Comment from 300 North given to Facilities Management Journal for their recent article: Addressing the recruitment shortfall within FM in 2024. For further discussion on how to tackle the skills shortage in the FM sector, please visit their site.

The FM sector has continually seen stable growth despite difficult economic headwinds in recent years. In terms of recruitment and the talent shortfall we continue to see in the sector, businesses have adopted a number of strategies to bring in the talent they need. Retention is a large part of this, and this year we have seen many businesses address and improve their approach to ESG and CSR internally in order to boost employee satisfaction and engagement.

The UK recruitment market continues to be very competitive, and to ensure access to the best candidates, employers are having to make themselves more attractive from the beginning. Rising costs and competition for talent mean retention is especially valuable to companies. The recruitment process is becoming more of an experience for candidates and people are critically assessing companies’ hiring processes and evaluating employers based on their "performance". Potential hires are looking to see whether a company aligns with their values and shows that it cares about its employees.