Very many pages have been written about how the pandemic was the catalyst for a major re-evaluation of work, culminating in “the Great Resignation”. Working from home was certainly a significant influence – suddenly people could do their jobs effectively virtually anywhere in the country, able to plan work schedules around the demands of family life, and many were relieved of the grind of the daily commute.
Several commentators have suggested that the signs of dissatisfaction with traditional work patterns were apparent well before the pandemic struck but that the subsequent disruption propelled people to evaluate their work–life balance. Professor Dan Cable, professor of organisational behaviour at London Business School, thinks the reason is even more fundamental: “Normally, people are very keen to forget about their own impermanence. For obvious reasons, the pandemic has made that impossible. We have been confronted with the reality of our mortality.” The acceptance that life is finite inspired many of us to think about how we really wanted to live our lives.
Hybrid working – the big shift
Inevitably, employers now have to come to terms with the fact that the old methods of hiring and retaining staff are no longer good enough. There has certainly been a noticeable shift in attitude over the last 10 years or so as the baby boomer generation begins to give way to a younger, more critical cohort who are less willing to accept the old hierarchical “I say, you do” management approach of many organisations.
There has certainly been a noticeable shift in attitude over the last 10 years or so as the baby boomer generation begins to give way to a younger, more critical cohort who are less willing to accept the old hierarchical “I say, you do” management approach of many organisations
Post-pandemic, the first sign of the new order has been the widespread adoption of hybrid working. Approximately half the country’s workforce moved to home working during the first lockdown in 2020 and, having proved it worked, most employers have now accepted that offering hybrid working is key to attracting and retaining their workforce. As a major local employer, we accepted very early on that we would need to review many of our working practices in the light of the success of hybrid working; as a professional services firm, most of our team were able to work remotely which was a useful test bed for future policy.
So, what have the last three years taught us when recruiting?
Recruitment and onboarding
We have invested in our recruitment resources so that we have people on the ground who know the firm well, have first-hand experience of working here and know exactly what it is they are “selling” to new recruits. We’ve recognised that the really important work starts once someone has signed their contract and we ensure that the induction process kicks off before they actually join. We keep in regular contact with them and start making introductions so that by the time they arrive, they already feel part of the team. And, of course, we provide a welcome pack on their first day with us.
Creating a great place to work
So, once you’ve got the right people in place, the next challenge is to keep them. We run regular surveys and forums to monitor the success of individual initiatives and to consult on proposed new ones. Good communication is crucial: employees need to understand the firm’s strategy and how they can contribute to its success.
At the most fundamental level, responsibilities must be clear, career progression must be mapped out and training programmes, catering to both professional requirements and soft skills, must be designed so that people can reach their full potential in an environment where they can thrive
At the most fundamental level, responsibilities must be clear, career progression must be mapped out and training programmes, catering to both professional requirements and soft skills, must be designed so that people can reach their full potential in an environment where they can thrive. A comprehensive benefits package, benchmarked against the competition, and competitive salaries go without saying. It’s also important to ensure that we have a range of flexible benefits that individuals can tailor to their own personal circumstances ensuring that they are cost-effective via salary sacrifice.
Health and well-being
Making our firm an enjoyable place to work is our top priority: a happy employee is a productive one. As stated, we are able to offer most employees hybrid working although there are certain caveats according to individual roles and the need for oversight and supervision. We also recognise that employees gain a lot from face-to-face collaboration, so all teams are encouraged to come into the office and collaborate together at times which work best for them and their colleagues. Our people have told us they enjoy the flexibility that we provide along with the individual responsibility they have to keep in contact with colleagues and clients.
Open and regular communication helps to keep everyone in the loop and is even more crucial when a proportion of the workforce is working remotely. Actively promoting well-being is essential: we run several initiatives to foster inclusion and well-being in the workplace, including mental health first-aiders, an equality, diversity and inclusion committee, and an active social committee. We also run a “spotlight award”, which recognises members of staff who have gone above and beyond.
Building a reputation as a well-managed, fair place to work where employees are actively valued and listened to does take time and doesn’t happen overnight; nonetheless, it is worth both the time and monetary investment
Finally, building a reputation as a well-managed, fair place to work where employees are actively valued and listened to does take time and doesn’t happen overnight; nonetheless, it is worth both the time and monetary investment. We run regular employee surveys to garner views and opinions, and everyone is invited to an “ask the senior leadership team” event if they have any concerns, comments or suggestions on how we can do things better.
Individual businesses will have different “drivers” to which they need to respond in order to engage their team but, as we are all experiencing, it is a seller’s market at the moment and businesses need to be proactive about managing and meeting employee expectations and providing a good place to work.
The veterinary profession and recruitment
The profession is struggling to recruit and retain staff which makes the application of a programme to attract candidates all the more important.
In May 2022, the RCVS published the RCVS Workforce Summit 2021. It considered current trends in recruitment as they affect veterinary surgeons only and noted that workforce shortages are a challenge for the profession and that this issue is not a new phenomenon. The report stated that “the issue has been exacerbated significantly by recent events, including the additional pressures on the profession brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, changes to the situation of EU vets caused by Brexit and an increase in demand for vets driven by a surge in pet ownership in the UK.”
In more detail, figures from the RCVS Register show a marked decline in joiners to the UK veterinary profession between 2019 and 2021, from 2,782 registrations down to 2,119 registrations. In 2018, 53 percent of new registrants were EU-qualified, but in 2021 this was true of only 23 registrations (RCVS, 2022).
As for the rest of the veterinary team, the picture isn’t much better. In September 2022 industry research concluded that “the shortage of veterinary nurses is due in part to the lack of retention within the profession. Adequate recompense for work undertaken and value attributed to the role are suggested as contributing factors” (Hagen et al., 2022). It also found that staff shortages had been exacerbated by the pandemic and the UK’s exit from the EU. It also reported that “pay and not feeling rewarded or valued (non-financial) were cited as the top two reasons to leave” the profession – a problem made worse by pay that at the time of the report had “remained stagnant since 2010” (Hagen et al., 2022).
Fundamentally, the document recognised the fact that although practices can recruit trainee veterinary nurses with relative ease, it is difficult to recruit experienced veterinary nurses. In addition, it is difficult to retain them within a position or the profession due to issues with salary, poor management and work–life balance.
