After waiting in the drive-through lane for around 15 minutes, we ordered our lunch and again waited in line. When we finally made it to the window, I noticed something stunning: the manager of the restaurant was taking orders, filling those orders, passing the orders through the window, and also taking care of the kitchen. That’s one managerial position, with possibly a cook hidden where we could not see, handling what nine or ten employees (or more!) would cover during a typical weekend lunch rush at a popular fast-food spot.

Similar staffing shortages are happening all across industries and sectors, some facing severe coverage crisis issues that threaten to undermine revenue, customer satisfaction, and how internal operations are run. The gaps in today’s workforce are caused by a combination of several factors, including compensation standoffs, a refusal from workers to return to unsafe conditions, uncertainty about career paths, etc. The end of federally-augmented unemployment benefits have frequently been blamed for staff shortages, however, this is only one sliver of many issues that are happening right now in the world of work. The hard truth is that there is no single solution for global shortages, and, considering the complexities of specific verticals, there may be several ways that things ultimately take a better turn in the remaining months of 2021.

And to add to these challenges, there are cascading effects from certain industries that impact others: if daycare facilities have to turn away new registrations (or cut back on existing numbers of children) due to shortages in staff, then that makes it incredibly difficult for large pockets of workers to find roles in traditionally-9-to-5 businesses. Too, many restaurants, retail shops, and similar businesses in accommodations and food service find that the combination of lack of childcare and standoffs regarding wages and working conditions are leading to millions of unfilled jobs.

The pandemic’s continued case impact is also a factor, as well: hospitals and healthcare facilities are certainly strained by overfilled ICUs, but employee burnout has been a major contributor to shortages within those industries. Eighteen straight months of critical care pressure, 60- and 70-hour workweeks, and concerns over falling ill have driven healthcare staff to the brink of complete burnout. Veterinary medicine facilities may not have to deal with human COVID patients, however, the rise in pet adoption in conjunction with severe staff shortages of specially-trained technicians and other roles are leading these units to defer emergency care during overnight hours and asking veteran and trained staff to perform multiple tasks (as well as putting in the same ridiculous hours that nurses are currently supporting in human medicine).

So, when does the deadlock break? When do businesses get back to a steady state of employment? When do these staff shortages end? Well, there is no easy answer, as there are myriad issues that must be addressed, such as:

• Worker safety and health concerns. “Hot Vax Summer” turned into a “Delta Variant Summer” pretty quickly and will continue into the fall months, considering that kids are back in school, many states and countries are relaxing guidelines, and one-in-four Americans still haven’t received a single vaccine dose. Workers are hesitant to return to conditions that endanger their health; in addition, public-facing employees do not want to contend with customers that flout mask mandates and put others at risk. This is a perfect public health storm that cascades into the business realm…and if this issue isn’t addressed, these jobs are going to stay open.
• Pay disparities. Much like the real estate market traverses between the power of the “seller” versus the power of the “buyer,” employers and workers are in a standoff over wage disparities. Much to the chagrin of businesses, it’s a job candidate’s market at the moment, which many hourly workers fighting for higher living wages and better working conditions. This is essentially what is happening in retail, food service, and similar sectors that survive on the hourly, shift-based workforce. Who “blinks” here? When does one side cave to the other? Well, it’s more than just increasing hourly pay, because workers desire other, non-compensatory benefits, such as…
• The flexibility factor. Many industries were thrust into remote and virtual work environments out of necessity and haven’t looked back. Others are beginning to implement rigid workplace structures that are reminiscent of pre-pandemic times and workers want nothing of the sort. Working parents desire flexibility to handle childcare issues and school after-care, while other workers want to be able to mix in remote days with in-office/in-person days. These are items that are just as, if not more, important than wage issues.
• The childcare domino effect. If daycare facilities are facing staff shortages and shrink their headcount, that means significant numbers of working parents have to choose between a job and a stay-at-home mom/dad position. The childcare domino effect is a very, very critical piece of the staff shortages occurring today. Pumping more federal dollars into this sector could be helpful (which is why the Biden Administration is allocating so much of its American Families Plan to shoring up these issues), but there is always a fundamental challenge for countless other industries if childcare staffing continues its incredible shortage.
• Evolving candidate career paths. The pandemic caused many, many professionals to reevaluate their positions and question their career choices. Millions of workers realized that engagement was a key piece of their careers and will accept nothing less in future positions. Those that are still straddling the sidelines and searching for new opportunities are looking at workplace culture, leadership opportunities, reskilling and upskilling opportunities, and flexibility as equally as important as compensation for open positions. It’s not just a one-size-fits-all game anymore for the labor market; higher wages aren’t going to cut it for talent that wants so much more of their next role.

