Those of us who work in the industry struggle to find the right people for our call centers. I can’t tell you how many times exasperated HR professionals tell me they are having a difficult (or impossible) time filling their next new-hire training classes, and that they are beginning to hire out of desperation. Potential candidates are so scarce, they say, that they feel like they are applying “the mirror test” to applicants (you know the one, hold a mirror up to a candidates nose and if there is condensation, he or she is qualified).
The bad news is that finding the right people will not be getting easier in the foreseeable future. We are entering an even greater talent and labor crisis. Let’s look at the causative factors.
Economy: The recent “down” economy encourages people to stay in their jobs for fear they will not be able to find other work. However, research indicates that when the job market improves, people are poised to leave. One researcher predicts that employee turnover will double as the economy recovers.
Job growth: As an economy recovers, the job market grows. Although layoffs continue in the U.S. job market, we are still adding millions of job each year.
Labor shortage: By 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a shortage of 10 million workers (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics 2003). The number of available workers in the U.S. diminished during the last 20 years, and the big baby boomer generation is about to retire. The projected availability of “replacement workers” is too small to fill the gap.
Talent shortage: Employee retention / turnover isn’t just about headcount. It’s about getting the right people in the right job—and retaining them. Talented people are most companies’ competitive advantage. In the future, the competition for talented workers will magnify the effects of the labor shortage; there won’t be enough talented workers to fill the right slots.
Our job as managers of talented labor is to develop strategies that lessen the impact of these factors on our organization. Researchers say these projections are all but inevitable. Consider yourself forewarned—now let’s get forearmed.
