Why it’s hard to get great workers and a checklist with 9 ways to attract the best employees.
Some things never change.
Way back in 2006, I wrote a Biz Coach column for a media site about an exhaustive study that showed 69,000 employers in Washington state were frustrated over their inability to find the right workers – 51 percent of companies complained workers were unfit.
As I recall, employers were concerned about a lack of workers’ skills, poor education and weak soft skills.
Since then, most U.S. companies have enjoyed a boom time.
But one human resources problem remains – a shortage of skilled labor. That’s right, published reports in 2022 indicate businesses have problems recruiting good employees.
But employees complain about a lack of jobs. Labor unions would have us believe companies are not paying enough in salary and benefits to attract workers. Not true.
There are countless unfilled jobs in the U.S. because of the structural gap between job requirements and worker abilities.
Meanwhile, too many American workers are not flexible enough in developing the right skills, getting the right training, and studying the right courses.
The high-school graduation rate is too low. Only a quarter of high-school students graduate from college. Technology needs math and science-educated workers. There will always be a need for good accountants. And there will always be a shortage of great salespeople and managers.
But too many parents are not paying attention. Their children should be strongly encouraged to study and develop strong work ethics. The same is true for adults.
But too many parents are not paying attention. Their children should be strongly encouraged to study and develop strong work ethics.
So, how can a business compete for talent?
Meantime, it will be necessary to analyze your company’s strengths and weaknesses, anticipate your needs for talent, focus on training of your staff, recruit effectively, and develop and implement a strategic plan.
Here is a checklist with the nine quick fixes to attract the best workers:
- Strengthen your brand. Differentiate from your competitors by enhancing your company image, innovate your product and service utility, become convenient as possible for your customers, and operate more efficiently. You will also learn that such steps will help attract the best employees.
- Performance management. Invest in training, mentoring and education – tools and resources to help your employees succeed.
- Succession planning. Retain and attract leaders for your firm, and develop a strategy to help your most talented employees ascend to senior levels.
- Talent development. Help your managers to evaluate your company’s HR strengths and weaknesses. Eliminate any gaps in your workforce and establish a harmonious environment for company growth.
- Promote diversity. It’s good business to consider and implement policies to recruit workers who are from other cultures. Add disabled applicants, and part-timers – such as stay-at-home parents and retirement-age workers.
- Recruitment. Target employees with the three A’s of hiring – attitude, appearance, and ability. (Note the priority of attributes. Both you and your customers will be pleased.)
- Compensation and benefits. No boss wants to over-pay employees, but if you do your best to provide for employees, they’ll deliver stronger performances and take better care of your company’s assets. Costco is a great example.
- Productivity. Reduce your skills gap by investing in technology.
- Adapt. Anticipate and respond to dynamic marketplace changes.
If properly implemented, you’ll see strong results. As they say in Hollywood, break a leg!
From the Coach’s Corner, remember you can increase profits with a strong focus on your employees.
My research shows about 52 percent of a customer’s buying motivation depends on what perceive about you and your human capital.
What are the so-called soft skills of your spokespersons, customer service, finance and salespeople? Your customers want value, good service and to be treated well.
So fine-tune management of your staff.
“At the end of the day you bet on people, not on strategies.”
-Larry Bossidy
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