ATA Search
Recruitment and Retention Survey 2024
To keep our clients informed on industry trends, ATA Search conducted an in-depth Employers Survey, leveraging our extensive network to explore the key drivers of recruitment and retention in 2024. The survey provided valuable insights into hiring trends and the outlook for 2025.
As highlighted in our Business Confidence article, recruitment and retention were identified as significant business challenges, with 23% of respondents pointing to recruitment and 13% highlighting staff retention as key concerns in 2024. As such, we are providing you with a more detailed breakdown of the key elements driving the opportunities and challenges surrounding the demand for talent.
As we approach the second quarter of 2025, recruitment remains high on the agenda, with businesses needing to expand their teams and maintain their hiring plans despite new employment regulations affecting the cost of permanent recruitment. However, our survey highlighted that the upcoming changes have not have as large a negative impact as was expected:
59% of participants stated that National Insurance contributions would not affect their hiring plans in 2025.
66% said that the increase in the National Living/Minimum Wage would not impact their recruitment plans for the upcoming year.
What were your hiring patterns throughout 2024?
The survey showed the biggest increase in permanent staff, indicating that employers want to focus on upskilling and investment in permanent employees.
| Increased | Maintained | Decreased |
Permanent Staff | 41.5% | 39% | 19.5% |
Contract / Interim Staff | 24.4% | 41.5% | 34.1% |
Executive / Leadership Staff | 17.1% | 63.2% | 19.5% |
What roles have been the most challenging to fill throughout 2024?
Three main roles emerged as the most challenging to fill: manufacturing and production, maintenance, and leadership.
Manufacturing & Production | 29% |
Maintenance | 27% |
Leadership | 22% |
Unskilled | 5% |
Controls | 5% |
Quality & Continuous Improvement | 5% |
Design & Projects | 2% |
Technical Sales | 2% |
Other | 2% |
What do you think impacted your ability to retain employees in 2024?
The results from our survey indicated a score of 2.93 out of 4 regarding participants' ability to retain their employees in 2024. The main drivers of this are highlighted below, with salary demands taking the top spot.
High salary expectations | 25% |
Attracting the right calibre of candidates | 20% |
Lack of progression / development opportunities | 13% |
Management / Leadership Skills | 10% |
Training | 9% |
Competition | 9% |
Onboarding | 6% |
Agile working demands that we are unable to offer | 6% |
Other | 3% |
What do you think impacted your ability to attract employees in 2024?
Employers rated 2.59 out of 4 on their ability to attract new employees into the business, with salary expectations once again proving the most difficult demand from potential employees.
High salary expectations | 29% |
Candidate Availability | 18% |
Competition | 17% |
Fringe benefits | 10% |
Agile working demands we are unable to offer | 9% |
Lack of progression / development opportunities | 5% |
Industry | 5% |
Training | 4% |
Other | 3% |
Have you explored any new approaches to your recruitment strategy in order to bridge the current skills gap?
Our survey highlights how employers are focusing on upskilling their workforce to help bridge the gap.
Upskilling existing employees | 45% |
Utilise apprenticeships schemes | 26% |
No new approach | 16% |
Employ forces leavers | 5% |
Sponsor overseas candidates | 5% |
Other | 3% |
What are your hiring intention in 2025?
2025 looks set to be a busy year, with a particularly high demand for permanent staff.
| Increased | Maintained | Decreased |
Permanent Staff | 39% | 53.7% | 7.3% |
Contract / Interim Staff | 9.8% | 63.4% | 26.8% |
Executive / Leadership Staff | 17.1% | 73.2% | 9.8% |
What does this mean for businesses?
Upskilling the workforce
Companies are prioritising the development and training of long-term employees, with 45% keen to invest in upskilling their workforce to promote career longevity within their organisations. It is reported that by 2030, around 90% of the UK’s existing workforce will need to upskill to meet evolving requirements. This means that providing a continuously developing workforce puts you ahead of companies that are unwilling to invest in their employees.
Employing and retaining the right people
20% of people interviewed stated that the ability to retain employees in 2024 was due to attracting the right calibre of candidates. A mismatch between the candidate and the job often leads to people leaving roles, resulting in businesses having to deal with staff shortages. To combat this, it’s important to have an in-depth interview and selection process, ensuring the business is right for the candidate and that the job is right for the individual.
If your company needs help finding the right talent, ATA is passionate about recruitment and ensuring candidates are pre-screened, with their abilities and personal characteristics thoroughly assessed. We are committed to minimising the risk of hiring the wrong person for the job.
Get in touch
If you’re interested in the findings of this survey and would like to discuss how these trends could impact your business, we’d love to help. Our expertise in Bridging The Skills Gap ensures you have the right talent in place for a successful year ahead.
In the coming weeks, we’ll also be releasing our annual Engineering Insights Report, featuring data from all the placements we’ve made throughout 2024. This comprehensive report, combined with feedback from candidates on their employment plans, reinforces our knowledge and expertise and helps you tackle the ongoing challenge of staff retention with confidence.
To find out more, contact Chris Addison, Director of ATA Search, at 07787 289 367 or christian.addison@ata-search.co.uk, or simply complete the form below.
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