Where Did All The People Go? I can't find staff!

Wendy, where did all the people go? I can't find/keep staff!

March 1, 2022 (reposted from my blog)

While speaking at a conference recently on the topic of 'Attracting and Retaining Awesome Employees', one of the attendees asked me - "Wendy, where did all the people go?" His question was regarding the fact that the candidate availability is very low, candidates aren't returning our messages - heck many are not even applying and many employees will leave in a heartbeat.?

Where did everyone go? Here is my lightbulb moment response:

1st - Some Died Due To COVID

2nd - Others 'Voluntarily' Removed Themselves From The Overall Workforce

3rd - Less babies (future workers) in the USA since 2008*

4th: They Are At Your 'Competitors'?

Let's break this down!

1st: Deaths?attributed to COVID in working age (18-64 years of age) in the US are at 183,600. That may not seem like a lot but a few of your candidates (and possibly former employees) may be in that count. (Source:?https://www.statista.com/statistics/1191568/reported-deaths-from-covid-by-age-us/)

2nd:?Many people?voluntarily?(I use that word loosely) removed themselves from the workforce due to either being sick or purely exhausted and/or were simply unable to afford childcare or eldercare (for example) and chose to not work. Many decided on becoming a one-income household or combined households with family or friends. I personally know people who made his decision - and even if it was temporary, their decision still removed people from YOUR workforce during that time period which may possibly be right now. The interesting thing is I also know many who "hung on" to their crappy job throughout 2021 because they were afraid the spouse/ partner would lose their job. Then once the partner found a kick-ass job for more money than they were making in the past, the other partner removed themselves from the workforce in late 2021 or 2022.

• Facts: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4.3 million people in the USA quit their job in December 2021 (it was even higher in November)! Now of course many took new jobs but many did not.

For the ones who retired early, by force or choice, most that did were over the age of 55 (that is young; heck - the median age at the inauguration of incoming U.S. presidents is 55 years). And guess what? Those that?chose?to retire early, well their employers probably were not expecting the retirement "so soon" nor were they prepared for all that experience to walk out the door! And neither were their competitors (you) who desperately need experienced workers on board.

Oh, one more thing...by 2034 there will be more Americans over age 65 than are 18 or younger, for the first time in history.?That is pretty much retirement age so you've got less than 12 years to get your experienced workers (new or current) to share their knowledge and expertise via true mentorship, coaching, and training programs.?

3rd: Additionally, people are not pumping out babies - aka your future workers. According to?Census.gov, the number of U.S. births has been declining every year since 2008 (except 2014). There were 700,000 fewer?births in?2020 compared to 2007. More info on declining birth rates?here.

You will get inexperienced workers! Training and development are no longer optional. Get on it NOW.?

PS:?Updated info, many employers are now hiring high schoolers to fill employment gaps - which is why "kids" are not working at restaurants and retail.

4th:?Finally, let's talk about your competitors. It's important to note that your competitors for staff are not your competitors in the terms of sales aimed at customers. Your competitors are employers who are willing to hire the staff that you desire?and:?

• are providing a higher rate of total compensation (which includes more than just money),?
• are providing an actual training and development program in place for these employees, not just winging it, (see PEW research link at end of article) and?
• have managers who know how to manage humans and are not jerks.

Ok, wow now what?

In addition to legit employee Training and Development programs, having amazing Managers (because you made sure of it through coaching, training, and development),?and providing a good total compensation package, you must also be flexible:

• Your old methods of 5 day work week plus weekends or 10-hour workdays with mandatory start and end times - are NOT GOING TO WORK IN 2022.?
• Neither are "same benefits for everyone" - this is NOT GOING TO WORK IN 2022. Allow for selections (but be careful due to unintentional discrimination; please get an expert involved). Some people want time off, others want a dental plan, yet others want 4 days work week or heck even 3 day/part-time hours.
• Your inefficient budget for payroll is also NOT GOING TO WORK IN 2022 (see #3 above). Another person at the conference asked me "Wendy, how much should we increase our pay?" My smart-ass response was "whatever you paid in 2019, double it n 2022". That may actually be the case for low-paid workers but it may not be for others - either way it will cost you. Lose employees or lose customers - well, in 2022 - you might lose both. You need to do a?compensation analysis!?(I can help, by the way.)

Don't believe me??

Ask your candidates and current staff (if you have any) what they want.?

Then LISTEN and ACT.

PS: Even PEW Research agrees, the Great Resignation is based on low pay, no opportunities for advancement & feeling disrespected.