Are you going on month three with an unfilled job opening? Having a hard time finding candidates with a strong enough skillset? Are your new hires not lasting through their first year? It may seem like a waiting game or a dry spell that’s destined to finish soon. But when you see the first signs of your talent pipeline drying out, there’s no time to wait – the negative impacts have already begun.
Missed deadlines
Your employees drive home goals and fulfill client needs. Without the proper staff, you’re risking those client relationships. In fact, 54% of businesses facing a talent shortage report struggling to meet customer demands (Recruiting). When positions are left unfilled, your team doesn’t have the specialized skills and training needed for a smooth production process. Therefore, deadlines are missed, quality standards aren’t met, and the customer experience takes a sharp decline.
Client relationships and brand reputation take years to build. But just a few slip ups and you could be taking a big hit. 17% of customers would stop buying from a company after one late delivery. After two or three, half say they would abandon the organization completely (OTTO). Your bottom line revolves around the strength of your team. Do you have the right talent and labor size to satisfy your client base?
Rising labor costs
When your talent supply is running low, chances are your industry is hurting for candidates too. This turns up the heat. Compensation, benefits packages, schedule flexibility and brand reputation become increasingly important as organizations fight for remaining talent. (Curious about how your wages stack up? Take our free wage assessment to evaluate your open positions here.)
A smaller workforce doesn’t mean less demand. But it may mean more overtime. The average manufacturing employee works 156 hours of overtime annually (Fred). These additional hours come with premium pay and typically end up costing more than a larger workforce. So is this really the best way to stay afloat?
Higher turnover
Premium overtime wages may seem appealing to workers, but they’re often not enough to combat the negative effects of weekend work and burnout. When your people feel strained with inflexible schedules and overwhelming goals, their quality of work declines with production errors and deadline extensions. That’s not a work environment your people want. And they will begin to look elsewhere. 43% of people are twice as likely to quit their jobs if they feel their company is understaffed (Track Five).
Additionally, low retention rates hurt your company image. Job seekers are looking at your company’s online footprint now more than ever. And employment sites like GlassDoor, Indeed, and JobAdvisor can reveal negative employee experiences that steer potential applicants away. What would your people say about your organization?
There may be temporary fixes to a dwindling talent supply, but they won’t mitigate these long-term consequences. HTI specializes in the recruitment and retention of your people, so your focus can stay on your bottom line. Our comprehensive plans set you up for future success by leveraging your brand, analyzing your wages, training your managers, and continuously improving your employee experience. HTI builds a pathway to top talent that stays.
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