8 ways employers can address chronic staffing shortages

Mia didn’t expect her nursing shift to stretch to 16 hours without a break. Yet there she stood, exhausted, an empty coffee cup in hand. With every bed filled, she rushed from one patient to another, handling everything from IVs to emergencies — duties she’d normally share with others. “I’m doing the work of two, sometimes three nurses. But we’re short-staffed.”

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Chaos hit the restaurant at breakfast. “Table five needs coffee! Six needs silverware!” shouted Jack, the only server who had shown up that morning. He darted between tables and watched in frustration as a customer tired of waiting for a check left without paying. Two fellow servers and a kitchen staffer called in sick that morning, and Jack knew the disaster would cut into his tips.

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Ted looked at his skeleton crew and knew he didn’t have enough skilled workers on hand. If they couldn’t finish the framing by nightfall, he wouldn’t be ready when the electrical and plumbing contractors showed up tomorrow — and if he wasn’t ready, they’d go on to another company’s job. A deadline loomed and the cost of delays grew by the hour, but he could only do so much with too few crew members.

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Staff shortages — unfilled vacancies and employees calling in sick — leave your remaining staff to shoulder an impossible workload. Employers find themselves forced to turn away customers, close early or cut back services. Customers, annoyed by long waits and poor service, leave, vowing never to return. When employers hope the staff-shortage problem magically goes away on its own, the faster overworked employees burn out and quit.

If staffing shortages have hit your business, you’ve learned band-aids don’t work, and throwing money at the problem only temporarily solves it. The eight strategic solutions below offer long-term benefit.

Recruit strategically. When hiring, select employees you can count on to stay. Use questions such as “If you were offered two positions, what would lead you to choose one over the other” and “Assuming you take this job, what could another employer offer to woo you away?” to gain a solid understanding of your applicant’s motivation.

Create bonds. Once you hire, bond your employees to your workplace by finding out what matters to them, whether it’s a flexible schedule or a mapped-out career path, and meeting their needs if possible. Encourage your managers to regularly check in with each employee to make sure they feel supported and valued. You’ll find a game plan for exactly how to do this in chapters 4 and 5 of Managing for Accountability.

Incentivize. Reward what you seek. Because consistent attendance matters, bonus employees who show up every day on time.

Offer reasons to stay. Invest in your employees growth by offering ongoing training, leadership coaching, stipends for classes and conferences, and clear advancement paths. Make them want to stay by providing more if they remain onboard than they can get by job-hopping.

Create a strong team culture. When employees have strong relationships with their coworkers, they often choose to remain with an employer. Develop those relationships by conducting team-building sessions and holding regular all-hands meetings.

Cross-train. Most employees appreciate the opportunity to learn new skills by cross-training with coworkers. As an employer, cross-training employees arms you with the flexibility you need to move already-trained employees into unexpected vacancies.

Get real. If you’re chronically or periodically short-staffed, you need to face it. You lack enough trained employees to do everything you’d like. Prioritize the work you’ll ask your employees to handle, so you won’t burn them out.

Tune in. Anonymously survey your employees to find out their level of engagement and what you can do to improve their work experience and desire to remain onboard. Ask questions about compensation and benefits, leadership, managers and work teams. Conduct individual interviews to learn why your best employees choose to remain with you. Continuously improve morale by promptly acting on what you learn.

Choose your favorite three of the above strategies and implement them before it’s too late.