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Understanding Staffing Issues, and Solutions to the Shrinking Workforce

Business Texting
3 min. read

The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics is set to release its latest report on jobs in the next week, and the numbers are not expected to move much.

According to experts at Market Watch, businesses are trying to hire, but the workers are not there. They say this could be the biggest labor shortage in modern times.

The Employment Problem

In February, the US added about 440,000 new jobs, similar to January. The problem is the numbers from the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics shows that many people are leaving their jobs voluntarily and are not coming back into the workforce.

We have done blog posts before about this shortage, and the one reason we are seeing the most is burnout. Employees say they are working too hard, resulting in burnout.

The pandemic made this worse as people were already feeling anxious about COVID, while also dealing with stresses at work.

Cost of living is also a factor when it comes to stress. In the past year, the cost of living has risen nearly 8%. This is the highest rise in nearly three decades.

Solutions to Employment Issues

While it’s unclear what the March employment numbers will look like, we have seen some changes. The federal interest rate rose, in an attempt to keep inflation down. We also saw companies offering more benefits to potential workers to get them into the labor force.

But you don’t have to just offer money. There are three key changes you can make to attract new employees:

1. Recognize and track the problem.

Make sure you are watching the trends in the job market. Also, listen to your current employees. Sit down and talk with them about their stresses, and what you can do to avoid burnout. You don’t have to be an expert, but you can record what you see within your company so you can adjust.

2. Set up Employees For Success.

Make sure you are giving employees the tools they need to succeed and reduce stress.

Set up an automated system, like a texting platform, that will cut down on wasted time, and increase productivity.

We’ve found that texting is the way to go when it comes to talking with customers. Around 89% of consumers say they would rather get a text than a call from a business.

If customers prefer texting, this means what may have taken employees hours or days on the phone, will now just take minutes.

With a texting platform in place, they can set up an automated text in minutes, that goes out to customers, and then they can respond to each text as it comes in.

Reducing time spent on one thing, will reduce the stress they are feeling about the job as a whole.

3. Make Adjustments.

The job market is still uncertain, but there is no need to panic. There are solutions out there.

Also, watch for trends in the numbers. Figure out why employees are quitting, and make sure you are offering new employees a positive and inviting work environment.

Make sure you are creating and sticking to a plan as the labor market changes, and make sure you are listening to your employees about their concerns.

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