UK businesses are on the rebound. We’re hearing it all over the news. Demand for goods and services are up and many companies are busier than ever before, which is welcome news after the fear and doubt induced by the pandemic.
The turnaround for businesses has, in many cases, been so positive that some will now be looking at making big changes for the future. Some might be looking at setting up a new business unit, planning a new product line, or looking to relocate part of their business operations. Expansion into new overseas territories could even be on the horizon.
Whether driven by growth ambitions, structural change or business transformation initiatives, these scenarios represent opportunities to be seized. However, crucially, success depends on having the right people in place, with the right knowledge, at the right time.
A lack of access to talent is holding up growth
At the moment, one of the key barriers in play for businesses is access to talent. You could have every aspect of your growth plan poised and ready to go, but fundamentally, there has to be the people in place to implement it. This is an even bigger issue for businesses who are looking at large scale growth opportunities or transformations, where needs go far beyond just a handful of new hires.
Some companies will be looking at how they can acquire brand new headcount of one hundred, five hundred, one thousand and even upwards of that. And with recent data from the ONS showing that there are currently over one million job vacancies in the UK, competition between employers is high.
Internal HR teams are at max capacity
Another key issue lies in the fact that resource and capacity within internal HR teams is limited when it comes to hiring at scale. Internal HR teams are stretched already as a result of pandemic related cuts to their area of business. In addition, it’s important to remember that the role of HR goes way beyond just talent acquisition – and their focus can’t be on hiring new talent all of the time.
A major headcount uplift may be business critical, but companies are reluctant to expand their permanent HR teams to resource a short-term hiring project – especially with COVID uncertainties still looming.
How can companies solve this stalemate?
Even under normal circumstances, recruitment is a complicated process. Acquiring the best available talent has become increasingly difficult, due to competition in the market, candidate apprehension and, of course, the aforementioned resource challenges.
Businesses tend to always know the solution they need, but not how to make it happen. You can have a HR team with great experience and unrivalled business knowledge, but in a climate like this, understanding the market is key. In that sense, an outsourcing partner can help companies reach their strategic objectives and growth ambitions by supporting HR departments in setting up and successfully deploying high volume hiring projects.
By immersing themselves in the business, spending time on-site, working with internal teams and developing a well-rounded understanding of the company, an outsourcing partner can use internal and external context to pinpoint exactly what’s required. They then have the tools to make it happen quickly and without compromising on quality.
Is now the right time for a new financial commitment?
Businesses may be worried about committing to something that’s going to cost them, especially at the moment where there’s still a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the economy. What you may not know, is that by working with an outsourcing partner, you only pay for the results you get. There’s no nerve-wracking fixed cost, or annual subscription fee. If a business needs five hundred new employees, an outsourcing partner can simply come in and find the right people for the job and leave, with no added commitments.
However, the most exciting thing about outsourcing is that companies have the opportunity to tap into a vast pool of knowledge and expertise from some of the world’s most experienced recruitment professionals. There is the option to go beyond just talent acquisition – in fact outsourcing providers can consult and offer solutions on things such as improving diversity and inclusion, overhauling employee training, increasing opportunities for internal mobility and much more.
If you are going through a business transformation, or looking at achieving significant growth over the next twelve months, why not look a little deeper into the multitude of ways an outsourcing partnership could support you?
