Are these your challenges?

19 July 2023

Recruitment and rising costs came joint top in a survey of the main challenges facing hire professionals conducted recently by the Intelligent Dialogue training and personnel development consultancy.

“Finding and retaining skilled individuals remains a significant challenge,” said Director Diane Banister. “Training plays a key part in this, and key technical skills might need to be taught in-house to plug this gap. Not only are you giving employees the skills to do their job, they feel valued and motivated and are more likely to stay.”

The survey findings regarding rising costs show that businesses are having to cope with increases in fuel, finance, labour and utilities costs. “As a result, effective cost management practices have become imperative,” said Diane. “It is crucial for everyone in the sector to be commercially aware and implement strategies to mitigate the impact of rising costs on profitability.”

One of two issues coming equal second in importance was dealing with late payment and bad debt, and Diane commented that personnel need to be able to negotiate and manage payment terms effectively. “Building strong customer relationships and implementing proactive credit control measures are vital to ensure timely payments, as cash flow is critical to sustaining a healthy business.”

And not surprisingly, the need to maintain sensible rates was the other joint challenge. 

“Setting clear pricing policies and authority levels can help maintain price integrity. Educating everyone involved in the sales process about the impact of their decisions on customer behaviour and company profitability is crucial for preserving the bottom line,” added Diane.