How the right culture in the workplace can help recruit top talent
While the tug of war for talent continues across the UK, employers are beginning to look other ways of attracting top candidates including upskilling people and flexible working, to attract and retain people.
Simon Briffa, Head of Talent Acquisition & Wellbeing at Sellick Partnership, the professional services recruitment specialist, said while the recruitment market remained challenging for talent spotting, acquisition and retention, there has been a huge shift from people towards finding the right company culture which fit their values and ambitions.
“People are still the most important asset and investment for any firm,” he said.
“I look after the internal recruitment for staff across all our seven offices and in the last year we have grown massively especially across legal and actuarial, and so we’ve been lucky enough to take on talented individuals that are going to help Sellick reach its own ambitions to grow.
“For Sellick it’s about finding people that want to be part of our own values and culture, and it’s something that candidates place huge importance on, especially since Covid.
“The market is tough now. People have more options because they can work from home, salaries have gone up too, so the competition is fierce, and therefore you have to look beyond that to what else can we offer.
“That comes down to listening to people and what they want. They want flexibility, they want to be part of a team and they want to grow with you and grow their skills set.”
He added: “Finding people who not only possess the skills and experience to excel in a role, but who are also a good cultural fit helps that culture thrive and as we have seen in our own firm, has had a great impact on their own satisfaction and productivity.”
As Sellick’s Head of Talent Acquisition & Wellbeing, Simon also promotes good mental health in the workplace providing support for employees who are experiencing mental ill health including anxiety or depression.
As well as access to free counselling sessions, Manchester-headquartered Sellick took part in Stress Awareness Month in April and each office also has a Mental Health First Aider.
“I’m a mental health first aider too,” said Simon, who joined Sellick in 2015.
“This is something we started before Covid-19 as we have always placed importance of being happy in the work environment, we want to help people feel empowered and looking after their health, physically and mentally has been a priority for us and will continue to be.”
