U.S. employers added 199,000 jobs in December, missing analyst expectations and providing mixed signals about the state of the economy. The unemployment rate fell to 3.9%. Year-over-year wage growth remained high at 4.7%.
The Numbers
199,000: The U.S. economy added 199,000 jobs in December.
3.9%: The unemployment rate fell to 3.9%.
4.7%: Wages rose 4.7% over the past year.
The Good
While the headline of 199,000 jobs added in December is disappointing, other numbers in December’s jobs report point to good news. The unemployment rate fell to 3.9% faster than the Federal Reserve had predicted. Additionally, the New York Times reports that the labor participation rate rose to 61.9% in November and December, the highest rate since the pandemic started.
Additionally, the U.S. economy added 6.4 million jobs in 2021, the highest yearly increase on record.
The Bad
As MarketWatch reports, December’s increase in employment was less than half of what analysts had projected. Experts say the lower numbers were caused, in part, by the tight job market. To compete for workers, employers have raised wages significantly over the past year, with year-over-year wage growth hitting 4.7% overall, though some sectors, like leisure and hospitality, have seen even larger increases. Because December’s numbers are based off the first two weeks of the month, before the latest COVID-19 surge began, the Omicron variant likely only had a small role in the month’s numbers.
The Unknown
Looking ahead to 2022, the Wall Street Journal reports that workers continue to quit their jobs at record rates, and experts predict a potential disruption caused by the surging Omicron cases followed by a strong year of job creation. Economists say that while businesses have gotten better at responding to waves of COVID-19 cases, Omicron has caused millions of sick workers to quarantine. The resulting labor shortage has already led to canceled flights and temporarily closed restaurants. However, as demonstrated by a rapid drop-off in cases in South Africa, Omicron is expected to cause only a short-term disruption.
After administering more than 30 million vaccines across the U.S., a healthcare company announced a company-wide vaccination policy requiring employees in clinical and corporate positions to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of October 2021. The move was driven by health and safety concerns for employees, patients and customers, but the client knew it wouldn’t come to fruition without impact to their workforce.
Flexing our Process for the New Policy
Because the new policy stipulated that all new hires in impacted roles be vaccinated, the PeopleScout client engaged with us prior to the announcement to discuss their plans and get ahead of any impact to recruitment efforts. As their long-term RPO partner, we were uniquely positioned to help the healthcare company create a multi-faceted plan to communicate the vaccine mandate to candidates and adjust recruitment activities to ensure new hires are in compliance with the mandate.
Leveraging copy and communications from the company’s HR and legal teams, we updated all relevant job descriptions with a section on the vaccine mandate and deadlines. To provide an additional screening step, we added vaccine status questions to application forms for the relevant positions. If candidates indicated that they were not vaccinated or not willing to be vaccinated, they were automatically disqualified in most states.
Taking a Hands-on Approach to Reduce Candidate Drop Off
To mitigate the impact on the dropout rate at the top of the funnel, we followed up with every candidate who said “no” to ensure they had understood the questions and hadn’t answered in error. As a result of this extra effort, several candidates were requalified and put back into the running for employment with the healthcare company. Disposition codes were also used to indicate when candidates left the funnel due reasons related to the vaccine requirements. This helped the company gather data on how the policy was impacting recruitment outcomes.
Supporting the Accommodation Process
COVID-19 vaccine mandate information was added to the candidate communication sequence in the organization’s CRM, directing them to a website complete with FAQs. Throughout the screening and interview process, the PeopleScout team also fielded questions from candidates. Common queries were about how to apply for a reasonable accommodation for those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical or religious reasons. While the internal legal team handled the review of all accommodation applications, the PeopleScout team did field questions about the accommodation process, freeing up the organization’s internal teams to focus on more strategic initiatives while boosting the candidate experience.
For successful candidates, we ensured all offer letters contained language about the vaccination requirement and followed up with candidates to address any final questions.
Now more than ever, an organization’s hiring strategy should be adaptable. Throughout the last two years, many employers have had to reimagine their recruitment processes. Due to the pandemic, organizations rapidly moved recruiting processes to virtual models, shifting in-person interviews to digital and transitioning traditional office roles to remote.
Today, as businesses bounce back and job openings are at record highs, employers need to hire top talent—and fast. And, just as a hybrid approach to in-person and remote work for employees has become the norm, so, too, will the need for a blended recruiting strategy that will optimize the candidate experience advantages of in-person, while also continuing to leverage the benefits of virtual.
