Using Opportunity To Attract Workers

Many companies have an issue with retention today and throughout the pandemic have been struggling to keep things fully staffed. This has meant that some restaurants are missing their sales targets and seeing things slow down as a result of those staffing issues, among other problems. There are a few restaurants that have had to shut their doors completely because of staffing issues.

What is it that workers want? More pay is obvious, more flexible hours, and better benefits. But opportunity can be more appealing than anything. According to Chipotle's CEO it is an attractive hiring tool that they've been trying to use to retain employees as well. People want to know there is a place to move up, that they will be able to earn more, and if that path isn't made clear to them then you cannot blame them for looking elsewhere.

Companies that aren't meeting those pay needs and considering that opportunity are going to continue seeing retention issues and this can cost companies thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to continually retrain people because no one wants to stick around long enough to help build that team. Having a team you can depend on is critical for a business to function optimally and when you've got people quickly coming in and then turning around and leaving that is going to cause a lot of trouble for the business to run efficiently and it is costly too.

Despite the millions who have already quit their jobs recently, there are still many more who look to be planning on doing the same thing. Overall, a decent portion of those workers are looking for higher pay.

If those employers aren't keeping up with inflation in raising wages each year either then they are technically paying their employees less this year than they were last year in terms of purchasing power.

Higher costs for housing, food, and other goods, means individuals need to find the best opportunity for themselves and their families. When employers aren't going to make that opportunity clear, describing possible pathways to move up economically, then they shouldn't be surprised when many don't want to stick around.

One previous study on worker retention found that it can cost anywhere from six to nine months salary to replace one worker alone.

And when you have several workers quitting in one year that adds up quickly. Then what if those new ones you hire also quit? Finding people who want to stay and do the job is critical.

Another recent survey by JUST Capital found that Americans overall want to see companies compensate workers fairly.

Now many employers are aware of this and are competing to raise their benefits and wages to try and address that labor shortage issue, we have seen one after the other over the last year make the move to reward their teams and boost education opportunities, pay, and benefits.

With the cost running up this has also meant more businesses looking to technology to solve the issue as well. Now there are more restaurants around the US who have taken to implementing the use of robots to help keep things functioning. The reality is that these businesses cannot pay an unlimited wage for certain positions, to try and attract someone they can only go up so much and if there isn't enough interest for that position at a particular wage then they have no choice but to look for other options, like technology to help. Or they could wait until they fail altogether because they will not seek to solve the issue with other solutions that might be available in the market.

One previous survey from Indeed that came out a few years ago found that only 19 percent of workers in the US were actually satisfied with how much they were earning. When asked how much it would take to satisfy them some 60% of participants reported that they'd need a raise of thousands of dollars (about $6k) to be content with where they were. Inflation certainly isn't going to help the problem but only make it worse and push workers to look for better.

Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jolts-job-openings-quit-september-2021/ https://www.fastcompany.com/90702788/employers-beware-23-of-american-workers-are-planning-to-quit-their-job-in-the-next-12-months https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20211209-why-its-so-hard-for-some-workers-to-ask-for-time-off https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-lehigh-valley-workers-wages-20211213-t5gxwo5oinc4vkjn2gdfnl46xu-story.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2019/05/09/the-cost-of-turnover-can-kill-your-business-and-make-things-less-fun/ https://www.newschannel5.com/news/employers-predict-having-to-raise-pay-in-2022-to-compete-for-workers https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/26/indeed-survey-few-americans-think-they-earn-enough-money.html https://www.thestreet.com/investing/americans-want-workers-to-be-paid-fairly-survey-finds https://time.com/6127415/brian-niccol-chipotle-ceo-interview/