Is There Really a Shortage of Good Workers?

When you’re looking to fill jobs, it can sometimes seem like there’s a shortage of good workers.

Well, there could be. The news recently is that the U.S. may be facing a shortfall of skilled manufacturing workers. Too few workers have the skills for the jobs available.

In fact, over the next 20 years, employers needing plant and system operators face a nearly 96% chance of having a worker shortage. Companies needing machinists face a nearly 90% of having a skilled worker shortage.

Why? Well, there’s a few reasons. Baby Boomers are retiring. They were one of the largest generations. Generation Z, the current crop of teenagers and people in their early twenties, is far smaller. In fact, Generation Z is smaller even than Millennials, the generation immediately before them, who were significantly smaller than Baby Boomers.

In addition, college has been stressed far more than training in manufacturing for the past several decades. Young people may not be thinking of manufacturing jobs as much as their grandparents did.

Companies have also been investing heavily in outsourcing and streamlining their labor needs. They may be placing less emphasis on training and hiring people for manufacturing jobs.

How Do You Find Good Workers?

On to the more pressing issue: you do you find and recruit good workers?

Here are steps to take.

1) Be competitive in what you offer workers

When there’s a shortage of workers, good ones can pick and choose. You need to keep up with what the going salaries are in your area. You need to at least meet those salaries. If you can better them, you stand a good chance of attracting the best workers.

It’s the same with benefits and other perks. Research and ask around to find out what your competitors do. If they offer 2 weeks of vacation or other things workers want, and you don’t, the best workers will be inclined to go to companies who do.

2) Train your workers

If your entry level people are good workers — reliable, on time, and ready to roll up their sleeves — it’s a good idea to train them for higher level roles. Why? Well, part of being a good worker, of course, is the qualities they’ve already demonstrated.

People who can’t move up to higher salaries and levels of responsibility will be more inclined to look elsewhere for those things. If you train them, you can more easily retain them.

3) Show appreciation of good workers

Everyone likes to feel appreciated. Develop a plan for showing appreciation of your good workers. It can be simple, just a gift card at the local pizza place.

You can also institute a policy like employee of the month. Place a sign of recognition in the newsletter or a public place. The advantage to employee of the month is that it encourages people, because everyone has a chance every month.

Stride Staffing Can Help You Find Good Workers

Stride Staffing has access workers in all our areas. We can help you find good workers. Call us today.

Our goal is to build stronger connections between employers and individuals by doing staffing differently. Really. Contact us today for hiring and recruitment help in Arlington, Texas and other locations.

2 Tips to Improve Your Business Processes and Maximize Your Return

Is your budget for coming year just pages of wishful thinking? In many cases, it is. Businesses that are underperforming often believe by planning for bigger profits or greater revenues they are ensuring a better outcome. But a budget alone has no impact on what will happen in the next year within your organization.

Here is what often happens:

Upper management, with the assistance of lower-level managers, sets goals for the year and includes them in the annual budget, expecting their managers will take the actions to achieve the projected results. Unfortunately, that rarely happens. Instead, those managers go back into their departments and continue to do their jobs as they always have.

Without an action plan to help deliver tangible results, nothing will change, and the figures in the budget will not be accurate. Here are suggestions for creating a budget that defines the needed actions with which every employee can identify.

Put the emphasis on action instead of accuracy

Despite your company’s best efforts, your budget can never be more than an educated guess. This makes the term “accurate budget” a contradiction. A budget can be accurate only if everyone in your organization does what is expected of them. But until someone defines what is expected, it likely won’t happen.

That’s why a budget consisting only of revenue and expenses does not show the whole picture. Each budgeted line item should be accompanied by the specific action or actions necessary to make the projections a reality. For instance, if your budget is predicated on 5 percent growth in revenue, there needs to be an accompanying line that explains how many more clients or customers it will take, including the advertising and events that will draw them in, to achieve the growth. Once you have included specifics for your organization, your budget becomes actionable and will be accurate.

Recognize what drives your company’s performance

Your employees need to understand and act upon those things which will produce future financial results. By including these performance drivers in the budget, your workers will have something concrete and actionable from which to work. Having sales or events that reach more potential customers, improving the sales process, changing products or pricing and finding ways to satisfy and retain customers are all examples of drivers that can be budgeted for each of your departments.

Your budget should include those tangible goals that directly influence an increase in revenue and profit while reducing expenses. The goals that are associated with performance drivers give your organization a visible marker from which you can measure your performance against your goals.

Is finding the best talent one of your goals?

Convincing today’s top candidates your company is their best choice is more critical than ever. A culture of fun, fitness, and altruism will go a long way to setting you apart. Stride Staffing’s goal is to build stronger connections between employers and individuals by doing staffing differently. Really. Contact us today  and request a consultation.

April Showers (Better Training) Bring May Flowers (A Better Business)

It’s a sobering and costly statistic for any business. About 33 percent of employees exit their companies—voluntarily or involuntarily—before they have completed their first year. And 22 percent of those are gone within the first six weeks.

It’s estimated that losing employees in that first year can cost your company two to three times their salary, and that doesn’t include the toll it takes on morale, your business requirements, and the lost opportunity to have fresh talent on your team.

What’s the answer? A good onboarding training system, along with continuing education, can help any organization get their newest workers up to speed and increase their levels of retention. Here are tips to help you train and retain more successfully.

Teach them early and thoroughly

Training starts immediately—maybe sooner. Before they clock in for their first day of work, new employees should know your company’s goals and values. Your mission statement should also be part of their pre-employment training. Helping them understand and develop respect for your company culture is a vital part of the onboarding process.

From day one, show your new employees they are in an environment that focuses on learning. Make sure they have easy access to training materials and resources. And let them know the chains of communication are always open at all levels.

Add value with cross-training

Help your employees (and your business) by cross-training them in several areas of the company. Workers with multiple skill sets can move effortlessly among the departments of your workplace and provide your managers with options when workers in one area become overburdened. Cross-trained employees tend to be more engaged in their jobs because of the variety of tasks they perform each week.

Set training goals and reward success

Is your training program working? It’s hard to know unless you’ve set goals—for each individual, department and throughout the company—that can gauge its success. Set your training goals for these three areas and you’ll have a useful tool for measuring what is and isn’t working.

It’s also helpful to show your workers you are concerned about them by rewarding their growth. Developing a system of recognition will give them an incentive to learn. The rewards can be anything you choose—as long as they are standardized throughout the company—and could even have monetary value.

Are you looking for employees that will add value to your team?

Finding good employees and properly training them is key to your company’s future. Convincing today’s top candidates your company is their best choice is more critical than ever. A culture that includes onboard training and ongoing education will go a long way to setting you apart. Stride Staffing’s goal is to build stronger connections between employers and individuals by doing staffing differently. Really. Contact us today  or request a consultation.