So, in this article, we’ll walk through what a hybrid hiring strategy is, discuss the benefits of in-person versus virtual techniques and provide tips for how to create a hybrid hiring strategy that works for your organization.
What is a Hybrid Hiring Strategy?
Hybrid hiring—or hybrid recruiting—is a strategy that allows organizations to maximize the benefits of both in-person and virtual hiring techniques. Specifically, a hybrid approach allows employers to leverage the advantages of virtual recruiting where it makes sense, while simultaneously using strategic, in-person methods to add value to the candidate experience along the way.
Granted, hybrid hiring isn’t new; many organizations employed a mix of virtual and in-person techniques prior to 2020. However, COVID-19 rapidly accelerated the need for safe, efficient hiring models, thereby leading to greater adoption of virtual strategies. Now, because employers have seen the advantages of virtual recruiting, the benefits of a hybrid model have become clear. Depending on the type of role you’re hiring for, having a strong hybrid hiring model in place makes it easy to recruit staff 100% virtually if and when it’s needed, or with a blended approach.
Source: Workest by Zenefits
Benefits of a Hybrid Hiring Strategy
Leveraging a hybrid hiring strategy means you get the best of both worlds. But, what does that entail? Here are some of the biggest benefits of both virtual and in-person hiring techniques—and how they’ll play out post-pandemic.
Benefits of Virtual Hiring Techniques
Reduced Cost & Greater Efficiency
When you remove the physical component of recruiting, you see a greatly improved speed-to-hire and an overall reduction in costs. For example, PeopleScout helped this retail client reduce time-to-hire by more than 20% by implementing a mobile-first, shortened application process. Plus, expenses that would normally be spent on hosting recruiting events—such as travel costs, venue fees and printed materials—suddenly drop to zero. Additionally, your employees save time by hosting events remotely and also reap the benefit of having more candidates in attendance.
Expanded Reach & Reduced Bias
With travel out of the equation and with remote job options in place, employers can then expand the geographies from which they source talent. This offers greater opportunities for candidates and also opens up the candidate pool to top talent who may not have been on your radar previously.
Virtual hiring also reduces the amount of hiring bias experienced during in-person interviews. As humans, we judge people on many things (unconsciously or not), including how a candidate may look. But, with virtual interviews, recruiters are able to focus less on a candidate’s appearance and more on what they have to say.
According to the American Psychological Association, when it comes to height, every inch counts—in fact, in the workplace, each inch above average may be worth $789 more per year. This is the kind of bias that can be eliminated with virtual interviewing techniques.
Overall Convenience
Virtual interviews and other virtual recruiting tactics are convenient for both candidates and recruiters alike. For example, candidates can schedule on-demand interviews at a time that is most convenient for them, and recruiters can watch those recordings at their own convenience. What’s more, through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, candidates can also self-schedule follow-up interviews, ask questions and receive real-time responses that would have previously taken much longer without the technology that has come from the rise of virtual.
Benefits of In-Person Hiring Techniques
Showcase Your Company Culture
One challenge of virtual recruiting is the ability to effectively showcase your company’s culture. While there are certainly ways to do so, nothing quite compares to experiencing how individuals in an organization interact with one another in-person. Especially for roles that are required to work in an in-person or office setting, providing a time to come in for an in-person interview or assessment can be a great way to show your candidate what it would really be like to work for your company on a day-to-day basis.
Human Touch
While AI and automated tools help with efficiency, improve candidate experience, and speed up the overall time-to-hire, today’s talent pool can also find benefits from a blended model. In fact, candidates today are feeling more confident, in general, and more comfortable negotiating their salary when meeting face-to-face. A phone call and video interview can get the candidate in the door, but an in-person conversation can seal the deal—especially when it comes to hiring senior talent who would really appreciate being brought in for the final stages of the interview process.
Source: Workest by Zenefits
Added Value
Furthermore, utilizing in-person techniques can also add value to the candidate experience overall. From office tours to final interviews, it’s difficult to recreate human touch and company culture completely virtually. To that end, where it makes sense, in-person meetings can help sell a candidate on why they should work for your organization, as opposed to the competition.
How to Recruit People Now: Balancing Your Post-Pandemic Hybrid Hiring Strategy
Your hybrid hiring strategy will likely depend on your organization’s needs and what your workforce will look like on the other side of the pandemic.
