Are you a business owner or manager struggling to retain employees and attract new employees?
You are not alone!
Many organizations, including small businesses here in Central PA, struggle to keep their businesses fully staffed.
Owners have had to make tough decisions. Some of these decisions have included making choices to limit their offerings. Some businesses began reducing the hours that they are open to serve their customers, closing early. Perhaps they’ve decided to close for a full day due to not having enough staff. A few businesses have chosen to limit their services because of the employee shortage.
Many of these same employers struggling to find talent have reverted to increasing wages to attract qualified candidates. Even with rising starting wages, they are still struggling to attract workers. Raising wages may not be the solution or not enough to attract candidates.
Some businesses are harder to staff than others.
Some of these hard to fill positions include:
- Cooks and Chefs
- Housekeepers and commercial cleaners
- Customer service professionals and administrative support staff
- Caregivers and daycare employees
Managers and owners of small businesses are changing their recruiting tactics to attract employees.
Advertising budgets aimed at employee recruitment may need to be established or increased.
Small businesses trying to attract new workers are positioning themselves to offer prospective employees a career vs. a job.
Big businesses hiring at high starting wages for positions requiring little to no experience or skill level make it challenging for small businesses to compete! Central PA is home to many distribution centers for big companies that pay an aggressive starting salary.
Small companies can compete because they provide training and skills that will develop into a future and a career. When small businesses position themselves as offering a career vs. a job, they appear more competitive to candidates applying at these big companies.
Small businesses may want to consider hiring someone who may not have the desired skills and experience if they can provide on-the-job training.
Sometimes it is better to hire someone who will fit in with the existing team that may not have the desired skills necessary to do the job than employ a candidate with more desirable skills but will struggle to fit in and may not work out.
Employers have learned that attracting and hiring the right candidate that aligns with the company’s mission can increase production, create a smooth onboarding process, and increase collaboration.
Ultimately the candidate that aligns with the company culture will remain employed longer and decrease the organization’s turnover rates.
When an employee connects with the company culture, everyone reaps the benefits!
What other options might there be to help attract new employees?
Understanding that your culture could be attractive to a potential candidate is essential! The next step is raising awareness to attract candidates to fill positions.
Leveraging your company culture and increasing awareness around your organization’s mission and values can help attract qualified candidates. This can help your organization stand out from the competition.
Many small businesses have a website and can utilize their website as a great place to display their mission and values. If your organization has a career path, offers other opportunities, and offers training, you may want to ensure your website includes this information.
In fact, creating a digital footprint to increase the reach of your company culture can be an effective means of recruitment. While salaries and benefits are essential to job candidates, so is a prospective employer’s culture.
Utilize your social media channels to raise awareness of not only your open positions but your culture.
Social media is not just for marketing your products and services and connecting to customers.
Facebook’s Job Board is a great way to advertise an open position. Posting on LinkedIn can help spread the word.
You may want to consider utilizing social media to promote your culture to attract future candidates.
This includes capturing moments of employee engagement and displaying these images on social media. You may be unsure what to post.
Some ideas capturing employee engagement and job satisfaction may include:
- a collaboration moment
- a pizza party celebrating a sales goal
- celebrating a work anniversary
Adding employee spotlights to your social media feed, including personal or professional achievements and work anniversaries, is a great way to spread brand awareness. It’s a great way to send a message that says our company values its employees.
As you attract new employees, your customers will also see that you care about your employees.
When small business owners come together and share solutions to problems, such as the employee shortage, everyone benefits. As we continue to work together and support one another, we can get through these tough times! PaySmart is here to support local small businesses!
PaySmart is a payroll provider located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, supporting small businesses in the Central PA region. We are dedicated to helping small businesses take care of their payroll needs. To learn more information about how PaySmart may provide payroll solutions, please get in touch with us at 717-766-1777. Our New Client Concierge is waiting for you!