South West talent overview 2020/21

2020 proved a turbulent year for many businesses with Covid shaking the majority of the recruitment market. Following the initial shock came the need to swiftly adjust to a whole new way of working and await a return of confidence. By Q3 of 2020, each of ADLIB’s core markets had shown increasing signs of stability, all eyes on 2021 as the battle with Covid continues.

With remote working now an essential, data has become rapidly available to demonstrate the positive impacts it brings. However, it also becomes increasingly apparent that many people also crave the balance of community, face to face interaction and the creativity that comes from person to person engagement.

Many businesses have adopted formal and now ongoing flexible working protocols, in turn creating the opportunity to recruit from a wider geographic pool of candidates than may have been considered previously. In the current climate, this appears to be a positive approach, however, time will tell whether fully remote working will lead to a lack of employee engagement and potentially loyalty, leading to increased staff turnover, especially across hard to find skill sets where people are driven by financial gain and are being approached on a regular basis with opportunities.

A further trend we are seeing is the desire for a deeper knowledge of their prospective employer. Their stability, management of Covid and how career development is being tackled remotely as examples.

We’ll be publishing Technology, Data, Engineering, Science, Sustainability, eCommerce, Marketing and Design sector-specific Talent & Skills Snapshots over the next few weeks to share and provide sector knowledge specific to the Bristol and Bath regions…