If you are not scared to death as a CEO, general manager or plant manager about the impending labor shortage; you should be! Bottom line…the baby boomers did not have enough kids. Even with the tepid economy we are seeing it talent is already in short supply. If the economy really heats up, the labor shortage will be critical. Labor will be the biggest constraint to surviving as a business. As an employee retention speaker and employee retention trainer, I tell audiences and clients that competition for people will be cut throat.
Employers and leaders in organizations that understand the challenge and begin to develop proactive employee retention strategies will be successful. Those that do not; they will be out of business. As competition for talent gets fierce, paying more money will not be an option if you are squeezed by foreign competition. It takes more than money to keep the best people.
So…what is the answer? Simple. Stop complaining about the labor shortage and put employee retention strategies in place NOW! Organizations that do that will have a huge competitive advantage over others that don’t. You don’t become an employee retention magnet overnight and you will not do it without focusing on all the elements that drive employee retention. A comprehensive approach is a must.
The time is now to sit down, develop your employee retention strategies and systematically implement them. Those organizations that do will win in the retention wars and be able to not only survive, but thrive while their competitors wither and die on the vine.
