Staff shortage crisis stifling firms that fail to receive any applicants
Edinburgh pub group Boda Bars is in much need of filling key vacancies – but co-owner Anna Lagerqvist Christopherson explains that sometimes it does not receive a single response to a job advert.
The lack of candidates is indicativeof the broader extent of the staffing shortage, which she notes is a “very serious problem”, both in the firm – which is lacking about a fifth of what its headcount should be – and others more widely across a ra ft of sectors.
A recent survey found that a third of scottish businesses said they may need to reduce services or product lines long term as a result of stock and staff shortages, while according to separate analysis, job vacancies in Scotland are holding close to an all-time high, but the availabilityof suitable candidates has “plummeted”.
Staff are the lifeblood of any business, in turn helping to power the economy, and when supply reduces to a trickle, casualties inevitably soon follow.
Looking at edinburgh and the Lothians, restaurant Maison Bleue morning side made headlinesrecently with the news that the branch was to close its doors for good on the back of a lack of workers, for example.
Nearly a third of hospitality businesses in the Scottish capital are still concerned they face potentially going under, notes
Edinburgh Chamber of Commercedirector of policy joanne Davidson.
She cites the “double-whammy” of the impact of Covid-19 and Brexit, adding: “The difficulty in getting access to sufficient staff has been felt across many sectors, but in particular retail and hospitality and – as has been very well-publicised – in the health and social care sectors.”
The problem piles on further pressure to firms already grappling with a challenging 18 months, she adds, also stating: "With the furlough scheme now ending, these businesses need to be able to trade fully – especially with the crucial Christmas trading period on the horizon.
"We are hearing about hospitalitybusinesses unable to open fully because they are struggling to find sufficient staff, and they are also being forced to pay levels of pay that they admit they will have difficulty sustaining in order to attract and retain any staff they can.”
Ms Lagerqvist Christopherson notes that Joseph Pearce's and Victoria owner Boda has had to boost its wage offers, while the firm and many peers have reduced their opening hours.
In hotels, staffing is “extremely tight at present”, particularly in housekeeping and food and beverage roles, says Edinburgh Hotels Association chair Neil Ellis, who is also group operations director for Place Hotels.
Consequently, there is a “real worry that just as we are coming into the festive season and also opening up to more international travel, we will not be able to provide a full service in all areas”. That may see some properties have to occasionally decline business because they can’t accommodate or provide catering, he adds.
And while the footsteps of shoppers should be getting louder as the festive season approaches, Ms Davidson says retailers “face an uncertain time at Christmas when it is their most vital trading period of the year – and they desperately need this Christmas to be a positive time”.