It’s not only febrile property-owning readers of the tabloids who know that the housing market is a bit sluggish currently – and ‘sluggish’ is being kind. Across all of our markets: health, education, third sector, central and local government and in the private sector too we’re finding that the housing market is big in the minds of people who are contemplating a move.
At the very top end the salary uplift and a significant promotion counteract the effects of this, but we can see that elsewhere in the organisation, and even for some senior folk, this is a real issue affecting their job mobility.
So what can you do about this, as an employer? Well the almost good news is that this means that your retention may get a little bit easier – but it’s only ‘almost’ good news because people who want to move, but can’t, are unlikely to win the workforce happy productive bunny award.
Some practical steps: Firstly, review your relocation policy – a few thousand pounds as a non-consolidated sum may hit the spot more than ramping up salaries to attract people – consider paying 6- 12 months rent for a mover, perhaps. Secondly, pursue your local markets more deeply. Get people searching in your neighbouring authorities, and in the towns up and down the trainline from your base. Executive search is going to become ever more important, jobs are going to need to be sold that bit more expertly, and we can help people think through solutions to the practical accommodation problems they have.
Thirdly (and you may find it odd to hear this coming from us) think about your internal succession planning. Veredus recently supported the NLGN Study Leading Lights: Recruiting The Next Generation In local government and that gives a strong steer towards better succession planning: don’t rely on the external market to fill your vacancies, work with people who understand leadership assessment and development to develop high quality home-grown options. Shouldn’t there always be one appointable internal candidate, even if you can then choose an even better person from outside?
Fourthly – consider the use of interims on a longer term basis to add capacity, cover permanent vacancies or maternity leave. Interims are generally over qualified for the roles they undertake and therefore represent excellent value for money, especially as many are now working part time covering full time roles.
Lastly, and this may be something which has benefit long after the housing market is cheerful again: consider your working culture from the perspective of someone who may be commuting a long way to work with you.
Evening meetings – is attendance really necessary, all the time? Early morning meetings – especially on Mondays when people may be weekly-commuting to you. Can you make it easier for people to work productively from home? These are all things we should be doing anyway, but now more than ever they may be key to recruiting the best.
Jonathan Flowers is managing partner at Veredus, leads on local government recruitment, specialises in chief executive appointments cross-sector and helps clients with developing their top teams.
This article was originally published in the Municipal Journal.