85% of UK businesses have restructured following January’s Brexit deal, and the majority believe leaving the EU has had a negative impact on operations, according to a new report from specialist recruiter Robert Half.

Almost half of UK companies (44%) had to redesign their roles and responsibilities after Brexit, while 20% laid off staff and 16% forced their team members to relocate, according to the survey of British leaders. A further 6% said they had implemented a combination of the above, while only 15% said there was no change due to Brexit.

“These results underline the impact of Brexit on the functioning of companies, in particular in the wake of the major changes caused by COVID-19”, said Matt Weston, Managing Director of Robert Half UK.

“Employees need to relocate and develop new skills as a result. Brexit has created both challenges and opportunities for UK businesses, and it is up to each organization to ensure they have the agility and responsiveness to capitalize on this upheaval.

The study also found that the majority of UK businesses (56%) believe the Brexit deal has had a negative impact on their operations, with a fifth (21%) saying they are ‘among the most affected’. This contrasts with the 6% of companies who said Brexit had been a net positive, while 38% said the deal had not yet significantly impacted them.

“There are a number of areas – including the service economy – that still don’t know exactly what Brexit means to them,” continued Weston..

“But already, we are seeing the impact of the end of freedom of movement with so many companies struggling to find the best talent. The legal and political situation will continue to evolve, but in the meantime companies need to develop clear strategies on how they will find, upgrade skills and retain their best people. “

Three strategies to help you retain your best employees

1. Provide ownership and autonomy: People want to feel valued and trusted, so look for opportunities to give top performers control of special projects or key business initiatives, then let them do their own thing, while also offering support if they do. need. By allowing people to tackle problems as they see fit, organizations can often discover new and better ways of doing things.

2. Offer clear career paths and choices: Managers should spend time, separate and apart from annual performance reviews, to sit down with employees and discuss how they can progress in the company. By identifying specific positions and milestones, as well as concrete steps to reach them, managers can give workers a greater sense of control over their careers. At the same time, companies need to evaluate their learning and development programs to ensure that they meet the needs of the post-pandemic era and that staff are satisfied with the training courses and qualifications offered.

3. Think about the larger impacts: More generally, apart from productivity and efficiency considerations, leaders should consider conducting an impact analysis of the effects of automation on things like employee happiness, career development, training and development. so that they can anticipate and solve these problems in a preventive way.