Hiring Troubles? How Current Employees May Help

hiring troubles

Many employers are having trouble filling job openings. Avenues to attract new employees – from signing bonuses to additional paid time off – haven’t solved the problem. Human resources experts suggest looking within to see how current employees may be able to help.

Reconsider Job Requirements

In 2021, Forbes reported that only 36% of Americans 25 and older hold college degrees (Bachelor’s or higher). Meanwhile, 65% of job listings still require them. The educational nonprofit Hechinger Report notes that over the last decade, even middle-skill positions (secretarial, production, help desk, etc.) have begun requiring higher education.

Reducing requirements may make sense for some positions. For others, the skill set needed may be better acquired from higher education at trade or vocational schools rather than colleges.

Promote From Within

If you are struggling to hire for mid to executive level positions, have you considered promoting from within? Some advantages of promoting a current employee as shared by Forbes include:

  • They already understand the company’s culture.
  • They are already familiar with the existing team.
  • The employee’s former colleagues may be more comfortable approaching them than a new hire.
  • You initially hired them for a reason.

You may already have an employee on staff who is a great fit for your company but needs job-specific training. An outsider may have the specific job skills, but knows nothing about the company and may have a big learning curve as they try to fit in.

And finally, by promoting someone from within, the company may open up a lower-level position that may be easier to fill.

Network with Current Employees 

Perhaps no one knows a company better than its current employees. They know the culture, benefits, and pay scales. They likely also know someone who is looking for a job.

Encourage current employees to share openings with friends and colleagues on social channels. Some companies frown upon family members working together, but there may be ways to make that happen without disrupting work or family dynamics.

Focus on Benefits

No employee will encourage friends and family to join them at a workplace where they are not happy. In the current environment, job satisfaction is contingent on more than just the paycheck. Workers are looking for help from employers to achieve physical, mental, and financial well-being. Benefits packages are more important than ever.

Creative and Comprehensive

A company’s workforce may include people fresh out of school all the way up to ones already setting their retirement date. No employer can afford unlimited benefits packages, but what is offered needs to appeal as broadly as possible to the current workforce, rather than just checking off a standard benefits list. The basics are no longer enough.

Effective Communication

Today’s labor force is composed of four different generational cohorts, which can complicate the process of communicating effectively. To make sure that benefits packages resonate with their workforce, are convenient to use, and are well-understood, companies may want to periodically survey employees to get their feedback. Actions like these not only ensure that the company is spending its benefits dollars effectively but also make employees feel more valued, which further increases job satisfaction.

DataPath, Inc. has the longest tenure of any current solutions provider in the employee benefits administration industry.

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