INNOVATIVE WAYS to ADDRESS Your LABOUR SHORTAGES

The Canadian unemployment rate has again dropped to new record low of 4.9% as fewer and fewer people are looking for work. All industries are feeling the impact, but some of the hardest hit are in service industries, construction & trades, and health and dental industries. So what can employers do to try and attract new candidates? 
As an experienced HR Professional and Author of Knowing Who You Lead, I have some needed suggestions for business owners.

Here are five innovation suggestions you can use to improve your hiring processes:

1-Understanding How People Look for Jobs
Over and over I see industry leaders using the same old job postings, and getting the same results... no interest, or interest from people that don't understand what the job entails.
New job seekers often just put in "area of work/type of work" into job search engine, and then simply look at the required qualifications and decide whether or not to apply based on the skills needed rather than actually understanding what the job is. 
Business owners need to put more effort and thought into their job postings. 

Things to Consider:
What are you actually looking for?
What should actually be included?
How is it highlighted in your posting?

Examples:
-Does the person have to have 3 years of experience, or is that really an asset?
-What are the most importance qualities you need in the worker?
Loyalty, willingness to learn, ability to adapt to a changing work environment, communication skills, organizational skills
-Have you listed these and how can they demonstrate them to you? 
-How have you described the actual day to day job duties?
-Would someone new to your industry understand the roles and responsibilities involved? 

2- Get Innovative with your Job Marketing 
For years employers were used to just hiring employees by word of mouth, or by sticking up a "help wanted sign or ad". Today things are much different. In order to attract the interest of those you are seeking to hire, you need to MARKET your business and job opportunities.

Utilize Current Employees
A great way to do this is to involve your current employees. Likely many of them are young and pretty creative. Empower them to create a YouTube video, instagram reel, or photo gallery of what they do in a day and what the job has to offer. Make a fun competition out of it. Who can get the most likes or interest in their post?

Testimonials from other happy employees will also help to inspire job seekers to apply.  In many cases, job seekers are now "interviewing your company" as much as you are interviewing them. You need to demonstrate what your organization has to offer and why they want to work for you. 

3-Broaden Your Selection Process 
What is your criteria for selecting candidates for an interview? As an Interview Coach and College Professor I can assure you that you are missing out on some potentially FANTASTIC employees because of rigid screening criteria. Too often employers will tell me "well we tried hiring someone with less experience once but it didn't work, so we went back to being really specific in our hiring process". 

Missing Opportunities
Many candidates just need a chance. They have amazing qualities, great work ethic, and the proven ability to adapt and learn quickly. However, they are often overlooked due to unrelated work experience, language barriers, or disabilities. 
In other cases they might be really nervous in a oral/phone interview so you don't really get to hear about all their great experience. There are many ways to improve interview and hiring processes that will help you ensure to meet all those great candidates you are missing out on.
Part of increasing your work force will  also need to include  considerations for  how can we do things differently allowing you to broaden your ability to attract and retain new employees. 

4-Improving Your Onboarding & Training  
 I have conducted surveys with employees from many different industries. The answers are always the same. "My decision to stay or leave an organization was heavily dependent on how I was lead". Employees want to know they are not just another cog in the wheel. They want to know you are interested in learning who they are, and how they can contribute.

It starts with onboarding, orientation, and training.
-Do you have an outline for what they need to learn, and how it will be taught?
-Has the person selected to "act as the trainer" been given some training in how to effectively demonstrate, mentor and instill learning?
​-Do you introduce  to others or just say "here's your spot...get to work?" --Do you check in with them on how things are going?
-Are you open to hearing their feedback and ideas on how processes might be improved?

Often a new employee can be your BEST asset. They are new, not jaded, interested in learning and want to do a good job. You need to encourage and support this. Otherwise the writing is almost on the wall already. You are half expecting them to leave and THEY know it. 

5- Your Reputation Follows You
 The idea of "word of mouth" isn't dead. In fact, it may be even more alive than ever. When employees leave an organization they tell others about their experiences. If you have been that caring boss, the one that listened, the one that gave them a chance, the one that supported them to learn more and try new things, THEY will tell others. In fact, statistics are now showing that employees are leaving "bad bosses" and moving to organizations which are known for having an inclusive culture. I have met many employees who tell me "I may not be making the same amount of money, but I am happy, I enjoy coming to work, my boss is a great person, and I enjoy working for them. That's what really counts".

If you are interested in learning more about how to improve employee hiring and retention efforts, please reach out to Carrie-Lynn Hotson at  inspiringorganizationalgrowth.ca or consider purchasing her new book Knowing Who You Lead - www.knowingwhoyoulead.com