Businesses across the UK face a hiring crisis. Getting the right people and getting them to stay has become tougher than ever post-COVID-19.

Many older and self-employed workers dropped out of the labour market during the pandemic and haven’t yet returned. Meanwhile, large numbers of European workers left the country in the wake of Brexit and the pandemic.

Whatever the cause, the result is the tightest job market on record: ONS data shows almost 600,000 fewer people in the UK workforce compared to 2019 and we have 1.2 million unfilled job posts.

At the same time, maybe in response to this competitive market and a re-evaluation of priorities post-pandemic, employee expectations have risen over this period. People want better pay, conditions and opportunities. There’s far more scrutiny of fairness and inclusion at companies they’re considering.

And flexible and hybrid working remains high on the agenda, with a recent study by Microsoft showing that more than half (51%) of UK workers who currently have the choice to mix remote and office working would consider leaving their company if this hybrid option was removed. That isn’t an idle threat. With over a million job openings in play and low rates of unemployment, they’d be very likely to quickly find something else.

Record levels of unfilled vacancies mean employers must fiercely compete to fill every role and respond meaningfully to these new expectations to attract the best talent.

Businesses that don’t respond to these new priorities won’t recover from crisis conditions as well as they plan to; they may lose key people to more advanced competitors and, sooner or later, they’ll fall behind.

In response, Leaders as Change Agents — a government-sponsored, expert committee for business leadership we have the privilege to co-chair — has created a new guide, available for free from the organisation’s website, calling on all UK business leaders to embrace eight commitments for a better workplace.

We firmly believe successful businesses in 2022 and beyond will be those that are fair and fulfilling working environments for all their staff, that long-term economic success will be intrinsically linked to the value and investment that is put into employees.

Change is always hard, but at this point, it’s a necessity for many businesses: ‘old school’ hiring, work conditions and employee expectations have been replaced over decades with newer, entirely better alternatives.

Those old practices need to be modernised and business leaders have the opportunity to head the charge on making this happen. As a first order of business, leaders have a key role in creating a ‘levelled-up’ workplace at every company that propels empowerment and choice: every employee should feel they’re able to make a difference to the company’s success through their own actions and decisions. A chance to participate and keep pushing the business forward; not just following orders.

Firms also can make a solid and binding commitment to fairness — embracing diversity, inclusion and equity — so all employees feel they belong, can seize opportunities and thrive in their roles. This is not just a moral nice-to-have: when every source of talent is a rare resource to be treasured, it’s an economic imperative.

The Leaders as Change Agents Employer & Employee Guide covers the opportunities to start or expand on each of these areas, and more, as well as detailed information on the measurable outcomes and benefits companies can expect to receive in return.

The guide has been formally backed by the CBI, Tech UK, the City of London Corporation, British Chambers of Commerce, Tesco, Aviva and Deloitte, among many other leading business organisations.