The issue of retaining existing staff is closely linked to employers’ experiences in the recruitment market. The impact of hard-to-fill vacancies will be exacerbated if there are then difficulties holding on to the staff that have been recruited. Similarly, if an employer has difficulty in retaining staff, this may cause persistent staff shortages if the employer also has difficulty filling their vacancies. This next section looks at the characteristics of employers that experienced retention difficulties, the occupations which are most affected, and the factors underlying retention difficulties. It also explores the extent to which recruitment difficulties interlink with retention difficulties.
2.9.1 Incidence of retention difficulties
Eight per cent of establishments reported that there were specific jobs in which they had difficulties retaining staff16.
Proportions differed slightly by country, with establishments in Northern Ireland least likely to have reported retention difficulties (seven per cent) and establishments in Scotland most likely to have reported them (10 per cent). In England and Wales the proportion of establishments with retention difficulties was eight and nine per cent respectively.
Collectively across England, Northern Ireland and Wales the proportion of establishments with retention difficulties has risen from five per cent in 2011 to eight per cent in 2015. It should be noted that retention difficulties were last covered by the Employer Skills Survey in 2011. For that survey, due to differing policy priorities and constraints on the length of the questionnaire, employers in Scotland were not asked to describe their experience of retention difficulties. As such, no Scottish or UK-wide data is available for time series comparisons.
Employers’ experience of retention difficulties rose by size of employer, from five per cent among establishments with fewer than five employees, to almost three in ten (29 per cent) among those with 250+ employees.
16 Employers were asked: Are there any particular jobs in which you have difficulties retaining staff? (Add if necessary:
By sector, employers within the Hotels and Restaurants sector were most likely to experience retention difficulties (14 per cent), followed closely by those in Public Administration, Education and Health and Social Work (all 12 per cent). Employers in the Financial Services and Wholesale and Retail sectors were least likely (both six per cent). Table A.2.19 in Annex A provides detailed figures of the incidence of establishments with retention difficulties by size and sector.
Establishments with current vacancies were far more likely to have retention difficulties (25 per cent, compared to four per cent of those without vacancies). This reflects the inter-relationship between retention difficulties and labour market activity. Establishments that were struggling to fill their vacancies were particularly likely to experience retention difficulties (43 per cent of those with hard-to-fill vacancies).
2.9.2 Occupational pattern of retention difficulties
When establishments experience retention difficulties, these tend to be for specific job roles rather than for all occupations. Establishments experiencing retention difficulties were most likely to report them among Skilled Trades and Elementary occupations (21 and 20 per cent respectively; see Figure 2.8). In contrast, very few establishments reported retention difficulties to be mainly among Managers (two per cent).
Figure 2.8 Occupations in which most difficulty retaining staff
20%Elementary staff 8%Machine Operatives 2%Managers 11%Professionals 10% Associate Professionals 4%Admin. / Clerical staff 21%Skilled Trades occupations 13%Caring, Leisure and Other
9%Sales and Customer
Services
As described earlier in this Chapter, vacancies increased most markedly among Skilled Trades and Elementary occupations causing more movement of staff between organisations. Employers were also most likely to have difficulties filling vacancies for Skilled Trades occupations (53 per cent of all Skilled Trades vacancies were reported to be hard-to-fill). This suggests the impact of these retention difficulties is likely to be more acute as these staff are harder to replace. Conversely, vacancies in Elementary occupations were less likely to be hard-to-fill (29 per cent of Elementary vacancies were classified by employers as hard-to-fill), suggesting the impact of the retention difficulties here may be lessened as staff are easier to replace.
The low proportion of employers that reported retention difficulties for Managers (two per cent) was in line with the relatively low number of vacancies for these roles (just three per cent of all vacancies were for Managers).
2.9.3 Reasons for retention difficulties
The reasons establishments had difficulties retaining staff are shown in Figure 2.9. Some of the most common reasons given related to retention difficulties rising from conditions within the job market, including: a lack of people interested in the type of work (56 per cent), too much competition from other employers (38 per cent) and lower wages being offered relative to other organisations (34 per cent). Reasons for retention difficulties also commonly related to unappealing characteristics of the role, including: long hours (33 per cent), lack of career progressions (30 per cent), geographic location of the site (26 per cent) and unattractive conditions of employment (20 per cent).
Figure 2.9 Reasons for retention difficulties
As we saw in the previous section, the occupational groups most affected by retention difficulties were Skilled Trades and Elementary occupations. The data here allow us to better understand the reasons these roles prove problematic.
• In the case of Skilled Trades occupations, the reasons for retention difficulties most commonly related to job market conditions, and in particular that there were not enough people interested in doing the type of work (64 per cent) and that there was too much competition from other employers (40 per cent).
• Retention difficulties with Elementary staff were also attributed to job market issues, particularly not enough people being interested in this type of work (66 per cent). However, reasons for retention difficulties in Elementary roles also centred on unappealing characteristics of the role: the most common of which was the job involving long or antisocial hours (43 per cent).
4% 1% 2% 4% 9% 20% 23% 26% 30% 30% 33% 34% 38% 56% Other Students come and go Cost to employer Nature of work is too difficult/mentally and physically tiring Difficult to find experienced/skilled staff Unattractive conditions of employment Impact of the benefits trap Geographic location of the site Staff don't want long term commitment Lack of career progression Long/unsocial hours Wages offered are lower than those offered by other organisations Too much competition from other employers Not enough people interested in doing this type of work