I could focus on Brexit and discuss with you the whys and wherefores.  However, I believe that the best approach is a pragmatic one to help you to move forward with your organisation irrespective of the outcome.

One of the key factors that you do need to consider, resulting from Brexit and is already happening is about your people.  Speaking to a number of employers, they have said that some of their employees have returned to their originating country due to Brexit and this is indicative of a trend which could occur.  The impact of this is potentially a shortage in people to perform your jobs for you so the key is to make sure that you have robust processes in place to recruit the right people first time for your organisation.  So here’s some key tips:

• Focus on the key requirements of the role  – differentiate between what skills, knowledge and experience are fundamental to the job and what are nice to haves but not critical.
• Be impartial and objective – Ensure that you have a fair and equitable method for short listing, interviewing and selecting individuals which is free from discrimination.  Methods of avoiding discrimination could be:

• avoiding the use of age limits in recruitment
• avoiding the use of language that implies a bias (such as ‘store man’ rather than ‘stores assistant’)
• only gathering information about nationality and ethnic group for monitoring purposes (although it will also be necessary to check whether the candidate eventually selected has the right to work in the UK and, if they are of foreign nationality, whether a work permit is required).
• ensuring that any selection techniques are free of any cultural bias – and do not require language skills that are not needed in the job
• using a structured interviewing process that does not include any intrusive personal questions
• keeping clear records that show the reasons for the recruitment decisions based purely on the skills and competencies required for the job.

• Methods of Selection – Make sure that your methods of selection are designed to assess your candidates in a fair and consistent way.
• Recruitment Planning – Have a recruitment timetable so that you can organise your recruitment campaign in a methodical and professional way.  This will give a clear signal to candidates that you are a professional organisation and will influence their decisions as to whether you are the kind of company that they would want to work for now or in the future.
• Know your pipeline – Build relationships with schools and colleges to help improve the employability skills and supply of local applicants and raise the aspirations of young people.