Much like “The Great Resignation” is still a recurring theme in the world of work, “The Great Staff Shortage” is going to continue making headlines over the next several months. Whether or not there is a true breaking point will be the difference in a 2022 that sees both businesses and its workers on steady ground and engaged with each other, or, a continuation of the continued workforce challenges of the past nine months.

The post When Does “The Great Staff Shortage” End? appeared first on The Future of Work Exchange.

With 47% of the average company’s total workforce now comprised of “contingent” or “non-employee” workers, Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research has discovered that the power of the Gig Economy has traversed beyond a specific set of verticals and industries. Sectors such as light industrial, health care, and the realm of blue-collar and hourly work have all realized the inherent value of an agile workforce that was essentially designed to help in an era when dynamic workplace structures are what separates businesses from the competition.

One of the challenges faced by these sectors in the past was the sheer complexity of talent acquisition prowess required to effectively engage talent based on variable demand and the unique inner-workings of shift-based and hourly work.

Enter Bluecrew.

Why They Were Selected:

Bluecrew’s unique value proposition, which centers around a “Gig Economy meets traditional contingent labor” approach, allows the company to enable a truly “elastic workforce” within its client base by tapping into Bluecrew’s liquid base of vetted workers. Augmented with industry-leading candidate matching technology that is driven by machine learning, Bluecrew provides its clients with a fully-automated administrative portal that balances both talent acquisition and workforce management.

In a business world that now runs on flexibility, the Bluecrew marketplace and workforce management platform are solutions that are actively helping enterprises tap into on-demand talent and develop true workforce agility.

In Their Own Words:

Founded in 2015, acquired by InterActive Corp (IAC) in 2018, and recognized by Fast Company in 2020 as one of the most innovative workplace companies, Bluecrew is disrupting traditional hourly staffing (a $130 billion addressable market, almost exclusively offline) by pioneering “Gig 2.0”. 

Hourly workers – we call them Crew Members – are Bluecrew’s lifeblood. We employ thousands of W-2 workers who are dependable, looking for flexibility, and ready to accept short- or long-term jobs, which they are intelligently matched with by our Elastic Hourly Workforce (EHW) platform. Bluecrew’s EHW combines multiple products and services into an end-to-end, intuitive solution for Crew Members to manage their work lives, and for our workplace customers to manage their hourly workforce.

Our workplace customers are challenged with variable demand; longer term, more predictable variability such as seasonal and cyclical, and less predictable, shorter-term variability like absenteeism and large, unexpected customer orders. This variability in demand creates complex challenges to effectively and efficiently manage hourly labor which until Bluecrew, has been left unsolved.

The Outlook:

Sectors such as light industrial, retail, hospitality, and other hourly-based industries are anticipated to experience upwards of 35%-to-40% growth in the utilization of non-employee labor over the next few years, reinforcing the need for both on-demand access to vertical-specific talent marketplaces (and other on-demand channels of skillsets) and end-to-end workforce management. This expected growth will result in more headaches for hiring managers that are seeking to fill roles quickly, efficiently, and with data-driven approaches at the helm to result in the best-aligned fit between workers and open jobs.

Bluecrew’s innovative “elastic workforce” approach to the hourly workforce market positions the solution to thrive in evolving times, especially considering the expansion of workforce agility into industries that are expecting to increase their utilization of non-employee talent in the months and years ahead. As these sectors continue to realize the hard-line benefits of the extended workforce, it will be platforms such as Bluecrew that will help fuel the ultimate optimization of how work is done.

The post Key Providers for 2021: Bluecrew appeared first on The Future of Work Exchange.