3 Ways to Overcome the Skills Gap and Hire the Right People
The skills gap is real, and it is much more nuanced than many people think. The issue is not just too many college graduates and not enough blue collar workers. It reaches beyond one industry and one company, cutting across manufacturing, healthcare, retail and wholesale/distribution. So how do you overcome the skills gap and hire the right people? First, let’s put some things into perspective.
According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of the world’s CEOs, more than three-quarters reported being concerned about the skills gap. If you feel the same pain, here are three ways to address the skills gap and make sure you have the workers you need.
Re-evaluate the Running of Your Business
To find, recruit, and retain the right people, companies must understand how they operate and consider different ways to run their business. It is critical to offer things that workers value. This might mean offering flexible work arrangements, changing organizational structures, identifying underutilized skills within your workforce and focusing career development around skills acquisition/enhancement.
Realign Your Workers
In a recent survey of Canadian CEOs, those who reported experiencing a skills gap shared one other quality. They were not able to track and measure skills within their company. Consider redeploying existing employees into new roles. The day-to-day activities of many workers may not truly encapsulate their actual skill sets. Conduct an audit to assess all of the skills and capabilities your employees possess. Remember, people are much more than keywords in a job description. Talent management analytics software can help match capabilities to jobs.
Recruit, Recruit, Recruit
Recruitment is not just for finding the “perfect candidate.” Perfection does not exist, and the hunt for it only wastes time, energy, and resources. Therefore, hiring managers should look for people who are a good cultural fit and demonstrate a capacity and desire to learn.
Consider establishing or outsourcing training programs, starting mentorship/apprenticeship programs or allocating educational assistance funds to help potential employees gain necessary skills. These simple acts will increase your candidate pool exponentially.
Work With Snelling
Consider working with a talented recruitment firm. Establishing and keeping a robust pipeline of talent is a full-time, 365 day a year job. Why not let the professionals at Snelling take over? We offer the best worlds – the national footprint you need to recruit the best-skilled talent and the local know-how to place the best-fit candidates. Find your local Snelling office, and let’s get started.
