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

Richard Finnegan — Tue, 04 May 2021 13:47:26 +0000

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.

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Can Washington Legislation Make Turnover Even Worse?

Richard Finnegan — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 17:08:58 +0000

I can’t think of a time when decisions made in Washington have so much impact on whether your employees stay or leave. Three areas of legislation come to mind that will likely make employee turnover even worse than it is today. And savvy executives better take actions now to retain their best workers and withstand this shock.

Chase Bank is running a commercial touting the hiring of 3,000 workers to staff 4,000 new branches, all based on the funding they’ve received from the recently-pass tax law. At first several companies announced one-time bonuses for employees, usually $1,000 each, which generate short-term smiles but don’t build more dollars into employees’ base pay. But this Chase-led trend of organizations funding additional jobs with new lower-tax money will likely whittle down our national unemployment rate from its current limbo-low level of 4.1%.

Meanwhile, those in power say their next major legislative move is to fund nationwide infrastructure fixes. Over the past few years, talk has included raising anywhere from $200 billion to one trillion dollars to then hire private contractors to fix dilapidated roads, bridges, and airports. Republicans control Washington and can likely muster the votes to put our cranes to work. And with those cranes come thousands of new jobs that offer some of your employees a big bump in pay…and more whittling of our already-low 4.1 % unemployment rate.

Third would be the continuing complexities of immigration policies, whether regarding the DACA dreamers or illegal immigrants who hold steady jobs but find themselves suddenly in handcuffs. Policies, practices, and the overall philosophy of who can live and work in our country is now a moving target, with a likely result that our number of workers will go down versus up.

For sure, those in Washington who have a vote must be pleased that our economy is strong and jobs are being added. One wonders, though, if they realize that the number of jobs increasing while the number of workers potentially decreasing could spell trouble, as productivity only happens when companies have enough qualified workers to work.

For employees, executives might finally raise pay to stop employee turnover. But like those one-time bonuses, pay bumps bring short-term smiles. Smart companies are instead proactively learning what each employee needs to stay and thrive, because Stay Interviews have taught us that each employee has a to-stay-here story, a set of unique needs that are disconnected from pay, and that must be solved during the course of the manager-employee relationship. Your employees might want specialized training, consideration for other jobs, or appointment to an important committee…or something as simple as a commitment they can pick up their kid at daycare each day without bearing a late-fee fine.

Helping organizations cut turnover and implement Stay Interviews fits squarely into our mission. The percentage of employees who voluntarily quit their jobs has already reached its all-time high. Please let us know if we can help you win your employee retention challenge.

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Legislation Employement Issues Archives - C-Suite Analytics

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

Can Washington Legislation Make Turnover Even Worse?