UK’s biggest brands may struggle to attract top talent

MANY once-powerful employer brands will be unable to attract top talent in the next decade according to a report on how the downturn will change the future of work, published today by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Pay and promotion freezes, changes to pension schemes, cuts in recruitment and slashed training budgets, combined with poor communication, have eroded the bonds of trust between some employers and their employees.

In contrast, other organisations have excelled at doing more with less to engage and develop their employees in an unstable employment landscape where many individuals view their career prospects as stagnant or diminishing.

One in five (21%) UK employees’ trust in their employer has decreased during the recession, according to new PwC research. Approximately the same number (18%) said their trust in their line manager has declined. In contrast, more people said their trust in their colleagues has increased (15%) than said the relationships have suffered (9%).

The findings suggest that peer relationships are more durable in troubled times than those that are hierarchical or impersonal – once again confirming the need for honest, two-way communication across organisations.

Graham Ward-Thompson, Yorkshire and Humberside partner, human resource services, PricewaterhouseCoopers, commented: “As the long-term impact of people decisions taken during the downturn begins to be felt, the winners and losers of the war for talent are starting to reveal themselves – with those who continued to focus on investment and employee engagement emerging as clear leaders. Those who continued to offer their employees new opportunities and invested in their people pipeline are now at a competitive advantage.

“Some of the UK supermarkets are a great example of where brave people management decisions have paid off to help them secure the next generation of leadership cadre and pick up top-performers at all levels from different industries. Other companies appear to have panicked and made decisions based on short-term gain that will have long-term repercussions for their people pipeline and their future prospects.”

The PwC report looks back from 2020 and tells the story of how three fictitious organisations emerged from the current crisis – specifically in terms of their people strategies. The conclusion from all three scenarios is that, as global economies start to stabilise, companies need to assess whether their people plans – which include the ways people are recruited, rewarded, retained, incentivised, trained and retired – are fit for the future.