26 Virtual Brochure – February 2024 B) Human capital, diversity, and talent management. The challenges of attracting, recruiting, and retaining the right people is the fastest increasing risk area reported, with an 18%ppt increase over the last two years. Organisations expect the profile of this risk to remain high over the next three years. Successful organisations continue to emphasise the importance of having a strong, identifiable organisational culture which champions diversity and supports the wellbeing of its staff. In the UK, the 2023 Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Good Work Index3 notes that while unemployment remains historically low, there is growing evidence of large-scale labour and skills shortages, which continues to include the IT sector. Hybrid working has become well established, with strong demand from employees for this means of flexible working. Cost of living pressures have increased stress and anxiety for many employees, and the CIPD has identified a significant adverse shift in work attitudes, with fewer people willing to put in discretionary effort. Considerations for HE While risks related to the recruitment, retention, motivation, and retention of staff 3 https://www.cipd.org/globalassets/media/knowledge/knowledgehub/reports/2023-pdfs/2023-good-work-index-report-8407.pdf feature on almost every institutional risk register, we note that these continue to be relatively low ranked, despite being central to organisational success. Evidence from our internal audits suggests that some institutions have a relatively low level of maturity around organisational development, and people-related risks are under recognised and under discussed. For example, on average, a third of academic staff are international but, postBrexit, the risks around retention are not well-articulated. However, the HE sector is likely to be well placed to take advantage of employee expectations about diversity, flexible working, and wellbeing support, if challenges around precarity of contracts and industrial disputes can be resolved. Issues to consider are: - How attractive is your institution’s employment offer (e.g., benefits, EDI, flexible working, career pathways) compared to other employers / institutions in the UK and overseas? - Do you have a clearly articulated organisational culture, underpinned by values and behavioural expectations? How do you measure and demonstrate this? - To what extent do your institution’s employee engagement surveys, forums, and activities enable a wide range of staff views to be aired around satisfaction with working patterns, diversity, personal development, and culture?
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