ShipRight
Drew Graham, ShipRight
Updated: November 10, 2022
How small businesses can address the labor shortage realistically
By Drew Graham, ShipRight
Mainebiz recently conducted a reader poll asking, “What’s the biggest challenge with the labor shortage?" Among the four answer choices of (1) wage pressure, (2) finding qualified workers, (3) lack of workforce housing, and (4) retaining good employees, the overwhelming number of votes went to No. 2; finding qualified workers.
As any small business owner knows, all the above issues actively contribute to the ongoing labor shortage, as well as others not listed, including a new examination of lifestyle and career choices. I learned long ago it’s not good enough to just list problems without offering solutions, so here are some short and long-term ideas being tried around the country to help alleviate the situation.
The most frequently touted recommendations are all excellent but at the same time not necessarily realistic for many small Maine businesses to implement within existing budget constraints:
- Improve overall pay
- Increase benefits
- Offer greater flexibility
- Provide access to daycare
- Embrace diversity
- Create a meaningful culture and mission
While companies can choose to adapt or work towards the above, they can also take a hard look at inefficiencies and turn to software technology to handle time-intensive administrative tasks, or automate inventory management and outsource where possible.
One no-cost improvement might be to look closely at your management style. If employees are kept at arm’s length and in the dark about key management decisions, it might be worth involving them more closely to show how their work directly impacts the overall company’s success. Open communication and transparency foster a culture of shared ownership in outcomes, which is a great way to improve performance, build morale and retain employees.
Many Maine businesses, especially smaller manufacturing companies, are finding it impossible to expand with the lack of labor and current capacity restraints on warehouse space which is at a premium or simply unavailable. One way around this dilemma is to outsource certain job roles to companies specifically staffed to handle inventory management, product shipping, and even customer service functions on their behalf. This type of third-party logistics help can free up space formerly taken up by inventory and packaging, allowing companies to expand their internal production and focus instead on marketing and strategic growth.
Driven by both the labor shortage and efficiency, the news is also full of companies trying to break into the autonomous world of drone deliveries, robots, self-driving vehicles, and advanced software to reduce (but not eliminate) the need for human labor in almost every industry. While this can feel threatening, the reality is it will likely provide more interesting and engaging career opportunities for people, while repetitive, drudge work becomes increasingly automated and efficient. For now, issues like security, portability, practicality, and privacy are all a work in progress.
Artificial Intelligence could of course take this to another level but as we see AI advance, the temptation to apply it to geopolitical and societal problems increases. As we all know from both reality and popular science fiction, technology often creates larger problems in the process of solving smaller ones, and nobody wants to experience the inevitable consequences of establishing Skynet!
One thing is for sure, every Maine business has to be looking at least five years ahead as labor challenges continue to evolve and the issues we’re all facing today aren’t going away anytime soon.
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