Business in Focus Heads For 100 Staff

23/02/18

Business in Focus, the specialist business support organisation for enterprise in Wales, is celebrating major expansion, having increased its skilled workforce over the past 2 years, despite the reduction in the numbers of job applications in the market place.

The Wales based enterprise specialist, which has offices in Bridgend, and throughout South Wales, has increased its workforce from 63 to 100 since 2016, via carefully targeted recruitment drives and smart internal training and recruitment.

The expansion comes at a time when recruitment and business experts across the UK, including, most recently the Recruitment and Employment Confederation REC,  has warned that the current skills shortage is reaching critical levels and is the greatest threat to UK businesses.

Human Resources Manager at Business in Focus, Andrea Wallbank, said: “The growth of Business in Focus is very pleasing and I feel we now have the strongest team we have ever had at the company.

“Employers have never faced a more challenging time when it comes to filling key roles, and the past 18 months have been particularly extreme, because employment is so high and because uncertainty over the effects of Brexit is making many people wary about leaving stable employment to take up new roles, as the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, CIPD has emphasised. However, our success in increasing our personnel shows that taking a very strategic approach, tailored to the unique make-up of the employment pool at the moment, can yield results.

“As well as leading recruitment and HR for Business in Focus, my other key priority is to be on hand as an HR consultant to Welsh firms and organisations we support, so I will be sharing some of the methods we have used over the past two years to recruit the highest quality candidates who are the best match for us, from a fairly small pool of candidates.

“Taking a very targeted approach to recruitment, using the correct social media tools in a smart way, for example, connecting with carefully chosen LinkedIn Groups appropriate to the specific roles we are seeking to fill, has been key for us. Where necessary, we have used niche agencies with access to specialist recruitment talent pools too. We have also been careful to keep our long-term objectives in mind – so we have recruited candidates with skills and aptitudes that are going to match our long-term goals, who will grow with us.

“We are also very aware that the very transactional approach that has been struck between employers and employees in past generations is long gone. We are no longer simply employers paying for time and for services given. The focus in the modern workplace is on building strong, reciprocal relationships within the team. So, our staff know their career progression is a priority for us. We pride ourselves on internal progression and more than 35 percent of our workforce have been promoted within the company.

“We have a diverse workforce and across the different generations we have attracted candidates and retained staff by offering flexible working arrangements.   We offer lifestyle benefits, and family leave, and we prioritise the social side of working life by holding regular events, like our summer barbecue and charity fundraising days. Of course, we ask our personnel to work hard, but everyone wants to feel valued and this is key to staff retention. Why put concerted effort and planning into hiring the right people, only to see them leave your organisation shortly afterwards?”

Business in Focus is a Wales-based business support specialist offering a broad range of vital support services, with offices throughout South Wales and the Valleys. They are continuing to recruit and you can find their current vacancies here: www.businessinfocus.co.uk/en/the-enterprise-people/Job_Vacancies