Talent Shortages: Attracting and Retaining Top Employees

The post-pandemic economy is confusing. We read about mass layoffs every day, yet we still have both low workforce participation and low unemployment. It would seem that we’re in an employer’s market, but many businesses are still facing a talent shortage. Finding the perfect candidate is a challenge, and when you are able to attract and hire the right talent, you then have to work to retain them.

What’s Behind the Talent Shortage?

A recent ManpowerGroup study cited in this Forbes article sheds some light on these contradictions. They found that 75% of employers are having a hard time finding employees, down from 77% last year but up from 54% before the pandemic. Companies of all sizes report similar difficulties.

One major cause of the talent shortage is the confluence of the Baby Boomers reaching retirement age with the declining birth rate. Many Boomers enjoyed long careers in a single field or at a single company. As they retire, they are taking decades of irreplaceable knowledge and experience with them. Then there’s the problem of skills mismatch. Employers want one set of skills, and job seekers either don’t have them or have trouble articulating them in resumes, cover letters, and interviews.

The cost of living crisis also plays a part. Many people who want work have simply stopped looking often for two reasons: a lack of affordable childcare and unaffordable rents and housing costs in areas where jobs are available.

Recruitment Strategies

A business that is simply looking for workers can’t solve all of these social problems alone, of course. There are, however, steps you can take to make sure these issues don’t hurt your ability to attract the best candidates for each role. Consider the following strategies the next time you have a position to fill.

Focus on Local Talent. Rather than turning to LinkedIn and receiving thousands of applications within the first hour of posting a job, develop strategies for connecting with jobseekers in your area. A targeted PPC ad campaign that leads directly to your website might result in fewer applicants overall, but you might end up with more qualified applicants. The same goes for ads placed in industry publications and on industry forums. Conferences and job fairs, both in-person and virtual, will also get you in touch with a local audience without having to sift through hundreds or thousands of applicants who are playing a numbers game rather than focusing on the jobs that are right for them.

Forming a relationship with the relevant departments at local colleges is another way to connect with potential employees in your area. Seek out current students for internships, recent graduates for entry-level positions, and alums for senior or management positions.

Use Competency-Based Interview Techniques. Competency-based interviewing goes beyond the standard interview questions to reveal a candidate’s fit for a role by seeking real-world examples of their skills. You can read more about competency-based interviewing on our MentorWerx blog, here.

Reconsider Job Requirements. Take some time to discuss with current employees what exactly a particular job entails. This includes everything from the typical workday to the amount and type of communication or collaboration the job calls for to the soft skills a successful employee needs. The experience requirements on many job listings, for instance, are out of alignment with the skills the position actually calls for. What does a worker with 5-7 years of experience bring that one with 1-3 does not? Focus more on the specific skills rather than the number of years. One employee might work in a position for five years and learn very little; another might pick up in six months what typically takes years to learn.

Never Stop Recruiting. Even after you’ve hired for a position, continue to collect resumes. Even if you’re not currently hiring, encourage job seekers to submit a resume and cover letter so that they may be considered when a position opens up. You’ll be able to take your time reviewing resumes, and you might connect with candidates you might not have otherwise found.

Retention Strategies

Once you’ve hired the perfect candidate, a new challenge begins: keeping the perfect employee. Satisfied employees are more likely to stay put. Harvard Business Review identified three factors that make a job satisfying: meaningful work, trust and respect from managers and colleagues, and opportunities to grow. There are a few things employers can do to meet these conditions.

Start With Onboarding. A clear onboarding method will get you off on the right foot with a new employee. Provide a transparently mapped-out process complete with support from the right people. They will know what’s expected of them in their first few months, they’ll learn the correct processes, and they’ll know they’ll be supported if they struggle with any part of it. That goes a long way to building the trust and mutual respect that keep employees happy.

Articulate Your Values and Live By Them. Every business has a mission, a culture, and an identity. We’re not just here to make a living; we want to be a part of something important and valuable. We want to know we’re doing good work for a good reason. By articulating what you stand for, you give everyone at the company an example of the kind of behavior you want to see at work.

Find Each Employee’s Work-Life Balance. Work-life balance isn’t a mathematical formula; it’s going to look different for each person. Some people need the social interaction that comes with working in a busy office. Others need the peace of a home office to function. Talk with your employees to make sure the needs of both employer and employee are being met, and devise in-office, hybrid, or remote work plans for each employee as needed.

Offer Professional Development Opportunities. As we’ve argued before, for a business to grow, its employees have to grow. Professional development makes your business better, but it also makes workers happier knowing that their company not only supports but encourages them to reach their full potential. Workers feel important and respected within the organization and they develop the confidence and self-respect that comes with achievement.

Don’t Forget Management Training. It is said that people don’t quit jobs, they quit managers. The people often elevated to management roles are the ones who stood out for their performance. Being good at your job, however, does not necessarily make you good at leading others who do that job. That’s why it’s so important to offer management training courses to those you promote—not just for their sake, but for the people working under them as well.

Find Your Dream Team—And Keep Them Together

It’s tough to find the perfect employee right now. Business strategy begins with knowing what you do and what kind of customer you serve. Deriving a strategy from that foundation will help you grow by attracting the right customers and by attracting the right talent.