On Tuesday morning, the 15th of September, our panel of experts (below) gathered at The Club at The Ivy in London, along with over 60 industry leaders, to discuss who’s winning the war for talent, big corporates versus startups, and how innovation and agile working can make a big difference.

From over an hour of discussion and debates around these questions and more, we’ve put together a short video and write-up with our panel’s top tips to help you revolutionise your approach to attracting and retaining talent in today’s workforce.

Alice Weightman, Founder and CEO, The Work Crowd and Hanson Search

Alice’s Top Tip: Think “Sense of Purpose”

1. With the boom in the technology industry, we’ve seen a real demand in new skill sets that are needed. The way that people are looking to work is fundamentally changing. The rite of passage to your career is not necessarily joining a major corporate, but looking to set up a business themselves and become a freelancer or entrepreneur.

2. My key piece of advice for businesses looking to hire would be to not just focus on the monetary aspect of a job, but actually what they can offer someone: how can they develop someone’s career, how can they allow their employees to work in an innovative, fast-paced environment.

3. Giving people a sense of purpose, a mission, that’s what people are looking for in today’s market.

Richard Houghton, Specialist agency growth consultant, PR Week’s Agency Doctor

Richard’s Top Tip: Think “Leadership”

1. Leadership is going to be ever more critical with the growing, global, more remote workforce. Setting the right example, setting the right framework, allowing people to work as adults and trusting them to do their job. We need to focus on outputs, instead of inputs.

2. Create a culture that is attractive to employees. That culture has to be appropriate to the sector you’re in, but also has to be consistent across all touchpoints for employer and client.

Elizabeth Kanter, Director of Government Relations, SAP

Elizabeth’s Top Tip: Think “Flexible Working”

1. The biggest challenge that businesses face today in terms of hiring is making the offer they have as an employer more attractive, beyond the pay.
2. This includes offering flexible working, commitment to diversity, particularly with regard to women in senior leadership positions, and also the support they give to their employees’ ambitions outside the company.

Bindi Karia, Startup Expert, Advisor and Consultant

Bindi’s Top Tip: Think “Face Time”

1. Technology is enabling the flexible workforce. We start with the base of Wi-Fi, and tools like Slack, Trello and Basecamp – all of these virtual team collaboration tools are enabling workforces to work in a more distributed manner.
2. But face time is still very important. You can’t completely divorce the technology from the face time.

The way we work is changing. Join the revolution.

Our platform can match and connect you to our best in class network of flexible freelancers in Marketing, Communications and PR.

Find out more about our expert panellists…

Alice Weightman

Richard Houghton

Elizabeth Kanter

Bindi Karia