Brand Preview 2022: How do you build the best team?

Finding - and keeping - the right people for your business is going to be a challenge in 2022. Success in your recruitment and retention will depend on your company culture. And it is your brand that provides the foundation of that culture.

The workforce in the UK (and globally) is currently in the grip of “the great resignation”; employees voluntarily leaving employment, often without another role to move to. It is seen as a reaction to the impact of Covid and people taking the opportunity to reassess their priorities. As a result, 24% of UK employees are planning to change jobs in the next 3-6 months. This transient attitude to employment is enabled by a record number of UK job vacancies: 1.1 million in September.

The consequence of this upheaval in the labour market is the shortages we discussed in the previous section. Firms that are short of staff are struggling to fulfil their potential. Your team are responsible for delivering your product or service - the most significant aspect of your brand experience. If you don’t have the “right” team, you won’t be able to deliver the “right” brand experience for your customers. In a survey released in February 2021, 34% of companies still regarded a shortage of skilled staff as a barrier to growth. A report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies stated that “the labour market is the lynchpin of the recovery”. Companies that want to drive their success in 2022 will need to tackle this challenge.

Your company culture is key to attracting - and retaining - the “right” people for your business. Company culture can be defined as a set of shared values, goals, attitudes and practices that characterise an organisation. Your company culture is built on the same purpose and values as your brand, it’s effectively an internal version of it.

Your company culture is the experience people have when they work for your company. This experience is influenced by every aspect of their working life; the equipment your staff work with, the environment they work in, the internal processes you have in place, how much people are paid and way staff speak to each other. Glassdoor is a job search site, that allows employees to post reviews of employer businesses. There are 55 million employee reviews on the site. Ninety three percent of these reviews discuss some element of company culture.

To compete in the current environment, company culture becomes even more significant. It is the culture of a company that lays the foundation for the employer brand and the employee value proposition (EVP). An EVP represents everything of value that a company provides to its employees, to make it a more attractive place to work. Your EVP translates your company culture into a set of specific, tangible benefits your employees will receive.

Following almost two years of Covid disruption to the workplace, it’s not surprising that work-life balance is a priority for employees. Three quarters of business leaders think it’s unlikely that the number of staff in the office will return to pre-pandemic levels. Thirty six percent of current homeworkers think they will continue to do so. Despite growing acceptance - and expectation - of flexible working, there is notable resistance to this trend. The chief executive of investment bank Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, described working from home as an “aberration” that must be rectified “as soon as possible”. But amongst all the discussion, it’s important to remember that some roles - and some sectors - are not suitable for hybrid working.

An attractive salary may not be the top priority for employees, but with shortages of qualified staff across many sectors, it’s likely that the salary (and benefits) on offer will become increasingly significant. In a survey, 71% of staff rated benefits that can be easily accessed, such as office drinks and social events, above traditional benefits, like a pension schemes.

Your company culture should balance the needs and expectations of your team, with the purpose and values that drive your business. As how, when, where and why people work changes, you need to consider how you adapt to these new circumstances. It’s important to understand how your values should influence the environment your team work in. You need to create a culture that is a true reflection of your business - it needs to be authentic. If it’s not, employees - and potential recruits - will see through it, and act accordingly. There are lots of new opportunities out there, and research suggests disillusioned employees will be happy to look for a better one.

The challenge of recruitment and retention will continue to evolve in 2022. To build the best team you need to find and keep people that share your purpose and your values. Your culture, built on your brand, will allow you to do this. It will translate your purpose and values into an environment where people want to work - whether that is in your office, or their home.