Employees are on the front foot amid talent war

EMPLOYMEnT issues were rarely out of the headlines in 2022. From high-profile industrial action on the railways, in hospitals and on postal rounds to Cabinet ministers ruffling feathers by putting notes on civil servants’ desks imploring them to return to the office, there was no shortage of tension between bosses and workers.

Other widely-reported issues included hospitality businesses having to reduce trading hours due to staff shortages, the rise of AI technology such as ChatGPT potentially disrupting the workplace and the rise of surveillance and tracking technologies monitoring staff in some distribution warehouses, for instance.

So where does the balance of power lie between employee and employers in 2023?

According to Russell Smith, managing director of specialist recruiter Hunter Selection, the best employees remain in a very strong position.

Hunter, which has its headquarters in Portishead in north Somerset, works with some of the biggest employers in the region, particularly in engineering and technology, to help them find staff.

Traditionally when the economy faces the sort of turmoil that Britain is currently experiencing, employers have the upper hand in negotiations.

But that isn’t necessarily the case now, says Russell.

He explains: “Despite the self-induced political turmoil and economic difficulties we are experiencing, the saving grace within the recruitment sector is that demand for talented and skilled staff still outstrips supply.

“The power of the candidate is greater than ever – good candidates always have more than one offer on the table.

“They know their worth and have much bolder expectations around remuneration and how the overall package is made up.”

He said in Quarter 4 of 2022 the supply of candidates dried up somewhat, with people across the workforce opting for the certainty of their existing job rather than chancing their arms in the market with Britain experiencing seemingly daily economic shocks during the shortlived premiership of Liz Truss.

There are though green shoots in the early days of 2023 of much greater mobility returning to the labour market.

Hunter works with household names in the engineering sector, including businesses such as BAE Systems and JCB, as well as FMCG firms such as Yeo Valley, 2 Sisters and Charlie Bigham’s.

Russell said: “The sentiment from our clients is positive at the start of 2023.

“They are saying things are tough and there is a bit of a squeeze on, but they still want to bring the best candidates into their businesses.

“In Q4 2022 there was little mobility in the marketplace, with employees happy to hunker down with their existing jobs, but we seem to have mobility again now in 2023.

“Demand in manufacturing and engineering is still holding up really well.”

He said that Hunter, which employs about 55 people across its three offices in Portishead, Cardiff and Stafford, had recently acquired additional premises in Portishead as it seeks to add 20-25 recruiters itself over the next 18 months to meet demand.

He said: “We are making what we hope are fairly innovative moves ourselves.

“We are investing in a new division for this year really just focused on what we are calling science and technology.

“Around green technologies, the fourth industrial revolution, automation and life sciences.

“These are areas where we are picking up more and more traction, where our clients are coming to us asking for candidates in these areas.”

He added: “The hardest challenge we still find in growing our own business is finding good people for ourselves, which is that perpetual irony you hear from recruiters.”

One major trend that Russell predicted for 2023 – and one that will be music to the ears of Jacob Rees-Mogg – is more employers seeking to get more employees to spend a greater amount of time back in the office.

Hunter’s IT division had already noticed this trend in Bristol – particularly with respect to legal and professional services firms.

He said: “There has been a real push to get people back into the office and I think ultimately for the performance of the UK economy, we all instinctively know to achieve maximum productivity we need to spend more time back in the office.

“I’m not saying that applies to all disciplines or for all people, but at large I think productivity is greater in the office.

“That is particularly the case for more junior members of staff, who are quite often still learning the job.”

He said some sectors had addressed specific recruitment challenges by opting for fully remote work, but it had changed the whole recruitment dynamic and had pros and cons.

Russell said: “Great candidates 100 miles away from the job were previously completely irrelevant. Remote work does open up the pool in a lot of digital and IT marketplaces which has freed up a lot of companies to recruit the skills they need.

“My fear, without wishing to sound too parochial, is that once you let the genie out of the bottle with remote working, how remote do you go?

“At the moment work ing near the beach in Corn wall for a company based in Bristol seems a great thing to do.

“But ultimately there will be someone in Brazil or India who can do that job as