You can’t walk down the street without seeing “We’re Hiring” signs plastered all over the business landscape. My wife and I recently went to a local restaurant for dinner. There was a 20-minute wait but when we were finally seated, we realized that over 30% of the dining area was empty. On a Friday night. Clearly the tables were left empty not because there weren’t enough people to fill them but because they were short staffed. I’ve found this situation with restaurants is commonplace.
I’m seeing regular, ongoing staff shortages in both local mom-and-pop businesses as well as big corporations. Size doesn’t seem to matter. I used to get annoyed at mediocre or bad customer service. Now I’m grateful that a warm body showed up to work so the businesses I patronize can keep their damn doors open. You’ve likely had similar experiences.
So, what is causing this massive shortage of workers? According to a recent article from the Chamber of Commerce (“Understanding America’s Labor Shortage”), the latest data shows that we have 8.8 million job openings in the U.S. but only 6.4 million unemployed workers. This means that if every unemployed worker found a job, we’d still have over 2.3 million job openings. The article went on to say that, “Right now, the labor force participation rate is 62.7%, down from 63.3% in February 2020 and 67.2% in January 2001.”
The reasons for the low labor participation rate are numerous. The massive layoffs resulting from COVID-19 caused a titanic shift in workers’ attitudes. For example, two-thirds of the people laid off during COVID-19 said they are “not active at all,” or only “somewhat active” in finding a job. Meanwhile, 26% say it will never again be essential for them to return to work; 49% said they won’t take a job unless it’s remote.
When this situation will change is anyone’s guess, which means if you simply wait for things to get better you may be waiting a very long time, during which you’ll struggle to grow and possibly go out of business.
But there are businesses that manage to keep fully staffed, not with mere “warm bodies,” but with people who are sharp, attentive and provide great service. Scheel’s Sporting Goods, for example, has a fully stocked, cheerful staff that provides great customer service. In-N-Out Burger is jammed with so many cheerful workers that there’s barely room for them to move around in the kitchen. Trader Joe’s, same thing.
But it’s not just big corporations that have solved this. Smart and savvy local businesses are making it happen, too. I go to a local optometrist. It’s always overflowing with employees—and they’re all the kind, friendly and competent.
So, obviously the problem is solvable. These businesses are proving it. What are they doing differently than all the businesses that are struggling? Well, they’re not simply putting out “We’re Hiring” messages like everyone else. Somehow these businesses are managing to find, recruit and keep top talent while their competitors in the same industry are struggling to get live bodies to show up for work. In my next column we’ll explore how you can do the same.
Jim Armstrong is the founder and president of Flooring Success Systems, a company that provides flooring dealers with marketing services and coaching to help them attract quality customers, close more sales, get higher margins and work the hours they choose. For information, visit FlooringSuccessSystems.com.
