Page 27 - PWM2025_DECEMBER EBOOK

BETTER BUSINESS

He adds that while it is extremely the production side compared to
difficult for people at this income office roles, but where employers can
level to finance a relocation, “with offer compressed shifts, alternate
the right shift pattern, working away weekends off, or fixed patterns, it
from home is the more attractive makes a real difference.”
proposition”. Pollard echoes this but adds in the
As for overseas workers, Brexit has need to offer opportunities to pro-
very much faded as an issue for gress, develop, and learn new skills.
recruiting in print and packaging On top of this there’s worry in the
says Pollard. She acknowledges that employment market and that fear of
there were EU migrants who change has to be overcome: “Moving
returned to their country of origin job is a big upheaval for people’s lives
“but they were mostly unskilled and a risk to their livelihood as well
workers in seasonal roles and hand so employers need to make it worth
finishing”. it.” Consequently, she advises
However, it’s interesting that employers to not “low ball” as “offer-
Thompson has an alternative take on ing them a salary that’s lower than
Brexit and Covid. they’re worth will lead to rejection
He says that before Brexit typically and damage to your brand as an
5%-15% of candidates were from employer”.
Eastern Europe and had settled in the As an aside, Thompson details that
UK. But following Brexit, many in the past it was mainly sales, man-
found it difficult to secure full rights agement, and director-level staff who
to remain and some simply felt showed interest in the P&L and bal-
unwelcome. ance sheet of potential employers,
It didn’t help that, as he notes, “10 but that now he’s seeing production
years ago, as an illustration, a move staff take a much keener interest in
from Poland to the UK offered signif- the financial position of an employer.
icantly higher earning potential. But Moving on, Pollard says that a decent
in recent years, countries like Poland offer also addresses something which
and others in Eastern Europe have has become a massive issue in the
closed the gap economically”. market: counteroffers.
As a result, he’s found that many of “Counteroffers have always been
sectors. For example, she details that the north west, West Midlands, East these individuals ultimately chose to an issue; you put so much work into
Anglia, and north Home Counties are important to corrugated and cartons return home. trying to secure someone only for
manufacturing. their current employer to offer them
Her concern is that if an employer has exhausted the local talent pool it Employers must prove them- a significant pay rise to stay. This is a
can be tricky to recruit, and relocation isn’t always possible. “Asking people selves real pain and such a waste when you
to relocate is difficult as the housing market is so volatile; there’s a lack of But even when talent is local are recruiting as no one wins.” Her
rental properties as well as mortgage rates being through the roof. The fur- Pollard says recruitment is not point is that the hiring employer has
ther south you go, the more expensive the property.” straight forward – other factors aside, to start again and it’s also bad for the
She says that only a very small minority will relocate. However, she’s pay is still paramount, especially with candidates: “Data shows that statisti-
found that firms that consider relocating people usually have to cover the the rise in cost of living. cally a counteroffered employee does
cost of the move or put them up in temporary accommodation until the Thompson takes the same line in not last in the role. In their employ-
move can be finalised. “We’re not saying people won’t do it – I’ve had candi- every regard, but notes that “a com- er’s minds they have shown disloyalty
dates who park up on the car park in a caravan or stay with a friend – but petitive salary gets attention, but an and become expensive.” Further, she
they’re a tiny minority.” attractive overall package is what says that it is rare that money is the
Thompson too sees relocation as being rare unless there’s a compelling seals the deal”. only reason for the move and typi-
package. Like Pollard, he knows that the high cost of living in the south east, In fact, he says that candidates are cally all of those issues remain unre-
particularly housing, is a major deterrent. It’s for this reason that he increasingly looking for a clean and solved.
expresses the view that “if relocation is required, companies need to offer safe working environment, career Notably, Pollard highlights that
significantly above-market salaries, help with relocation costs, and ideally progression opportunities and flexi- production staff want the ability to
some flexible working arrangement to make it viable”. ble hours – particularly around earn overtime: “It shows the com-
Of course, some do work away from home, but for this to happen he school pick-ups – or shorter working pany is stable with a demand for
advises that “consistent and compact shift patterns, as well as of course sal- weeks. He expands on the point: work and they also get to top up their
ary, need to be offered”. “Flexible working is more difficult on income.”

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