PIHRA Scope - Spring 2008 - (Page 18) The Labor © www.istockphoto.com / Ioana Drutu Sh A Smart Manager’s Guide to Keeping Good People By Joanne Smikle Smikle Training Services Inc. FEATURE if you did not believe the doomsayers of the past few years, if you have positions to fill, you know that there was truth in their predictions. In a 2004 study conducted in partnership with the Employment Policy Foundation, consulting firm Watson Wyatt concluded that the labor shortage in the United States could reach 18.1 million workers in 2020. This is due, in part, to the aging population. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that, from 2005 to 2012, the annual growth rate of the 55 and older population will be four times greater than that of the overall workforce. This labor shortage, while still in its early years, presents several problems for employers, particularly small businesses. We operate on smaller profit margins than huge, multinational corporations. Our recruiting resources are limited. Many small businesses rely on newspaper ads and the occasional online posting for new hires. Larger employers have the ability to take regular advantage of career fairs, far-flung Web-based advertising and any number of other outreach efforts aimed at getting the best talent available. The other disadvantage that small employers often face is that there are fewer people doing the work. This takes multitasking to the highest level. In most dealerships, it is not uncommon for people to occupy double roles; the office manager may double as the HR representative and the CFO may also manage employee benefits. 18 PIHRAScope Spring 2008 Even STAFFING CHALLENGES The fact of the matter is there do not seem to be enough wellqualified people for the positions. Managers across the country are lamenting their inability to get and keep the best people. Whether you own the dealership or are managing a department, you have undoubtedly felt the effects of the labor shortage firsthand—not enough applicants, little or no loyalty from new employees and perhaps a sense of entitlement from older staff members. These are persistent complaints from managers struggling with the effects of the shortage of competent, committed staff. It should first be noted that an unfilled position is better than a poorly filled position. It is far wiser to be selective in hiring than to hire the first warm, breathing body you find. The work that it takes to deal with an incompetent, uncooperative or uncommitted employee is more taxing than waiting for the right person. Think about the amount of effort that managers put into bad hires. Not only do these employees create extra work for managers, they also often make life difficult for the rest of the team. Their colleagues are forced to suffer through the pain of working with a person ill-equipped for the job. Team members are called upon to fix and fill-in for these bad hires. In extreme cases, good employees will leave because of the extra burden brought on because they are overworked and underappreciated. These staffing problems are real and trying for even the most savvy leaders. But they are not insurmountable. John Kuchta,
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