Labour Shortage

[Alfisti]

Man, this is really hitting home. At first it was just entry level hourly staff in our call centres/WFH polling but now the professionals have joined in. So salaried Programmers, Project Coordinators, Project Managers etc.

It seems to mostly be folks with a couple years experience, actively looking elsewhere and suddenly finding 20% on the table. Either that or they are being poached. Some are just "OK" and are being paid like stars by the company poaching them so we are left in a bit of a bind. The salary ask of fresh hires out of college is now 30% higher than it was a year ago.

Anyone else feeling the pinch? This is both in USA and Canada BTW.

[ASAP]

Combo of inflation, people re evaluating lifestyle during Covid and some Govt support led to this...

I think everyone is going to have to get used to higher wages or they won't have anyone to work with... simply a sign of the timea and how expensive everything has gotten.

[upstatedoc]

Do you have anything for someone after hours sitting on their couch in their underwear with a laptop?

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by upstatedoc

Do you have anything for someone after hours sitting on their couch in their underwear with a laptop?

Literally about 150 openings. I'll send you a headset.

If you want to be a PM you will need a polo for teams calls, pants optional. After hours would be a bonus.

[JP10]

Yeah it is absolutely brutal. And our backlog of work is greater than it has ever been. People just don't want to work anymore and those that do want to be paid in amount that is just staggering. Do not agree when people just say to get with the times either. Audited rates do not change overnight, and giving raises without ensuring profit margins will lead to failure especially in regards to contracts that are already in place. We have recently given raises to ensure employee retention, but it seems like the rise is never ending.

I would love for the market to crash, our work won't go away if it does. And I don't have much invested, in comparison to some, yet anyway. Fingers crossed.

[fiveohwblow]

It absolutely is hitting me as a hiring manager.

I also notice that companies are just finding out what you’re referencing. It’s not just the frontline employees, where it started, but rather higher level professionals. I have two friends who have felt the pressure and found it unhealthy to continue, thus resigning without another job lined up. I find myself considering a similar course of action just to retain sanity. It only compounds when your staff is short and thus more responsibility falls on you.

I think it’s crucial for companies to acknowledge those who are remaining loyal are worth additional resources and potentially compensation. I know 100% of my peers are actively interviewing. Where is the retention efforts as anyone involved with HR, recruiting and managing a PNL sees the costs to hire and fire.

None of this makes sense right now.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by JP10

Yeah it is absolutely brutal. And our backlog of work is greater than it has ever been. People just don't want to work anymore and those that do want to be paid in amount that is just staggering. Do not agree when people just say to get with the times either. Audited rates do not change overnight, and giving raises without ensuring profit margins will lead to failure especially in regards to contracts that are already in place. We have recently given raises to ensure employee retention, but it seems like the rise is never ending.

I would love for the market to crash, our work won't go away if it does. And I don't have much invested, in comparison to some, yet anyway. Fingers crossed.

Sadly... a total devastation of the current economy is ultimately the only fix for a lot of stuff right now...

[JP10]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Sadly... a total devastation of the current economy is ultimately the only fix for a lot of stuff right now...

Agree completely.

[Joekerr]

Yes, it is nuts out there. I'm going to have to give my employee a raise simply to retain her, and my business can ill afford to do so.

At this point, I could have made a lot more money by staying as an employee and not running my own business.

[CTinline-six]

I know two people who have recently quit their jobs. Both were treated like garbage by their employers. Both quit without having anything lined up (against my advice) and one has already secured a much better position.

[fiveohwblow]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

I know two people who have recently quit their jobs. Both were treated like garbage by their employers. Both quit without having anything lined up (against my advice) and one has already secured a much better position.

Why is this a common theme? I just don't get it. I've been with my org for quite some time and see the poor treatment happening more frequently.

Also, where are all these people going? One man's junk (abandoned post) is another man's treasure? If the former employee was treated like garbage or had too much expected of them, what makes it any different for a new employee? Why is the spot you're seeking vacant? I can't be the only one having these thoughts/questions…

[E92inNC]

Personally I hope this last for at least a bit longer so I can negotiate a higher pay when I move out of state in the spring.

On the topic, I’ve seen the news of people quitting in droves and not enough new jobs are being reported each month by the Bereau. The unemployment assistance has ended, are they just gonna pitch up tents at the malls?

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by ASAP

Sadly... a total devastation of the current economy is ultimately the only fix for a lot of stuff right now...

