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Wednesday August 24 | 2022
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AXA Health is the latest employer suffering effects of staffing crisis EXCLUSIVE By Richard Williams
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STAFF shortages that have seen restaurants close and businesses struggle to recruit are now impacting the town’s largest employer, the Times has learnt. AXA Health, which employs more than 2,000 people in Tunbridge Wells, is struggling to attract new workers, especially for its call centres, leading to long queues of people trying to contact the company. It is understood the insurer, which has its HQ in Hawkenbury at International House in Forest Road, and also has offices in Vale Road and Lamberts Road in the town, is around 60 employees
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short in one of its contact centres. A spokesperson for AXA Health told the Times: “It is widely recognised across many industries that recruitment in the UK is more challenging than in previous years, particularly for certain roles, including contact centre employees.
Diversify “For these roles, we are continuing to actively recruit strong candidates and we’ve also adapted our training and induction to get more of our new starters productive and engaged in their role faster, without compromising on quality. “Across the board, we have introduced
new and creative ways to diversify our recruitment strategy and develop our talent pipeline, in response to the changes in the workplace since the pandemic.” The staff shortages come despite AXA Health, formerly known as AXA PPP, adopting a hybrid approach to working, allowing staff members to both work from home and from the office. The move has enabled the insurer, which has been based in Tunbridge Wells for around 30 years, to sell offices Eynsham House and Phillips House on Crescent Road opposite the Assembly
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