The end of the government’s furlough scheme in September 2021, means the jobs market could become more competitive than ever.
Cheltenham-based Hooray demonstrates how using a recruitment agency could help you attract the best people to work for you, even if they’re not looking for a new role when the government scheme ends.
About the expert – Ian Moriarty from Hooray
Hooray operations director, Ian Moriarty, has over 13 years of experience in business development and account management, as well as running his own organic food brand in Australia. He takes care of everything from finance to marketing at Hooray. He’s also responsible for keeping the tea and coffee stocked up!
As Gloucestershire’s ethical recruitment agency, Hooray is proud to champion diversity, make a positive impact in the community and match the right talent to the right job.
What happens when the furlough scheme ends in September 2021?
Businesses will either be able to bring employees back full-time, if they are able to, or choose one of three options: agree reduced working hours for their staff; furlough staff for a further period at their own expense; or, unfortunately, make certain roles redundant. There is undoubtedly going to be many local businesses having to make some very tough decisions this month.
What is the new Job Support Scheme and what does this mean for businesses?
The scheme is designed to help protect jobs for the six months following on from the end of the furlough scheme. A business will continue to pay its employee for time they work, but the burden of hours not worked will be split between the business and the government through wage support and the employee through a wage reduction.
While it won’t provide as much financial support as the furlough scheme, it is hoped that this new Job Support Scheme will provide a lifeline to businesses and some level of support to carry them through to the spring, when hopefully the economic outlook might look brighter.
Additionally and just recently announced, employees who work for UK firms forced to shut by law because of Covid-19 restrictions are to get two-thirds of their wages paid for by the Government. The latest scheme which begins on 1st November, will only apply to businesses forced to close rather than those businesses who choose to shut because of the broader impact of Covid restrictions.
How can businesses attract furloughed workers to switch jobs?
Most candidates on the furlough scheme, or soon to be Job Support Scheme, will be looking for stability and something for the long term after all the turmoil that 2020 has brought. It is important when advertising your job role or working with an agency, that you, or the agency, know all of the perks and benefits and know as much about the role and business as possible. It is still as important as ever for businesses to ‘sell’ the opportunity to attract the best talent from the market.
What are the benefits of using a recruitment agency in the current jobs market?
They can save you valuable time and resources as they are often networked with the best candidates in the market, who might not necessarily be looking for a new role, and even if they are, they might not see your advert or see that you are recruiting.
By using an agency like Hooray, not only can we tap into the available candidate pool through job advertisements, our own internal database and network, but we can go out to the wider market and uncover more passive candidates, ensuring you really are getting a shortlist of the best talent out there.
With such unprecedented demand for vacancies, how can Hooray help businesses find the best candidates?
Good candidates are always in high demand, even during these times! So we can help you in lots of ways, whether it be using our expertise to whittle through the hundreds of CVs you receive, saving you time and money; interviewing and selecting only the most impressive candidates to progress; or like many niche or specialist roles, where the candidate pool is still very small, we can go out to the market and hunt these candidates down for you.
So, we can help and support businesses every step of the way, whether it be advising on job advertisements, job descriptions or person specifications right the way through to guidance on the interview process, what to offer, negotiation and on-boarding. We advertise on and have access to the biggest candidate job sites in the UK, so we can ensure you really are getting the best available candidates in the market.
What does it mean that Hooray is an ‘ethical recruitment agency’?
It means always doing the right thing by our clients and candidates. It means practising good business principles and not behaving dishonestly. We want to provide a completely honest and transparent recruitment service and we are fully committed to being ethical, honest and transparent in all our dealings.
