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Skill Shortages in the Modern Workplace: How to Overcome It

“Don’t get distracted by the shiny object (and if a crisis comes), execute on the fundamentals.”

- Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix

In recent years with the shift in work modes as a result of the pandemic, many have lost their jobs. This is partly also due to the changes in technology that were forced into commission as a result of the circumstances. The rapid changes in the needs of businesses left gaping canyons of disparity when it comes to skill shortages. As job demands increase and change new skills are being found to fill the gaps. This leaves some skills outdated, unfortunately. 

When all is said and done, businesses are struggling to find the right skill sets to address the skill shortages they face. More than that, talent is also becoming scarce. Without the right recruitment strategy, the shrinking talent pool may eventually dry up. Having said that, in today’s blog, we will address these skill shortages by showing you what steps you can take to improve your hiring strategy.

When skill shortages are concerned, it becomes critical to hire the right people at the right time. As you would imagine, with such a scenario, the competition is likely to be high for the existing talent pool. The more the competition, the longer it might take you to find the right person for the job.

The candidate also gets more leverage due to the high demand for their skills. This can lead to a high payout to land a certain candidate. However, even if you win this race, there is no guarantee that you will find the right candidate. The chances of hiring the wrong person go up in a shrinking talent pool. This is partly because you are just grabbing the first best opportunity you get. That’s why it’s important to take the time to assess your options and make sure you focus on hiring the right person.

Use automation in the fight against skill Shortages

Automated Reference Checking technology can be a great help in identifying the right candidate for you!

Skill Shortages Tip #2: Use the Right Technology for Better Quality

Sometimes all it boils down to is using the right technology. For instance one of the main reasons that the recruitment process takes so long, is the reference checking and cross verification. What if you had a tool that could help you automate that process so your hiring manager can focus on what matters. This is where automated reference checking like Credibled comes in.

Credibled was founded by highly experienced recruiting industry leaders to provide cost-effective, automated reference checking solutions. We have utilized reference checking services ourselves and felt that there is a lot of room for growth and change in the industry. We took our prior experience to develop an industry-leading software solution. In the fierce race to secure top talent, Credibled enables you to win the battle with transparent, accurate and accelerated reference checks.

Our powerful API gives you an unmatched verification experience in the recruitment process. This means that you can start building on our platform effortlessly and make your background checks faster, easier, and more accurate. So, it’s worth considering.

Skill Shortages Tip #3: Shoot for Better Employee Retention

Many hiring managers will tell you that losing your existing employees takes more of a toll on the company than hiring new ones. Therefore, when you do find the right person, make sure you employ strategies to retain them for the long run. However, before you can jump in and try to create an employee retention plan to address the skill shortages, you need to identify the reasons for low retention.

It could be a variety of different things from poor quality of management, tough work-life balance, poor cultural fit, or even a lack of opportunity to grow within the company. Then once you identify the issues, you can go about creating solutions to address them. For example, you could pay competitive salaries, offer on-the-job training, reward and appreciate employees for their efforts or just re-invent the culture of the company to make it more inclusive.

"Choose the right employees and then set them loose."

- Carlos Slim, Mexican Business Magnate

Skill Shortages Tip #4: Stay Connected With Your Talent Pool

During the recruitment process, you build a repository of candidates. The mistake most hiring managers make is that they forget about all the ones that didn’t make it past screening. This is perhaps one of the most valuable resources you can have in the fight against skill shortages. As time goes on, these individuals are constantly studying, training and gaining new skills that might be useful later down the line.

A talent pool is never stagnant. Hence, you need to stay in touch with them and do regular follow-ups. This is especially useful when you’re headhunting and in the race for top talent.

Skill Shortages Tip #5: Adapt Your Workforce to Suit Current Trends

As we mentioned earlier, the onset of the pandemic forced mass migrations in technology and workforce trends. Most of the world was working from home. People got a taste for it. Now, even with offices opening back up, a lot of workers prefer the flexibility of working from home, which directly conflicts with the workforce composition of many companies. What hiring managers need to do, is to rethink their hiring policies and workforce compositions going forward. This includes accommodating the needs of remote workers.