October 28, 2021

The American workforce is experiencing a labor shortage unlike anything we have seen since 1945, when workers across the country rebelled against the intense factory jobs that came from wartime efforts. Today, there are more than 8.4 million Americans out of work who are actively seeking employment—a number that falls short of the nearly 10 million open positions nationwide. 

The shortage of workers has many factors. Millions of Americans were laid off when the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation, forcing many employers to cut back on expenses and minimize their employment rosters. As the country reopens, there remains a shortage of workers as many Americans are not returning to the same positions as prior to the pandemic or, in some cases, not returning to work at all. 

This mismatch of supply and demand in the American workforce puts employers and companies in a particularly vulnerable situation: prospective employees are in high demand and, as such, able to increase their expectations of the future employer and workplace culture. The pandemic, among other factors, has bolstered job-seekers ability to look for a perfect fit in their next position. For hourly workers, there’s a demand for increased pay and less grueling hours. In salaried positions, work-from-home flexibility is topping the charts as a new must-have. 

All of these factors lead to one conclusion: employers and workplaces need to be stronger than ever to attract and retain their workforce. The best and easiest way to continue operations is to retain the talent already employed in a company, which means the workplace culture needs to be at its prime. Understanding why your employees like their jobs and what they like about them is essential. 

Clearly defining a workplace culture can feel like a lofty goal, but our experts at RiskVersity can help. The first step is to better understand your existing workplace culture. Our experts can identify areas of weakness in your culture by looking at the red flags that emerge in places with poor cultures: employee absenteeism, when employees take a lot of time off that isn’t due to illness, and lack of employee engagement, when employees show up to simply do their job and don’t reflect ideal engagement with and belief in the company at-large.

Then, we help employers assess their current workplace culture by comparing it to their ideal workplace culture. Why are employees taking more time off than usual? Where are we seeing a lack in engagement? What, as the employer, would you prefer to see in your employees regarding engagement? Identifying the gaps between the two cultures—the present and the future--creates the pathway to developing a sustainable, attractive place to work. A healthy work environment will encourage existing employees to stay and also serve as a differentiator among competitors. 

At RiskVersity, we analyze your company’s risk in a multitude of ways, and one area of risk is always within the people you employ. Creating a working environment that cannot retain or attract a reliable workforce puts your operations, productivity, and bottom line at risk. The best method of solving this challenge is to put proactive measures in place, starting with and highlighting an exceptional workplace where employees feel valued and committed to the company and its goals.

Our experts can get you there. All you have to do is take the first step and contact us today.