Staff Recruitment and Retention

Staff recruitment can be expensive business both in terms of direct costs such as advertising and agency fees, and in the amount of management time you need to commit to finding the right candidate.

Local newspapers are often the first port of call for owner-managers looking to recruit; however recruitment may not necessarily be the best course of action. Have you considered whether you already have someone who can take over the role?

Recent trends show that it is proving difficult to find the right people for specific posts.

Against this background we are seeing more and more owner-managers putting a greater emphasis on training, bringing on employees from within the organisation, thereby lessening the need to recruit.

Which brings us to the issue of staff retention.

It is crucial that business owners motivate valued employees so that they become part of the company's future and not just the past.

We are entering a climate where incentivising staff is a priority and there are a number of options available, whereby staff can be given a tangible interest in the future growth of the company.

However, there are also a lot of other measures you can undertake to make the workplace one where employees want to be.

Make sure that your staff understand their rights and that you are seen to be honouring them in all cases - far better for you as employer to ask a mother-to-be if she will want maternal leave than waiting for her to ask you.

Involve your staff and explain how they and their role fit into the overall structure of the company and make sure you offer, and are seen to offer, praise for a job well done.

Grant Thornton can help you with all aspects of staff recruitment and retention. From the outset we can assist with contracts of employment and advise you on the necessary records that should be kept on a personnel file. We can help you manage your relationship with the Unions, when these are involved. We can help you to establish and run tax efficient incentive schemes and we can also advise on people issues - reviewing your business in the round to ensure that it is operating to full strength at all levels.