For example, if some or all of your teams will work entirely remotely, it would make the most logical sense to complete the entire recruiting process virtually. Inevitably, bringing the candidate in for an in-person interview or office tour would waste time and money, and would likely confuse the candidate and, therefore, lead to a poor candidate experience. Instead, recruiting for these roles completely virtually and providing opportunities for human interaction and culture along the way can help candidates feel like they know what it will be like to work remotely for your company.
“How do we show candidates our company culture when we can’t invite them to the office? We send personalized, handwritten cards to candidates before their start date (as well as some swag!). We want to give them a feeling of being really welcomed into the company—which is what we’re really about.”
Ewa Zajac, Recruiting Operations Manager at Zendesk
On the other hand, if some of your teams will be working both from home and from the office, a hybrid approach would be the best fit. Virtual options save a lot of time and money in the beginning stages of sourcing, screening and interviewing, and candidates will want the flexibility to complete those initial interviews and assessments from the comfort and convenience of their own homes.
Then, when it comes to final interviews with candidates you’re very excited about, bringing them in for an in-person interview can be the final step before extending an offer. The candidate will appreciate the time you’re investing to bring them in, and they’ll get a taste of what it will be like when they work in-person. This will be especially important for roles that will be primarily in the office or in which relocation is necessary.
In the end, hybrid hiring won’t be a one-size-fits-all strategy. Whether your organization opts to keep recruiting fully virtual or works in opportunities for in-person techniques, the candidate experience will need to remain at the forefront of any model. Think about what candidates will want and how the recruiting process will make the most sense for the role you’re trying to fill.
Talent pools are important. However, expanding your talent pool amid turbulent times can be difficult. As businesses navigate reopening and hiring amid the surge of the Delta variant of COVID-19, many are struggling to fill their open roles with the talent they need: According to a survey by Willis Towers Watson, 73% of companies are having difficulty attracting employees, and 70% expect that their current challenges to hire and keep workers will linger into 2022.
Notably, the same survey found that these hiring challenges are caused by a variety of different factors, which vary based on industry and position type. For example, for hospitality, restaurant, warehouse and distribution employees, postponing their return to work and collecting unemployment when it was offered was the most commonly cited reason for difficulties in attracting staff. And, even when those extended unemployment benefits ended, hiring did not surge. Meanwhile, virtual employees present challenges based on high wage expectations, and other professionals are holding out for companies with work-from-anywhere policies.
At the same time, millions of workers are also planning to change careers: Data released by Monster showed that 95% of workers surveyed said they were considering changing jobs, while 92% said they were willing to switch industries to do so. Therefore, if your organization is struggling to fill open positions, developing a program to attract and reskill workers who are changing careers could significantly expand your talent pool.
In this article, we’ll explain why people are choosing to change careers, share common skills you should look out for in your talent pool expansion, and provide suggestions for how to create a reskilling program that will work for your organization.
How the Talent Pool is Evolving: Why Are Workers Changing Careers?
As a result of the pandemic and the tragic losses that came with it, people were faced with a reminder that every day is not guaranteed. This realization caused many to rethink their life choices and shift to prioritize their health, loved ones, hobbies and the things they truly enjoy. For many, this included rethinking their career path and goals—including exploring job opportunities that they’re truly passionate about so that they could make every day count.
Source: Prudential
As an employer, you can capitalize on this migration by offering competitive employment packages complete with work/life balance and promoting those benefits via recruitment marketing techniques. More precisely, beyond compensation and flexible work arrangements, show candidates how you will challenge them and help them grow in their career.
Building a Talent Pool: Identifying Transferable Skills in Workers Changing Careers
Fortunately, you don’t need to start from scratch when hiring people who have chosen to change career paths. Instead, focus on attracting candidates who have strong transferable skills across industries.
Transferable skills, also known as “portable skills,” are qualities that can be transferred from one job to another. Transferable skills can be used to position your past experience when applying for a new job—especially if it’s in a different industry.
Furthermore, when you find candidates with certain transferrable skills, you won’t have to worry about training them on those. And, because many transferrable skills are soft skills, the candidate will be more malleable and will integrate well into a new job. In particular, they’ll be able to start working faster and will be more productive from the beginning. As a result, your training time can be focused on knowledge specific to your organization and the role.
