Wherever we look — at every nook and cranny we see one Shortage of workers. And here I am deliberately not just talking about the shortage of skilled workers in the sense of academically trained specialists. There is also a lack of workers who have completed vocational training or have been trained for specific tasks. Using personnel resources intelligently is the topic of the hour.
Almost all industrial and economic sectors as well as the public sector are affected by the labor shortage. But what to do in an emergency? In my experience, blind activism is not a solution. But there are various strategic approaches to approaching a solution. Even though the following suggestions and ideas sound as if they were classic HR tasks, they are in fact strategy topics that should suit your company. You are therefore welcome to arrange a strategy meeting in which we will discuss these and possible other approaches.
In almost every business organization, it is possible to make intelligent use of personnel resources and, for example, to distribute responsibilities of managers differently in order to use qualified personnel intelligently and create synergies. Here is an example:
At a service company, the head of HR dropped out at short notice; his predecessor now worked as head of business development. So why not bring the predecessor back into the HR department and design her new area of responsibility in such a way that both functions would be covered? In this way, the HR department could be divided into an administrative part and a pro-active part for training, workshops and continuing education. At the same time, department management could be integrated into strategic corporate planning, for example to develop and introduce innovative business models.
Many of my mandates have made me aware of the importance of consistent Recruiting and promoting young talent is. No company can afford to lose talent anymore. This is not a rejection of “a breath of fresh air from outside”; it is also justified.
Promoting young talent means two things: Identifying potential talents in the company at an early stage and at the same time having criteria as to which competencies these talents should acquire in order to take on more responsibility in the company or even be considered as a manager.
Part-time women and older employees are valuable resources that many companies still have too little attention to, at least according to my experience. In particular, women who work part-time can be encouraged to accept or at least increase a full-time position through attractive offers. And what about older employees? Many enjoy their work and would be interested in continuing to work at least part time or passing on their knowledge to young professionals.
What many companies do not consider enough is the risk of emigration and recruitment of personnel. I therefore recommend that my clients not only be in contact with managers, but also with all employees, in order to feel what the mood is like. In this way, they can actively counteract this if necessary. And just in case, it's worth having ideas in the drawer so you can react quickly. I would be happy to be your sparring partner here too.
The immigration of qualified workers is in full swing, even though there are major bureaucratic obstacles. Specialists from abroad have usually invested a lot, for example in educational qualifications that are recognized here or in language courses. It is becoming apparent that immigration from other EU countries is reaching its limits, as many European neighbors are also confronted with a shortage of skilled workers. Here, too, it makes sense to plan strategically and take the first steps early on.
As you can see, there are many strategic approaches to counteract labor shortages. But what suits your company? During a strategy meeting, we can remember possible options, define goals and then work out the appropriate approaches for your company and location in detail.
