Staffing in 2022 & beyond- Why it’s not all bad news for the BIG Re-Open..

After 25 years of Front line work in Hospitality, Leisure, Retail, Customer Service, International Events & Recently Healthcare, Contact Centres, Logistics and Food Delivery I have both BEEN a front line worker Permanent and Casual and Employed & Brokered Permanent and Casual Teams for Independent and Global Operators in multiple industries..

I wanted to bring some learnings and observations forward on this that I hope will provoke conversations for you around how you tackle your workforce management and approaches to recruitment and staffing as we come out of this pandemic.

Not a simple subject, so Lets take this in 3 stages..

1.?????Where Front line staffing was pre 2019

2.?????What has happened to staffing through Brexit & The Pandemic Years

3.?????Where the workforce goes next

?

1.??When I was a lad… No- just pre ‘19

In 2019 Minimum wage for 18 year olds in the UK rose from ￡5.90 to ￡6.15. WOW. (1-6 zone anytime travel card that year, ￡18.60- a staggering 4 hours of net pay.. we’ll come back to that..)

Front line jobs to begin with were often entry level jobs, to earn a few quid while you studied, to get your CV started, or to give you a foot in to an industry that you see your career growing in.

In general, you popped your CV in– had an interview (or maybe one of those marginally legal “practical interviews”.. not a trial shift).. few days later got a job.

Then, you turned up at an address and you pulled a pint, or stacked a shelf, or maybe cleaned a ward or made some beds. Maybe even an office temp role for those who didn’t fancy a 10 hour plus shift on their feet.. even so, you’d be scooted off to an office location to answer the phone & circulate some post.

In short – whatever the job you applied for, you’d typically have a 2-3 week lead time on it.. before working a few days & only then knowing if you like it or not and if it genuinely fits with your life or what you intended the job to be for you. By then.. you may as well stick at it for a bit either way, cos going through the process of looking and applying again would cost you the same time & earning potential all over again…

For many, including myself, you may have been lucky enough to fall in love with that front line job & it's industry and that may have carried you forward into a wonderful career. (As a model it was a very good funnel for creating a succession planning pipeline and developing supervisors, managers & future leaders who then champion their industry and attract new talent..)

.??During Brexit & The Pandemic Years

Pressures on the entry level jobs market has come from everywhere.. the Political shifts of Brexit, Lifestyle shifts both enforced and chosen by consumers and workers through the pandemic, Market disruption from new operators and high growth industries, Wage inflation.

Some thought provoking stats..

·???????Post Brexit 200,000 EU nationals left the UK and have not returned

·???????The UK Food Delivery market in 2015 was worth ￡2 billion, it is forecast to reach anywhere between ￡7.2 & ￡11 billion in 2022 depending on which review you read, meaning the likes of Deliveroo alone now have circa 3500 UK based office staff & somewhere between 50k & 110k active riders

·???????Track & Trace and Testing Centres have been employing up to 25,000 operatives during peak periods and 30,000+ paid and 40,000+ volunteers to assist with test and vaccine centres

In isolation maybe shocks we would absorb 1 by 1.. but the exit of 200k workers from the UK in one go is not normal. Exponential growth in disruptor markets is probably here to stay in one way or another. Mobilisation of major government projects soaking up huge numbers of workers maybe not predictable in the future either. There are many more examples too – what they have all taught us though is that when it comes to work – things can change QUICKLY – and therefor so must we..

Behavioural Changes

·???????Covid has forced the whole population, in their personal time, to learn new technologies to communicate, learn how to share information and interact with businesses, fast forwarding tech take up and trust in remote or online systems

·???????Staying at home has forced major consideration of WHERE people want to live and in what type of spaces causing workforce migration away from cities

·???????We were forced to & now expect not to have to travel to access the things we need to live

Work from home has become attractive as a lifestyle choice for many, and with numerous companies out of necessity embracing tech that allows their teams to do so, it has fast forwarded to a reality.

