Acute labor shortages have been a rising concern worldwide ever since the pandemic. According to an article published by Forbes, one of the major reasons labor shortages heightened during the pandemic was the early retirement of workers due to health reasons. In the present scenario, there has been a significant rise in the retiring population. In addition to that, there are several other factors that contribute to labor shortages in the global market, such as changes in workers’ expectations, gaps in hiring and training processes and practices, and emerging technological trends that cause an increase in demand for tech-savvy individuals.

While the digital era has brought an array of new job roles in the market, the gaps in skills and knowledge make organizations struggle to fill these positions. The tight labor market, alongside the constant evolution and emergence of technologies, put business leaders and employers in a challenging position. Besides hunting for skilled and competent talents to drive their business forward, employers need to think of cost-efficient staffing strategies so that they can remain flexible and scalable in the face of unforeseen market conditions.

In this article, we will discuss the top strategic labor shortage solutions that business leaders or employers need to implement to overcome the current labor shortages.

How to overcome labor shortages

Given below are eight strategic labor shortage solutions that can help you combat the challenge.

Elevate your hiring practices with HR technology

The reformation brought in businesses by digital tools and technologies is not limited to the operational areas. Employers can utilize them to streamline the administrative aspects of businesses as well. Human Resources technology (HR tech) not only enables recruiters to reduce paper clutter but also assists them in centralizing and streamlining the overall hiring process. All essential HR functions related to hiring, such as screening and filtering resumes, responding to candidates, conducting interviews, onboarding selected candidates, etc., can be automated through HR technology. For instance, an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) can help track applications, while an AI-powered tool can help automate the process of screening and scoring resumes. Utilizing such advanced technologies will help refine the hiring process, enabling you to filter candidates better and discover the ideal fit.

Focus on skill-based hiring

Considering the increasing need for technically proficient candidates, it is necessary that employers start undertaking a skill-based hiring approach, thereby prioritizing skills over qualifications and work experience. With this labor shortage solution, you can broaden your talent pool with robust skills, innovative minds, and diverse work experiences. Unlike conventional hiring pathways, skill-based hiring prevents you from overlooking skilled and competent candidates from underrepresented groups and communities, helping you form a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Switch to a remote or hybrid work model

As stated earlier, the pandemic phase has brought a major shift in worker expectations when it comes to flexibility and work-life balance. Considering the fact that day-to-day tasks and responsibilities associated with work can be carried out from the comfort of homes, employees nowadays demand remote and hybrid work norms. If your business remains unaffected by a flexible work culture, then why not follow it? This will not only fulfill the flexibility needs of employees but also enable you to expand your talent search beyond borders. This is one of the most effective labor shortage solutions that can help you attract top talent.

Invest in employee training and development

Be it freshers or experienced professionals, employees today increasingly seek opportunities to enhance their skills and knowledge while at work. With the constant evolution of technologies, there are always going to be skill gaps in your existing employees unless you choose to close these gaps through adequate training. Besides focusing on hiring fresh talents to support change and innovation, it is recommended that you consider designing proper training and development programs or sessions for your existing staff. This will keep them updated and informed about ongoing advancements and developments in the business market, assisting them to embrace the change with ease and efficiency.

Set competitive compensation and benefits

Apart from benefiting employees with fruitful training and development opportunities, you need to ensure a strong compensation package to match shoulders with the competitors. In fact, this is a core labor shortage solution that cannot be simply overlooked. The increasing skill gaps and labor shortages undoubtedly step up the competition in the employment market, not only for employees but employers as well. Hence, if, as an employer, you have not started rethinking your employee compensation and benefits schemes and policies, it is high time that you do so to get hold of top talents.

Provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities

Instead of searching for talents outside, you can consider transferring or promoting your existing employees to an open role. That will be only possible when you help your existing employees develop and elevate the desired skills and competencies for the vacant position. Besides closing skill gaps, upskilling and reskilling programs greatly improve the employee retention rate as your employees get the chance to improve themselves both personally and professionally. While in-house mentorship sessions can help your on-site employees refine their skills, virtual classroom lessons or recorded sessions can prove to be fruitful for your remote employees.

Build ways to increase employee engagement

With new and innovative technologies coming up every single day, it is natural for you to face talent shortages too often. As such, you need to think of ways to retain your best talents. Other than training, development, upskilling, and reskilling opportunities, you need to develop strategic ways of motivating your employees through rewards and recognition. It is equally necessary to understand and address the concerns of your employees by developing an empathy-based approach. Clear and robust communication channels not only enable you to demonstrate your ideas and goals to employees but also help you to listen to their views, ideas, and concerns.  To develop a sense of belonging, make them a part of every important meeting and event, allowing them to communicate their ideas and perspectives.

Go for contingent staffing

Contingent staffing is considered to be an effective and efficient labor shortage solution in the present market. There are numerous benefits of contingent staffing that cannot be left unnoticed. For instance, by hiring contingent workers on a contractual basis, you can get access to niche expertise required to fulfil their project or business needs. 

Contingent staffing also enables you to scale your workforce up and down based on business situations, thereby adhering to your budget limitations. Hiring full-time employees with the desired skills may be costly and time-consuming if your budget and timeframe are tight. With contingent staffing, you can address both of these aspects while leveraging the required skills and knowledge for your business or project success. All you need to do is follow contingent workforce management best practices to reap the benefits of temporary and contractual staffing.

Partner with a staffing agency

To save your time and efforts in finding talents and closing the labor shoratges in your business, it is best to partner with a professional staffing agency. By owning an extensive pool of talented job seekers and working professionals, an experienced staffing agency offers you the much-needed support in hiring candidates. 

At Denken Solutions, we possess a wide range of pre-screened candidates who are skilled and talented enough to fit into on-demand and competitive job roles. By following a rigorous process of matching potential candidates with job requirements, we assist organizations in remaining competitive, flexible, and agile amidst labor shortages in the global marketplace. Whether you require contingent talents or full-time employees to close skill gaps, we can connect you with the right fit for your business in no time and at low costs.

Conclusion

The employment market has been hit hard by labor shortages all over the world, and the key factors contributing to these include the retiring workforce, changing worker expectations, and emerging technologies. To deal with these challenges, business leaders and employers need to follow strategic labor shortage solutions that encompass the use of HR technology in the hiring process, a skill-based hiring approach, a flexible workforce model, competitive compensation and benefits, training and development programs, upskilling and reskilling opportunities, employee engagement techniques, contingent staffing, and partnership with a reputable staffing agency.