not talk about it, or if there’s one you can strike up a deal with to be there at certain times why not ask.​To summarise I would say to look at what data is telling us or better yet run an internal survey as well. Who better to ask than your workers?​You can’t always help restrictions or competition with salary, but you can highlight why you’re a great business to work for. Just because somewhere has a high salary or maybe joining bonuses doesn’t mean their staff turnover won’t be high as well.​Think about your positives and highlight those, even something as simple as free parking can make a big difference to a household budget.​If you’re looking to talk about how you could make the most of your business's best points contact the team today.

Recently we have discussed ways that a business could become more attractive to employees. How Industry bodies are reacting to the skills shortage and what solutions they are offering, now it’s time to look at what our candidates have to say. In this blog, we will share our survey results.Times are getting harder for all of us, from petrol to pasta everything is getting more expensive. While the below figures do suggest that more people are coming back to employment, we still need more staff.So, if you’re a business that is already working to tight margins what can you do to be a more attractive employer? Is increasing salary the only competitive edge a business can offer?​The latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) (January to March 2022) has shown that over the quarter there was a decrease in the unemployment rate, while the employment and inactivity rates increased.​Key points:​The UK employment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points in the quarter to 75.7% but is still below pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels.Total job-to-job moves increased to a record high of 994,000, driven by resignations rather than dismissals.No. of payrolled employees for April 2022 showed a monthly increase in March 2022, to a record 29.5 million.For the first time since records began, there are fewer unemployed people than job vacancies.The number of job vacancies from February to April 2022 rose to a new record of 1,295,000Our survey was sent to over 40,000 people and we’re delighted to share the results with you – from key job attractors to favoured benefits and perks.​Our first question might be the most obvious but it’s an interesting result...​When looking for a new role what attracts you to a job the most?​Not really a surprise that salary hit the top of the list. But what’s interesting is that career opportunities came a pretty close second.​If you’re a business that is already working on a tight budget you can’t always amend the salary but you can change the positives about your business that you promote. Talk about the great career opportunities that you have in-house, training staff takes time which is effectively money so promoting within is not only better on your bottom line but it’s always a fantastic talking point when recruiting.​It’s attractive to potential staff to know that a job has become available because you promote from within.​‘I’m looking for training and long-term career opportunities.'And the below graph backs this point up.​When asked which they would rate the most attractive feature when applying for a job (bar salary) career opportunities were the clear winner.​Which perks are businesses offering vs. Which perks do candidates find attractive?This is quite interesting when you look at the results there are some surprises (and some that aren’t) and on the surface, there seems to be a mixed bag of responses but if you look a little closer there could be some quick wins for your business.​​A couple of things stand out from the above, the first being Refer a Friend. This is something that we as a business do and we have found that it gets quite a lot of traction (read about it here). It’s something simple to organise and implement, it boosts your online content, and it rewards your current workforce. Sounds like a win.​The second is paid training. We recently shared with you some resources currently available to help with training in our blog Skills Shortage: What Training is Available? Money is going to be tight for everyone for some time it seems, so when you look at the advantages of making the most of training help and support it makes sense.​We already know that workers are looking for career advancement opportunities and if they’re currently working for your business you know their potential, make the most of this and help give your current workers the chance to train, progress and ultimately spread the word about how fantastic it is to work for your business.​The third is the staff canteen. Now, this isn’t always possible, it’s dependent on your site so it’s not going to apply to everyone. If you do have one on-site it’s clear from the above that you should be talking about it, and if not what could be done?​Maybe you’re on an Industrial estate or on a site, is there a great cob/roll/barm (depending on your location) van nearby? A breakfast cob can be a great thing on a Friday we all know that especially when the weather gets colder. If you’ve got one nearby why not talk about it or if there’s one you can strike up a deal with to be there at certain times why not ask.​To summarise I would say to look at what data is telling us or better yet run an internal survey as well. Who better to ask than your own workers? You can’t always help restrictions or competition with salary, but you can highlight why you’re a great business to work for. Just because somewhere has a high salary or maybe joining bonuses doesn’t mean their staff turnover won’t be high as well.​Think about your positives and highlight those, even something as simple as free parking can make a big difference to a household budget.​If you’re looking to talk about how you could make the most of your business's best points contact the team today.

