Why Is It So Hard For Companies To Find Good People?

Since the pandemic hit in 2019 there has been a big shift in the thinking of the labor market. People started to see that there was more to life than just work. People started asking themselves bigger questions because they had time to think.

New Zealand is a little island at the bottom of the world and there are numerous factors that affect our ability to find skilled people. These include things like immigration factors, population density and employment policies.

These are very real challenges that we need to take into consideration however they are also all things that are outside of our control.

The good news is that there are some other factors that are in our control that we can focus on. CULTURE.

Since the pandemic hit in 2019 there has been a big shift in the thinking of the labor market. People started to see that there was more to life than just work. People started asking themselves bigger questions because they had time to think. These big questions were things like: ‘who do I want to be?’ and ‘ What is my purpose in Life?’.

What that means as an employer is that our work culture needs to inspire people to work for you and give them a scene of purpose within their role.

We need to prioritize factors such as work-life balance, company culture, career development opportunities, and flexibility. Companies that don't align with these expectations will find it harder to attract and retain talented individuals.

The key here is to have inspired leaders who are spending more time on culture development than ever before. Business owners and managers need to be able to delegate even more effectively now more than ever before to free up their schedule to spend time connecting to and developing their team members. The definition of inspiration is to ‘See a future without obstacles. This is the attitude that each leader needs to have to be able to bring the team on an adventure into a world unknown.

So here are 3 simple things that you can do to be the company that stands out when you are looking for new staff.

1) Be proactive about your search.

Approach a clever waitress next time you go out for lunch and see if she is open to a new career in your industry. Maybe ask your dentist if you can put the job advertisement in their office. Get all of our team to post it on their facebook. Think out of the box!

2) Get really clear on who your company is and what you stand for.

Look at your job advertisements and ask yourself ‘Is this showing potential applicants who we are?’ or is it just stating what they will ‘get out of the job’? Add some humour if that is how you roll. Get clever with your job titles. Don’t be beige. Stand out from your competitors.

3) Develop your leaders.

This is the single best way to future-proof yourself by investing in your leaders and developing into inspiring leaders that are going to be able to retain your current employees and transform your company. Quality coaching is what they need. If you would like to talk about what that looks like for your company please book a consultation.

If you enjoyed this article and want to learn more read the ‘How to can attract and retain a top team’ Ebook.

Thanks for reading.