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HCMWorks Insights

5 Ways to Address the Skills Shortage in Your Industry

Posted by HCM Works on 18 Jun 2020

 

Acquiring top talent and placing highly-qualified candidates into the right positions in your organization is already hard enough, but what happens when your business needs to do just that in the middle of a skilled labour shortage?

In fact, that's the challenge most organizations throughout the world are experiencing today.

Some 83 percent of businesses are struggling to find workers with the right skillsets, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Meanwhile, a report by American Action Forum found employers in nearly every US state will face significant shortages in qualified workers by 2029. 

The concern with a workforce skills shortage is something that is worrying businesses all over the world, and for good reason. Companies who aren't able to fill positions with skilled workers will be left with stretched resources that result in damaging implications for both the short-term and long-term outlook of the business. 

Did you know, however, there are ways to address a skills shortage in your industry?

In this blog, HCMWorks has listed five ways that you can achieve your workforce management targets even when there's a shortage in skilled workers in your industry.Exploring Your Contingent Workforce Ecosystem

1. Train existing employees

In order to make up for a shortage in skilled workers, many companies have begun offering training to their existing employees, in order to tailor them to fill current gaps. This can mean training offered in-house, where a knowledgeable employee shares with others their valuable expertise. It's a great way for companies with a few good resources to increase their value without expending too much time and money.

Another option is outside training. Several businesses offer their employees incentives to return to school to get the education they need. While this option can be more expensive and time-consuming, it can also pay off in the long run. Not only does it ensure your employees are trained to industry standard quality, but as an incentive alone can attract a great deal of talented workers to your doorstep.

2. Adaptability - apply workforce skills in a different way

Interestingly, there might be a more direct solution than you think. Many companies have discovered that they already have the people they need, but are merely using them in an ineffective way. It's important to keep an open mind when looking at your available skill sets, paying close attention to skills that could be transferable.

Consider employees that might be able to apply their skills in a different way – someone with a strong sales background could easily apply their abilities to marketing content for example. Someone with a strong background in communications could find an excellent new career in sales, someone with engineering skills and a background in the automotive industry could easily find themselves in a comfortable career as a resource manager and so on. Basically, the key to solving your skills shortage might be hiding right under your nose.

3. Re-evaluate your recruiting practices

When skills shortages become a serious concern, it might be time to re-evaluate how you recruit new employees. New staff members don't have to be perfect from the get-go. Without hurting your company, you could easily hire applicants with 80 percent of the right requirements and help them grow into the role. Or, you could try hiring applicants with all the right skills, but ones perhaps with less experience than you were initially looking for.

If you diversify your hiring practice, and consider transferable skills as mentioned before, you could find excellent, motivated individuals who could easily help your company reach its goals.

Helping a Client Manage their Contingent Workforce More Efficiently

4. Partner with nearby educational facilities     

Though rarer in recent times, many organizations would partner with local (or national) educational facilities – this would mean you would have a fresh supply of skilled potential workers, and the school would be able to help graduates in job placement. You can also open your company up to apprenticeships, co-op work placements and internships, which can help cultivate the next generation of skilled workers. Best of all, you keep a close eye on the future of your industry.

5. Use contingent workers

Naturally, one of the easiest ways to fill a skills shortage is by hiring contingent workers. With freelancers, consultants, contractors and more, you can fill massive gaps in your operation quickly and in a cost-effective manner. Contingent workers are becoming an incredibly popular option for many companies. Their expertise, availability and flexibility allows them to work within the confines of any timeframe, budget and project.

Unlike a lot of areas of the labor market, the number of contingent workers is only increasing. The result? There are enough contingent workers to meet your needs for as long as you need.

If you'd like some useful additional tips for managing a contingent workforce, please download this ebook or contact the HCMWorks team of contingent workforce management experts today

Combat brain drain in your industry


Tags: Workforce Management

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