Businesses setting themselves up for failure as skills shortages grow

Recruitment budgets are not expected to grow in line with the economic landscape, putting employers on the back foot with 2025 recruitment plans. That’s according to data from resourcing transformation expert, Omni RMS, and the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development.

The latest edition of the Resourcing and talent planning report revealed that just under a third (32%) of private sector organisations expect an increase in recruitment budgets for 2024 – 25. With business and employment costs set to surge – particularly with the announcement of NICS increases in the Chancellor’s Budget – hiring budgets need to be reviewed urgently.

According to Omni RMS, this is more pertinent given the growing skills gaps. The report revealed that more than two thirds (69%) of employers in the UK feel that competition for well qualified talent has increased over the last year. A further 56% indicated that talent is more difficult to retain.

Louise Shaw, Managing Director at Omni RMS commented:
“Business costs are, broadly speaking, increasing in line with the economic climate and the growing costs of living. But the area that is likely to see greatest pressure on budgets and workload – namely talent acquisition and retention – is seemingly being ignored in 2025 investment plans.”

“People are typically the largest cost for an organisation, but they are also their greatest asset. Even without the skills shortages that are prevalent across all remits, HR and recruitment budgets aren’t increasing at a rate we would expect. When you add to this the difficulties around attraction and retention, organisations are heading into the New Year already on the back foot from a talent attraction point of view. Using tools like Omni’s true cost of hiring and retention calculator, allows organisations to rethink how the can optimise budgets and gain greater value from the right investments.”

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Press contact
Vickie Collinge
vickie@bluesky-pr.com
01582 790 705

About Omni RMS
Omni RMS is an award-winning recruitment specialist dedicated to helping organisations transform their approach to hiring and shift the dial in engaging and retaining the right talent. They do this by providing expertise and capacity needed to make recruitment work, enhancing RoI.
Comprising four business streams: RPO, Talent Strategy, Executive Search and Technical recruitment, Omni delivers competitive advantage across permanent and contingent talent markets. . www.omnirms.com/

The CIPD has been championing better work and working lives for over 100 years. It helps organisations thrive by focusing on their people, supporting our economies and societies. It’s the professional body for HR, L&D, OD and all people professionals – experts in people, work and change. With almost 160,000 members globally – and a growing community using its research, insights and learning – it gives trusted advice and offers independent thought leadership. It’s a leading voice in the call for good work that creates value for everyone. www.cipd.org

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,016 UK-based people professionals. Fieldwork was undertaken between 4 April 2024 and 22 April 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of UK employers by business size and sector.