Nathan Priestley, chief executive officer of the Priestley Group, has recently contributed to The 2019 SMEs Agenda whitepaper in the Daily Telegraph.
A key focus for the 2019 SME agenda was how to create and nurture talent. Nathan commented: “There are inherent risks in trainee tradespeople being fast-tracked. Without time to learn their craft, and with targets for speed and the quality of work, many have to be released and the cycle repeats itself.
“Construction firms can’t copy tech companies as the working environment is simply too different but there is a way to hang on to skilled staff. A lot of good, career-driven people want to be part of the process. I often bring people into meetings and say, ‘How do you think we should do this?’ Feeling involved gives people a bit of worth and accountability.
He then went on to say how smarter solutions around employee retention are a necessity for smaller businesses in competitive industries where the threat of a talent drain to another part of the country is very real.
The whitepaper can be accessed online here.