Weary from the challenges of finding good people to work for your company, you virtually have given up. Sure, you have a few star players who have come aboard to prove that hard work, talent and loyalty are part of your company brand.
On the other hand, you have accumulated a large number of employees who seem committed to doing the minimum possible amount of work necessary to stay employed, who avidly protect their silos and are easily shaken when asked to perform a task outside their scope of work.
In other words, you feel disempowered as to who works for you, and hiring good (or even 'okay') staff is no longer a win-win.
You blame this situation on a variety of factors. For example:
1. Location.
The problem:
Your office is wedged between other more lucrative companies or industries that draw in the best candidates, leaving the leftovers for your staffing needs.
Possible solutions:
Look outside of your typical recruiting zone. Be creative and consider other cities or states where employment opportunities are declining and folks might be receptive to relocating.
Offer referral fees for individuals who recruit talent on your behalf. Advertise openings through new channels. Think outside of your box.
Seek out folks in alternative industries and tap into what it is about working in those industries that appeals to them. Is it the challenge of technology? Is it using their public relations or performing talent? Is it helping people? How can you reshape your job descriptions to appeal to a new type of candidate while still getting your needs met?
2. Skills deficit.
The problem:
Your company requires employees with very specific skill sets that only a limited number of people possess. As a result, you’ve relented to employing pretty much anyone interested in working for you, regardless of their bringing undesirable baggage to the table.
Possible solutions:
Recruit individuals you like even if they have little specific training or experience in the areas you require, and then train them. Create an employee development program unique to your company that attracts intern type workers willing to learn and grow with your company.
Initially, compensate them at a reduced rate with the goal of bringing them on with a full salary at the culmination of their training period.
Build a mentor program that taps your more senior/experienced workers' knowledge to help attract and grow new talent. Weave in a bonus or other compensation benefit that will appeal to and inspire higher-end employees to become mentors.
3. Long hours.
The problem:
Your company operates unusual and longer-than-average hours that may include six-day work weeks and/or weekends on a regular basis, or even holidays. Your employees are required to be on site (brick and mortar location) in order to meet face-to-face with customers, which adds to the challenge.
With the abundance of work-from-home and telecommuting roles available in today's economy, requiring someone to be physically present at their job 40, 50 or even 60+ hours per week can become a deal breaker or at the least, it can be another barrier to entry for attracting good candidates.
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Possible solutions:
Trim required employee hours and find a way to run a leaner/meaner staff; in other words, strategize how to do more with fewer people.
This may mean breaking down bureaucratic barriers to productivity and performance that allows one employee to do what required two employees to accomplish in the past. For example, if a particular high-end sales deal required an employee consult with multiple layers of staff before consummating the deal, perhaps trimming those layers and increasing individual empowerment will fix that problem.
As a result, you can begin offering additional days off such as one Saturday per month or one day during the week, for example.
4. Disempowering leadership.
The problem:
If word has leaked that your leadership, management and / or ownership is toxic, then fewer of the good people will want to work for you. No one wants to report to a boss who will make their life miserable by refuting every new idea or micromanaging every aspect of their job. They also do not want to work for a cranky leader or a bully.
Possible solutions:
If you are an owner, leader or manager who exhibits traits of constant distrust, anger or bullying behaviors, you must take action to change. If the managers you manage behave in this manner, you must require they change.
It is part of your job to empower, imbue confidence and inspire your employees in order for them to feel empowered and positively move forward in their jobs.
One of the quickest ways to earn a reputation for a bad place to work and thus, turn off potentially great candidates, is to have toxic leaders at the helm.
