October 2019

There’s Still Time: Preparing the Skills to Survive Brexit

It’s dominated the news all weekend – Brexit has been delayed again. Whilst that may mean more waiting and worrying for your business, there is good news here. You’ve got more time to prepare and get your business ready, and find the skills you’ll need to get through the difficult times.

A Skills Shortage

For most businesses, one of the big worries with Brexit is the predicted skills shortage, as skilled migrants leave the UK for fear of what Brexit may mean for them. Coupled with fewer migrants making their way in to the UK for work, we’re facing a smaller skill pool than before. Earlier this month The Independent reported that many EU workers will even be prevented from working in the UK under planned proposals.

With so many industries under the strain of this reduction in skills, it’s important for your business to take steps to endure the issues Brexit may bring.

Adapt and Survive

For the time being, a deadline extension rather than cancellation is all that’s in place for Brexit. So, your business will need to prepare for the potential reduced skills pool, and the many other challenges that Brexit will bring.

There are a few ways you can ensure you’ll still have the skills you need to run your business in these difficult times:

Allow for Remote Working: The simplest way to find talented people with the skills your business needs is to allow remote working. It’s important to do some research now to find out what that looks like for your business, so you can figure out how best to implement remote working. Whilst our exit from the EU might cause difficulty with securing skilled workers from outside the UK, with remote working as an option it’s certainly not impossible.
Prepare your Existing Team: Upskilling is the key to ensuring your business still functions smoothly. Don’t just look outward, focus inward – your team could probably use the reassurance for a start. Consider allowing people the time to train in different areas that will help your business – with automation taking care of your business’ smaller day-to-day tasks, it’s worth putting that time saved to good use.
Implement the Right Tools: Every business will need to embrace technology to survive Brexit. A bespoke CRM solution, cloud computing, automation, all of this will be essential to keep your business afloat and connected as times changes, especially if Brexit does indeed happen. Investing in a cloud-based bespoke CRM solution now could make all the difference.