Finding Overlooked Candidates to Fill Your Roles

Workforce Therapy Files

File 14: In today’s file, the team discusses ways to overcome workforce gaps by attracting workers from non-traditional sources. As the needs of your organization evolves, finding enough of the right candidates may be more challenging than it needs to be. This file will offer some ways for you to identify and engage the marketplace.

Jamie begins with a question/comment from a listener who brings up the point that there are more job openings than there are people to fill them in Kentucky (and other states). In particular, the listener mentioned the metals companies which offer difficult, entry-level rolls. The companies will likely relocate operations if they can’t find enough workers. Jamie comments that even in healthcare, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find qualified workers. This gap between available jobs and applicants to fill those jobs isn’t going to go away anytime soon.

It’s important to realize many of the previous episodes on attraction and retention should be considered “table stakes.” Basically, they get you in the game. So, now what?

Overcoming Language Barriers

Jason describes a scenario in which one of his clients was trying to hire quite a few welders. The local market didn’t have enough people with that skill or who were willing to get trained in welding. One of Jason’s connections let him know that a recent group of immigrants (i.e. new Americans) actually had experience welding and more who would be willing to learn. The challenge was the perceived language barrier. None of them spoke English.

The company quickly realized the expense of hiring a translator would be well worth it, given the project could commence. This was an unanticipated cost, but it enabled an innovative solution to the problem.

Jamie sees value in having an actual translator, instead of simply relying upon someone in the group to take on the responsibility of translating for the other employees. It’s a meaningful strategy because it opens the door to an overlooked population of potential new candidates for your open roles. In Jason’s case, it involved new Americans with limited English language capabilities. Now, expand a similar mode of thinking to enable your organization to recruit people with hearing impairments or sight limitations. This could even expand to those with other types of disabilities.

Molley discusses a client with locations in cities across the country. They’ve realized that Louisville presents specific recruiting challenges they don’t typically experience in other cities. They tend to have fewer applicants and higher attendance issues. One major difference is that the client has partnered with the Hispanic Coalition in these other locations, which is helping to provide a larger pool of applicants for the available positions.

In many of those particular areas, groups of Hispanic employees live together, ride to work together and report together. It seems to promote a strong, working environment with fewer attendance issues. The key is to build out partnerships to open the doors to other people groups. Jason describes how one of his contacts works to identify and hire people with autism; many of whom might have difficulties searching for, applying for and interviewing for open roles within an organization.

In the previous file, the group discussed attracting talent for your open positions. Certain functions would be perfect for particular individuals, but identifying and engaging them might be challenging. This new approach is another way to find solutions to workforce challenges.

Molley explains that the US is 600,000 workers short when it comes to filling construction jobs. Part of the reason may be related to how employers traditionally approach the hiring process. Sometimes, you have to think out of the box.

There are opportunities to potentially automate some job functions, but the vast majority will still require a human being to perform. Small to mid-sized companies may not be able to afford the technology or AI to automate. The option of finding additional candidates is still the most likely resolution. However, how the company chooses to do that (and where) offers a number of viable possibilities.

Essential Workers

The importance and focus on this group of employees came to a head during the pandemic. Organizations need to build a success plan for essential workers. Help them to understand the “why” behind the roles they perform and how important those individuals are to the organization. It’s about more than just the paycheck. Strive to create a sense of belonging and community.

Jamie suggests building a strategy around “workforce readiness” is a reactive approach. It’s focused on the immediate need, rather than the long-term. If you can plan for gaps, you’ll have a much more focused resolution path when the problem occurs. As Jason comments, you’re going to have a “now problem” forever, unless you start planning of the future.

Think of how UPS and even the US military understand the typical duration of the people who join those operations. They set up opportunities for individuals to learn and to grow, even though they may not ultimately stay with the organization. By being prepared for the turnover, they can take proactive steps to fill those gaps. In the meantime, it was a win-win for both the individual and the organization.

Molley mentions the roughly 100,000 person shortfall in military staffing. It’s quite possible people don’t understand the “why” behind what the military has to offer. Sure, the paycheck seems low, but you have to take into consideration the housing benefits, healthcare benefits, training, etc. There’s actually a lot being offered for the commitment being asked.

Jason point out that there’s also a responsibility on the side of the individual to be willing to start out at a lower role and work himself for herself up the ladder. The military is a very viable option for future leaders and/or those who are looking to develop specific skills.

How Strong is Your Alumni Network?

If you’re anticipating a gap in your workforce development, consider reaching out to previous employees. There may be individuals who would consider coming back on a part-time or more flexible working arrangement. Those individuals offer a wealth of experience and knowledge.

Some organizations may currently have 5 generations working for them. How to you develop ways for those individuals to interact and for the younger generations to absorb your organizations “tribal knowledge”? It’s a challenge worth taking on, based on the benefits it can yield.

Can you develop a mentor program? Is there an option for a PRN-type arrangement enabling previous employees to fill-in for a specific duration? There are certain types of creative, non-traditional work arrangements you might need to consider, especially during your peak season.

Consider an Outside Resource

When you’re in the trenches, you may not be able to look outside the box for these types of solutions. That’s when bringing in an outside resource could definitely assist in resolving the issue(s).

If that’s not possible consider taking your team off-site for some creative ideation around those things you don’t do as an organization. Jamie recommends you incorporate the following:

• What work has to get done?
• What population do we currently have that can do the work (in-house)?
• What changes do we need to make, in the roles we have, to be able to get that work accomplished?

The above analysis may help you to see if the job responsibilities are still properly allocated/grouped. You may be able to reassign part of the task (or tasks) to someone else, such as someone that doesn’t necessarily have to have a bachelor’s degree. You may be able to train that other person, so that the essential work is getting done.

As leaders, don’t assume you know the answers. Be confident enough to ask the team. The current job description may not be as relevant today as it once was. Roles evolve. It may be a step in helping you to maximize workforce utilization to achieve the larger goals of the organization.

That’s where we’ll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We’d love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company’s Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We’re here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

· Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

· Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

· Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!