According to the National Federation of Independent Business’s October 2021 Report, nearly half of business owners report that they have job openings that they cannot fill. According to NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg, “Small business owners are attempting to take advantage of current economic growth but remain pessimistic about business conditions in the near future. One of the biggest problems,” Dunkelberg continues, “is the lack of workers for unfilled positions.” According to the November 2021 summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “On the last business day of September, the number and rate of job openings were little changed at 10.4 million and 6.6 percent, respectively.” Furthermore, the report adds, “The number of quits increased in September to a series high of 4.4 million (+164,000).”
With trends like these, it’s hard to imagine that we’re going to see any substantial improvement anytime soon. Many economists fear that the US economy won’t be able to recover so long as these issues persist. Even so, small-business owners can’t sit glumly and lament these problems all day long. Instead of waiting for the world to right itself, each business must take steps to retain the employees they have, maximize efficiency where possible, and be proactive about increasing their staffing.
Reward Your Stalwarts
First, it’s absolutely critical that you don’t shed any additional employees in the face of the labor shortage. That’s not to say that you should suffer any malcontents who are making the work environment miserable for their coworkers, but you have to make sure you keep your most trustworthy employees. This means paying competitive wages, offering bonus structures, rewarding them with advanced training, and so on.
Canvas your staff for their opinions and about their overall job satisfaction. Don’t wait for a mass exodus of talent to find out that your people are unhappy. By taking this proactive step, you can identify what’s working and what needs improvement. A healthy and enjoyable working environment is key to not only keeping your existing employees but also recruiting future ones.
Focus on What Matters
Each business has its best-selling products, top money-making margins, and most-profitable shifts. Consider what’s crucial for your company’s survivability and work from there—for example, many sit-down restaurants do their best business in the evenings during dinner service. Naturally, this is the time of the day that tips will be highest as well, so this is when a restaurant would want to schedule its waitstaff. If your profitability still depends on being open for breakfast or lunch, then perhaps those are times of day are best filled by salaried staff, or you if you ever work the dining room yourself. Save the best shifts for the servers.
This philosophy applies to other industries, as well. Double-down on the products that have great profit margins and are simultaneously popular. Even if your store doesn’t normally pay out commissions, you can still emphasize these money-makers with bonuses or other incentives. Profit allows your business to be flexible.
Find New Sources for Staff
Despite the prevalence of staffing agencies across the country, many small businesses don’t take advantage of these and instead lean on classified ads or help-wanted signs. Ads and signs are great, but your business should try to take advantage of every opportunity out there. The reason many businesses shy away from temps is the extra cost of paying the agency combined with the fear that you’re going to be stuck with a revolving door of short-timers. However, a Forbes article from several years back noted a retention rate of 70%, meaning that more than two-thirds of temporary employees ultimately become permanent. As for cost, you have to balance out whether filling your labor gaps is worth the extra investment.
What might work even better for your business is referrals: don’t hesitate to talk to your existing staff about people they know who might be well-suited to working at your company. Most of your employees are acquainted with potentials who might be a good fit for what you’re doing. You can even incentivize those referrals by offering some kind of bonus for anyone you ultimately hire and who remains for 90 days. While you might not want to hire your employees’ family members for fear of personal entanglements or drama, you can always focus on their former coworkers they had during their previous jobs.
Next Steps
The Brandt Group can help your business with many of these aspects, with employee feedback surveys, leadership and staff training, staffing advice, and even mystery shopper observation. The surveys will tell you much about the health of your working environment, the training will keep everyone sharp and feeling valued, and the mystery shops will help identify what the average person loves most about your business—or what they think needs improvement.
Proactivity is key. No one can afford to sit by idly, hoping their problems will sort themselves. Take charge by reaching out to us today!
