There is a labor shortage across the country and in many industries. The labor shortage has always been a challenge that companies face from time to time. However, the COVID-19 pandemic distorted the labor market and caused significant shortages. Many sectors have unfilled job openings – there are more jobs than people to fill them.
A report published by the U.S Chamber of Commerce in August 2022 shows that there were 10 million job openings in the U.S. But only around 6 million unemployed workers. According to the report, if every unemployed person got a job, the country would still have up to 5 million open jobs.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic distorted the world economy, things have not come back to normal in many sectors. For instance, there are over 3 million fewer Americans involved in the labor force at present compared to February 2020.
A survey was conducted to understand why workers that lost their jobs during the pandemic are not returning to work. It was found that the need to stay home to care for family, lack of good jobs, concerns about COVID-19 at work, and focus on getting new skills are the major reasons.
The big question is, how do you overcome labor shortage? The solution is DIGITALIZATION. This article explains 5 ways you can use digital solutions to combat workforce shortages.
1. Process Automation
What do you do when there are not enough employees to take care of daily tasks? In such a case, smart business leaders think of process automation. Thanks to cutting-edge contemporary technologies that make automation possible and efficient.
Automation solutions enable you to get more done with fewer resources by streamlining workflows and getting rid of inefficiencies and unproductive tasks. They significantly improve productivity and reduce employee burnout. Automation does not only help you cancel the effect of workforce shortages, but they also make your staff happier – by making work easier.
For example, the best way to deal with staff shortages in your accounting department is to adopt accounting automation software. The tool helps you to capture and process financial records with minimal human intervention. Even though process automation requires investment, the potential ROI is worthwhile.
2. Recruitment Automation
With a recruitment app, you can make the recruitment process faster and more efficient. Just like internal process automation, good recruitment software takes care of repetitive tasks and streamlines the entire process for your HR department. For instance, instead of having to go through hundreds of resumes, the software tracks applications and classifies applicants based on their qualifications and experience.
All recruitment and hiring process data is available in a centralized database, making the application process simple and easy – potentially attracting high-value applicants who wouldn’t like to go through a tedious application process.
In a nutshell, a recruitment automation tool makes work easier for HR, enables you to spot the best talents easily, and simplifies the application process for applicants.
3. Speed Up Employee Onboarding
Training new employees can be labor-intensive and time-consuming. Finding a way to speed up the onboarding process is the way to go, especially in a time when talent is scarce. Going about it the traditional way takes more time. And your new employees are easier to get “poached” by another company when they are yet to be integrated fully into your workforce.
Speed up the process by implementing digital training solutions, enabling staff to access learning materials anytime, anywhere. This approach makes gaining new skills very easy for new employees. Incorporating analytics into the digital training tools can help your organization track participation and improvements, forecast labor needs and skill gaps, and assign responsibilities based on insights.
4. Leverage Big Data for Proper Decision Making
You can also leverage big data to downsize the number of employees required for data collation. Businesses across the globe rely on insights for decision-making. Instead of embarking on research or conducting several surveys (which requires more hands), you can stay ahead of the curve with big data.
Big data is a large, complex dataset that traditional data processing solutions cannot handle. Big data digital solutions help organizations to uncover valuable insights to make better, evidence-based decisions. For example, you can rely on big data solutions to understand customer behavior and learn how to break into a new market.
5. Monitor Your Facilities With IoT
Are you finding it difficult to monitor your facilities due to workforce shortage? IoT technologies are here to help! If you have a small team of employees, managing things like a manufacturing warehouse can be a challenge. But IoT solutions can monitor facility conditions, like temperature, humidity, indoor air quality (IAQ), etc.
Wrapping Up
With the right implementation of digital solutions, you can easily beat the labor shortage and improve your bottom line significantly. Another big question is, how do you implement Digitization? The best approach to adopting new technologies is to outsource the development to a reputable company, like OpenSource Technologies.
OpenSource Technologies is a leading software development company with over 11 years of experience. We offer web and mobile app development services to businesses globally. We provide cost-effective and innovative tech solutions to our clients. Contact us to learn more about our services and how we can help move your organization forward.
