Recruitment still Still No.1 Headache for Employers

A new study from Workplace Journal and HR tech firm Ciphr has confirmed what most business leaders already know deep down: finding and keeping good people is harder than ever.

Nearly one in three employers (29%) said recruitment is their biggest challenge, ranking even higher than staff retention (28%) and cost pressures (27%). Flexible working, AI integration, pay rises, and compliance are also adding to the squeeze.

Ciphr’s Chief People & Operations Officer summed it up neatly:

“Attracting the right talent is only half the battle – you then need to engage, develop and retain that talent.”   

And that’s exactly where many engineering and manufacturing firms are struggling.

What This Looks Like on the Factory Floor

If you’re a production manager in an SME, you’ve probably felt this first-hand. You spend weeks searching for a skilled CNC machinist, welder, or maintenance engineer. You finally get the right person through the door. They settle in… and then, six months later, they’re gone.

Not because of pay. Not even because of the workload. But because they didn’t see a path forward, or felt like just another pair of hands on the shop floor. Every lost hire costs time, output, and team morale. And in an industry already fighting skills shortages, that’s a price most businesses can’t afford. At Precision People, we’ve worked with engineering firms across the East Midlands for over 20 years. We’ve seen the same patterns play out, and we’ve helped our clients break them. Here are two practical ways to turn your next hire into a long-term success story.

Two Ways to Beat the Recruitment Trap

Tip 1: Build a “Real World” Candidate Experience

Forget generic interviews and tick-box CVs. The best production managers take time to understand the person behind the skillset.

Ask simple but powerful questions:

• “What does a good week look like for you?”

• “What kind of projects excite you most?”

• “How do you like feedback, direct and quick, or more hands-off?”

These conversations don’t just help you hire smarter; they show the candidate that your business listens.

Example: One of our clients offered a CNC operator a 4-day work week to match childcare needs. Two years later, he’s mentoring apprentices and training them. 

Tip 2: Sell the “Stay Story”, Not Just the Job

Every manager knows how to sell a vacancy. Fewer know how to sell what happens after someone accepts it.

Show candidates from the very start how their role can grow.

• Share examples of team members who’ve progressed.

• Offer cross-training between departments.

• Keep regular check-ins about development, not just production targets.

Example: A client in Leicester created a simple “pathway to lead” programme for their welders. It cost next to nothing, but retention shot up, and internal promotions doubled within a year.

The Takeaway

Recruitment will probably always sit high on every employer’s worry list. But for engineering and manufacturing leaders, the solution isn’t just finding people, it’s building environments that make them want to stay.

At Precision People, we help businesses do both: hire exceptional technical talent and create the conditions for them to thrive long-term.

If you’d like to talk through how to strengthen your recruitment and retention strategy, we’d love to help.

📞 Call us on 0116 254 5411 or contact us using the form here, and we'll be in touch straight away

Source:  https://workplacejournal.co.uk/2025/10/recruitment-tops-list-of-employer-concerns-research-reveals