Entertainment Swindon

With unemployment rising and the number of jobs vacancies falling, businesses should have no difficulty in filling roles.

But according to the Agile Recruitment team at Swindon-based HR Dept this isn’t proving to be the case.

Recruitment remains a significant and persistent challenge for SMEs operating throughout the Swindon and Wiltshire region. The Agile Recruitment team are seeing an upsurge in enquiries – particularly from industries affected by seasonal demand changes, like hospitality, manufacturing and warehousing – because of ongoing recruitment difficulties.

And the team’s advice is, plan ahead and start recruiting now for roles that need to be filled over the Christmas period or for planned growth in the New Year.

“While our recruitment team has seen a significant increase in demand for our services, we are also aware that some employers are waiting to find out what happens in November’s Budget before making recruitment decisions,” said Geri Hardy, who heads up the Agile Recruitment team at the HR Dept Swindon and its sister company in London.

“Competition for quality candidates is fierce, especially in sectors like hospitality that need extra staff to cope with seasonal demand. Our advice is simple: don’t wait – start recruiting now.”

A planned recruitment strategy, and avoiding a last minute scrabble for staff, also improves staff retention. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the average staff turnover in the UK is 34% a year. Of this, 6.6% is due to employees no longer working, for instance retirement or long-term sickness, with the remaining majority finding jobs elsewhere.

Geri said: “The average varies from industry to industry, and notably hospitality has almost double the staff turnover rate compared to, for example, financial services.”

The HR Dept’s Agile Recruitment team work across all sectors, in particular hospitality, manufacturing and finance, as well as charities, foundations, and social enterprises in the non-profit sector. Some 80% of their work is repeat business from clients.

Unlike other recruiters, whose fees are based on percentage of the salary, the HR Dept’s model adopts a flexible approach, enabling clients to set their own budget; fees are based on the time taken. This structure means the recruitment fee is significantly lower. Typically, their fee equates to just 6% of a salary, in sharp contrast to the 15% to 25% charged by traditional recruiters.

Geri added: “Our recruitment approach is tailored for business owners and HR teams. We combine speed, cost-efficiency, and knowledge of the local market to help fill vacancies efficiently.”