Where is everybody?

Even before COVID forced businesses and workers to adapt to a (partially) remote economy, automation and globalization were changing the way we work, and many employers were sounding the alarms.??Where are the employees with the skills we need???An additional question is: Are employees and employers on the same page?

More than 8.5 million Americans were still unemployed and looking for work in July, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.??At the same time, job openings this summer hit record highs with over 10 million in July (Department of Labor – Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey).??

Pandemic health concerns, child-care and much-debated government unemployment benefits are issues, but so is an existing labor skills gap that Covid made worse.??“Labor shortages were often cited as a reason firms could not staff at desired levels,” according to the most recent Federal Reserve report.

Some employers suggested job seekers don’t want to work because they are making too much money on “extended unemployment benefits”, many of which are expiring. Most economists are split?on whether this is the driving reason businesses can’t find enough workers, and by one estimate only four in ten workers actually make more in jobless benefits than from their paycheck. It is not all this though, there are other factors at work, including continuing health concerns around COVID and the lack of affordable childcare.

From the Washington Post, “Even among those who have jobs, people are rethinking their options. Front-line workers are reporting high levels of burnout, causing some to seek a new career path. There’s also been a wave of retirements as workers over 50 quit because they don’t want to return to teaching, home health care or other front-line jobs. More affluent Americans say they are retiring early because their retirement portfolios have surged in the past year and the pandemic has taught them that life is short. They don’t want to spend as much time at a desk, even if it is safe”.

Another overlooked factor is the acceleration of the mismatch between the skills workers have, expectations workers have … AND … those skills that employers want and the organizational focus they offer. There is also growing evidence — both anecdotal and in surveys — that a lot of people want to do something different with their lives than they did before the pandemic. The?COVID outbreak has had a dramatic psychological effect on workers, and people are reassessing what they want to do and how they want to work, whether in an office, at home or some hybrid combination.

A Pew Research Center survey this year found that two-thirds?of the unemployed had “seriously considered” changing their field of work, a far greater percentage than during the Great Recession. People who used to work in restaurants or travel are finding higher-paying jobs in warehouses or real estate, for example. (Just last week, here in Naples Florida an ad ran for $45.50/hour for warehouse packers.)??Or they want a job that is more stable and less likely to be exposed to the coronavirus — or any other deadly virus down the road. Consider that grocery stores shed over 49,000 workers in April and nursing care facilities lost nearly 20,000 (Washington Post).

There has also been a mindset shift in the American worker.??Our expectations of the companies we work for have migrated from solely profit focus to purpose and cause; from hierarchical structures to networks of peers, mentors, and coaches; from controlling and directional bosses to empowering coaches and team leaders; from well-planned, proven paths to experimentation and innovation, and finally from privacy and “need to know” to full transparency and involvement.??Are we keeping up in adapting to the changing mindset??

Add this to the increasing pace of change over the past year as employers embraced new ways to continue serving our customers with fewer workers, with existing jobs relying even more heavily on workers with strong technical and digital skills.

Fabian Stephany, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute studying the gig economy, believes that the pandemic is expediting the “platformization” of work, or the allocation and monitoring of labor via digital platforms. This business model pervades the growing, and?increasingly precarious, gig economy.??With more people working online, he believes we need to imagine new ways of ensuring that flexibility for employees and the efficient allocation of work for employers doesn’t come at the cost of worker protections.?American women are struggling to re-enter the workforce after many gave up their jobs in response to the disproportionate demands placed on them during the pandemic.??Now, working mothers are facing?hard choices about whether to stay home or to search again for work.

The Workforce Institute has concluded there are three ways to fix our labor shortage: increase wages, increase hours, and increase productivity.??Easier said than done.??

The first solution is to increase wages. Companies like?McDonalds,?Under Armor?and?Bank of America?have all announced wage increases to attract workers – moves that have been well received by both employees and the public at large. In principle, it is easy to throw money at the problem, but in practice, it may not be possible. Higher wages cut into profits so we will need to make a strong case that wage increases will pay for themselves, and then some.

Another approach might be to examine the risk of?not?increasing wages by equating labor shortages to decreased customer service and, in turn, reduced sales. No matter what, we face an uphill battle to get the support needed to raise pay.

The second option is to ask our existing employees to work more hours. Giving more hours to our current workforce reduces the need to hire new workers, along with the training and onboarding expenses associated with hiring.?Two big hurdles need to be cleared for this solution to work:

Our employees need to be willing to pick up more hours. Some may be happy to do this, other employees will not or cannot due to childcare, other commitments such as school, or lifestyle. Therefore, offering more hours can soften the labor shortage but may not fully eliminate it. It is helpful to provide our employees with technology that allows them to see what shifts are available and let them choose the shifts they want to work.

Those most likely to take the extra hours will do so to get paid overtime. For many organizations, overtime is a four-letter word and something to be avoided at all costs. The fact is that overtime can be less expensive than hiring new workers. This is due to recruiting costs, benefit costs, and the higher productivity of experienced workers. Fellow Workforce Institute advisory board member?John Frehse?talks about this in his white paper “The Overtime Lie”. Organizations that are able to overcome their hang-ups with overtime will be well-positioned to keep operations running during a labor shortage.