The country's labour shortage is one of the hot topics right now. There’s been a lot of debate as to what is causing the shortage from migration to wages, but what is the solution? From a recruitment agency point of view, our aim is less why is there a shortage and more of how do we help solve the shortage problem?​We’ve all seen the impact from the severe shortage of HGV drivers on everything from our local supermarket shelves to our pharmacies to possibly not having turkey this Christmas. ​This is not a Talent or a Skills Shortage (although, that has long been the bane of the construction and technical markets) – this is a Nationwide Labour Shortage. There are simply not enough people looking for work in this country to fill all the jobs available.​​CITBhas reported that Construction has bounced back quicker than expected from the Covid-19 pandemic and the industry will reach 2019 levels of output in 2022. By 2025, the industry will need to recruit an additional 217,000 new workers just to meet demand.​​Jobs in the UK: What are the numbers saying?The ONS’s vacancies and jobs in the UK October report said that in July-September:​Job vacancies were at a record high of 1,102,00012 out of 18 job sectors saw an increaseAll sectors are above or equal to their pre-pandemic levels, food and accommodation services seeing the biggest rise of 59%All industries had a record number of vacanciesUnemployment is currently at 4.6%Employment is at 75.2%Nett Migration is at minus 10% (more leaving than arriving), with an estimated 1.3 million EU nationals have left the UK in the last 12 monthsAverage pay has increased by 7.4% (excluding bonus payments)However, the rate of vacancy growth is beginning to decrease, with a rise of 27.7% it is down from the previous quarter (38.9%).​As recruitment specialists this is a trend we can confirm, the difficulties of Summer do indeed seem to be easing.​As a Group we work across a broad range of industries and the conversation with the offices has been that although it is still tough market conditions are getting better. Applications are increasing, advertising spending has eased (a little) and candidates are once again asking what work we have available.​And the announcement this week the UK’s “national living wage” is to go up to £9.50 an hour from next April, meaning a pay rise for millions of low-paid workers. This is a 6.6% increase from £8.91, which applies to workers aged 23 and over. For those aged 21 to 22, the minimum will increase from £8.36 to £9.18.So, if things are looking brighter why do we still seem to have an issue?​​Is migration the easy answer?This could be seen as a yes and a no answer. On the surface, it would be simple to blame Brexit and the difficulties around worker visas. However, according to Alan Manning, economist and professor of economics at the LSE we need to look at it from a different view – are there not enough people to do the job or do people not want to do the job (because of poor pay and/or conditions)?​In his blog, Alan Manning discusses these issues more in-depth and it’s a great read,you can see it here.​A summary for you is:​The Pandemic:At the end of June 2021 there were still 1.9 million workers on furlough from 580k employers, some of them in the same sectors that are also reporting shortages.Brexit:Some European workers have returned home, or perhaps they believe they now have better options elsewhere.‘One horticultural company quoted a loss of 25% of staff since Jan 2021 due to those returning to Europe as pay is now much better in Norway’.IR35:It has forced many drivers to swap their status resulting in falls in income of up to 25%​​​What ‘real life’ solutions can you implement?There’s no denying it’s tough out there at the minute, but there are things you can do to help your business recruit great staff.​Focus on why working for your company is great.The support, flexibility, improved technology, training budget etc. Whatever it is you are doing well, shout about it! Spend some money on your recruitment. Whether that is with agencies like us, advertising, specialist job boards, sponsored Facebook adverts or an internal refer a friend scheme etc. A free advert on Indeed is not going to get you the staff you need.Work with an agency.Make sure they are promoting your business (not just the job). At Thorn Baker Construction we focus more on what staff are looking for now. Working with your recruiter will ensure you get the best outcome, it’s what we do all day, make the most of our knowledge and connections.Competing