Consider looking for these common transferrable skills when expanding your talent pool beyond your industry:
Problem-Solving
Workers who can demonstrate strong problem-solving skills in their previous roles will likely be able to apply that same mentality on the job at your organization. Specifically, employees with problem-solving skills will be able to identify problems, find what is causing the problem and seek out potential solutions—without you having to nudge them.
Teamwork
If the role you’re hiring for requires a lot of collaboration between team members, look for candidates who have experience working toward a common goal with others. Teamwork also encompasses several other skills, such as empathy, active listening and communication.
Communication
Communication is perhaps the most common transferable skill across all industries and job types because it’s required in almost every role. Workers with effective communication skills will be able to clearly share ideas and information both verbally and in writing; know when to ask questions; read body language; and communicate with others in a wide range of settings.
Leadership
While leadership skills are especially vital for leadership roles, such as managers and above, they’re also important for people to possess across the organization. That’s because leadership skills contribute to an employee’s ability to take the lead, get a team on the same page, delegate when needed and see a project through to completion.
Adaptability
Workers who are adaptable and flexible will be able to adjust as deadlines, teams or processes change. They’ll be able to pivot and learn new skills when needed, while also maintaining a positive attitude and ensuring goals are still met.
Technology Literacy
If you don’t want to teach your next hire the basics, look for candidates who have experience working with common business tools and technologies that will easily integrate into your business function. Similarly, if your organization is embracing more digital tools, it’s also important that your candidate is comfortable learning new technologies and software to improve efficiency and evolve with your organization.
While the list above highlights some key transferable skills, there are numerous others that might fit into your organization and the roles you’re looking to fill. Check out this list from FlexJobs for more.
Building a Reskilling Program for Workers Changing Careers
Attracting and hiring candidates with transferable skills will allow you to skip basic training on those qualities. However, because many of these hires will be coming from different industries, you’ll likely still need to provide some reskilling training for non-transferable skills to help them adjust to the new role.
Plus, employees expect training to come from employers. In a survey from Prudential, when asked who was most responsible for helping them develop the skills they need (aside from themselves), workers most often ranked employers as number one (33%). Likewise, when asked about the top ways that employers can support workers’ learning, workers most often said flexible schedules (78%), followed by employee-offered training (71%) and on-demand courses (71%).
But, what type of training will work for your organization? Well, that depends on what types of roles you’re looking to fill. According to a report by CompTIA, candidates have different preferences regarding training methods based on the type of job they’re seeking.
Consider these three steps to help you build an effective reskilling program:
1. Identify Skills Gaps
When hiring candidates from different industries, there’s no doubt that they’ll require some additional skills training to be able to be successful in the new role. So, identify what those key skills are so you can build your training program from there. Then, rather than spending time on transferable skills you already know your candidate possesses, focus on skills unique to the job and your organization, instead.
2. Develop Specific Skills Trainings
Once you’ve identified the key areas that will need to be covered, develop trainings specific to those needs. These trainings should encompass a variety of reskilling methods to fit the individual needs of your new hires, including:
a. On-the-job training:Employees can take on small projects and learn from real-world experience.
b. Online learning:Virtual courses can be taken at any time and are a great way to speed up the learning process. They provide a lot of content in a digestible form that anyone can grasp.
c. Blended learning: Combine online courses with in-person training to maximize the benefits of both. Employees can engage with instructors in person and come equipped with knowledge and questions from online training.
d. Peer learning: Employees can learn from one another through collaboration and job shadowing. By observing what someone’s day looks like, employees will get a good sense of what will be expected of them day-to-day.
3. Measure Success
Leverage surveys, discussions, post-training assessments and candid feedback from trainees regarding the value they found from the reskilling trainings. Do they feel like they’ve learned something new? Do they have the knowledge to put new skills to use? Are they implementing what they’ve learned on the job? Once you find out, revaluate and improve your training program regularly based on the strengths and weaknesses that employees identify.
Marketing Your Reskilling Program to Your Expanded Talent Pool
Now that you’ve assessed the transferable skills to watch for and developed a reskilling program for workers who are changing careers, it’s important to make that program known to these workers: Utilize recruitment marketing techniques on social media to promote your roles and share that your organization is offering reskilling to employees from a variety of industries. In job ads, highlight the fact that hires will be provided with reskilling training to ensure they’re successful in their new role. This—in conjunction with a strong employment offer and benefits—will help your business stand out above others in the competitive search for top talent.
