Housing costs weigh on hiring plans

The high cost of housing is discouraging senior business managers relocating to Ireland even as a skills gap reaches a new high, according to senior recruiters surveyed by PwC.

Housing costs weigh on hiring plans

The high cost of housing is discouraging senior business managers relocating to Ireland even as a skills gap reaches a new high, according to senior recruiters surveyed by PwC.

Other reasons include income tax levels and the general cost of living but “there has been a marked increase of respondents who see the shortage of accommodation as a barrier to mobility into Ireland”, the accountancy firm said.

Its annual survey of human resources (HR) directors also shows that all the firms in the survey plan to pay more and predicts pay will rise by an average 2.5% this year. A majority of firms plan to expand but face skills shortages, in technology, engineering, finance, and regulation, in particular.

PwC said “the clear message” was that key HR leaders need to develop better ways to recruit and reward staff.

The survey found that HR leaders worry about the ways their firms measure the performance of managers and plan “significant changes” to such systems.

Almost all firms said they have ways of assessing management performance, but many said that the systems were “only somewhat or not effective at all”.

“The survey highlights that Irish businesses need to do more on strategic workforce planning,” said Louise Shannon, senior manager at PwC.

“It is important as it gives organisations the ability to evaluate their current workforce and assess future requirements by looking at the projected gap between workforce demand and supply,” she said.

A sizeable number of HR directors still fear the fallout of Brexit will have on their ability to recruit staff as uncertainty about the free movement of people after Brexit weighs on hiring.

“Over a third don’t understand the likely impact of Brexit on their workforce strategy. Brexit and the prevailing uncertainty in relation to the free movement of people is a major issue for HR leaders.

“Less than six out of ten [of people surveyed] admitted that they understand the likely impact of Brexit on their workforce strategy with four out of ten reporting that they are concerned about the impact of Brexit on their employee mobility,” PwC said.

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