Episode 7: How technology, well-being and freedom of movement are changing the industry.

In this episode, Neil Carberry, REC Chief Executive, interviews Sarah O'Connor, Correspondent and columnist at the Financial Times. They discuss how technology, wellbeing and the impact of freedom of movement have created challenges for the workforce and employers. In this episode, you’ll hear about: The top challenges facing individual employees and businesses in today's workforce. The innovative approach that can be prioritised by the government, opposition, and anyone looking to foster a positive and supportive work environment. How businesses can successfully navigate industrial relations to improve employee satisfaction and productivity Key Quotes “There is video technology used in order to interview candidates... where no human will review the video either and artificial intelligence will decide whether that person is a good fit or not for the job based on the words they say, sometimes even on their tone of voice or their facial expressions!” Sarah “There's a little bit about making sure that these tools are used appropriately, at the appropriate time, that we understand the tools and the humanity of it.” Neil “The economy is adjusting to Brexit and this new kind of immigration regime, it’s contrary to what a lot of people predicted, net migration has gone up since Brexit and we've got more people coming into the country net than we did before. But we've got more people coming into the country with different skillsets than before”. Sarah “There is a principle that our bus routes don't go to where people work, they go to where people shop... The bus cuts that you're seeing across the country now, if you have a restaurant in a small country town and you have members of staff who need a bus at 10:30pm and they cut the last bus back to 7 o’clock, you've got a labour supply problem.” Neil “My third thing is ill health, it’s part of why we're having labour shortages now as we've got a rising share of people who say that they're just not well enough to work and you see that in the labour market surveys.” Sarah