ONS response: Financial incentives not a long-term solution to UK’s skills shortages

Responding to reports from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which revealed a 6% increase in average total pay – including bonuses – between June and August this year, the UK's leading independent provider of resourcing transformation and outsourced recruitment services, Omni RMS, has warned that financial incentives are not a long-term solution to the UK’s skills challenges.

Louise Shaw, Managing Director, Omni RMS commented:

“While the ONS has reported a decline in vacancy numbers in September, these levels remain higher than pre-pandemic jobs, which suggests that competition for top talent is still rampant across the country. When recruitment gets tough, it’s easy to look at the financial incentives that can be offered to attract top talent. But on a longer-term basis and with general costs rising across the UK, this isn’t sustainable for all businesses.

“There will certainly be a need for pay rises as the cost-of-living crisis worsens, but for employers and HR teams there’s a range of other tactics that can be implemented to attract and retain top talent. In fact, in our own research with the CIPD we found that 30% of employers who had recruited in the past 12 months indicated that advertising roles as ‘open to flexible working’ is amongst their most effective recruitment method.

“More than half (54%) of organisations who have had recruitment difficulties are offering greater work flexibility to address this, while a further 49% say their use of hybrid/remote working has greatly or somewhat increased amid hiring struggles.

“There is a constant battle for top talent, and it’s important that businesses assess what they can realistically offer candidates and what they can improve upon to retain existing employees. Unrealistic salary inflation is not only unsustainable for employers, but will also have limited success long term, with retention rates likely to drop as financially-driven individuals jump ship to gain further pay increases.”


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About Omni

Omni is a resourcing transformation specialist with one clear purpose – to change the way organisations resource for the better. They work with clients to improve their resourcing effectiveness, enabling them to stand out from their competitors in how they engage, develop and retain talent. Omni has three business streams: 1, Recruitment – delivering brand-led outsourced recruitment services across permanent, fixed term and contingent hiring including Executive Search and Assessment. 2,Talent Consultancy – helping organisations to understand and improve their resourcing effectiveness through a range of strategic consultancy services including assessment design, development of ED&I best practice and Strategic Workforce Planning. 3,Talent Development – supporting organisations to attract and nurture talent through recruitment training, management and leadership development, coaching and 360 assessments. www.omnirms.com