WFH or returning to the office - what do employees really want?

Recent research has found that more than 50% of UK companies still can’t fill business-critical roles – and it’s far worse in Britain than it is in other countries. Here are what the experts say top talent is looking for in Q4.

If you’re in HR, responsible for hiring or on the leadership team for a company, the last thing you need an HR journalist to inform you is that the fight for talent is still very much ongoing. But you've clicked on this article for a reason, and that reason is probably that you're still struggling to fill roles at your organisation.

So, with that in mind, let’s get into the recent data.

Workforce research and management firm SD Worx conducted a survey of approximately 4,300 companies across the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe, and found that not only are companies still massively struggling to fill business-critical roles, but that the UK is one of the hardest-hit countries for talent shortages.

Taken as a whole, most employers across all countries (69%) have “never had such a hard time positioning themselves as attractive employers”, with Belgium (65%), the UK (59.1%), the Netherlands (54%) and Ireland (53%) hit the hardest.

Unsurprisingly, the number one area that the respondents mentioned was most important was to provide potential candidates with working from home opportunities and with flexible working structures. This is something that, of course, the data has shown consistently since late 2020, and has cemented itself as the major contributor for why employees join a company – and why they jump ship for one with better, more trusting relationships with their people.