Global RPO: Hiring Engineers with Niche Skills for a Global Manufacturer in LATAM and Europe
A multinational automotive components manufacturer at the forefront of electric driving technology engaged PeopleScout for a full-cycle, multi-country Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) solution. To continue supplying automotive technology for millions of the world’s cars, they needed to source the next generation of engineering talent across 54 locations in 21 countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia.
100%New Hires Completed Ahead of Schedule
80%Candidate Submissions Invited to Interview
1300Applications Received for 150 Positions
Scope & Scale
A global automotive parts manufacturer partnered with PeopleScout to initially source 150 hires across locations in Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany and India as well as facilities in Latin America. They needed a global RPO provider who could handle sourcing for niche engineering roles in English, Polish, Spanish, Italian and Hungarian languages.
Challenge
As the client expanded manufacturing into new regions to support their global growth agenda, they turned to PeopleScout to partner with their in-house talent acquisition teams to drive their transformational change projects.
Hiring in Latin America had stagnated as the region became the go-to region for automotive manufacturing. With major car brands moving more of their operations into the region, competition for talent became more and more steep.
Meanwhile in Europe, a shortage of niche engineering skills was impacting operations in Poland. The talent war between organizations in the area hiring for similar roles was driving up salary expectations, but the manufacturer lacked the labor market data to make informed decisions to adjust their strategy.
Solution
Analyzing Labor Markets on Two Continents
Our Client Delivery team started by undertaking labor market and workforce analytics in each region. We worked with the client’s HR and operational teams to support their workforce strategy through a competitive analysis which led to recommendations on salary bands for each role and level of experience. For roles in Poland, we helped them explore the possibility of relocating new hires in order to widen their talent pool to other parts of the country where there was more access to experienced engineering professionals.
“PeopleScout has done a great job to support the project, showing high commitment and flexibility in this difficult and changing environment. We’ve had great collaboration together.”
Senior Director of Engineering
Sourcing Passive Candidates with Personalized Videos
Meanwhile, our multilingual teams in Bristol and Krakow began sourcing experienced Product Application Engineers in Latin America and across multiple European locations, as well as Design & Test Engineers in Poland.
Not satisfied with one outreach, we employed a different approach with candidates who were unresponsive after the first communication. Our recruiters created and sent personalized videos introducing themselves and the opportunity to the candidate. This personal touch drove higher engagement and interest from talent who hadn’t engaged initially.
Over 80% of applicants were identified via passive sourcing, with the remaining candidates coming from ongoing advertising campaigns across job boards and social media.
Leveraging Social Media to Boost Employer Brand Awareness
Through our Social Network Awareness Package (SNAP) we identified the best social channels to reach the manufacturer’s audience and created tailored posts, including imagery and headlines. We used this social media content to boost awareness of the client’s employer brand among relevant groups and individuals based on their locations, professional details and interests. Throughout each campaign, we provided a reporting dashboard and analyzed engagement which helped shape recruitment marketing activity going forward.
Testing Technical Skills with a Custom Assessment Center
These highly specialized engineers, regardless of region, needed to have a good command of English as well as technical aptitude. We assessed for both by designing and executing a technical testing program. Our assessors administered these exams virtually, freeing up hiring managers to focus on running their operations.
Once offers were made, our team continued to keep in contact with successful candidates during their notice periods and onboarding. We notified the client’s HR team of any potential concerns of dropouts, working together to mitigate risks.
Results
In just 10 months, we filled 100% of the manufacturer’s niche engineering headcount, including all openings in Poland—two months ahead of schedule. Our team reviewed over 1,300 applications and screened over 250 candidates, supporting hiring managers with initial phone screens, technical assessments and post-offer communications.
The hiring managers were thrilled with the quality of the candidates they saw, with over 80% of candidates put forward by our team being invited to interview.
Following this success, we expanded our engagement with the client to their India operation, taking over from local third-party agencies. This Recruiter on-Demand solution will support volume hiring challenges and drive cost savings.
“PeopleScout did really great work across hard-to-fill disciplines. We had a fantastic sense of partnership across the whole project.”
Global Head of Talent Acquisition
At a Glance
COMPANY Global automotive manufacturer
INDUSTRY Manufacturing
PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS Recruitment Process Outsourcing
ANNUAL HIRES 150+
LOCATIONS 21 countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers across all industries faced difficult personnel decisions as organizations were forced to reduce their workforces. Now, as a sense of normalcy and stability returns, employers find themselves facing a new challenge: The Great Resignation.
