News & Thoughts

Most hiring issues don’t happen at offer stage. They happen in the first 90 days. Across Yorkshire, we’re seeing businesses make strong hires, then lose momentum during onboarding. Our free downloadable checklist will help you build a strong, repeatable onboarding process for your business.

If Q1 is anything to go by, 2026 is going to be a busy year. From what we’ve seen during the first few months of the year, there has been a clear shift in both the volume and type of hiring within commercial finance across Yorkshire. It’s not just that businesses are hiring again; we’re seeing a shift in how and why they’re hiring, and that gives a lot more insight into where the market might be heading throughout the rest of 2026.

AI is no longer an experiment for UK businesses. It is a fast-moving investment priority. From record private funding to sharp rises in public sector contracts, AI spend is accelerating across industries and organisation sizes. But behind the headline growth figures sit important questions about ROI, talent, governance and long term value. In this article, we break down what AI spend looks like in the UK right now, where it is heading next, and the risks businesses need to navigate to make it pay off.

Hiring may be picking up in 2026, but so is risk. As confidence returns to the market, your best people have more options than ever. This blog explores why staff retention must sit alongside attraction, and how salary benchmarking, structured onboarding and proactive development conversations can protect the team you have already built.

As we move further into 2026, you might be feeling like your organisation is facing a recruitment landscape that’s marked by rapid change and a bunch of uncertainty. Typically, permanent recruitment is the go-to, but what it can lack is the agility that businesses need at the moment to respond to the current market fluctuations we’re seeing. Temporary and contract hires can provide you with a powerful alternative; using interim talent can give you flexibility and control over the costs typically associated with hiring. They can also provide you with access to specialist skills that you might need to get through a specific project, or through a period of change in your organisation.

Discover proven strategies to retain women in senior workplace roles. Learn why outdated structures push women out, how allyship and flexibility boost retention, and why diversity drives better business outcomes. Practical, evidence-based insights for UK organisations aiming to improve gender balance and leadership diversity in 2026.