Weathering the Storm: Human Capital

Recent data from the U.S. Government shows 45 million U.S. workers changed jobs or left the market in 2021. A highly experienced and knowledgeable segment of the workforce has completely left the market through early or planned retirements, leaving companies with an immediate skill and experience gap to fill. Higher salaries may have gone with the retirements, but any surplus can quickly be exhausted with new hiring and costly retention efforts.

More and more companies are sharing their difficulties in hiring. It’s not unusual today to see candidates with multiple offers at every level. This is putting tremendous pressures on the talent acquisition teams, and the standard ways of recruiting are not getting the jobs filled. Companies are finding that after undergoing their typical processes to find the right candidate for the role and offer them the job, the candidate either accepts a counteroffer from their current employer or accepts a higher paying role elsewhere.

With these now lasting changes, businesses need to quickly think about how to retain existing resources, find out why people are leaving, and to drastically change the way they market the firm to outside candidates in the existing climate.

Companies should assess existing leadership and management skill levels. Now is the time to concentrate on development for growth and advancement. Other important efforts may include designing and implementing innovative benefits and setting up a new total compensation strategy. Implementing effective talent and career planning processes is just table stakes now and may not be enough if there are other reasons for people leaving the firm.

For more information on how to weather the current human capital storm, contact Beckway’s HR practice co-leader, Mike Bugaj, at mbugaj@beckway.com.