with other businesses.This is something that’s not always thought about, but if you’re already working with an agency communicate with them what your own plans are. You will undoubtedly end up in competition with each other on jobs – and in the end, you’ll end up spending more money than you need to.Remember, it’s a candidate market.If you want to hire the best, you’re going to have to treat them with respect, flexibility and sensible job offers.Flexibility.Can you offer different shift times? A selection of our clients has already done this, and they’ve seen great results. By changing their previous hours to suit school hours as well as part-time they’ve attracted more staff and retained them.Promote your business online.Building an online community is a great way to attract staff. Pay rates will always be an attraction, but it doesn’t always compensate for being happy in your job.Invest in training.There’s a wealth of excellent Candidates out there with the right attitude and the wrong qualifications.Benefits packages.Enhanced maternity and paternity pay, pension plans above and beyond the statutory minimum, increased holidays, private healthcare, and a whole host of flexible benefits and rewards. There are so many ways to improve your offering above and beyond improving the basic salary.Remote working.People want less commuting and more leisure time (at least a couple of days a week) and that attitude is here to stay. Plus allowing your people to work from home where possible will boost your environmentally friendly creds too. If it’s feasible for your business to offer this, why not?At Thorn Baker Construction we’re absolutely committed to improving the recruitment process and helping businesses during this labour shortage.We work with businesses that struggle to hire Labourers, Joiners and Bricklayers every day. Contact the team today to find how they’re already helping your competitors and how they could support your hiring needs. Or complete our enquiry form here and we'll contact you.

A lot has been written recently on how to prepare for video and telephone interviews in the time of Covid-19, but not much has been written about the actual questions you should be asking. In this blog, we'll look at the top questions our clients ask in their interviews and how you can make the most of them in yours.Technical based questions like these (betterteam.com/maintenance-engineer-interview-questions) are great for delving into the skills and experience of your Engineers, but what do you ask to find out what makes them tick? Or what their personality is really like? After all, your interviewee is on their best interview behaviour – how do you figure out if they will act the same when they are on the job?If you are interviewing Engineers over the phone or on a video call, it’s even more important to get these questions right. Remember, you may not have the opportunity to take into account the nuances of body language and facial expressions as you would in a traditional face to face interview. Considering that your engineers are often the public face of your company, it’s so important to find out if they will fit with your culture and values.Here at Thorn Baker EFM, we all have our own opinions about the best questions to ask engineers during an interview, but we thought who better to compile this list than the hiring managers themselves? So we spoke to our clients and asked them to nominate their favourite interview questions.'What can you bring to our company?' Nigel Tomlinson, Horbury Property ServicesWhat to look out for: A great way to find out if your interviewee has researched the company and their practices, their ambitions for the future, and their ability to self-analyse. A good answer would show that the engineer knows how their skills could match and benefit different sectors your company works in; a great answer will highlight that they’ve read your company values and can provide examples of their own experience that matches those values.What to be wary of: Vague, non-committal answers to this question show that they may not have done their homework on your company, showing a lack of enthusiasm for the role or may not be great at self-analysis which can provide barriers when managing performance issues down the line.Follow up questions include: What attracts you about working for our company? What’s your impression of our company culture? 