“Hiring people is an art not a science.” – Howard Schultz, Former Chairman and CEO Starbucks***
Employers across America report the need to hire workers but struggle to find the help they need. So it is believed by some that the U.S. is facing a worker shortage. While many point to the $300 enhancement to the federal unemployment benefits of Americans to boost the economy during the worst of the Covid shut downs as the driving culprit, others disagree. While the April 2021 jobs report might support this anti enhancement viewpoint, the May jobs report exonerates the supporters of the enhanced unemployment benefits by spotlighting a few common sense realities.
The U.S. added 559,000 people to new jobs in May, 2021. The problem here, however is that economists estimated it would be 671,000. Because the number fell below the estimated number, it was seen as a negative and supports the idea that there is a worker shortage and thus people are not trying to go back to work. In my opinion, it is a leap however, to assume it is because of an added enhancement to the unemployment benefits. There is no evidence that people are avoiding the return to work because of the enhancements. Approximately half of the states in the country are now choosing to end the benefit enhancement earlier than the scheduled September 2021 end date. To prematurely end or withhold these funds, creates or recreates the negative impact of a slow moving economy. This impact is having a greater effect on communities of color and small businesses as did the Coronavirus itself. The enhanced unemployment benefits were intended to help increase spending and stimulate the economy by putting extra money in the hands of working class and middle class Americans who were hardest hit by the pandemic.
Where Are the Workers That Employers Need?
Economists point to a host of other factors that may also be dampening a return of workers to the labor force: the lack of child-care options, health complications faced by Covid long-haulers, ongoing health and safety risks, early retirements, career changes and a high number of furloughed workers who plan to return to their former jobs.
In case you cannot discern it, I am not one who believes that we are experiencing any major worker shortage, at least not one that we might not otherwise have faced anyway. Several years ago, I sat in meetings (long before Covid) where it was predicted that it would become increasingly more difficult to fill semi-skilled, skilled and professional level job openings due to a lack of adequate training programs and individual access to the education that did exist. This challenge was on the heels of what had been predicted some 20 years ago in anticipating that as America began to see populations of color, women and immigrant numbers increasing, the imperative would be to invest in equitable education and training of these often marginalized populations in order to meet employment needs across the country. To do otherwise would reduce the candidate pools for American jobs and create a crises. Hmmmm. Interesting spin on reality, now that we have arrived at this juncture.
Tips for Finding Good Help
For those of us who have need of qualified workers, having this background is helpful but not necessarily beneficial when positions are needing to be filled. So we must do what needs to be done and find the talent we need for the job openings we have.
The first, most important piece of advice I can give is, sit down and think. Don’t just jump up and start looking for someone to hire. Sit down and think first. Think about the answers to these questions:
What are the tasks or job duties that need to be fulfilled?
Be realistic and accurate in what these tasks and duties need to be. Ask others in the office if necessary.
What does that job title really equate to?
For example, if you need someone to answer phones, open the mail and greet customers you are probably looking at hiring a receptionist. Let’s say, however, you want someone to answer phones, open the mail, greet customers, draft correspondences, schedule appointments, occasionally post ads on social media and negotiate service contracts, then you are seeking more of an administrative or executive assistant. Now design a job description so no one gets confused.
What else will the person do in the course of a full work day?
Make sure you don’t expect more from the job than any human being can actually provide. People who are not in the job making, job giving, job creating business may be challenged when it comes to fathoming how much time and detail are required to do any given job other than their own.
I remember when I first began working as a coordinator in the diversity field. Much of the work I was doing at the time entailed anti-harassment training and investigating any concerns of discrimination or harassment. It was no secret that my role included this work, as the CEO had made very public announcements, inviting staff to contact me or him with any concerns or complaints of any such issues. It was quite overwhelming as there were so many issues that people wanted to bring forward. Many did not turn out to be either but certainly required some work to resolve; nonetheless, I was swamped. One day I was walking through the hallway and ran into a manager I previously worked with. He congratulated me on the role I had taken on then asked me, “So what do you do all day?” I could tell by the way he posed the question that he sincerely wondered what I could possibly be doing to fill up an entire work day. I cannot for the life of me, recall my answer because my memory is clouded by the feelings I had in response to the question. He had no idea whatsoever, what job duties might be included in such work.
