Four out of five (83%) business leaders in the UK and the US say the fierce competition for talented new hires is forcing them to compromise on the quality of their recruitment, while almost half (45%) say they are not confident in being able to attract the right talent to fulfil their businesses growth potential.

This is according to research*, conducted with over 500 C-Suite and VP level business leaders in large organisations (above 1000 employees) in the UK and US.

The Great Resignation is also leading many big businesses in the UK to rethink their organisational approach – 78% say that talent has now overtaken technology as the key priority for business transformation in their organisation.  While almost nine out of ten (88%) of business leaders say acquiring and retaining talent is more important to the business now than it was 18 months ago.

The Great Resignation has also led to the highest number of job vacancies in the UK in 20 years, with many workers deciding to switch careers or leave long standing jobs.  83% of business leaders in the UK and US are now concerned about losing talent from their business.

Over a quarter (27%) of leaders say 25 – 49% of their employees are holding back their organisation due to a lack of skills or mindset, with over half (58%) saying that a lack of critical thinking and problem solving is most lacking in their organisation.  Business leaders are divided, however, as to whether skills (53%) or mindset (47%) is the bigger issue in their organisation right now.  At the same time, 79% of business leaders are concerned about the accessibility to key skills in their organisation to make an improvement.

The major recruitment and retention challenges identified by leaders over the next 12 – 18 months are focusing on operational issues rather than strategic issues around talent with many focusing on skills more than mindset in recruitment (80%), focusing more on recruitment than retention (79%) and a focus on younger, new recruits rather than more established and experienced workers (78%).

However some organisations are successfully managing and developing their talent to an advanced level.  Organisations that have been identified as ‘talent first’ in the research were described by business leaders as being ‘globally renowned for nurturing talent and making leaders’ and ‘having an excellent talent management system’.

Abakar Saidov, Co-Founder and CEO at Beamery said: “Talent retention has become one of the most pressing issues that business leaders face today, and solving it quickly is critical to the growth of every organisation, not just in the coming months but also in the coming years.

Progressive thinking companies not only have ambitious targets in place around talent transformation goals, but have already introduced processes and tools to achieve them. Adapting to different working styles and creating an environment that promotes talent mobility, in which people want to stay, grow and develop is what will see the best engagement and retention of talent. For those moving too slowly the consequences will be dire.”

*Research from Beamery