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A Struggle to Find Skilled Staff is Not a Skills Shortage

By Michael Overell - Jul. 19, 2011
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75% of Australian SMEs and large businesses are struggling to find skilled staff, according to survey results released this week. An immediate reaction to these figures might be to blame the Great Australian Skills Shortage.  Plenty of research has shown a skills shortage does exist, in certain sectors. But results like this don’t prove it. A ‘struggle to find skilled staff’ does not equal a skills shortage.

A skills shortage is an external problem. Something we can blame on government policy, universities, or a 2-speed economy. That can make it an easy excuse. The harder option is to look internally at the areas businesses can control. And there are plenty. Here are 2 obvious levers employers can use to reduce their struggle finding skilled staff:

Improved retention of existing staff.

I hate to state the obvious. But the same survey results show most businesses are not doing enough to retain their existing talent. Keeping your current staff engaged reduces the need to tap the market for new people. Duh? Well, seems this is easier said than done:

  • +75% of SMEs say that written reviews and development plans are critical to keeping staff engaged. BUT…
  • Only 35% have actually written and implemented clear reviews and development plans for every employee over the past 12 months.

Retention is a complex topic with solutions that differ for many businesses. But I suspect most employers have a pretty good sense for what can drive it in their business. These results indicate the initial challenge might not be identifying the ‘how’, but actually doing something about it.

There is one option many businesses seem to be relying on: trying to buy their way to better retention and engagement. While in some cases, income can be a driver of employee engagement, studies also show it can be less important than intrinsic rewards. Most of us intuitively know this from our own experience.

However, over 60% of SMEs report increasing pay levels for their employees, despite only 40% of staff beginning to make more wage demands. I’ll bet at least some of these proactive wage increases are an attempt by employers to buy better retention. This might work in the short term, but it’s not a sustainable strategy.

For regular tips and ideas on improving employee engagement, Anthony Sork is a great source.

Improved recruitment processes.

Just because businesses struggle to find skilled staff doesn’t mean they don’t exist. We see a number of employers falling for this assumption. They might advertise a role themselves. After 2 weeks, the response has been poor or completely mismatched to the profile they’re targeting. It’s logical to conclude the right candidate just isn’t out there.

A good proportion of our early client projects have involved situations like this. And you know what? In all cases, the ‘right’ candidates have been out there. The employers just weren’t looking in the right places.

A recruiter with 10 year’s experience has an eye for these things. Often all it takes is a few tweaks to the wording of a job ad, an adjustment of the role description or categorisation, or sourcing in a few different channels. Simple steps when driven by someone who’s done it for years. Less simple or obvious to most business owners working through it alone.

Do you need a recruiter to improve recruitment in your business? Not necessarily. But in each of these situations, it’s been the difference between an employer cursing the lack of skilled staff in the market, and having the right candidate starting on Monday.

Does your business struggle to find skilled staff? What other factors would help in your situation?

 

Source: Sage MicroPay SME Business Sentiment Index 2011

Author

Michael Overell

Michael Overell is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader with a proven track record in building companies, products, and teams in both startup and hyper-growth environments. Currently, he serves as a key executive at ClassDojo, where he is responsible for driving revenue growth and helping children around the world access quality education. Michael is also actively involved in investing and providing support to promising foreign founders looking to break into the US market through his work with Antipodes.

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