Think It’s Hard to Find An Electrician Now? Just Wait.

We live in an old house so having an electrician on what was once called speed-dial is important. But getting an electrician to actually come to our home reminds me I’m glad I don’t have to actually hire one. When speaking at conferences I used to tell audiences they should encourage their kids and grandkids to become nurses. From now on I’ll say electricians instead.

Electricians come to mind due to the intersection of two trends, one economic and the other political. Last Wednesday President Biden touted his “American Jobs Plan”, saying his initiative would create 19 million new jobs, “good jobs, blue-collar jobs, jobs that pay well”. His saying so reminded me of this previous Wall Street Journal quote I wrote about in February regarding the now-passed-into-law stimulus program:

The $1.9 trillion proposal, even without the planned second round, would push the jobless rate as low as 3.2% in late 2021 and early 2022.

So if we accept the above prediction of 3.2% unemployment as being on target or close, we can assume that unemployment is headed toward record lows even before the “American Jobs Plan”. How low? Our pre-pandemic economy contained our longest growth spurt in history and unemployment’s low-water mark was 3.5%…versus the upcoming predicted 3.2%

And make no mistake that infrastructure will happen as Biden has signaled he will negotiate and Republicans have even proposed their own version of the bill. Rebuilding our infrastructure is just a matter of time, measured in months.

I wonder, though, if anyone in Washington is wondering where the needed workers will come from because I can’t find an electrician now.

But “The American Jobs Plan” is about more than electricians. It’s about 19 million Americans with various work histories getting new jobs. Some will work with their hands…think plumbers, concrete-makers, carpenters, mill workers…and others like engineers will work with their minds. As employers who are already stressed to find workers, The American Jobs Plan is a retention threat to us all. Even those of us in light manufacturing, call centers, or with service jobs will likely find our good workers will seek the rich jobs that are promised.

The actual plan is available online and details each initiative. Pretending to be someone who hires electricians, here are five headlines that gave me the shivers:

• Build, preserve, and retrofit more than two million homes and commercial buildings.
• Create good jobs electrifying vehicles.
• Rebuild clean drinking water infrastructure, a renewed electric grid, and high-speed broadband.
• Build a more resilient electric transmission.
• Spur jobs modernizing power generation and delivering clean electricity. 

The bottom line is we are fast running out of workers. Comparing our employment situation to just one year ago is certainly mind-blowing but it offers no solace. We cannot recruit ourselves out of this problem but must turn our attention to retention instead.

And the good news is we have crafted retention into a science…versus best practices, benchmarks, or surveys for exits, engagement, pay, benefits, or whatever else. I invite you to watch this 2-minute video to learn more: https://c-suiteanalytics.com/solutions/comprehensive-turnover-solution/

The common cord throughout this is American ingenuity. We stand by to help apply some of that ingenuity to help you retain the workers you need.

Dick Finnegan is SHRM’s top-selling author and top-rated webcast presenter. Please email your comments to DFinnegan@C-SuiteAnalytics.com.  Contact Dick to discuss how we can help you retain your valuable employees.  You are also welcome to forward this blog to anyone you believe would find it helpful.