Economic Pulse 2022 Key Takeaways: Workforce Issues and Hiring Challenges in the Post-COVID-19 Era

Economic Pulse 2022 Key Takeaways: Workforce Issues and Hiring Challenges in the Post-COVID-19 Era

Economic PulseWebinar
Economic Pulse 2022 Key Takeaways: Workforce Issues and Hiring Challenges in the Post-COVID-19 Era

Economic Pulse 2022 Key Takeaways: Workforce Issues and Hiring Challenges in the Post-COVID-19 Era

With COVID-19, the last few years have brought businesses unique and unpredictable circumstances, especially when it comes to staffing. "The Great Resignation" that has been heard about and felt across industries may seem like an elusive problem to solve, but data from UKG Software shows that demographic shifts, not just the pandemic, are driving vacancies. As businesses prepare for the next normal, what are key strategies that will help move industry forward toward economic growth and recovery?

The Aurora Regional Chamber of Commerce’s virtual Economic Pulse webinar, sponsored by Bloomhaven, Bardwell Residences, Weston Bridges, NuMark Credit Union and Waubonsee Community College at the gold level and Invest Aurora, Dr. Bill Marzano and SERVPRO of Aurora at the silver level, answered this question and more as it focused on the continued challenges of workforce issues affecting the local and world economy.

Key Takeaways
Below are some of the highlights and innovative strategies discussed during the 2022 Economic Pulse event.

Keynote speaker, David Gilbertson, Vice President of the human capital software company, UKG, explained the statistics and driving forces behind shortages in labor participation. Although 6.65 million jobs were lost in March of 2020 alone, now labor participation is close to where it was a few years ago. However, data still suggests businesses should be concerned for the long-term, and David offered strategies to address this.

Why is it Hard to Hire These Days?

  1. Myth #1: People are quitting all over the place. In reality, people leaving the workforce is a long-term trend that's been playing out over the last decade. Though 47 million quit their jobs last year, these job losses are due to demographics, not just the pandemic.
  2. Myth #2: Nobody wants to work anymore. In reality, labor participation is back to where it was a few years ago before the pandemic. This suggests a major demographic issue rather than lack of employee willingness.
  3. Myth #3: Only older people are retiring. In reality, the population of workers ages 55 and older declined in labor participation after 20 years of increases, and women ages 35-54 and men ages 35-44 leaving the workforce had the biggest impact on job creation.
 
What Can Businesses Do From a Hiring Standpoint?
To Reduce Employee Attrition:
Reducing high turnover rate means focusing on thoughtful hiring strategies and retaining current employees.
  • Double down on manager training: Managers should focus on work-life blending options for employees, providing decision rights to their workers, and encouraging the younger generation's values.
  • Be thoughtful about schedule flexibility and shift swapping: Providing work-life blending for employees means giving options that address the employee as a whole person.
  • Get creative about benefits: Benefits used to be about a 401k, healthcare, and vacation time, but now it's more complicated. Tuition reimbursement and earned wage access are examples of creative strategies to retain employees.
What Does this Mean Regionally?
Economic Pulse also featured roundtable Q&A moderated by Dr. Jamal Scott, Vice President of Strategy and Community Development at Waubonsee Community College. Panelists included John Bradarich of the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC), Bryan Gay of Invest Aurora, and Jonathan McGee of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). Like David Gilbertson, they suggest strategic innovation to increase employee retention.

What Businesses Can Do to Increase Regional Employee Retention:
  1. Create an inclusive, supportive workplace culture: People leave managers, not companies. Training managers to create a good working environment is essential. Offer your employees more than a job; offer them a career.
  2. Create apprenticeships to speed credentialing: Apprenticeships are not just for manufacturing. They are industry wide and can include insurance, retail, hospitality, and healthcare. Training like the Industrial Manufacturing Technology Program provided 92% retention rate of employees.
  3. Think strategically about the long-term: While thinking short-term is sometimes needed, focusing on long-term goals like training will cost your company less in the long run. Manufacturing is here to stay in the Aurora Region, and it is essential for companies to address the workforce shortages over the coming years. The city of Aurora had 17 new projects last year, or an equivalent of close to 200 million in investment, and a creation of 1,000 new jobs. The local workforce may not be trained to meet the needs of manufacturers, but resources and partners like IMEC and the DCEO can help organizations find solutions in order to meet labor demands
Businesses are not in this alone!
You may reach out to the panelists with further questions regarding available resources or strategies for apprenticeship programs. Regional resources, both public and private, exist to aid businesses in growth. The state of Illinois is providing tax benefits like the Edge Tax Credit to help businesses offset training costs. Grants also exist to help companies provide training to the younger generation as baby boomers leave the workforce.

Download the Economic Pulse Webinar
To download the 2022 Economic Pulse webinar, please visit the Chamber store.