Thinking Differently About Hiring
Recently, I was reading an article about the jobs report in America and thinking about the conversations I have been a part of with local business owners. After reading a few articles and based on what I hear in the Lincoln business community, I just had to keep reading more articles to see the various thoughts behind this shortage of workers as we come to the other side of the pandemic.
One publication referred to a “great reassessment” going on in our economy. I found this an interesting description of what is happening within the workforce, and several things resonated with me when thinking about what is happening in Lincoln. In some of the research studies and also in observations offered by different writers, there seems to be a change happening in the minds of those unemployed and underemployed in our country. Additionally, some writers have been combining this change with the increase in remote work opportunities during the pandemic. The workforce as we knew it a year and a half ago, compared to what we are facing, is changing dramatically.
One study from Pew Research Center points out half of the unemployed, furloughed, or temporarily laid off are pessimistic about their future job prospects. A majority of those surveyed (around two-thirds) say they are or have seriously considered changing fields or occupations. Furthermore, they indicate there has been an increase in experiencing additional emotional and mental health issues. Some participating in the survey indicated they have taken time to reevaluate their skills and seek new educational opportunities to refine their skills for their job search. Being unemployed has caused greater stress and had more mental health issues for unemployed and laid off workers. The statistics will suggest these problems are happening right here in Lincoln.
Business owners across sectors have discussed these issues and the inability to find new employees. I have heard from business owners looking for restaurant staff, hotel staff, office staff, etc. We are all experiencing these issues. Looking ahead, we will have to start rethinking how we retool ourselves as employers to better reach those who are seeking employment and how we can support them in their reentry into the workforce.
To adjust to the world we are living in, we must think differently than we have in the past. I know over the past few months at LIBA, we have worked to find different ways to identify prospective employees as well as finding new ways to go through the interview process. We have worked with a professional human resources consulting company who has helped us to think differently in how we screen candidates. We have worked with this company to take advantage of tools which are helping us see how prospective employees may fit into the culture of our current organization. They have even helped us to evaluate job descriptions, look at how open positions could be combined to maximize the talent of the applicants, and they have helped us to consider how we structure our compensation to better attract new employees to our organization.
The lesson for me through this process has been, how do we adapt to the world around us and also be willing to take advantage of the resources around us in order to better structure our organization for the future? I know the struggles business owners are experiencing in identifying and hiring talent. We have experienced these issues. My hope is this information and these ideas will help your business to consider thinking differently than in the past when it comes to seeking out tools to help identify and hire good talent to help the economy of our community.