As a small business, you want to grow as quickly as possible. That means adding to your staff when opportunities come. But what if the talent you need isn’t there when you need to hire?
Long-standing demographic trends have led to a lack of workers. This condition has become known as the sansdemic — an overall scarcity in skilled personnel that will continue to impact hiring in the foreseeable future.
This tightness in the labor market hits differently depending on the conditions of your organization. For small businesses, it undermines your ability to stay nimble. Meanwhile, you face an increasingly competitive market. In some cases, you won’t have the resources you need to beat out larger companies for the upper echelon of job candidates.
So what can you do? Here are a few tips for facing the sansdemic as a small business:
Improve Retention
A sansdemic means you’ll have trouble replacing your best employees if they leave. As such, you should prioritize keeping them inside your organization. Rather than turning to a tight labor market, solidify your connection with the talent you already have available.
This means upgrading your retention efforts. One survey showed that about half of employers (49%) say that keeping workers is “somewhat” or “very” difficult. This will only get more challenging as the sansdemic deepens, causing the labor market to get tighter. This is especially true for more specialized talent.
These dynamics point to a key insight: you should begin investing in better retention now. Taking steps in the near term will create a foundation you can count on as your small business grows. Here are some steps you can take as you roll out this effort:
- Improve communications with your team, including encouraging feedback from your staff
- Share your long-term vision with your employees, giving them a broader mission
- Provide advancement opportunities
- Take a personal interest in the careers of your best performers
- Nurture a strong corporate culture
- Implement procedures to avoid burnout
Upskill Your Current Staff
In a sansdemic, it might be more difficult to find great employees. However, you can still create a team comprised of these outstanding performers. You just have to create them yourself.
Investing in learning and development programs lets you get the most out of the talent you already have in your organizations. Instead of seeking out candidates that already have certain qualifications, you can train your current staff to reach those requirements. Here are a few steps that will help you to employ this strategy:
- Create an ongoing skill assessment program
- Set aside funds for learning and development
- Develop methods for identifying employees with broader potential
- Devise training procedures
- Communicate with employees about upskilling opportunities
- Make learning and development part of your culture
Use Creative Recruiting Techniques
To combat a tight labor market, you need to get the most out of your recruiting efforts. The traditional approaches to discovering new talent might not have the same returns given the conditions brought on by the sansdemic. As such, you’ll need to get more creative about your hiring strategies.
Here are a few alternatives you can use beyond your typical recruiting:
- Stay connected to previous job candidates.
- Use niche job sites targeting specific types of candidates.
- Seek out high-quality passive candidates.
- Build your employer brand through social media and other outreach techniques.
- Start an employee referral program.
Contact Us Today
A staffing agency can also give your team-building effort a boost. A top recruiter, like PrideStaff, can deliver the best candidates in any labor market.
Contact us today to learn more.
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