5 solutions to the Labor Shortage in SMEs

In Quebec, job offers are numerous and many employers are struggling to recruit. The vacancy rate says a lot about the difficulty of hiring for companies. The current labor shortage is being seriously felt in SMEs and they must double their efforts to compensate for the lack of staff. Discover possible solutions to counter this phenomenon within your company.

Overcoming the Labor Shortage: 5 Effective Solutions

The labor shortage in SMEs poses a significant challenge for employers across the country. Be aware that many possible solutions are available. Here they are!

1. Attraction and Retention of your talents

Attract candidates

First of all, the organizational culture is a substantial element for a candidate when it comes to choosing an employer. Providing a pleasant and modern working environment is an interesting advantage, but will not be significant without an authentic corporate culture. Moreover, employees know how to set their conditions from the start of the hiring process. Listen to their requests and make sure that your promise reflects reality.

For example, finding a work-family balance is a very important pull factor today. This will help you attract candidates and your employees will understand their needs on a daily basis and will be grateful for the flexibility you offer them.

Build up your Talents

How about loyalty rather than retention? Today, it is important, even essential, to talk about retaining your employees. A good practice to achieve this is to develop the talents that make up your company by highlighting their expertise and their personalities. You will thus help to give a face to a company and to retain your employees who will be your best long-term ambassadors.

2. Investing in Technology

Another interesting solution to overcome the problem of the labor shortage is to use technology, even if it goes without saying that people cannot always be replaced. For example, robotics can be attractive to an employer. For this purpose, it can support the team in their daily actions (when a precision or an important force is required). In order to distinguish themselves from other companies, SMEs must therefore innovate in order to stand out in the job market.

3.Offer Training

On the other hand, the possibility of offering training to your staff is a major asset in order to alleviate the shortage of manpower within your company. By valuing the skills of a candidate and not their number of diplomas, you will be able to review the selection criteria when hiring in order to base yourself on what is essential. For example, instead of requiring bilingualism among your employees, see to it that your team has complementary skills. Another member can fill this language gap by offering help if needed!

4. Diversify

It can be interesting to diversify the location of your offices to encourage recruitment. For example, why not create satellite offices to get closer geographically to certain demographic areas, where there is a greater availability of labor? This alternative would contribute to providing comfort and a quality of life for those who’s place of residence is at a greater distance from work.

In terms of diversification, we can also consider the possibility of widening the pool of candidates by including young retirees who aim to generate a monetary supplement or simply to occupy their part-time timetable!

5.Offering Flexibility

Millennials, this generation of workers aged 19 to 39, want flexible hours. By having the option of choosing to start their day sooner or later, they can thus enjoy a certain freedom in the face of their responsibility.

The possibility of teleworking is an increasingly common requirement among applicants. Confining them to a workstation 40 hours a week is less recommended. In addition to creating a feeling of frustration in their daily lives, they will become unmotivated more quickly and will not hesitate to find another employer who will be able to meet their needs.

Flexible scheduling and teleworking generally do not cost the employer an extra penny. On the other hand, it is advantageous to invest in the confidence of employees. Often the main constraint for the employer when it comes to working at a distance is the lack of control. However, it is to the advantage of the employer to trust their team. Good communication and a monitoring system will make it possible to measure concrete results and establish a bond of trust. So the employer can rely on the employee’s performance and productivity, rather than the physical time spent in the office. It would be wrong to think that an employee sitting at his desk is more productive than an employee teleworking.

Finally, whether or not you are facing a labor shortage problem within your SME, these good practices can help and guide you to establish continuous improvement in your corporate culture. Remember that happy employees will be motivated, more productive and excellent ambassadors for your business. Listen to your talents and build a promising future for your team business!