'What part of your job do you most enjoy?' Graham Wheatley, Wheatley FMWhat to look out for: This question will give you an insight into their real enthusiasm and motivation for the job – if their answer focuses on making the client happy, then you can reasonably assume that they will be a good ambassador for your company. If it’s about problem-solving and fault finding, they could be your next technical superstar.What to be wary of: If your interviewee struggles to answer this question, or they give a flippant answer like ‘Getting Paid!’ they might not be the most committed employee, and will struggle to maintain a can-do attitude.Follow up questions include: What training have you most enjoyed? What part of the job do you wish didn’t exist? 'What is the best piece of feedback you have received that has gone on to help you in your career?'Sarah Shardlow, The Coal AuthorityWhat to look out for: People who remember (and take on board) good advice tend to be forward thinkers, good planners, and cope well with change, so good well-rounded answers to this question with real-life examples is what you are looking for if you want someone who can take on responsibility and adapt easily to changing environments (great if you have a big portfolio of different clients)What to be wary of: We’ve asked this question many times, and occasionally we’ll get answers along the lines of ‘Nothing really, I’ve always made my own way’. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with being self-sufficient keep an eye out for red flags that could indicate a lack of critical thinking, or an inability to take on criticism and adviceFollow up questions include: Who has been your most influential manager? What do you wish someone had told you at the beginning of your career? ‘How important do you believe it is to achieve a good team spirit, and what type of things might you be able to do within your role to ensure a good team ethos exists?’Paul Cronin, Cambridge Maintenance Services LimitedWhat to look out for: This is particularly important to ask engineers who could be working on static sites in a team of mixed experiences and backgrounds – a good team player will give an enthusiastic answer with real-life experiences of where working in a great team has benefited the whole operation, and will talk about friends and connections they have made on the job in the past. Great answers will include examples of where they have helped younger or more inexperienced team members to grow in skills and confidence.What to be wary of: Candidates who struggle to answer this question might still turn out to be great team players, but may not have had much experience working in a team, especially if they have worked primarily a mobile role or on single person sites - they may take longer to settle into a team environment.  Explore further by asking about how they communicate with their managers and other engineers.Follow up questions include: What’s the best team experience you’ve had in your career and why? What role do you think you take when working in a team? 'Have you ever had to handle a difficult customer? How did you deal with it?'Matt Price, FES FMWhat to look out for: An Engineer who gives real examples and explains what the initial problem was and how it was solved demonstrates that they can learn from their experience as well as having the confidence and interpersonal skills to deal with your tricky clients in difficult circumstances – especially important skills for mobile engineers who might have to fault find and fix at short notice.What to be wary of: Vague and uncertain answers to this question (look out for ‘we would usually do….’ instead of ‘I did…’) demonstrate that they may have little practical experience of these situations or maybe unsure or unaware of how to handle angry and upset clients. These Engineers would likely need more hands-on and in-person support when dealing with challenging clients and difficult situations. So be careful about what contracts you may choose to employ them on in the first instance.Follow up questions can include: What preventative measures help diffuse difficult client situations? What support would you need when dealing with difficult clients? Of course, these are just the top five questions that we picked for this blog – there are many more and we’d love to hear your/ suggestions and comments on the above. ​Want to know more about how we help our clients? You can read about how our Proven Process will overcome your recruitment challenges right here. If you'd like to have a chat with the team about your upcoming interviews you can contact us here or you can complete our enquiry form and we'll contact you.

