A Creative Way to Get Workers Back

As shown in our recent article, Where Oh Where Have the Applicants Gone, employers across the country must scramble to find ways to fill their open requisitions. While it might sound contradictory, the U.S. is experiencing higher unemployment numbers and a labor shortage¹.

How do you attract high-quality talent in this difficult labor market? Here are a few ideas:

• For hourly workers and lower-salaried positions: location is one of the biggest drivers of effective recruiting.  Programs focused on attracting local talent pays off as does improving accessibility and other ways of reducing commuting time.
• Hiring bonuses appear to be an effective way to get more of the unemployed back to work. According to a survey by the US Chamber of Commerce, it was the most appealing solution for hesitant-to-return workers.
• Employers are increasingly offering hiring incentives that range from signing bonuses to retention bonuses to cash incentives, per a report released by Indeed in early June 2021.
• Verify that compensation being offered to candidates is competitive in today’s market conditions.  Adjusting your salaries to the cost of living is a good starting point.
• Employers could tap into vast talent pools of women by partnering with providers of day care, after school, and drop-off/pick-up services to help employees with children juggle their work and home schedules.
• Tap into the older workforce who may be lured out of retirement for flexible positions.
• Employers can gain the trust of their workers by continuously following best practices to reduce exposure and introduce Covid safety measures at work. Some companies host in-house testing centers and vaccination events, increasing confidence in a Covid-free environment.
• Other incentives include work-from-home flexibility and worker vaccination requirements.

nextSource is working closely with our clients to devise solutions to increase their ability to attract needed talent resources. If you need help, connect with nextSource. A successful workforce strategy starts with acknowledging that you won’t solve your current hiring challenges by exclusively applying the solutions of the past.

_{¹ US Bureau of Labor Statistics}