The third solution is to increase the productivity of our existing workforce. Increasing the output of workers already on staff reduces the need for more workers?and?the need for overtime.?There are two paths to improving productivity:

Productivity gains can come from big ideas like eliminating tasks, reducing the frequency with which certain tasks are performed, or redesigning tasks entirely. The bigger the idea, the more time it may take to implement. So, recognize that this path may not have an immediate impact on our labor shortage but should have a large, sustainable impact when implemented.

Big gains can come from small changes. Unlike the big ideas mentioned in the last point, small changes can often be implemented quickly. To find such opportunities, look for tasks that are performed frequently. Eliminating just one step in a frequently performed task or moving a piece of equipment closer to where the task is performed to reduce travel time can have an outsized impact on productivity. Saving a few seconds may not seem like much but when that savings happens thousands of times a day in each store across your entire portfolio, it begins to add up quite quickly.

And how else can we get after this issue???Well, TouchBistro offered the following pieces of advise:

-???????Get Creative with Recruitment

Recruitment and retention are two of industry’s biggest challenges, even on a good day.

In light of the labor shortage, they’ve now become even more critical.

Maybe there was a time when people were lining up to work at your company. If they’re no longer coming to you, don’t be shy to go to them. Promote job ads online, work with?staffing agencies in your area, and advertise through local schools and community centers. Agencies can be especially helpful when it comes to niche jobs.??And those job descriptions which tend to be really dry and boring - make ours stand out. Play to our strengths. Is your company a fun place to work? Make our job ads playful and fun to reflect that.??Do you offer something most other companies don’t? Make sure to include that in your ad.

Also, consider offering an employee referral bonus. If our staff member refers a friend, and that friend gets hired and stays for more than three months, then our referring employee gets a cash bonus on their paycheck or another type of incentive.

-???????Partner Up

Beyond just ads, see if you can partner with local organizations, high schools, college job fairs, after-school programs, and other grassroots initiatives that have budding talent. Offer free training or skill-building workshops to people entering the labor force, in exchange for a term of employment.??They get full-time employment. You get full-time employees.

-???????Trim the Fat of Admin Tasks

Most of our staff are already working long hours for their wages, so make sure we aren’t piling non-essential responsibilities onto the plates of your skilled workers. Invest in technology that can automate some of the more time-consuming administrative tasks our staff are currently responsible for.??Freeing our skilled staff of these more menial tasks will let them focus on the work they’re passionate about and trained for – plus, they’ll be happier for it, which leads to more productivity and higher retention.

-???????Be Flexible with Schedules

Our staff aren’t robots. They’re people and they respond well to being scheduled as such.?

When building our schedules, factor in staff preferences (number of shifts per week, time of day, days to be in the office, daycare, after work activities, etc.) and their outside lives before putting them into the spreadsheet.??If someone says they work best in the evenings, scheduling them for five early morning shifts a week (even though they’re technically available) won’t be great for staff morale or productivity. Make it easier to hang on to skilled workers by taking their shift preferences into account as much as possible.

Also, have a protocol for accepting and processing?time away, as well as for emergency and non-emergency scheduling conflicts. Knowing we’re sensitive to their work-life balance will go a long way toward employees putting down roots at our company.??Job flexibility is a key value for a lot of workers in our current environment, so be proactive about getting their input for your staff schedule.

-???????Perk Up Employee Benefits

Maybe you’re able to offer competitive wages – if so, that’s great!??What you can’t offer in wages, however, you can likely offer in other types of perks.??This is a good opportunity to get a little creative and come up with some original incentives we can offer our staff, like professional training and development opportunities, company events, overtime opportunities, and more.??If we’re able to convert some of our part-timers into full-timers and offer them salaried positions or benefits packages, that’s even better.??People work harder when they feel valued, so come up with some new ways to show our appreciation for their hard work.

-???????Change Your Management Style

Traditional management styles kept employees in the dark about high-level decisions, even when those decisions impact all staff.??Trusting our employees and involving them in those decisions is proven to empower staff to work harder by showing them how their work impacts the company’s overall success.??Open communication and transparency will also strengthen the relationship between us and our staff. It fosters a culture of shared ownership which is empowering to everyone involved.

-???????Open to Different People

We tend to hire people who match our existing team. It’s human nature to look for candidates you can see yourself in, BUT, when you create a more diverse, equitable work environment, it not only widens the pool of people from which you can hire, it also adds a wealth of new perspectives that can strengthen our business. Wider pool, more candidates, better hires.

For instance, consider what message an all-male staff might send to potential female applicants. Or, how a highly skilled worker living with a disability might feel about applying to a company that isn’t accessible.??Adding a little bit more diversity to your hiring practices will open the pool of people you can pull from and improve our business overall. Win-win.

Finally, this will require a team effort to keep our teams at full staff.??Everyone is a recruiter – in the elevator, at the bus stop, at dinner with friends, on the athletic field, in our church group.??What is our company’s 30-second pitch???What are the top ten reasons to work at your company???Do all of our team members know these answers???Make recruiting fun and rewarding for your team and you will be surprised by the results.

Together.???We.??Win.???