Michele Harmon
How do employers find employees during an extreme labor shortage? This month we examine quality hiring and best practices as the Great Resignation continues.
Workers in the shortest supply are service workers, educators, and healthcare workers. A recent visit to the emergency room at a hospital near you was beyond shocking. There were four times as many patients as in years past and not enough hospital staff or rooms to care for them. Schools are not fully staffed with teachers, and restaurants have closed sections due to a lack of employees, not social distancing. Additionally, in the Permian and across the country, we need CDL drivers and people who can do physical labor, as well as office workers, accountants, and engineers. However, the jobs we need to fill the most are lower-paying positions.
The degreed students at UTPB find jobs easily. However, new graduates require more training, and employers should look to internships now more than ever. These young graduates will need mentors, and it has been well-publicized that the Baby Boomers and older Gen Z’s have left the workforce by the thousands since the Pandemic began.
As a solution to older employees’ exits, have you thought about enticing back workers who resigned or retired? Hiring a known versus an unknown in these times can have its benefits. And its drawbacks too.
Hiring a past employee is called Boomerang hiring. That can be super successful for your organization because the Boomerangs know the culture. There is also nothing like going home, in those cases where a past employee has missed the organization. We have all made mistakes and learned the grass is not always greener on the other side, whether it is at another job, starting our own company, or retiring. Past employees eligible for Medicare will find being eligible for dental, vision, and another 401k very enticing.
The best part about hiring a past employee during a worker shortage is that the employer knows what they are getting and the level of expertise the past employee had upon departure. Reach back to past employees. What does it hurt?
Offer referral bonuses to your current employees. It is a fact that employees stay on the job longer if they like their boss and the people they work with. Employee referral programs work more often than not.
While saying that, also be cautious about hiring a past employee. How well did they work out at your organization previously? Were they a great contributor or a warm body? Take off your rose-colored glasses, look at those past evaluations if they exist, and visit with their previous supervisors.
Do not forget to have a Boomeranger complete a full and up-to-date job application and provide an up-to-date resume. Interview them with a panel. A panel with newer staff may keep you from hiring back the previous employee if they are wrong for the organization now. The only thing in life that is certain is change. Consider: will they be optimistic about the organization and their counterparts, who will likely be younger?
When you interview past employees, they need to meet the qualifications and have current references. Joe might not be the Joe you knew five years ago. Previous employees should bring maturity, reliability, and work ethic. They also need to be willing to learn new skills. Without all that, they are probably not what you need.
Also, remember that just because the past employee may be older does not mean they do not want flexibility. The workers in 2022 know that you do not have to be in the office 40 hours per week to get a desk job done.
However, the same does not apply to service workers. A computer cannot move materials, change a diaper, set the table, cook a meal, or teach a child.
Inflation is here, and prices are going up. Paying more is now the rule and not an exception. Don’t sweat the small stuff and make the changes you need to be a successful organization and be prepared to compensate employees more, not less. I hope you saved, modernized, and became more efficient in the past two years.
As you look to working smarter, not harder, here are my recommendations for your best Human Resource (HR) practices. This list comes from your local leaders in the Permian Basin Society for Human Resources Management (PBSHRM).
- Hire an excellent Human Resource (HR) professional to help you make the best decisions
- Add a Human Resource Information System (HRIS) to speed up hiring paperwork and all things HR
- Ensure the organization is capturing any earned tax credits for hiring employees from identified groups
- Set up your recruiting calendar in house and job fairs
- Complete reporting of 1094/1095 and provide documents, including W2’s and 1099’s
- Post jobs on sites that cater to the jobs you are seeking to fill
- Interview all the candidates with a panel of two or three people and start with the same questions and rank the candidates
- Offer flexible time off when possible.
- Use Paid Time Off (PTO), not the traditional vacation and sick days
- Update your Employee Handbook
- Update your Progressive Discipline Plan and retrain supervisors
- Update ADA and FMLA Procedures
- Update your crisis management plan, and include your Pandemic response
- Complete all federal reports, including EEOC and ERISA
- Review employee classifications: exempt versus nonexempt
- Hire a diverse group of people
- Review how much your insurance broker is making in commission each year while updating your employee benefits
- Offer more benefits and a 401K plan that takes effect no later than the first day of the following month.
- Consider hiring a 401K plan Fiduciary
- Provide an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) because life is hard, and the Pandemic has made it even harder. Even the non-Snowflake might need a little assistance occasionally.
- Follow the law and treat employees fairly and equitably
- Consider separating the payroll function from HR
- Pay people on time and correctly
- At the start of each new year, audit employee files by last name (one letter per day)
- Complete your I9 per the law; there are no shortcuts, and audit them every year
- Purge records as required by law each year
- Schedule monthly safety meetings to build relationships and trust. Answer questions.
- Host open enrollment/benefit sessions for families, spouses, and guests. Have a Spanish speaker available to translate or a special Spanish session.
- Plan an employee engagement activity or event each quarter to ensure employees stay connected. Examples: hosted cookouts
- Send out a quarterly satisfaction survey with participation prizes
- Provide small gifts for Employee Appreciation Day and hosted community service events
- Ask managers to identify top performers for the year so you can make connections in experience, education, and the source of the applicant to improve future hiring decisions
- Treat people with kindness. Just because they are your employees gives you no right to yell at them like a misbehaving child.
- Advocate for your employees; they are the costliest item in your budget
Lastly, celebrate your success and always be respectful of others.
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“Your employees are the heart of your organization.” Dr. Michele Harmon is a Human Resource professional, supporting clients in Texas and New Mexico that range in size from five to more than 3,000 employees. Email: micheleharmon1@gmail.com