Biggest challenge faced by large businesses is recruitment and retention, shows GRiD research

Recruitment and retention shown to be the biggest challenge facing large corporates - GRiD

Katie Crook-Davies
23 May 2019

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A view of the business landscape from a HR perspective

HR decision makers at larger businesses say that recruiting and retaining talent is the biggest challenge their organisation currently faces, according to new research undertaken by Group Risk Development (GRiD), the industry body for the group risk protection sector.

Katharine Moxham, spokesperson for GRiD commented: "The battle for talent has always been closely fought among larger employers, and with high employment and continuing pressure for increased productivity and growth, it's not going to get any easier."

Key challenges faced by UK businesses according to HR decision makers:

Challenge	Percentage of large employers (250+employees)	Percentage of SME employers ( < 250 employees)
Recruiting and retaining good talent	56	39
Understanding gaps in knowledge, eg legal, HR, employment law	49	26
Keeping on top of, and complying with, legislation	47	42
Growing the business	46	52
Managing budgets	46	28
Managing HR issues, including absence	45	23
Knowing what employee benefits to offer staff	39	17
Looking after the health and wellbeing of staff	36	23
Knowing where to go for specialist advice e.g. legal, HR, employment law	36	19
Keeping afloat	20	17

However, recruiting and retaining staff is made easier when companies can demonstrate that they'll be well looked after. This might include a clear path for career progression, an attractive environment and good working conditions. Demonstrating support for health and wellbeing is also important. Looking after the health and wellbeing of staff is a challenge for 36% of larger companies, but can go a long way in attracting and maintaining a loyal workforce.

Mind the gap

Large corporates say they also struggle to keep on top of legislation and employment laws which are continually changing. Understanding knowledge gaps is a challenge for nearly half (49%) of larger employers, and complying with legislation is an issue for 47%, as highlighted by the research carried out on over 100 large corporates.

Absence management

Just under half of larger employers (45%) say that managing HR issues, including absence, is a challenge. This is in contrast to smaller businesses, where these issues cause much less of a problem, affecting just 23%.

Moxham continued: "It's clear from these findings that, for larger employers, group risk products and employee benefits as a whole, may not be uppermost in their minds. However, if deployed well, such products can help support a business and its employees through many of their operational challenges, from providing support for absence management through to access to HR and legal advice."

"It's been an extremely interesting exercise to view the business landscape through the lens of HRs. Putting great people management at the heart of an organisation's planning would no doubt reduce some of the current challenges faced by many larger businesses today."