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Looking Ahead – What are the key HR Issues for 2022 Firstly, we would like to wish you a very happy new year. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that none of us can predict for certain what the future holds! However, we explore some of the key HR issues that employers might find themselves facing this coming year. What can employers do to help ensure they have the talent to succeed? Of course, the rules of supply and demand mean that rates of pay, and benefits are important factors but the heightened appetite for hybrid and flexible working is also a leading factor. However, it is also important to remember that (as with customer service), retaining your current employees can often be more cost effective than trying to recruit new ones. As such, tools such as “stay interviews” can help to inform the management of that individual employee, as well as wider HR strategy. Will flexible working grow? Employers are likely to face more requests, questions (and possibly even challenges) from employees on this topic. Benefits such as enhanced flexible working entitlements can be a helpful in attracting talent to your organisation, and some reports also highlight that this can improve accessibility for a diverse workforce. We recommend having a clear flexible working policy in place, and publicising this with your employees. What impact will rising inflation have on our people? A rise in inflation is not just an abstract economic concept; it means that employees are likely to be facing an increase in day-today living costs, and so their salary will not be stretching as far as it used to. As such, employees may be more likely to seek a pay-rise; either from their current employer, or by going into the market and seeking a new opportunity with better pay. We do recommend that employers undertake regular benchmarking and keep abreast of market data, to inform their pay policies. It’s also worth remembering that the National Minimum and Living Wage rates are set to increase in April 2022.
Full Steam Ahead for Swanage Railway with Keyfort IT Swanage Railway Case Study The ten-mile branch line from Wareham, where it joined the London to Weymouth main line, to Corfe Castle and Swanage was opened in May 1885. The new railway brought tourists to Corfe Castle and Swanage and enabled ball clay and Purbeck stone to be exported out by train while coal, for domestic heating as well as gas production in Swanage, could be brought in by train. The Swanage branch line thrived from the 1880s to the 1940s but increased car use in the 1950s saw train passenger numbers start to decline. The last train ran from Swanage to Corfe Castle and Wareham on the evening of Saturday 1 January 1972. After several years of hard campaigning, a small party of volunteers moved in to start restoration work on the station buildings in February 1976, with the first tracks being allowed to be laid in 1977. The summer of 2017 saw Swanage Railway run a 60-day trial diesel train service from Swanage and Corfe Castle to the main line at Wareham. Winning several national awards, the rebuilding of the Swanage Railway shows what the human spirit can achieve. Swanage Railway now contributes more than £15 million a year to the Isle of Purbeck economy. The Challenge As with many UK organisations Swanage Railway was faced with shutdown 2020/21 as part of the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. They were also faced with the burgeoning 21st century threat of ransomware, a malicious and selfish means to attempt to extort money which lay in stark contrast to the community effort of
Swanage Railway. In tune with their 45-year history, Swanage Railway needed to build back better so that they could meet the needs of their passengers, staff, and stake holders when they reopened to the public. The Solution Swanage Railway turned to Keyfort to develop a solution that would use best technology to meet their burgeoning IT productivity, resilience, and cyber security requirements. In addition to secure Internet Connections the old site servers and services were migrated to the cloud implementing software upgrades, additional resilience, additional backups, and additional cyber security in the process. All the work was completed to budget, quality, and time, ready for the reopening of Swanage Railway to the public 2021 and the return of Eddystone locomotive, a classic 1946 West Country Class Bulleid Pacific No. 34028 after a threeyear refit. The commitment to using the best technology to full advantage has set Swanage Railway fair for this year’s fares and beyond. Peter Milford, Company Secretary at The Swanage Railway Company said “Keyfort worked with the railway to understand their quite specific requirements – incorporating 21st century IT with century old transport technology. The work has seen greatly enhanced resilience with fast secure connections from various locations to upgraded servers in remote data centres. Customers have noticed the difference with greatly improved online booking systems. Swanage Railway is delighted that the work has helped them to achieve Cyber Essentials accreditation in 2021.” www.keyfort.co.uk
Gemma Murphy, Director of View HR Limited hr@viewhr.co.uk | 01425 205390 www.viewhr.co.uk
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January 2022 | Dorset Business Focus
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