Furthermore, it’s not just the top & middle management of operations now who have had this new lifestyle choice facilitated, we have moved on to be able to monitor and then trust the productivity of everything from entry level administrative roles, internal recruitment and HR support functions, even traditionally more in person roles like customer service, order processing departments and financial facilities.. as consumers both B2B and B2C our whole idea of “where a business is based” as a choice of who we do business with has changed. So now for the first time- these lifestyle choices are in the hands of those just embarking on their working journeys.

?

3.??Where does the workforce go next?

So where does this leave “front line” businesses and services? Are these roles now on the scrap heap for new comers to the workforce or those in the early years of their working lives? What does this do to the pipeline of talent we were used to having in our business?

What have we learned about our work opportunities during the Covid Years?

·???????Commuting is only worth while when there is a benefit, either financial or social

·???????Our skills really are transferrable – we are not scared to shift industry in the ways we were in pre-pandemic years, thinking then that the only way into a new industry was from the bottom again

·???????Our personal wellbeing and growth will be as important to the right business as it is for us

·???????I don’t have to commit to one employer or industry while I learn and grow my career- and in fact this may make ME vulnerable to future external shocks in industries if I do

What will make candidates come to work for you in this new age?

Thankfully there is wide spread recognition that the London Living wage now at ￡11.05 really IS the minimum we can expect front line employees to travel to a job for in our capital. (Real living wage outside of London ￡9.90)

That 1-6 zone anytime travel card in 2022 has risen to ￡19.60, Still 2.5 hours worth of work at LLW after tax for those travelling in from London’s more affordable locations.. so still a real consideration when it comes to location of work vs rate of pay & length of hours on offer.

That said -after nearly 2 years of being locked down and restricted in one way or another it is fair to say we DO miss people and that interaction we loved – we just don’t miss it 5 days a week or unless there is added value.

Many trials are now looking at 4 day weeks and what they can do for productivity and the constant shift in the work life balance and mindset of the workforce.. and in many cases you have to say that this is an inevitable shift as deeper questions evolve about the very meaning of health, wealth and capitalism. (Not a subject for this musing)

But there is also the emergence in ernst of a true freelance gig economy facilitators that are keeping front line and “entry level” work both attractive and practical. A market place that allows workers to be employed by companies that give them unlimited flexibility across multiple industry verticals all while not having to reinterview, fill out new starter forms & change their pension provider every time they fancy a change..

This new approach to market place is allowing employees to work and gain experience across a number of industries so they can learn about what suits them best but also give them security and durability in their own careers and protect their earning potential come what may.

This new option is giving employers access to quickly available, rated and skilled workers too with the flexibility to meet peaks and troughs in their own business patterns while also not adding huge head count that may leave them vulnerable to future market fluctuations.

It is also giving employers access to pools of labour who would not have traditionally got to see their brand or know their industry, bringing new skills and brains to the party for them and helping them to evolve their own views on the employment landscape and the businesses in other sectors that they compete with for talent.

In Summary

Traditional careers aren’t dead

Internal recruitment will still be powerful for building core teams and company culture

But… with fiercer competition for talent, especially for “at your location” roles

·??????Making your front line venue or office space a lifestyle choice for workers is essential

·??????Employment Packages that compensate for travel to a place of work need to be more attractive, flexible & imaginative

·??????Integrating a flexible talent pool partner into your business could be the best way to both stay efficient during market volatility and maximise your growth potential when times are good

·??????Tapping into the ever growing needs of the casual staffing labour force is a must as Generation Z flexes it’s flexible muscles in the market and continues to say, I can do a great job for a number of employers when and where I want to.. as long as the pay and conditions are right & they align with my values

SO WHAT'S THE GOOD NEWS?

"The Staff" are there - The Staff - Especially Gen Z - have found a way of working that is enjoyable for them and suites there lifestyle, the technology you have all embraced during various lockdowns has given you all the skills to access them and work with them in a much more flexible way.. In an employees market YOU also have the power to become a stronger manager of your own approach and perception of what work works for you.

#4dayweek #flexiblework #employeesmarket #values #sustainability #tech #generationz #thefutureofwork