So, how can employers mitigate talent turnover and start building their workforces for the economic recovery? In this article, we’ll explain the Great Resignation, take an in-depth look at what job candidates are looking for from employers and provide retention strategies for navigating the current talent landscape.
What is the Great Resignation? The Great Resignation is Here and It’s Real
The great resignation is here and it’s real. In the wake of the pandemic, workers are expecting more from their employers. In particular, they expect employers to help alleviate—or at least acknowledge—their concerns, needs and special circumstances. Notably, organizations that failed to do so have suffered.
While every sector is experiencing an increase in resignations, the healthcare, retail, hospitality and restaurant industries have been hit the hardest. For some workers in these industries, it’s because these jobs have extensive interaction with the public and employees are worried about the risk to their health. Meanwhile, others—specifically those in lower-wage jobs—are pivoting to new careers that promise better pay, benefits or rewards during the Great Resignation.
The Great Resignation is a term coined by researcher Anthony Klotz of Texas A&M University. It refers to the massive, economy-wide increase in job turnover that is expected to accompany the end of COVID-era regulations, business closures and work-from-home mandates. According to Klotz, there is no single factor responsible for the Great Resignation. Rather, numerous motivators are inspiring employees to consider changing jobs.
For instance:
Many employees who would have otherwise already quit their jobs stuck with their positions for the duration of the pandemic. And, now that job security is less important, people in this group are preparing to finally make the change they’ve been postponing.
The stress of the pandemic contributed to higher levels of employee burnout, which is associated with higher turnover rates.
Time away from the workplace has led some people to consider rebalancing their priorities to focus more on their families or hobbies. Others are reevaluating how their careers align with their values and interests.
Millions of employees experienced the flexibility and convenience of remote work for the first time during the pandemic. As a result, many do not want to return to the office, even after the Great Resignation ends.
As you can see, the data shows that some workers are resigning based on how their employers treated them during the pandemic. Likewise, workers who may have been teetering on the edge of quitting pre-pandemic were also pushed to a breaking point with the additional stress brought on by COVID-19. And, although workers have always cared about their work environments, now there’s an entirely new dimension: An increased willingness to leave a role if dissatisfied. To that end, in the next section, we provide proactive strategies for retaining your workforce amid recovery.
Retaining Talent During the Great Resignation
With so much riding on successfully retaining talent right now, it’s particularly important for employers to get it right. As such, employers need to better understand what drives and sustains career satisfaction among their employees. Below, we outline strategies for gaining insights into your workforce that can help you better retain talent amid the Great Resignation.
Professional Development & Advancement Opportunities
“Career management continues to be a top driver of attraction, talent retention and sustainable engagement for most employees,” wrote Laurie Bienstock of Willis Tower Watson in an article published by HR Dive. “Effective career management at many organizations remains elusive. That’s one of the main reasons so many of today’s employees feel they need to leave to advance their careers.”
Fortunately, with an expanded skill set, not only will employees feel more empowered, but they’ll also have more tools to help your organization—a win-win scenario. When starting a professional development program, leverage the expertise you have within your organization.
For instance, senior employees can serve as mentors and help mentees sharpen both their soft skills and technical skills; gain practical knowledge, institutional insights and hands-on guidance; and become more valuable and versatile employees.
Reinforce Your Workplace Culture
As employers transition toward a hybrid workforce to address the challenges presented by the pandemic, fostering a workplace culture that is consistent both online and in-person has become more challenging. So, consider what matters most to the employees in your organization. If diversity and inclusion is a priority, remote work can provide the opportunity to bring in hires from around the world who otherwise would not be available. Similarly, if professional development and mentorship are most important, think about how online tools can be used to foster these types of relationships.
Employee Benefits & Wellbeing
The right employee benefits can be influential when workers are considering resignation. According to Prudential’s Road to Resiliency study, threequarters of all talent surveyed factor benefits into their decision regarding whether to stay or leave a job.
Namely, benefits can include items like insurance, equipment allowances or childcare, but can also cover things like gym memberships, reimbursements for phone bills or weekly coffee allowances. What’s more, benefits focused on employee wellbeing—such as providing therapy vouchers or additional paid time off (PTO) for leisure activities or to take care of themselves and their families—can go a long way to engender greater loyalty in your workforce
Conduct Stay Interviews
In some ways, “stay” interviews are similar to exit interviews; they’re both used to identify reasons employees like or dislike their job. They can also uncover concerns or issues that an employer may be unaware of.
