The Herman Trend Alert

June 30, 2021

Unprecedented Churning in the Labor Marketplace

In last week's Herman Trend Alert, I detailed the many moves employers must make to respond to the career shifting in the talent marketplace. If you missed it, you may find it here. For many years, I forecasted very high turnover in the labor market. I kept expecting it to happen year after year. And although there were what I called "Pockets of Crisis" by location, industry, and occupation, that "unprecedented churning" never materialized---until now. . .

The Ugly US Statistics

In the month of April alone, 4 million workers (over 2.5 percent of the entire labor force) in the United States quit their jobs; 650,000 of them were in retail. On top of that, there was 1.8 million in involuntary separations---people who lost their jobs---for whatever reason. Persistent shortages of truck drivers, Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) technicians, healthcare professionals (at all levels), and hospitality professionals are wreaking havoc for employers. And those pockets of crisis are only the beginning.

Not Just a US problem

Employers throughout the world are facing similar issues. Across the United Kingdom and the European Union, having closed hotels and restaurants and let go thousands of workers, staffing up is now a major issue. According to Adzuna, the job search engine, between the end of March and the middle of June, the United Kingdom saw advertised job vacancies spike 45 percent. Moreover, the research group IHS Markit reports that companies throughout the European Union are suffering staff shortages, while business activity is growing at the fastest pace in 15 years. The London restaurant chain Caravan is even offering referral bonuses to customers to find the 150 employees it needs to recruit. As the planet emerges from the Pandemic and returns to Normal 2.0, there will be increasing pressure on employers to recruit workers to serve their customers and make their products.

What Employers Can Do to Address this Crisis

Here are more strategies for employers to prevent this high turnover in their organizations:

Focus on the Employee Experience. What is it like to work in your organization? Is it "fun" where people work together in harmony or is it an environment of tension and hostility? Do you employ gamification to add an addition dynamic to the work experience? Do you attempt to design the jobs for the individual workers? Are you welcoming to new employees? What is your onboarding process like? If it needs help---and many do, hire a consultant. That outside perspective will likely more than pay for itself. Ensure that your people know what a tremendous difference they make for your company and for the world.

Map the Entire Employee Journey. Think of your workers as "internal customers." Review their entire employee journey for whatever "touchpoints" can be improved. And don't forget to include your "off-boarding" process as well.

Stay on Constant Alert for Signs of Discomfort. If you find out that any employee is not 100 percent happy and satisfied---and growing---take steps immediately to discover what you can do to engage that person at a deeper level. Ignore these danger signs at your peril

Increase the Value Proposition for Employees. Look at the Value Proposition you are offering your employees. Is it competitive? If not, fix it. Look for unique non-financial incentives you can add. Our little company in Greensboro, North Carolina gave each employee a premium AAA (American Automobile Association) membership and an Entertainment Book filled with discounts and local restaurant offers, along with national hotel and rental car deals. Paying people more may help you compete, however, there are many other factors employees are looking for---like flexplace and flextime.

Another Issue for Employers to Deal With. There is a major disconnect between the almost 50 percent of workers who want to stay remote and the 9 to 10 percent of jobs that are specifically designated "remote work." That is currently (and is going to be) a big problem for employers.

Your investment in your employees and candidates at this time in our history will make a profound difference to your bottom line.

Next Week's Herman Trend Alert: The Attractive Market for College Grads

With today's incredibly tight labor market, fresh college grads are indeed in the driver's seat. Next week's Alert will detail what happening in the market for fresh graduates. To gather this valuable intel, I interviewed Steven Rothberg, CEO of CollegeRecruiter.com.