War for talent heats up as recovery takes hold

The war for top talent is heating up and creating an engaging place to work has never been more important. Fun events are a key strategy in doing this but there is also a growing need for team building as new teams are formed and workloads increase, along with the recovery.

During the recession which took hold of Britain after the financial crisis struck in 2008, and even in the subsequent aftermath, many businesses in this country focused not on large scale growth but simply on survival. Fortunately, as recovery continues to build in momentum, businesses are increasingly seeking to grow their employee numbers in a bid to capitalise on an improvement in consumer confidence.

Yet several factors still stand in the way of exponential growth; firstly, a lingering unwillingness by banks to lend has prevented many small businesses from acquiring the investment capital they need; secondly, and perhaps more importantly, is the diminishing talent pool from which recruiters have to choose from. In part, this is due to the so-called “brain drain” as young graduates leave the UK in search of better opportunities overseas. According to figures from the OECD, around 1.3 million British citizens educated to a university level now live abroad, meaning that UK businesses in high skilled sectors such as engineering or financial services have fewer options when recruiting.

This struggle has only intensified lately, as larger companies choose to expand and poach talented employees from rivals by offering cash incentives or the ability to advance their careers further. In a way, this is reminiscent of recruiting techniques used prominently in the pre-recession days, although the practice has been greatly enhanced to suit the modern age by CV uploading sites and social networks such as LinkedIn.

In order to appeal to the top talent in their sector, businesses must begin to place a high emphasis on employee satisfaction – and this does not necessarily mean adding an extra decimal point to the monthly pay check. With a survey from BambooHR highlighting that ongoing training, concise instructions and an approachable manager are more important to satisfaction levels than an increase in pay it may be wise for businesses looking to invest time in ensuring these aspects are in good shape before launching a new recruitment drive.

Competition has always been an elemental part of business operations, but with companies across all sectors of the economy seeking rapid expansion it has now become more important than ever for firms to attract only the best. By utilising their best aspects in their favour, and constantly seeking to improve, recruiters may find that obtaining the most talented jobseekers is not as insurmountable a challenge as first expected.

Team Building Events

We've been extremely busy with our team building events in 2011. It was a long Summer with some remarkable weather in October, at times it was almost tropical. The sunshine certainly made people want to be outdoors enjoying each other's company.

Popular events this year have been The Parmesan Job, Crystal Challenge and we've seen an increase in Hostage events. The latter are great fun and highly memorable!

We now move into the realms of indoor team building and we have a full range of events so that team building doesn't have to stop just because the weather is more challenging.

Visit our indoor section on the team building website to explore the options in detail.

Team Building Activities

What makes an activity team building as opposed to just an activity? Some activities are individual, others require a team to make it happen.

Social team bonding is at the core of the team building activity. Groups have a positive shared experience and this bonds them into a team. The best events have a lasting effect, with recalled memories and photos to remind people of the fun that they had.

Some activities, for example bungee jumping and even high ropes, can be divisive - splitting the team into those who enjoy heights and those who don't. A good team building activity will appeal to as many in the team as possible. There are plenty of activities that will appeal to everyone.

Team Go Team Building

Our own team decided to head off for a bit of team building so we turned to Solent Events to organise a day of sailing with a RIB support boat to take us out for some high speed blasting.

It was a great day out on The Solent. We had a bit of extreme weather in the morning and then after lunch the sun came out. It was like two different days, as is so often the case on The Solent.

When we got back to land we hoisted poor Hannah up the mast to take this picture of all of us!

Olympic Themed Events

The Olympics is a hot theme as 2012 rapidly approaches and companies are looking to reflect that in their conferences and events.

Various events are suitable for an international sporting contest theme. It's A Knockout is an obvious choice with a variety of games that can each be themed to a different country.

Care must be taken not to infringe any copyrights, but events can still feel suited if well planned.

The Generation Game

Our Generation Game evening team building event is as good as it has ever been. There are four different activities and the audience gets really involved, with some hilarious results. The challenges include:-

Catwalk Capers - A volunteer steps forward and the rest of the team create an elaborate costume using a variety of materials. We then have display the results on the catwalk with all the style and sophistication of a real designer show but with two significant differences; the style and sophistication.

We also have The Hakka or Morris Dancing and the evergreen Cake Decorating. The Generation Game is great fun and getting excellent feedback.

Edinburgh Treasure Hunt

Just back from a fabulous Treasure Hunt in Edinburgh. It's a great city for a Treasure Hunt because there's so much to do in such an accessible area. We finished up in The Caves in Old Niddry Street which is a great venue and perfect for the end of an event. We flew from Southampton and it took one and a half hours, with a half hour bus trip to get into the city centre. It's almost as close as London.