Birmingham Business Missing Out On Top Talent

Birmingham businesses could be missing out on employing the city’s top talent because of a slow recruitment process, according to new research due to be published by consultants Katie Bard this month.

The results of the annual Blue Book Employment Survey were revealed to members of the city’s young professional’s organisation Birmingham Future at a special event this week.  The research showed that around 58 per cent of Birmingham’s vacancies, take more than four weeks to fill, leaving the door wide open for competing companies to step in and snap up the best candidates.

Julie Fouad, brand development director for Katie Bard, said: “2009 was a challenging year for many Birmingham businesses, punctuated by large-scale redundancies, headcount freezes, salary cuts and deferrals.  As 2010 progresses and more and more companies are actively recruiting, candidates in high demand will begin to recognise the breadth of options available to them with counter job offers posing a real threat to many.

“Candidates see the actual process of being recruited as a great insight into what an organisation would ultimately be like to work for. Therefore, a company with a slow recruitment process runs the risk of damaging its appeal to prospective employees. Interestingly, only six per cent of employers see counter offers as a threat to recruitment.”

The survey highlights a number of important issues, including a lack of interview training in the region with previous research from Katie Bard illustrating that over 80 per cent of those involved in the process have had little or no formal instruction.

Commenting on the results, Amanda Porter, chair of Birmingham Forward and senior solicitor at Mills and Reeve, said: “it appears that some firms in Birmingham have a real gulf between their perceived reputation and the reality in the job market. The research showed that whilst 81 per cent of organisations believe they are attractive to prospective employees, only 22 per cent of their current staff felt they had been fairly treated during 2009.  This mismatch could have a serious impact on employee engagement over the coming year.

“If we are to retain the city’s talent, there’s a real duty on employers to be rigorous in their recruitment process and not just rely on wooing candidates with job titles or large salaries. We need to focus on promoting opportunities for personal growth and development in addition to shortening the recruitment process.”

The full Blue Book Employment Survey will be available from Katie Bard on 19 May.  For more information, visit www.katiebard.com, or for more information on Birmingham Future, visit www.birminghamfuture.co.uk.
 

Photo: Julie Fouad, Brand Development Director for Katie Baird

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