However, stay interviews can actually be more valuable than exit interviews because they provide insights that employers can leverage to motivate and retain employees before they decide to leave. Questions to ask during a stay interview:
What keeps you working here?
What do you enjoy about your job?
What would cause you to leave the company?
What would you like to change about your job,
team or department?
If you could change one thing about the
company, what would it be?
Have you ever thought about leaving the
organization?
What motivates you at work?
Do you feel appreciated in your role?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Employers can use the information gleaned from stay interviews to guide company policy; make improvements in corporate culture; and keep talent engaged and wanting to stay. COVID-19 has profoundly changed what employees expect from employers, and attributing record-high resignations simply to salary concerns misses the bigger trends in growing the workplace.
In truth, the pandemic has changed the way employees work and how they view their employer. Now, many workers are reflecting on what a quality workplace feels like—and many are willing to quit to find a better one. As a result, reversing the tide of resignations in your organization requires leaders who care; who engage their teams honestly; and who give workers a sense of purpose, inspiration and motivation to perform.
Retaining Talent Begins with Reevaulating
Whether that is achieved through flexible work policies, improving benefits, sharing common values or unique career opportunities, it’s essential that you listen to your employees’ needs, keep checking in on them, and work together to create a workplace that is not only able to serve you both, but one that can also make you both happy, as well.
U.S. employers added 210,000 jobs in November, missing analyst expectations and providing mixed signals about the state of the economy. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2%. Year-over-year wage growth remained high at 4.8%.
The Numbers
210,000: The U.S. economy added 210,000 jobs in November.
4.2%: The unemployment rate fell to 4.2%.
4.8%: Wages rose 4.8% over the past year.
The Good
November’s jobs report is confusing, but there is good news. The labor participation rate, which has been largely flat, ticked up in November to 61.8%, the healthiest number since the pandemic began. As the New York Times reports, there was a large increase in labor force participation by both Hispanic men and Hispanic women, some of the hardest hit demographics. Additionally, the unemployment rate fell to 4.2%, despite the relatively weak jobs numbers.
The Bad
The headline number of 210,000 jobs significantly missed analyst expectations. As MarketWatch reports, economists had predicted a gain of 573,000 new jobs. The retail sector lost jobs, while the leisure and hospitality sector, which has led job growth in recent reports, showed a gain of only 23,000. Despite the strong growth in 2021, the economy still remains 4 million jobs short of pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, rising wages still point to a labor shortage, as wages in labor and hospitality soared 11.8% over the past year.
The Unknown
What makes November’s jobs report so confusing is the survey data used to come up with the 210,000 number. The Labor Department relies on two separate surveys to make those estimates, one of employers and another polling households. In November, employers reported 210,000 new jobs, but households reported that 1.1 million more people were working than the month before. Experts quoted in the New York Times say a gap that large is unprecedented, and it provides a much cloudier picture about the health of the economy.
Supporting Service Members with Career Counseling for a Major Retail Chain
A major multinational retail chain partnered with PeopleScout to support its counseling program for transitioning members of the military, veterans, military spouses, and National Guard and Reserves who are looking to take the next step in their career.
Dedicated career coaches for all program participants
Customizable career paths for participants
Virtual intake meetings and ongoing calls
Situation
This retailer has partnered with PeopleScout since 2013 to support its veteran hiring initiatives. In 2013 when the program launched, veteran unemployment was higher than civilian unemployment. PeopleScout supported the client with direct placement, helping veterans honorably discharged on or after Memorial Day 2013 to find jobs at the retailer. The spouse component was added in 2018.
In 2019, while the veteran unemployment rate had dropped to just under 3%, the retailer was aware of the challenges that military service members were still facing when transitioning to civilian employment. The client wanted to reinvent the program to put an emphasis on career coaching and counseling for all service members to help them apply their leadership skills and teamwork experience to new careers.
Solution
The new program, which officially launched in May 2021, broadens the umbrella of the program to include veterans of any era and actively serving members of all branches of the military, military spouses, and National Guard and Reserves as well. It connects program participants to a plethora of resources from various organizations that have been vetted by the client.
