Insights from Victoria and Hazel were a great way to kick off the event however, the stories shared by business leaders from various sectors were especially insightful and of interest. Identifying those common themes and challenges we’ve all experienced, and in some cases are still facing is where shared experience and discussions of how we have, and can overcome these really adds value.
An awareness and acknowledgement that whilst each business operates individually, so do all of their people is essential: they are all individuals with their own circumstances which impact their work and home lives. An understanding of why our teams might want to work at home and the benefits they associate with this can help with supporting a return to the office. The benefits to collaborative working, team building, and mental health and wellbeing, as well as the opportunity to learn from your colleagues and seniors within the business, is well known and a real positive of returning to the office.
The sustainability of the current salary expectations and wider demands of job seekers is a result of the current candidate driven recruitment market. The rising costs of hiring and staff retention will have their impact on business as is the ongoing skills gap. Hearing that an organisation’s culture and values are the most significant candidate drivers highlights the importance of these aspects within business.
My favourite quote from the day and one I can really resonate with came from Vicky Jaycock who said ‘the city is our office’. Building relationships with people, the opportunity to bump into someone you may not have seen for a while and reconnecting with people you weren’t expecting to only comes from seeing people face to face.
