What Is and Isn’t True About Your Inability to Recruit People

It is true. Recruiting top talent to your organization is more difficult.

It is also true that more people don’t want to work anymore. The July 2024 statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal that 98.92 million people are out of the workforce. Of those, 92.97 million are not looking for work.

To make the math a little easier, there were almost 8.2 million jobs open at the end of June 2024 (the lasts available data) compared with only 5.2million people who were actively looking for a job at that time. Despite a slightly increasing unemployment rate, it is still a seller’s market for talent. Employees are firmly in control of the labor market in most parts of the country.

It isn’t true that today’s employees—especially the youngest ones—are just lazy.

The idea that the “younger generation” is lazier than previous generations is a fable that is at least 2,500 years old .

It is true, however, that the younger generation wants different things in their job—like flexibility, meaning, and growth—in their jobs. Truthfully, previous generations wanted that, too. They were just rarely in a position to demand it. If that bothers you, re-read the “sellers’ market” comment above.

Many of the reasons you have difficulty recruiting are out of your control.

It is true, and it is important. Here are three:

1.????? Age of the population: French sociologist and philosopher Auguste Comte is attributed with the quote, “Demography is destiny.”

It is wrong to assume that Comte’s quote determines future world views, it is true that factors such as age have an impact on the workforce. Between 10,00 and 12,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 each day. All Boomers will reach retirement age by 2030. Many (like me) will continue to work. Most will retire, and that means an average of 4 million people leaving the workforce each year.

We see this truth in the workforce statistics about people choosing not to work. Almost 61 million of the 92.97 million choosing not to work in July 2024 were in the 55-plus age group.

Fortunately, Gen Z will minimize the impact of Boomer retirements. Just over 17 million Gen Zs are in the workforce today. That number is expected to grow to 50 million by 2030. Assuming a fairly consistent influx of people, we’ll see about 4.5 million Gen Zs enter the workforce each year. Unfortunately, those entries are not likely to be spread equally over that time period, and they won't completely offset even minimial job growth. There is also no guarantee that the new entrants will have the skills you need or live in your geographic area.

2.????? Geography: Not all talent shortages are created equal . Alaska, Montana, South Carolina, and New Mexico struggle more than California, Washington, DC, and New Jersey.

There are even variations based on your location within a state. The unemployment rate in the Dallas, Texas area is 4.4%. It is 3.2% just 3 hours away in the Bryan/College Station area.

Historically, people locate for good jobs. That is still largely true today unless you want to hire higher-paying professional, knowledge work, and creative jobs. In those cases, jobs often follow talent .

3.????? Skillset and education: Korn-Ferry has estimated that 85 million jobs could go unfilled by 2030 due to the lack of skills. That represents an $8.5 trillon hit from unrealized revenues.

Construction and blue-collar trade jobs have been in demand in virtually every major market for over a decade. So are most jobs in fast food, service, healthcare, and general laborers. Talent shortages in state and local government places are approaching crisis level.

You are probably out of luck, however, if you want a career as a watch and clock repairer. There isn't a lot of demand for that skillset.

As we look to the future, a critical shortage of AI expertise is on the horizon. Eighty-one percent of IT professionals think that they can use AI, but only 12% have the necessary competencies.

The truth is that there are things you can do.

Knowing that the challenges you face are real – rather than imagined – might provide temporary comfort. At the end of the day, there are still vacancies to fill to meet current and future demands.

The best organizations focus on the things they can control. Here are four.

1.????? Pay and benefits. Compensation goes up in a seller’s market. It might be time to look at paying significantly above the market. One of our clients offered a starting wage 15% above similar jobs in his area. The number of applicants skyrocketed from 5 – 7 okay candidates to 20 – 25 high quality potentials.

Paying that much more might sound counterintuitive, but follow the logic for a moment. Great performers probably have a job today. They aren’t moving for the same money as long as the environment is at least tolerable. They know that sometimes the grass appears greener on the other side of the fence because there is an underground cesspool.

They might not even move for 3 – 5% more in pay. Fifteen percent or more grabs their attention, and you can make up the lost profit margin through productivity and quality gains if your leaders are performing well.

This might not work for you, and the increase might not be 5%. This client had geography and skillset challenges. Your situation will be different. The point is that salary and benefits matter when you are paying student loans, saving for a house, and battling inflation. Be bold to stand out.

2.????? Growing your own talent. A 2005 Harvard Business Review article has a title that should become your mantra: “Growing Talent as if Your Business Depended On It.”

Companies such as Procter & Gamble are known as talent factories. It is a label that shouldn’t’ be exclusive to the largest companies. Trane Technologies has removed degree requirements from more than a dozen jobs and grows talent through an international process. The City of Carrollton (Texas) has long been known for providing people with growth opportunities. That is how a 26-year police veteran ends up leading the public works department and a city secretary grows into running special projects at the highest strategic impact.

3.????? Always be recruiting. The goal is to have a pipeline of potential candidates. Unless there are restrictions that prohibit it, you should be recruiting for your highest need positions every day.

At minimum, every leader should be looking for and connecting with talented individuals who could be future candidates. One former client in a blue-collar service field combined this strategy with the growing his own talent. He carried cards with him every place he shopped or visited. He inquired about the desire to change jobs with every individual with whom he interacted. The offer was always the same: If you are interested in learning more, let me buy you coffee. If it progresses beyond that, I’ll give you an entry-level job and send you to school to become certified for a promotion.

?4.????? Implement the great ideas about creating a great place to work that you have heard for the past 30+ years.

Treat people well, destroy toxic environments, create work-life balance, provide regular feedback, give people interesting work, get rid of (or at least upgrade) your poor managers. These aren’t new ideas. It is time to start doing them because you can no longer hide behind a surplus of applicants to coverup poor leadership.

The truth is that you are not alone.

The talent shortage sits at 70% in the U.S. That means 7 out of 10 employers are having difficulty finding the numbers and quality of talent they need for their operation.

That’s bad, but it could be much worse. The global average is closer to 75%. Japan has an 85% talent shortage rate. The U.K. comes in at 80%. Finland is the lowest with a 59% shortage rate.

The shortage is not likely to ease until at least 2030. Control what you can. Most important,? tell yourself the truth about why people don’t want to come to work for you.

Randy Pennington is an award-winning author, speaker, and leading authority on helping organizations create and sustain cultures that deliver positive results in a world of accelerating change and uncertainty. To bring Randy to your organization or event, visit www.penningtongroup.com , email [email protected] , or call 972.980.9857.