Why Is It So Hard to Hire Workers?

Why is it so hard to find workers right now?

As small businesses recover from the pandemic, they face a new obstacle… finding workers.

So, why is it so hard to find workers right now? What can you do about it?

Why is it so hard to find workers right now?

 

A recent survey by the National Federation of Independent Business found that 91% percent of those hiring or trying to hire reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill.

With so many people out of work—9.8 million people, to be exact—it would be easy to assume that there would be an abundance of candidates, rather than a shortage…right? Quite the opposite, actually. Here are some reasons as to why some people can’t or won’t go back to work.

The reasons vary: Potential workers may be unvaccinated and refusing to follow the employer mandate. Some working parents continue to face a lack of child care or in-person schooling for their children. Customer-facing workers may be hesitant to return to the front line and risk getting Covid-19.  Others may have moved out of the area or found a new way to make money. The gig economy has been a major curveball helping employees get by and balance family life. Then, there is the extra $300 weekly unemployment insurance, which may hold people back from taking a job. As if that is not enough, then the Baby boomers are leaving the job market at a record high. There is a shortage of trained talent to replace those retiring. Basically, it is a trifecta of events hitting all at once. Simply said- now there are people out of the job market that are not planning on coming back.

This is now a “candidate-driven market”. That means candidates are in control and they know it. One of the frustrated clients that reached out to us for recruiting and staffing help said, “We have had an unbelievable amount of people scheduled for interviews and not show up”.  He added, “We have never had this problem before”.  This “ghosting” trend has been happening from entry-level roles to mid-level career professionals. Almost every employer can relate.

Some roles have been hit harder than others. Manufacturing and Logistics being one of the most impacted. Here is a recent article we wrote on the hardest role to fill in the US at the moment.

So What Can you Do About It?

My former boss always said,” don’t come to me with a problem unless you want to offer a solution”. So, here are a few solutions to help you stand out and get the attention of the talent that IS available.

8 Hiring Tips to Find Workers Right Now

  1. Diversify job advertising by posting jobs on multiple platforms.
  2. Write better job ads and don’t leave out important requirements. Did you know for every 1 applicant you see in your inbox, there are 100+ potentially interested and
    qualified candidates, who just didn’t make it through the process? The problem is, most companies are using a job description instead of a job ad which hinders the process.
  3. Invest in Referral programs and see what works best. Word of mouth remains one of the most efficient marketing tools out there, if you have a friend or coworker etc. and they are raving about a company, wouldn’t you want to work there?
  4. Remove hiring obstacles. Ask yourself, what parts of the hiring process can be removed, shortened, sped up, or condensed?
  5. Offer hiring incentives- sign-on bonuses are an easy way to grab attention and not rock the compensation model
  6. Higher compensation. Go re-read point #5 before you take this step.  Sometimes even a $1 base pay hourly rate can make all the difference. But, be careful. Run the numbers across all your hourly workers getting a pay raise increase and account for overtime.
  7. Company reviews and 5-star employee reviews. Are your employment reviews are less than stellar on Glassdoor, Google or Indeed?  If so, you need to address the problem quickly!  Ask happy employees to help with good reviews while also figuring out where the issues are coming from if they are not leaving 5-star reviews.
  8. Get a GR8 recruiting/ staffing partner. You can still try to hire on your own, but having an agency (hint hint, like Agency 8) by your side, you will rest assured that your hiring goals will be met while also saving time, money, and energy in the long run.

These are just some of the challenges facing employers for high-demand jobs in 2021. Need help finding Talent?  That is what we do!  The expert Recruiters at Agency 8 specialize in finding talent in Engineering, Accounting, Technology, Manufacturing, Operations and more. Follow us on Social Media for our latest job postings and news.

 

 

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