Are you a Construction Professional who can’t hire enough skilled Trades & Labour and White Collar staff to ensure your sites are completed on schedule and within budget? You will find this blog useful.The skills shortage within construction and infrastructure is a much-discussed subject across the industry. As specialist recruiters, the team and I can definitely lend an outside view as to why there is a shortage of skilled Trades & Labour and White Collar staff.​Over the last month, the team and I have been conducting a survey to get an insight from those at the coalface of the subject – you! We’ve been speaking with Construction, Commercial and Project Managers who are struggling to hire the very best Site Managers, Technical staff or Trades for their sites. With Brexit still being a heavily discussed issue, we expected a lot of answers to focus on this but the results were surprising…​Survey Results: The Top 3 Causes of the Skills Shortage in ConstructionApprenticeships‘I believe one reason for skills shortages in the UK construction industry is due to the lack of apprenticeships for school leavers. Schools should also encourage pupils to undertake work experience with construction companies to promote an early interest in the numerous trades within the construction industry and the route to site, contract & project management.’Brendan Alexander, Project Manager ​Like Brendan, many others that we spoke with agreed that apprenticeship availability was a major issue – especially when the Construction industry remains a large contributor to the UK economy.​The ONSrecently stated that It generates almost £90 billion annually (6.7% of GDP) and employs in excess of 2.93 million people, the equivalent of about 10% of UK employment.​However, only 1% of employers have looked to take on an apprentice or inexperienced staff member for training to ease the skills shortfall. The government has invested over £1 billion into training and apprenticeship schemes; however, the schemes alone do not guarantee employment. Earlier this year we wrote a blog about an apprenticeship scheme that was being developed specifically for people seeking a career in health & safety –you can read it here.​Poor Image‘For whatever reason, I believe some people tend to look down at tradesman and choose the university route as they believe taking an apprenticeship is a step-down. I believe in a not so distant future there will be a massive shortage unless this is bottomed out.’Ben Hebden, Junior Contracts Manager ​The current poor image of the Construction Industry has a detrimental impact on construction businesses’ ability to recruit and retain people with the right type of skills. ​The CITB ReportChanging Perceptions: The Growing Appeal of a Career in Construction has shown that the overall appeal of the construction industry as a career option for young people is low, scoring 4.2 out of 10 among 14 to 19-year-olds. It is perceived to be about 'being outdoors and getting dirty' and most suited to 'young people who do not get into college or university'.​Wage RelatedThis response whilst being our third most popular opinion was split across the North, Midlands and the South.​​So, what is the average salary for Construction jobs?​The average salary for Construction jobs according to Total Jobs is £42,500. How much Construction jobs pay varies across UK locations and industries – when you break down their cross-section (sample size of 14, 456 people) the breakdown of the average is:​The North: £57,059The Midlands: £47,500The South: £59,122When you take into account the difference in average living costs across the country, it’s easy to see why the Midlands and the South are more vocal about wage issues in these areas.​It’s been a valuable exercise to conduct this survey to not only get our clients viewpoints but also for us to sit back, take stock and reassess how we source our candidates. Also, it raises the point of how we can help the construction industry to fill the ever-growing skills gap that Construction Professionals now face on a daily basis.​Supplying both white and blue-collar workers across the UK I would like to think we have our finger on the pulse when it comes to staffing availability. If you’d like to discuss the results of our survey, maybe you have a different point of view – contact the team today.

As a Facilities Management professional, Building Services business owner, Operations and Managing Director who can’t hire enough qualified engineers quickly enough to deliver your service level agreements (SLAs) you will find this blog useful. It will help you see why the people we have surveyed think there is a skills shortage issue, and a list of solutions that can help you in both the short and long term.​A skills shortage within Facilities, HVAC, Electrical and Property Maintenance is a topic at the very heart of the facilities management and building services maintenance industry. Taking an outside view you could see many reasons as to why the industry is facing such a shortage of Hard Services Engineers. There’s been no end of speculation and debate across the sector as to what is causing the shortage – looking at it from a recruitment agency point of view, our aim is often less of the “Why is there a shortage of Engineers?” and more of the “How do we help solve the Engineer shortage problem?”​My team and I have spent the last four weeks surveying the opinion of those at the forefront of the FM industry staffing problems – the Maintenance and Facilities Contracts Managers who are directly responsible for recruiting and managing maintenance engineers. Expecting the responses to be a lot more about Brexit and millennial attitudes, the answers and opinions I received were pretty surprising. ​​​​What do Facilities Management and Building Services professionals think is causing the skills shortage?