It is almost half past December, and I can already hear you asking, “Where has this year gone?”  This is a time to look back and see what we’ve accomplished and more importantly, start planning for the future.  There will be sales to forecast, budgets to prepare, and staffing needs to consider.  Ordinarily, these are routine matters, but unfortunately, these are not ordinary times.

All indications are that the economy is strong and will continue to be strong.  However, 2006 puts us another year closer to the retirement of the Baby Boomer Generation.  According to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers, The Manufacturing Institute, and DeLoitte Consulting, by 2010 there will be 10.3 million more jobs than people available to fill them.  These numbers certainly aren’t new—but the time when they begin to impact our industries is rapidly approaching.  Eighty percent of the respondents in the survey indicated that “they are experiencing a shortage of qualified workers.”  Now while the focus of this survey was manufacturing, the general consensus is that the shortage will transcend all industries and disciplines.

We are currently in a candidate-driven market, which we will define simply as a situation where there are more jobs available than there are people to fill them.  At the writing of this article, the national unemployment rate was 4.4%.  Some would consider that to be “full employment.”  As more and more companies are trying to upgrade or professionalize their staff with degreed individuals, one needs to consider the unemployment rate of people with four-year degrees, which is 2.2%.  Factor in technical, engineering, and health care-related degrees, and that number is even lower.

So how are you going to deal with these impending shortages as they begin to affect your company?  Below are some things to consider:

·       Identifying the “core” group of people who run your organization

·       Implementing an effective “succession plan” for those people

·       Creating a meaningful program that will effectively retain key employees

Where are you going to come up with the people to implement your plan?  I believe the old adage is—you either grow them or you buy them.  If you intend to grow them, the survey suggests that companies need to do the following:

·      Start investing a percentage of their total payroll into providing training opportunities for their employees

·      Develop partnerships with local schools and area community and technical colleges to ensure that students are properly prepared to enter what will be a high-tech, high-performance workforce

·      Make a concerted effort to become more aware of government workforce development programs

If you intend to buy them instead, from where will you get them?  You need access to the resources necessary to identify the quality of people your organization is going to require!  Remember our previous article, when we discussed recruiters who present an MPC (Most Placeable Candidate) or person of talent from within your own industry or even from a competitor?  When they call, listen to what they have to say about these people and what they can do for your company!  Take time to conduct a courtesy interview to see if this person could be a part of your succession plan!  All indications are that this problem is not going away, and it will take proactive action on your part to solve it.  Are you going to have the staff required to run your company for the long term?  The clock is ticking!

With the end of the year in sight, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you the happiest of holidays and our hopes for a prosperous 2007.  Be safe and enjoy the company of others.

And if you have any questions regarding this topic, don’t hesitate to contact me at mikez@firstsearch.com

(With the new year rapidly approaching, you’ve more than likely already set production goals for your department and your company.  In this issue, we touched upon “growing” your employees.  Take a look at your current team.  What kind of growing do your employees need to do in order for those goals to be met?  Does it include training?  Coaching?  In next month’s issue, we’ll talk about the different steps you may need to take with your employees to reach the goals you’ve set in 2007.)