There’s nothing more frustrating than your company being held back because of a skilled worker shortage. You’ve got clients and business, but you just can’t seem to fill those positions fast enough to keep up with demand. You’re not the first person to find themselves in this situation. Luckily there are plenty of strategies you can employ to find skilled workers and retain them. Here are six tips to find skilled workers during a labor shortage.

Harness the power of social media

To a lot of people, social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even LinkedIn can seem like distractions from the business of getting work done. But they can also be powerful tools for bringing skilled workers over to your company. Post openings on Facebook and encourage your employees to share them with friends and family. Use LinkedIn to identify promising candidates in your local area. Connect with schools and unions and create partnerships where they send graduates and members your way. Social media is an incredibly cheap and effective way to connect with skilled workers.

Cross-train workers

You can make your company much less vulnerable to worker shortages by cross-training your employees. This could mean anything from supporting employee advanced education to facilitating conferences dedicated to teaching your workers new skills. Keep your eyes open for potential in your employees and give them opportunities for growth and learning when they arise. Perhaps you notice one of your installers has sales potential. Consider adding them to your sales team, or maybe you have salespeople who have potential to become solid installation workers. Having more versatile workers means you’re less likely to be left in the lurch when you lose someone.

Retain your workers with solid benefits

Do your best to keep your skilled workers around so you don’t have to go looking for new ones. One sure-fire way to keep people around is with competitive compensation packages. Giving out these kinds of packages can seem expensive but can save you money long-term since you will avoid the costs associated with hiring and onboarding new employees all the time. Recruiting is expensive, so do what you can to keep your skilled workers happy and loyal to the company.

Invest in great managers to keep people around

Having great leadership will not only help your employees maximize their potential, it is also very useful for keeping people around. A bad manager can drive away your skilled workers and force you to recruit new ones far more often than you would like. If you’re seeing a high amount of turn-over in a department, it might not be the employees, it could very well be their leadership. You’ll save time and money if you’re able to replace a sub-par manager, rather than frequently replacing unhappy employees time after time.

Employee referral programs

Your own employees can be your best source of recruitment, if you give them a proper incentive to do so. One bonus of these programs is that you will end up with employees working with people they already know and like. You’ll see your turn-over rates drop because people generally will only refer people they think will actually work out. Nobody wants to refer somebody, only for that person to perform badly or make a quick exit. It’s embarrassing and harms their reputation at the company. These programs are also a good way to measure the temperature of your staff. A content staff is much more likely to be engaged and refer people to the company they enjoy working for. Consider implementing a referral program if you don’t already have one or re-evaluating your existing program.

Hold job fairs and open interviews

You can meet a lot of great candidates by holding a job fair or an open interview session over a weekend. You can save a ton of time and find employees much faster this way. Do some advertising in the local paper, or better yet, on social media. Be sure any job offers you give are well-written, so you can hook your desired candidates. Use online resources for help with job descriptions.

Conclusion

Companies often struggle to find skilled workers during a labor shortage. It can be tough, but there’s no reason to suffer from a lack of staff during these times. Use these six tips to find and maintain your skilled workers during a labor shortage.

About the Author:

Jenny Han is a career blogger at Best essay writing services and Assignment Service. Jenny writes about job search, resumes and education. Also, she is a writer at Essay writing service review.