The internet is a valuable tool that can help you research jobs, job descriptions and typical job duties for any position you can come up with, or you can talk to someone like myself, who has done that kind of work and could help you figure it out. Figuring it out also includes how much you can and should pay the person.
Starting Your Search for the Right Candidate
Once you have identified the job you need to fill, you can start moving forward with next steps. Begin to contemplate how to find that needle in the haystack. You may have to evaluate 10 people or 20 people before you find that one or two best suited candidates for the job.
Where can you find people who can do this work?
If you know of a professional group or a particular place where people who fit the description of the person you are seeking, might spend time, consider posting the job there or sending a notification to this group. If no one within the group is interested, they may know someone who is.
Aside from that, inform friends, professional associates and even family members whom you trust might send you reliable, talented possibilities.
Review possible places where you can place a paid advertisement. You can try the word of mouth process first, if you think it will yield you enough response, but realistically, most jobs will require a greater level of applicant response. The greater the skill level, the more you will need to consider the need to place quality advertisement. The more you place ads, the more you will be able to measure the quality of applicants you receive from the sources you use. If one source costs more than you prefer to pay but yields excellent candidates that you can hire and who stay long term, then that source is probably worth the money you pay for the ad. If, on the other hand, you pay a considerably lower cost for an ad, you end up placing the ad for multiple weeks at a time and the applicants are not always worth the time you spend interviewing them, then that clearly is not the best advertising option for your job openings. You might also find that the more expensive source is ideal for your more skilled positions and the less expensive, iffy source is a better option for finding lower skilled, entry level positions. It all takes time and yes…thought.
Screening In and Screening Out
The interview itself needs to be viewed with the right perspective. It is a time for you to determine if a candidate is right for your job and your company and it is a time for the candidate to determine if your job and your company is right for them. You are really interviewing each other whether you realize it or not. Remember that. We often mistakenly see the interviewing process as a time for the employer or leader to pick and choose who they wish to work with and not the other way around. It is as if we, as leaders, are doing the candidate a favor and will bestow the great blessing of employment upon them as we choose. The fact of the matter is, the candidate may have a number of other options staring them in the face and thus may turn us down as soon as we fail to convince them that we are worthy of their skills and they can easily decline our employment offer as soon as we make it.
So it is not just the candidate who needs to put their best foot forward. The interviewer has to sell their company and the job as well.
Seven Tips For A Productive Interview
- Be friendly. They are not going to the guillotine, so it is not necessary for you to be mean and scary in an attempt to look or sound important.
- Briefly describe the job and the workplace history
- Ask questions that help you get to know the candidate and that prompt answers based on past experience, not yes or no answers. An example would be, “Tell me about a time when you…” as opposed to a yes or no question like “Have you ever…” or a speculative question like “What would you do if…”
- Steer clear of questions or conversation about personal details. Do Not ask them about their age, sexual orientation, family details, race, ethnicity or any other personal aspect of their lives that could be misconstrued
- Ask the candidate about their pay expectations and tell them the pay range for the position. Do Not tell them what their exact pay rate would be because you do not know enough to make such a determination and it could be perceived as a promise. Just give the range.
- Inform them of available benefits and perks that are offered
- Before closing out the interview, ask if they have any additional questions
My advice would be to schedule your pool of candidates within a particular timeframe so you can make a fair assessment and comparison of those you’ve interviewed, then make an offer to the best choice. If that person declines, you can offer to the 2nd best option. Once an offer is accepted, check references right away then send a hire letter confirming your offer of employment and the start date.
Closing Thoughts
Despite the cries of shortage vs no shortage, the key to finding good help is not to hide your head in the sand but you have to keep your head on straight and avoid implementing a process off the top of your head. Use your head and think it through from the start. It will definitely pay off in the long run.
Don’t worry about shortages. If you have one opening, you only need one good person. If you have two openings, it’s two good people. Focus on that. Out of the billions of people in the world, there are two people who can fill your openings. If not you must be aiming too high!