Competition for talent in the UK has hit “record levels” in the past few years, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The professional body for HR and people development says that organisations need to position themselves as an “employer of choice” – but many companies seem to be coming up short.

‘Vocation frustration – UK office workers on the brink’, a report commissioned by Staples, reveals that a staggering 97% of employees admit to feeling frustrated at work. In the UK, nearly nine in ten (89%) employees think regularly about switching jobs.

Staples’ findings tally with our own survey, in which 85% of employees said that outdated equipment, or a lack of equipment, within their company has hindered their working ability. This happens every week for 41% of employees, while 13% said they’re unable to work properly because of this every/most days.

Workers in larger companies with over 500 employees are most likely to say their working ability is hindered by outdated equipment or a lack of equipment at least once a week (55%). This compares to 34% of those in companies with less than 250 employees. These findings may be driven by the fact that 85% of larger companies with over 500 employees are hanging on to obsolete forms of technology, such as old computers that don’t work and floppy disk, rather than replacing them.

Naturally, when things get in the way of staff doing their jobs properly, there’s a risk of frustration and dissatisfaction setting in, which could make it difficult to retain talent.

Could new equipment be the solution?

The Staples research shows that people want to be happy at work – 89% of the 7,000 surveyed said they sought fulfilment at work. But organisations aren’t providing a platform for the sort of productivity that employees need to get that fulfilment.

According to Professor Sir Cary Cooper, the academic at Manchester Business School who conducted the Staples research, a big part of improving productivity, and increasing job satisfaction, is having the right equipment.

And a survey by Dell and Intel suggests that your staff could be ready to leave if they don’t get this equipment: nearly half (42%) of the millennials surveyed said they’re prepared to quit their job if the tools they’re given to do their jobs are not up to their standards.

Possibly the first thing business leaders will think of in response to these results is the cost of upgrading their equipment, but consider this: according to research from Oxford Economics, it can cost a business as much as £30,000 to replace an employee. The higher the value and experience of an employee commonly comes with a higher price of recruitment.

Furthermore, with it being harder than ever for organisations to find people with the right skills, replacing outgoing staff could end up costing more than £30,000 if there’s a delay in hiring a replacement, impacting productivity.

If only there was a way of upgrading equipment, helping to retain current staff and attract new talent, without having to pay for it upfront and outright…

Using asset finance, you can do exactly that. Shire Leasing has the appetite to fund almost anything business-related, offering a number of different finance solutions, tailored to meet the individual needs of your business.

To learn more about the business implications of failing to upgrade equipment, read our full white paper on the subject. Alternatively, if you’re ready to discuss your business finance options, give us a call on 01827 302 066 or get in touch using the form here.