W recruitment challenge facing the industry now ? Finding staff . A lot of people have left the industry and retrained and there is a general shortage of talent so it ’ s very hard to find the right people for our positions . For example , we recently interviewed and found the perfect sales manager and she accepted the position . But she then contacted me the day before she was due to start to say that another position had come up that was too good to pass up . So , we are back to recruiting again .
Could you share any initiatives you have implemented to help recruitment ? We have increased salaries , and offer homeworking . Our benefits package has always been very generous – private healthcare for everyone for example . We have also been promoting the career paths that we can provide because we are keen to help our team members progress .
How do you currently decide the salary for new starters ? We have always tried to be fair in the salaries we give – we pay all of our team above the real living wage and we have salary bands for every role dependent
“ The rewards are there for anyone who wants an interesting and varied career ...” on experience and ability . What do you think will happen to salaries in the next 12-18 months ?
We will be increasing our team ’ s salaries next month and then reviewing them again next year too . It ’ s worrying times for a lot of people – and we need to look after our teams . We have put our prices up because so many of our costs have risen and so
Rewarding work
RefTech managing director Margaret Reeves discusses recruitment challenges and how the events industry must look further afield to attract the next generation of talent . RefTech , which currently has 21 employees , provides registration and badging for conferences , exhibitions and events . It also provides all the tech behind IMEX we want to be in a position to pass this money on to our staff too . We are still rebuilding our business post-pandemic , so we have to be cautious , but we also want to ensure that our staff are happy .
What would you say to someone thinking of coming into the industry ? It ’ s hard work but very interesting and enjoyable . It ’ s not a nine-to-five job – especially for our onsite teams – but it is very rewarding to work on an event , see it come to fruition and feel part of what was achieved . The rewards are there for anyone who wants an interesting and varied career .
What do you think the industry can do to attract the next generation of talent ? We have to be open to recruiting from outside of the industry . We look for attention to detail , admin and project management skills . We can ’ t be blinkered by only employing people with industry experience . The industry needs to look further afield and consider that many industries have transferable skills . EN
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