This week, City AM revealed that nearly nine in ten London employers plan to recruit in the next 12 months, the highest recruitment intentions in 8 years.
Seemingly, the London business community is ready for growth, so we picked up with our clients to explore what hiring looks and feels like to them in the wake of the pandemic.
A key message from these conversations was the role of in-person communication. For many, digitally onboarding recruits during the pandemic proved difficult. Training new starters on business systems, embedding them into a firm’s culture and teaching them the ‘company way’ all took a hit whilst the UK worked from home.
As such, many clients were relieved to be able to greet new recruits in-person over the summer and integrate them into the team and its culture far quicker by working in the office a couple of days a week.
What’s more, with flexible working now reportedly more important than salary for 3 in 4 professionals, an employer’s ability to offer access to such a hybrid model not only makes training and development quicker but also strengthens the appeal of any job offer.
With employers across the capital poised for growth, it seems that a physical space could be key to successful post-pandemic hiring, onboarding and retention. The importance of meeting and greeting a new hire on their first day seems to be more important than ever.