Employers should be overwhelmed with choice. And yet, the opposite is true. In our survey and subsequent RPO report, we explore the challenges that are dominating talent strategies today.

There was a record high of 1.1 million job vacancies in the United Kingdom in the three months to September 2021 – over half a million more compared to the same period in 2020 when the country was in the true throes of the pandemic. Running parallel to this was a national unemployment rate of 4.3 per cent. This equates to around 2.15 million people over the age of 20 being out of work.

The maths sounds simple – there should be two people available for every job on offer. Employers should be overwhelmed with choice. And yet, the opposite is true.

A worsening skills crisis changed the priorities of workers after the pandemic, and the lingering impact of Brexit is making it harder than ever for businesses to source the right talent for their needs. With HR and talent teams now more focused on the wellbeing of their existing cohorts, there is simply less time available to dedicate to identifying the best candidates in the recruitment market. It’s why so many are turning to external, third parties to make their talent ambitions a reality and gain a competitive edge within their industry.

To delve into this movement further and understand what it means for both employers and candidates, we undertook a significant research project.

Spanning director to advisor level, as well as independent consultants across the people space – covering roles in HR, talent and ED&I – and in sectors such as digital, IT, manufacturing, infrastructure, FMCG and more, in this RPO report we sought to dissect the challenges that are dominating talent strategies in the wake of COVID-19, and those that will shape our futures.