Many people dream of becoming entrepreneurs, and often the biggest...
Letting technology do the heavy lifting for certain monotonous tasks...
Working capital: The difference between your current assets...
Expanding your team and capabilities is critical to...
July 8, 2021
An April 2021 report by The Conference Board, based on an online survey, shows that businesses across the U.S. are having immense difficulty in finding qualified hires. The crunch is especially pronounced for organizations that employ mostly industry and manual service workers. Some 230 HR executives from U.S. businesses, many of them employed at large corporations, weighed in on the pandemic’s effect on the workforce and workplace in the survey. The latest survey is a follow-up to similar ones conducted by The Conference Board in April and September 2020.
Attracting qualified workers is a growing challenge: The report finds 80% of businesses with a majority blue-collar workforce are experiencing difficulty in finding qualified candidates, with 25% describing the experience as “very difficult.” Pre-pandemic, only 4% of respondents reported difficulty hiring. Additionally, 60% of companies hiring white-collar employees cited recruiting as a pressing problem.
Retaining staff has become more arduous: Retention is also a predicament for a growing share of businesses. In the survey, 49% of organizations employing non-desk workers and 28% of employers of professional and office workers reported challenges with retaining employees.
Accelerating wage growth: The hiring crunch bodes well for workers. With companies vying to attract and retain talent, some employers are eyeing wage hikes and offering more employment incentives.
Remote work to stay the course: Nearly 40% of the HR leaders who responded to the survey expect a significant number of their employees — 40% or more — to continue working remotely even after the pandemic is contained. This figure has more than doubled since the April 2020 survey, when only 19% percent of respondents anticipated remote work to remain.
Productivity-well-being tradeoff: Almost 60% of companies reported increased levels of productivity over the past year. However, higher productivity may have come at the expense of employees’ well-being. More than 70% of survey respondents reported a surge in employee burnout and a jump in the number of employees seeking mental health support.
The hybrid model to gain steam: More than 70% of surveyed organizations plan to reopen by October. Correspondingly, over 40% of respondents anticipate their organization to sponsor a hybrid workforce to tackle what some analysts predict will be a mass employee turnover and exacerbated hiring crunch.
Amid the reopening economy, as more businesses aim to boost output to meet pent-up demand, companies across the U.S. economy are likely to encounter significant disruptions in the wake of COVID-19. The survey highlights these key business challenges in coming months:
Our team is made up of seasoned professionals who bring years of industry experience to the table. You gain a trusted advisor who understands your business inside out.
Say goodbye to the hassles of hiring, training and managing in-house finance teams. You will never have to worry about unexpected leave of absence or retraining new employees.
Whether you’re a small business or a global powerhouse, our solutions scale with your needs. We eliminate inefficiencies, reduce costs and help you focus on growing your business.
Working capital: The difference between your current assets and your current liabilities. It’s a key barometer of financial health. While...
Expanding your team and capabilities is critical to sustaining growth—but the question often arises: Should you build an in-house department...
A Chief Financial Officer (CFO) isn’t just a numbers person anymore. Modern CFOs play a pivotal role in shaping strategy,...
Once your annual revenue surpasses $10 million, you attract more attention from regulators, partners, and customers, especially regarding data privacy....
Hiring is one of the most pivotal processes in any organization, particularly for a medium-sized business looking to scale. Yet...
At Escalon, we are committed to keeping our clients informed about the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities across the industries...
Growth in headcount brings exciting opportunities for a business, but it also poses a key challenge: How do you maintain...
Rapid expansion and remote work trends have empowered medium-sized businesses to hire talent nationwide. Yet with multi-state operations come multi-layered...
Growth often hinges on capable leadership at every level. Yet many medium-sized businesses focus on filling immediate management vacancies rather...