There’s No Labor Shortage

At client k,
I believe in blunt talk
and the blunt talk
is…

There’s no labor shortage.

Even with COVID deaths
and long COVID disabilities,
there are more people
in the world
able to work
than there are paying jobs
for them.

If you can’t find employees
to work in your business,
there’s something wrong
with your offer.

That ‘wrong’
is likely pay.
The salary you’re offering
is likely too low
in this current market
for what you’re asking
employees to do.

The key bit of that sentence
is
‘in this current market.’

The market is always changing
because the world is always changing.

Four years ago,
for example,
a salesperson wasn’t worried
about possibly getting COVID
from her prospect
and dying.

Today, she factors
that risk
into her asking salary.

Or the issue could be
something else entirely.

Once you figure out
why employees are accepting jobs
elsewhere
and
you solve that issue,
you’ll fill that empty role.

Because there’s no labor shortage.

Quick Responders And Leadership

In an emergency,
the key first steps
are
1) someone recognizing
it IS an emergency
and
2) someone taking ACTION
to minimize the damage
caused by the emergency.

A carnival ride filled with people
was tipping over.
Hundreds of people saw this,
knew what would happen.

Only one person acted.

Once he acted,
however,
many of the people watching
joined in
and helped him.

THIS is why
we need to hire
or partner with people
who have the ability
to act during an emergency.

Preferably these quick responders
will be in leadership positions.

If there isn’t someone on the team
with the ability to respond quickly,
no one will take action
and small emergencies will become
huge disasters.

Look for this ability
during the hiring process,
especially for leadership positions.

Everyone will say they respond quickly
in emergencies.
Ask for examples.
Verify those examples if you can.
When checking references,
ask if the candidate responds well
in emergencies.

Ensure you have someone
who responds quickly
in emergencies
on your team.

You WILL need her/her eventually.
That’s a certainty.