When a new member registers for the program, PeopleScout assigns them a coach who helps facilitate the transition into civilian work. The PeopleScout coach schedules a virtual coaching session with the participant to perform an initial intake. This intake assesses skills, helps identify goals and determines the time commitment they can make to the program.
From there, participants confirm three paths: employment, education, or entrepreneurship.
EMPLOYMENT
PeopleScout career counselors help participants assess their strengths, build their resume and translate their military experience in a way that it applies to the civilian workplace. They also help service members and spouses find opportunities that match their career goals—whether that means employment with the retail client or another organization.
EDUCATION
PeopleScout coaches help participants get the educational foundation they need to reach their overall career goals.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
PeopleScout helps connect participants with the right resources to start their own businesses.
This emphasis on career counseling allows the participant to drive the program at their own pace and use their coach as much or as little as they like. Service members and spouses can take what they want from the program as they build their future.
Results
3,500+ registrants since program launch
At a Glance
COMPANY Multinational retailer
INDUSTRY Retail
PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Talent Advisory
ABOUT THE RETAILER This U.S.-based retailer operates in 24 countries with 2.3 million employees. The organization has a rich history of supporting and hiring veterans and their spouses.
While marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, states continue to legalize the substance for both medical and recreational uses. Medical use is legal in 36 states, while 18 states now have legalized recreational cannabis. Now, some states and local governments have passed laws implementing restrictions or limitations on drug testing for marijuana.
Those jurisdictions include:
Boulder, Colorado
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
San Francisco, California
Rhode Island
Vermont
Employers that operate in any of these areas should consult with an attorney about the specifics of each local requirement. For example, in New York, the law prohibits employment discrimination against people who lawfully use recreational marijuana off duty, and in New Jersey, employers cannot take adverse employment actions based “solely” on a positive marijuana test. Depending on the specific jurisdiction, there may be financial penalties for failing to comply.
Additionally, you may trigger other employment when evaluating workplace marijuana issues, such as discrimination and disability accommodation laws.
However, as marijuana remains illegal federally, state laws generally contain exceptions for employers regulated by federal law. There are also generally protections for “safety-sensitive” jobs like truck drivers or forklift operators. On-the-job use or possession of marijuana is not allowed in any jurisdiction, nor is impairment or working under the influence of marijuana.
Because of the growing popularity of these laws and a tight labor market, many employers have stopped testing for marijuana, according to Bloomberg Law. In one high profile case, Amazon announced that the company would stop testing workers for marijuana, citing the complex patchwork of state and local laws. Business Insider also reports that company officials have also tied the decision to the labor shortage, with Amazon senior VP of human resources Beth Galetti saying, “Eliminating pre-employment testing for cannabis allows us to expand our applicant pool.”
The U.S. economy gained a strong 531,000 jobs in October, beating analyst expectations. The leisure and hospitality sector led with 164,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6%. Year-over-year wage growth remained high at 4.9%.
The Numbers
531,000: The U.S. economy added 531,000 jobs in October.
4.6%: The unemployment rate fell to 4.6%.
4.9%: Wages grew 4.9% over the past year.
The Good
October’s jobs report is full of good news. The 531,000 jobs added to the economy – the largest increase since July–beat analyst expectations, and the gains were spread across a wide variety of sectors. The government was the only sector that saw a decrease in jobs. The New York Times noted that with this report, the economy shows signs of normalizing.
The unemployment rate also fell to 4.6%, something that analysts hadn’t predicted would happen until the end of 2021. Other data shows that anxiety over the pandemic and the surge of the Delta variant has been decreasing. The percentage of people working from home because of COVID-19 fell to 11.6% during the month of October, the lowest number since the start of the pandemic.
The Bad
The one disappointing number in October’s report is that the overall labor participation rate remained flat, which means the strong job growth was not enough to bring sidelined workers back into the job market. On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal reports that 180,000 women did enter the workforce in October. Women were more severely impacted by the pandemic, and October’s increase represents modest progress—even though it was not enough to move the overall number.
The Unknown
Economists are watching to see what will bring more workers back into the job market. As MarketWatch reports, the labor participation rate is near its lowest level since the early 1970s. Business have been raising wages to try to attract more workers, and October’s 4.9% year-over-year wage growth represents the highest growth since tracking started in 2006.
Experts had also hoped the end of unemployment benefits in September and the start of the 2021-2022 school year would bring more workers back, but so far progress has been slow.
