Pub. 2 2021-2022 Issue 2

U nemployment in August 2020 was high: according to Statistica, 13.54 million people were looking for jobs. August 2021 was better because by then, Statistica only listed 8.38 million unemployed people. With such large numbers, it’s easy to think there is no shortage of people to hire, but the pandemic recession hasn’t changed the need to find, train and retain new workers. The shutdown worsened everything because many workers who lost their jobs, especially people with extensive work experience, decided to retire or change industries. Unemployment statistics don’t count the people who retired. Every company deals with turnover sometimes, but Harvard Business Review blames bad hiring decisions for 80% of turnover. As a result, the first step in retaining employees is figuring out what you have done wrong in the past so you can fix it. One of the most important things you can do to retain employees is to diversify your search and make sure you hire the right people in the first place. According to employment industry experts, you can counteract bias by considering people from under-represented backgrounds. To prevent hiring the wrong people, look at their soft skills as well as their other qualifications. Approximately 89% of the time, the hiring process goes wrong because of a soft-skills mismatch. The employee shortage doesn’t mean you won’t find people to hire, but the process might be more challenging than you would like, and it makes sense to encourage employees to stay as long as possible. Investing in your workforce will benefit your company during good times and bad. When your company is prospering and everything is going well, making it clear how much you value your employees encourages them to build a career with you. Downturns are an opportunity to build loyalty, too; people don’t forget it when they know you could have cut their job and didn’t. At the same time, one of your jobs is to determine which employees are valuable and whether any employees drain the organization. If you can help someone become more productive, that’s great. But if you don’t succeed, you are doing them and the company a favor by letting them find a better job somewhere else. Educators can play a much larger role in teaching students about the opportunities available to them. Companies should make a point of doing what colleges do and start visiting high schools two or three times a year. If the only message students get is that they ought to go to college, it’s a no-brainer what they are likely to do after getting their high school diploma. Infrastructure jobs ought to be a compelling alternative to a four-year degree with a fat price tag attached. Is a college education important? Yes, absolutely. Prioritizing Workforce Retention 16 Pub Yr 2 | Issue 2