With the government having announced it will not grant temporary visas to other sectors like r HGV drivers and poultry workers, a new piece of advice from employee benefits provider HIVE360 says employers can quickly, easily and inexpensively tackle the problem of staff shortage by offering more benefits to their current employees.
“For employers in the agriculture sector the way to tackle the skills shortage is to make some simple changes to how they approach what they offer workers and how, which won’t impact costs or operational resources,” explains David McCormack, CEO of HIVE360, a GLAA (Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority) license holder.
“The agriculture sector is suffering the same challenges around staff and labour as the HGV driver shortage. Despite the devastating news businesses are not to be given the chance of employing workers from overseas given temporary work visas to fill the skills gap, a change in thinking around how they attract and reward workers will work, because adding relevant benefits to their earnings will improve staff retention and attraction.”
In a report published last week (30 September 2021), the BBC revealed that the Home Office and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy had no plans to offer visas to people from other industries. According to a UK government source, businesses should invest in their workforce and improve pay and conditions to move towards a high-wage, high-skilled economy.
“Talent attraction tactics vary from business to business, but often include employer branding, recruitment marketing, workplace culture – and benefits, with work-life balance now named as the main driver for candidates deciding whether to take a job, and stay in it,” comments McCormack.
“Employers should take advantage of mobile tech tools that are focused on employee engagement, benefits and rewards,” he says, “particularly with support of their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
“Times are hard, so they should also add value to pay by helping workers’ money go further with savings discounts on everyday spending, which are a powerful way to help take-home pay go further, and boost the perceived value of hourly pay rates.
“Demand for workers is the highest since 1997, and with an estimated 1.3 million people leaving the UK since the pandemic began, the jobs market is as competitive and tight as it’s ever been, with 69% of UK companies reporting talent shortages and difficulty hiring.”
