Apprentice Achievements
We’ve kissed some frogs

We’ve kissed some frogs

The past few years have been the most challenging in recent history making recruitment in all sectors difficult to manage at the moment with education & training being no different.

During the pandemic many people took the opportunity to evaluate their lives with some making the decision to leave, or change their jobs in an attempt to improve their work-life balance.

Who can blame them?

If you have an opportunity to retire early & travel the world, or downsize your career responsibility to enjoy working again, why wouldn’t you?

Working from home is also now a thing, even if employers have the costs of partially occupied, or empty premises to manage & blended, flexible or part-time working requests are on the rise.

Employers are learning to do things differently, negotiating with potential candidates to recruit the most suitable person for each role & the best talent available recognise their worth more than pre-pandemic times, but not all enthusiastic interviews lead to successful appointments, with settling for ‘someone is better than no one’ on the rise.

People will always move jobs at some point in their career & as colleagues grow through experience & skill, we should celebrate their growth & congratulate them as they move on to bigger & better things.

However, the hole they leave can often be difficult to fill.

Over the past few months we’ve celebrated the success of some colleagues as they move on as well as waving off some that had reached a natural end to their role with us but both departures leave challenges for those who remain.

As we’ve advertised, interviewed & recruited new people we have met some great new colleagues who will undoubtedly support our ambitions & growth, but we’ve also kissed our fair share of frogs!

Available talent pools are depleted at the moment with no immediate sign of changing & although salary range is important to prospective colleagues, organisational values & ambition & balance do feature highly on the list of must haves for people.

I have recruited & interviewed hundreds of people during my career to date and can claim more successes than challenges but I’ve found myself leaning towards the ‘someone is better than no one’ pool relying on my colleagues to help sense check appointments to avoid making the wrong decision.

Those candidates that know their worth can, & do articulate & quantify it without making high demands knowing that they can subsequently demonstrate their ability which in turn leads to a lasting and mutually beneficial working relationship & despite a depleted pool of this level of talent, we must hold out for the right person for each role.

Settling can initially feel like the right solution but can be both costly and unsuccessful leaving an unpleasant taste, & the original job still to do!

Clearly articulating our organisational values and ambitions will always attract the people we’re seeking, and it will hopefully limit the number of frogs we’re left smooching with!

I hope you have a great week

Cheers

Noel