Are You Overlooking These Solutions to Your Talent Shortage?

12 Jan Are You Overlooking These Solutions to Your Talent Shortage?

It can be hard to find suitable candidates for your open positions. But are you searching harder on your company than it needs to be by overlooking some tools that could help? 

Companies are talking about a staffing shortage more often, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t good people to be found. 

Here are some solutions your company might be overlooking. 

1. Find the “hidden” workers.  

There are people out there who are employed but feel like they’re missing out on an opportunity because they’re not working full time, and they want to. Or maybe they’ve been out of the workforce for a while because of an illness, injury, or family situation and haven’t found a new job. Possibly they’ve been unemployed for so long they’ve given up on looking but would be glad to go to work if they found the right offer. They’re easy to overlook because it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that out of work means being unable to work. But give them a chance when their application comes in, and you might find an exceptional new member of your team. 

2. Lack of the “right” credentials.

The expectation now is that everyone has a college degree, with extra preference given to people who went to the “right” schools or studied the “right” programs. But there are millions of workers out there who are highly skilled and trained without that pedigree. People with military experience, for example, have excellent project management skills and the ability to make decisions quickly, move quickly from project to project, and can juggle multiple tasks at once. They might not have a degree from an institution, but they have the real-world experience needed to do the job and do it well. 

3. Traditional methods of looking for new candidates are stale and overused.

If you’re only looking for potential hires through LinkedIn or networking sites, you’re missing out. Talk to nearby vocational schools or community colleges for outstanding students. Have conversations with trade organizations or other groups for workers. Or, if your company has resisted the digital frontier for recruiting, it’s time to dive in. Younger workers are online more than ever, and this is how they find and share information. Consider embracing social media as a marketing tool if you haven’t yet, while still searching for a personal level. Don’t forget to ask your employees for referrals! 

4. Look in-house.

Speaking of utilizing your employees as a resource, look around at who’s already on your team. Might there be an opportunity to promote from within? An employee might not consider applying for a new open position within the company for many reasons — they might not know, might not feel qualified, or might not want to risk making a change and having a difficult transition. But you know your team, and you know their abilities. If someone seems ready for a change, why not discuss a new job? This will help lower turnover and could even be seen as an incentive and opportunity for other workers who feel underutilized. 

5. Don’t discredit temporary workers.

If you’re having trouble finding permanent employees, or aren’t sure what you’re looking for in terms of a good candidate for a new position, consider working with a staffing agency or recruiting firm. This is a good solution for a number of reasons, including the ability to bring someone in on short notice, crucially important if there’s a big deadline coming up, and the cost savings from paying only the person’s hourly rate instead of needing to provide benefits. Also, you might find someone who is an excellent fit for your company, and suddenly that temporary worker becomes a permanent one. 

Solve Your Talent Shortage

LeadingEdge Personnel can help you find some of these overlooked workers to help alleviate both the staffing shortage and keep your company running smoothly and efficiently in a pinch. We have great candidates looking for opportunities and are ready to start immediately! Give us a call today and learn more about how we can help you address worker shortages.