Employers are adapting to the tight labor market, which may persist. A record 4.5 million employees quit their jobs in November, and December saw 10.9 million job openings, up by more than 60% from December 2019. Just six workers were available for every ten open jobs. Covid-19 may have prompted more than 2.4 million baby boomers into early retirement, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis.

Here are some of the strategies that we have noticed our clients are implementing to attract candidates:

Raising compensation is not working out to be enough for companies to overcome the labor shortage. The minimum pay and base salaries have gone up. Firms have started offering fat bonuses, sign on bonuses and an increased budget for relocation.

Many employers are relaxing hiring criteria, for some engineering and technician jobs by loosening up degree requirements, from 4-year degree programs to associate degrees and certificate programs; previously deemed a prerequisite. There’s simply not enough skilled qualified candidates to fill vacancies, hence employers are now opting to value, job related skill.

Contract positions are being converted to full time direct hire positions, as retention strategies by employers, to attract talent in the fiercely competitive market. Employers are realizing the benefits of offering full time employment, with benefits and opportunities for career advancement. Employers are also offering structured mentorship programs for those employees seeking professional growth. Some firms are going a step further and have introduced a new position, where a manager is being hired whose sole job is to listen to workers’ concerns and provide support to the employees. Managers are working with employees towards offering more predictable schedules for jobs that require working in shifts. Efforts are being made by employers towards increased automation especially in factory jobs. With increased automation employers are hoping to improve retention, with robots handling the back-breaking work and workers performing tasks that require more skill. Employers are now offering on the job training, tuition reimbursement, to employees to acquire new skills to work with automation. The share of job postings that offer training was more than 30% higher than in January 2020. New providers of training are proliferating, from university-run “bootcamps” to short-term programs. This is good news for the candidates looking for a change or searching for a new job ! Citation: The Economist