Small business owners are lagging behind when it comes to staffing, as some companies are slowing hiring due to economic concerns.
Nearly two-thirds of small businesses were hiring or trying to hire in September, but 46% reported being unable to fill those openings, according to a report by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) , well over 48 years. The historical average is 23%.
Difficulties in hiring have led some small business owners to seek more creative solutions to land labor so that their businesses can grow or, at worst, stay put.
“Small businesses aren’t growing at the speed of 2019,” Homebase founder and CEO John Waldmann told Yahoo Finance Live. “In fact, the situation is getting worse to the point that we are seeing small businesses go out of business because they can’t hire people … This is a real challenge for small businesses, and there are many ways to solve this. things will be needed — including making these jobs more attractive.”
Attracting, hiring and retaining quality employees is often a challenge for businesses of all sizes. In today’s era of low unemployment, fierce competition, and a hot labor market, out-of-the-box ideas are even more important.
For Diana Manalan, owner of Little Chef Little Café in Queens, New York, that means hiring high school students to help out with the shortage.
“It works. They show up and come to work most of the time,” said Manalang. “We feed them two or three meals a day. We buy groceries, uniforms and shoes. We also order takeout for them, get free movie tickets, provide incentives in such a way. [we] give it to them ”
Executive Home Care, a national franchise of home care providers, is addressing workforce shortages by changing technology for onboarding, recruiting, and recruiting.
Executive Home Care CEO Tim Hadley told Yahoo Finance:
Another incentive that worked was offering flexible work schedules.
“This is not a standard 9-to-5 or 8-to-4 type of job,” Hadley says. “Employees have the flexibility to work only the hours they want, as well as a significant amount of vocational training and ongoing training for caregivers.”
However, one perk that many small businesses are unable to accommodate, despite its increasing popularity since the pandemic, is remote work options.
Larry Sutton, CEO and founder of RNR Tire Express, a national franchise retailer of quality tires and custom wheels, said: “And unfortunately, the type of business we do cannot be done from home.”
What many business owners do is offer more money, something that has been tried and tested for a long time. A survey by the NFIB found that just under half of owners reported having increased their pay, and more than a quarter plan to do so within the next three months.
But that may not be enough in this environment, said Allan Jones, CEO of Bambee, a company focused on solving complex HR problems for small businesses.
“Small business owners, unfortunately or fortunately, have to think about comprehensive incentive packages the way Fortune 500 companies have done for a very long time: a $2 increase in the minimum wage But besides salary and compensation, what are the other incentives and benefits of working for this organization?” Jones said. “[Small businesses] Notorious for not considering total compensation as a hiring principle. They only think about cash, but employees want it now. ”
Dani Romero is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. follow her on her twitter @daniromerotv
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