“Whilst they might be great joiners and carpenters, taking a 6 week electrical install course doesn’t make them an electrician.”  ​Chris Atkinson, the Mechanical and Electrical Manager for Prime Repair & Maintenance (part of Acis Group) is just one of the hiring managers we spoke to who pinned it down to the rise in ‘short course’ availability, with too many tradesmen being encouraged to do an intense short training course to bring their electrical skills up to 17thedition standards, without going through the rigours of a full apprenticeship.​Does the Facilities and Building Maintenance Industry Have the Same Pull These Days?“People no longer find it as appealing to do a trade and work with their hands.”  ​Like Richard Birtwhistle, Contract Manager at Servest Arthur McKay, many others we spoke to feel that the pull of the Facilities and Building Maintenance industry just isn’t what it used to be. Whilst they agree that the number of people taking up apprentices has fallen overall in the last 20-30 years, there are more fashionable and appealing options for apprentices these days. The trend towards studying academic courses at University has been well documented and discussed, and not just in the Hard Services industry.  ​Are Training Courses Readily Available for Hard Services Engineers?“Within refrigeration there is a huge lack of training colleges, so if you’re not local to a college there’s not likely to be any engineers in the area.” Andy Holmes, Service Delivery Manager for LH plc, a specialist Refrigeration company in London, feels it can be a bit of a postcode lottery for some trades, with a lack of support for those wanting to train to be a refrigeration engineer. When we looked to find a refrigeration training course in Cambridge for example, the only obvious example was a distance learning course.​This poses a hiring headache for those of you trying to support your facilities clients based in these low-density training areas, unless they are lucky enough to find an engineer to relocate or travel extended distances to site. ​​​Could Brexit Affect The Hard Services Skills Shortage?What really surprised me was the lack of comments about the effect of Brexit. Whilst most agreed that their workforce has become increasingly multi-cultural and international over the last 20 years or so, since the Yes vote there has not been the mass exodus of engineers that some feared, and has been reported in the national press about skills shortages post Brexit.​Less than 8% of the Facilities, HVAC, Electrical and Property Maintenance professionals we spoke to believed that Brexit was adding significantly to the skills shortage, and maintain that this is a problem long in the making rather than a knee jerk reaction to the referendum.​What Next for Busy Facilities Management Business Owners and Maintenance Operations Managers?One thing is clear from the conversations I’ve had with my facilities and maintenance contacts in the Hard Services industry; the industry needs to make itself more attractive, and it’s not just about putting a few more pounds on the hourly pay rate of a Commercial Gas Engineer. To attract the next generation of Hard Service Engineers, there needs to be an image overhaul within the Hard Services industry – IWFM (previously known as BIFM) has already recognised this and have gone through a name change and re-brand exercise. ​Now it’s time for the Industry leaders to follow suit. As a result of this survey we’ve identified a few things that everyone can do to help with their recruitment in both the long and short term:​Short-Term Solutions for the Hard Services Skills Shortage:​When you are advertising a job vacancy focus on why working for your company is great: the support, flexibility, improved technology, training budget etc. Whatever it is you are doing really well – shout about it! Spend some money on your recruitment – whether that is with agencies like us, advertising, specialist job boards, sponsored Facebook adverts or an internal refer a friend scheme etc. A free advert on Indeed is not going to get you the Engineers you want.Working with an agency? Make sure they are promoting your business (not just the job). At Thorn Baker EFM we’re focusing more and more on what Engineers are looking for – so if you want your agency to promote you to their Candidate base, give them the information they need to do so.Remember that Candidates are now in control – they have choices. If you want to hire the best, you’re going to have to treat them with respect, flexibility and sensible job offers.Long-Term Solutions for the Hard Services Skills Shortage:​Talk to Colleges and Schools close to your office locations. If they know that there is demand for Engineers there is a greater chance of them offering the courses.Promote the positive image of our Industry to the next generation of Engineers on Social Media – make the most ofFacebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and, Instagram - talk about why being an Engineer is such a great career.Invest in training. There’s a wealth of excellent Candidates out there with the right attitude and the wrong qualifications.At Thorn Baker EFM we’re absolutely committed to improving the recruitment process for Hard Services Engineers – understanding where the problems lie helps us to be better recruiters.We work with businesses who struggle to hire Hard Service and Maintenance Engineers every day. Contact the EFM team today