How will Brexit affect talent management and what can you do to cope?

The topic of Brexit has been laced with confusion, questions and uncertainty, particularly among employers.

Business leaders are trying to plan-ahead, working out possible scenarios which could affect their company and how they will cope.

One department which is going to be greatly affected by Brexit in 2021 is talent management. So why is this and what can you do to cope?

We’ll give you the knowledge you need to win the talent war to keep your business thriving.

Shortage of applicants because of Brexit

Brexit has resulted in a decreased amount of applicants from EU countries. In fact, the number of national insurance number registrations to EU nationals decreased by 99% in the three months to September 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.

Retail, manufacturing and hospitality sectors will likely be the most affected. According to stats from The Migration Observatory, over a third of workers born in EU-8 countries were in retail and manufacturing jobs in 2019.

With the end of free movement on 1 January 2021, EU job seekers will find it much easier to find work in their local areas. This means attracting talent is going to get a lot tougher.

What can you do to overcome this talent shortage?

Train new starters before their first day

Gerwyn Davies, senior labour market adviser at the CIPD, said “The good news is that Brexit should force employers to make full use of available UK workers, especially those recently made redundant with relevant skills and up to date experience.” He has also been vocal about the need for increased training to help unemployed people in the UK back into the workforce post-Brexit.

It’s crucial that you are able to provide training to your employees before they start their job.

Making them aware that you will fully support them before they start will greatly improve their confidence and make them more likely to choose your firm over one that leaves them in the dark before their first day.

To easily provide remote-based training to your new starters before their first day. Think about deploying a preboarding platform. These digital solutions work on iOS, Android and desktop devices making it simple for new starters to carry out training on their phone from the comfort of their home.

Features include;

Digital checklists to guide new starters on what training they need to get done.
Short 1-5 minute microlearning modules making it quick and easy for new starters to train.
Access to a digital knowledge base to help your new starter familiarise themselves with your company rules, regulations, processes and language.
Alerts which allow you to send timely alerts or notifications, great for encouraging new starters to keep learning or to just keep in contact.

Make it easy for new employees to learn on the job

Having to employ more unskilled workers as a result of fewer EU applicants is going to be crucial to ensure your business doesn’t face a labour shortage.

To manage employees that don’t initially have the skills you need them to, it’s best to provide them with tools which allow them to learn in the moment. After all, most of us learn best by actually doing the tasks that are required of us rather than reading about them.

Choosing a digital knowledge base which employees can access on their phone or tablet device whilst on the move, empowers them to learn what they need whilst working. It dramatically reduces the need for ‘hand-holding’ and speeds up the time it takes for them to pick up new skills.

For example, you hired a new cleaner and they don’t know which bin they should put recyclable materials in. Rather than wasting time searching for a manager, they can get out their phone, go on your workplace knowledgebase and search for the answer.

Tougher competition for top talent

The UK may not be seen as a favourable place for employment after Brexit as it no longer offers easy access to hopeful job-seekers throughout the EU.

With less talent to choose from, it is almost certain that the competition for top talent throughout the UK is going to increase.

If you have been putting off the task of improving your onboarding strategy, now is the time to make it a top priority. It has been reported that new staff who go through a structured onboarding programme are 58% more likely to be with the organisation after three years.

With this in mind, it’s crucial that you provide an amazing onboarding experience which works both in the workplace and remotely.

The uncertainty of the global pandemic means that your onboarding process needs to be flexible.

A great onboarding experience is comprised of 5 major factors;

Make your new starter feel connected and welcomed by their team.
Make them feel recognised.
Make it easy for them to learn what they need.
Make it easy for them to access business information e.g. policies and procedures
Guide them on what they need to get done.

Our employee onboarding software has been designed to engage new starters from their very first day. Guiding them through their first few weeks and months and improving their performance and career progression throughout the rest of their time at your company.

Best of all, because the onboarding solution is digital it means it can facilitate and support your face to face onboarding process or it can work standalone if you can’t be there to onboard your new starters.

Retaining top talent

Employers don’t just have to worry about recruiting top talent. There is the added pressure of trying to retain the employees that you have.

With competition to win the best talent ramping up, employers are going to be offering jobs with better pay, improved benefits and more perks.

This is why it’s essential that you improve your employee experience for the people that you already have.

Here are the top factors which motivate employees to stay at a company;

Having great managers who regularly partake in management training - A lack of appropriate management skills makes employees 4x more likely to quit.
Feeling recognised and respected for the work they put in - Employees that don't feel recognized when they do great work are almost 2x as likely to be job hunting.
Receiving regular constructive feedback to help them improve - Employees won’t stay if there isn't a culture of encouraging upward feedback.
Clear career advancement paths - 70% of employees say they would have to quit their job if there was no career advancement.

Trying to cover all of the areas mentioned above can seem like a daunting task. Luckily, there are hundreds of employee engagement products on the market which make it easy to retain employees.

Our employee platform called Oplift makes it effortless to engage, train and retain employees. It makes them feel valued every day, keeps them connected and helps to provide a clear and structured career path.

65% of employees even use the platform in their own time and some of the biggest retailers in the UK have deployed for their employees, this includes Next, Virgin Media and Tesco Ireland.

So there you have it, that’s exactly how Brexit will affect talent management in 2021 and what you can do to cope, we hope this article helped and if you need any further tips please get in touch.