Tees Business Issue 32 | Page 178

OPINION

TeesTalk

In each issue of Tees Business , we ask business leaders for their views on a big business issue . This time we asked :
What sort of a challenge is recruitment proving to be for your organisation ? And what are you doing differently to tackle it ?
GRAHAM ORRELL , FOUNDER AND CEO , NORTHLINK DIGITAL Recruitment is the single biggest challenge to the continued growth of NorthLink Digital . To face this challenge head on , I ’ ve decided to hire an internal tech recruiter rather than relying on referrals and recruitment agencies .
Alex Bailey has joined us as our head of recruitment , with an initial focus on bringing in senior web developers . He also has a wider mandate to strengthen our relationships with local colleges and universities and also raise our brand profile in the region .
ASHLEY TIZARD , MANAGING DIRECTOR , TASCOMP Tascomp has had a full order book for a number of years and we have doubled our staff in that time . Recruitment is a challenge , balancing the need to bring in young people and develop their skills , while also managing out the fact that our experienced staff will retire over the next few years .
So , for us , it is a mixed strategy : bringing in apprentices , training up existing staff and a small amount of parachuting in experience at a higher level .
LEE ELGIE , MANAGING DIRECTOR , ERIMUS INSURANCE BROKERS Recruitment is proving a real challenge . That ’ s not specific to our area either – it ’ s across the country . What we are doing differently to tackle this is growing our own . In conjunction with the largest insurer in the UK , we are offering an insurer broker apprenticeship .
This allows us to give a real opportunity to individuals . With the right attitude and with our joined-up commitment , they will go on to have a long and successful career in one of the most robust industries out there .
KIRSTEN DONKIN , HEAD OF PR , MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS , PD PORTS We haven ’ t really experienced recruitment issues . This is about having a growth mindset , looking after our people , empowering them as key decision-makers in our future growth and communicating regularly on our vision and purpose .
We offer excellent rates of pay and terms and conditions of employment , allowing us to both retain our existing workforce and attract new people . We ’ ve invested long-term in our apprentice and employee development programmes , which has allowed us to ‘ grow our own ’, ensuring that we have people with the right , skills , knowledge and experience to take the business forward .
DEBBIE COULSON , DIRECTOR OF INCOME GENERATION , TEESSIDE HOSPICE With many people looking for higher-paid roles in response to rapidly rising prices , it ’ s very much an employees ’ market , and while most sectors are suffering talent shortages , costconscious organisations such as ours are struggling to compete with wealthier sectors on salaries and benefits .
We are consciously moving away from traditional recruitment platforms and instead reaching out using targeted adverts on social media , focusing on one-toone conversations to engage and attract those with transferable skills that will enrich our work and ultimately make a difference to the lives of local people .
MATTHEW CLARKE , PARTNER AND REGISTERED VALUER , SANDERSON WEATHERALL Within surveying , there remains a general shortage of potential applicants with the right skillset . The constant challenge is initially identifying them and thereafter engaging with them .
We have shifted our recruitment process from a more traditional approach to one which is more innovative and engaging with prospective employees . Most notably , our approach has been geared more towards social media , increasingly outside the usual platforms , to attract more diverse socio-economic groups who ’ ll be a ‘ good fit ’ within our culture .
JENNIFER WATTS , HR MANAGER , INTELECT The engineering sector is renowned for its skills shortages and recruitment challenges , which is why as a company , we ’ ve been so committed to apprenticeships over the last 24 years . While apprenticeships have been a great solution , it doesn ’ t distract from the fact that diversity within the industry still needs improving .
Through supporting campaigns like the Power of Women and working with charities and initiatives like High Tide Foundation and Spark Tees Valley , we ’ re continuing to keep this topic at the forefront of our agenda , aiming to inspire a wider range of people into the industry .
KAY TAYLOR , GROUP HR DIRECTOR , EDUCATION TRAINING COLLECTIVE In a market where applicants have a much wider choice , the biggest challenge businesses face is positioning themselves as an employer of choice . Candidates are , rightly , placing a higher value on staff benefits as part of a package .
As a ‘ Great Place to Work ’, we offer more flexibility to help with a better work-life balance , initiatives to support the cost of living and a real focus on the health and wellbeing of our staff .
178 | Tees Business