Prosper Autumn, Black Country Chamber of Commerce magazine

BUSINESS VOICES: PERTEMPS ON HR
THE GREAT RESIGNATION
A quarter of businesses have already lost valuable talent
unnecessarily, so Prosper asked Richard Bourne from recruitment
experts, Pertemps for his thoughts on the subject.
The equivalent of 1.3m UK SMEs have
unnecessarily lost talent this year by
making employees feel undervalued.
Research commissioned by digital
gifting company Prezzee highlights that 24
per cent of UK SMEs have lost undervalued
talent in the past 4-6 months, directly
feeding into the ‘Great Resignation’, which
has seen people leaving their jobs at the
highest rate since 2009.
In organisations of more than 250 staff,
four-in-10 HR directors say they’ve changed
or are looking at alternatives to reward staff
– regardless of the changes to where their
staff work.
Despite the Great Resignation, over a
third (35%) of SMEs say all employees get
the same rewards, regardless of location,
job title or other contributing factors,
despite differing hobbies and passions.
Much of the budget laid aside for
rewarding staff isn’t used to its full potential
as two-thirds (66%) said their team didn’t
attend events or rewards weren’t received
how they would like.
The research also highlighted why so
many employees don’t engage with reward
schemes and events, as 80% of HR
directors acknowledged that they don’t
understand their interests well enough. The
data also highlights that there’s too much
impetus put solely on the shoulders of HR
directors to get this right. Only 16% of
SMEs use a team within the business made
up of employees at multiple levels to
decide the rewards and incentive strategy
to drive increased happiness and staff
retention.
Richard Bourne, regional manager at
Pertemps Network Group told Prosper,
“employee engagement, retention and
motivation are the most important factors
for the success of any business big or small.
“People are the cornerstone of any
successful business, and it is important to
reward and recognise accordingly. We have
experienced an extremely turbulent jobs
market over the last two years which has
led to an ever-increasing number of vacancies
and increased competition between
companies to secure the best talent.
“A heavy emphasis is currently placed
upon pay rates with the cost of living at the
forefront of the news. However, salary and
pay rates are not the only factors for
employers to consider. To achieve the
goals of retention, engagement, and as
previously mentioned, a motivated
workforce, a more holistic approach is key.
“The overall package on offer should
include a competitive basic salary but also
consider other financial rewards such as
‘‘
To achieve the goals of
retention, engagement
and a motivated
workforce, a more
holistic approach is key...
‘‘
company shares schemes, perks such as
discounts, potential bonus and
commissions.
“Tailoring packages to fit an individual’s
needs will help boost engagement
between employee and employer to cover
a number of factors which motivate and
appeal to your workforce.”
He added: “The workplace culture
determines longevity of staff and
engagement levels. A friendly, workfocused
culture gives a sense of teamwork
and camaraderie, which people value as an
important factor when choosing a
long-term position. Team socials,
collaborating well with your colleagues
day-to-day and management support are
all part of the ethos nurturing a fantastic
workplace culture.”
Perhaps that’s why Pertemps has been
listed in the Times’ Top 100 companies for
16 years running.
“At Pertemps we offer learner-led
training and development for our staff
which empowers employees to recognise
what support is needed. A development
and training programme allows staff to
structure progression within the company
in a way that is suited to the individual.
Opportunities are achievable for individuals
to progress quickly and own their career
path with the business. Responsibilities and
personal development empower our staff
to increase earning potential.
“Open communication between line
managers and staff is important to identify
what key motivating factors and rewards
matter most to enhance staff welfare. It’s
important to ensure it is in line with an
overall strategy, enabling the flexibility to
address the cost-of-living crisis and the
support you as an employer need to offer.
An example of this would be whereby
naturally an employer thinks financial
support is the only benefit they can offer.
However, in some instances, an employee
support line offering direct links to trained
counsellors to deal with stress may be a
more viable and welcome option.”
14 PROSPER AUTUMN 2022