Yep. Burn it down and rebuild it. I feel like this is just one of the many cogs in the machine that is causing our current issues. I'm seeing employee retention concerns from where I sit as well. Contractors I hire unable to keep workers, not to mention our shelf life of new hires is roughly about 3 days to maybe a week and a half for our production employees.

I'm also seeing some of our corporate folks leaving at alarming rates. We can't seem to keep a Director of IT for longer than a few months.

I also feel like our current JIT (Just In Time) management strategy is semi-related. Everything works great, to save money on the front end, as long as everything runs like a well oiled machine. due to supply chain issues, this is not currently the case. This also adds to stress, especially for those in fields related to mine. If a person is able to go elsewhere and work, or find a new profession completely, I imagine this adds to the employ Chinese fire drill going on.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by King Rudi

Yep. Burn it down and rebuild it. I feel like this is just one of the many cogs in the machine that is causing our current issues. I'm seeing employee retention concerns from where I sit as well. Contractors I hire unable to keep workers, not to mention our shelf life of new hires is roughly about 3 days to maybe a week and a half for our production employees.

I'm also seeing some of our corporate folks leaving at alarming rates. We can't seem to keep a Director of IT for longer than a few months.

100%, we literally are in the the worst position anywhere...

People have money... nothing to spend it on due to shortages.

Everything is insanely expensive.
Housing is at record levels.
No one wants to work.
Everything is over leveraged in the Financial markets to the 100th degree.
Govt made awful decisions and fueled this further.

Shit at least in 2009, when everything crashwd and burned... those that still had jobs and saved up cash over the years could at least buy things cheap.

[Nativetexan]

I've been dealing with a recruiter in hiring for a position now and they are only sending me entry level people saying "well they work in the same capacity as the title you need to fill".

And these entry level people want $15-25k more than what I hired for similar positions a year ago. AND they don't have the direct experience 🤷🏻*♂️. They wanna be paid higher to be given a chance.

Recruiters are feeling like realtors right now. Making/sustaining a market perception.

Payroll at companies can't go up 15,20,25% like this…

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by ASAP

100%, we literally are in the the worst position anywhere...

People have money... nothing to spend it on due to shortages.

Everything is insanely expensive.
Housing is at record levels.
No one wants to work.
Everything is over leveraged in the Financial markets to the 100th degree.
Govt made awful decisions and fueled this further.

Shit at least in 2009, when everything crashwd and burned... those that still had jobs and saved up cash over the years could at least buy things cheap.

Indeed. I'm quite curious to see how this is going to play out. January and February are going to be interesting. Halloween, Thanksgiving, then Christmas, the sickness that will follow, food/item hoarding for the holidays, the recourse after. Yeah, the next few months are going to be rough.

[Nativetexan]

Originally Posted by fiveohwblow

It absolutely is hitting me as a hiring manager.

I also notice that companies are just finding out what you're referencing. It's not just the frontline employees, where it started, but rather higher level professionals. I have two friends who have felt the pressure and found it unhealthy to continue, thus resigning without another job lined up. I find myself considering a similar course of action just to retain sanity. It only compounds when your staff is short and thus more responsibility falls on you.

I think it's crucial for companies to acknowledge those who are remaining loyal are worth additional resources and potentially compensation. I know 100% of my peers are actively interviewing. Where is the retention efforts as anyone involved with HR, recruiting and managing a PNL sees the costs to hire and fire.

None of this makes sense right now.

Couldn't agree more!

[Hawkeye]

Thankfully my profession has not had any of these issues from what I understand. I haven't noticed it in the professional space, just at restaurants and stores around me. A fundamental shift in the workforce and economy are coming it seems...

[Alfisti]

I have no issue with folks wanting to get paid more, i guess my concern is the viability of the product we offer at these salaries. At some point, the market will just say, you know what, this information I need is valuable but it is not this valuable. We have no choice but to raise prices about 15 to 20% because costs have exploded.

[Joekerr]

Right, well then you lay off a bunch of people and everyone else gets the message (or the company goes bankrupt and everyone is laid off) and suddenly a mass of people looking for jobs, which has the same trickle effect that we are seeing now, just opposite.

Ebbs and flows. World will keep turning.

[King Rudi]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

Ebbs and flows. World will keep turning.

.....and burning.....amirite?

[Run Silent]

Labor shortage is nothing short of insane.

Currently - I have 197 open professional level corporate positions right now in my company, all of which are 100% permanent remote.

We are a healthcare staffing company. My open positions for staffing right now exceed 24,566 as of today at 5pm.