Question: Why is it so hard to find skilled workers these days and how do I make the best of the situation?
Answer:
Social and demographic changes, such as falling birthrates and lengthening life spans, are resulting in a lack of skilled individuals for available jobs. This talent crunch is creating many changes in the global work force, and employers that are not paying attention could find their businesses in trouble.
While some employers have already taken steps to improve their talent pipeline, there is far more that can be done to address the growing talent shortage.
One thing employers can do is to establish links with local schools to provide meaningful work placement opportunities. In addition, employers should invest more in work-based vocational and technical training.
Employers should also think about re-skilling and up-skilling those individuals who are in roles that are becoming redundant or obsolete, so they can fill newly created positions.
For example, an employer that lays off 1,000 employees in one department only to hire 1,000 different employees in another department a week later, has made a serious, costly mistake. This employer has lost an opportunity to up-skill the first group of employees. This results in double the cost, training and time invested in filling those new positions.
Encouraging cross training can create a group of employees with the right skills and knowledge to fill several different positions. These people can then be moved between roles within the organization, as workload demands change.
Employers can also introduce more contingent talent , temporary, contract, consultant and outsourced , to their work force to accommodate the varying levels of demand. For most organizations, contingent labor is a core part of the human resource strategy, with an estimated 20 percent of their work forces coming from contingent labor sources.
Many economies have unemployed or underemployed individuals who could be brought back into the labor force to increase supply. Bringing these individuals back into work, particularly those who have been inactive for a long time, involves providing training in basic work skills and an introduction to good work ethic.
Attracting women, older individuals, people with disabilities and minorities into the work force can also reduce the skills pinch. Employers need to work to set expectations and change the workplace culture to one of inclusiveness to help bring such groups into the work force in greater numbers. Employers can invest in technology for individuals with disabilities, such as computer readers who vocalize on-screen text and adapted PC controls for those with physical disabilities. They also can make Web sites accessible for the visually impaired.
In addition, older workers whose jobs could remain unfilled if they retire, need to be encouraged to stay in employment. Employers can offer them retraining so they can return to less stressful and time-consuming roles. They can also offer part-time work opportunities. This flexible approach increases the pool of knowledgeable, skilled workers by prolonging the individuals’ active working lives.
In a talent poor, competitive future, all organizations will need to become employers of choice. This includes getting better at attracting the talent they need, and at retaining that talent for the long term.
This means providing opportunities for varied experience, good prospects for promotion and the right mix of working conditions, including flexible hours, maternity and paternity arrangements, and generous annual paid leave allowances, to create an acceptable work-life balance. Such approaches will attract individuals to the company and encourage employees to stay in their positions longer.
Written by Phil Blair, president of San Diego-based Manpower Staffing Services. He may be reached at (619) 237-9900 or via pblair@manpower-sd.com.
