How to Beat the Labour Shortage

Employees value flexibility above all else

One takeaway from “the Great Resignation” and its fallout is that providing a competitive (or even generous) salary and benefits isn’t enough for many employees. The pandemic created a seismic shift in many workers’ minds. For example, nearly 40% say they prioritize remote work, flexibility, and career advancement paths in their employment decisions over the pay package. In short, employees value flexibility.

To improve employee retention and attract new hires, organizations should consider investing in cultural changes and technology applications that support that flexibility. The obvious example is to provide remote work options that promote a better work-life balance. Other examples include fostering open communication across the organization, ensuring managers lead with empathy and support, and offering professional development and career training.

It’s critical to maximize the productivity of teams

With fewer skilled employees on staff, it’s vital to empower every individual with the tools they need to be productive. Unfortunately, older, legacy ERP applications often lack critical functionality, leading to many tasks being performed offline, manually, or in spreadsheets and other disconnected applications. But maximizing productivity not only benefits the employer. By minimizing busy work, employees can focus on strategic tasks that instill a sense of purpose, foster collaboration, and heighten engagement.

Modern, cloud-based ERP applications provide employees with quick access to real-time data that boosts productivity. Personalized dashboards, for example, help them prioritize tasks and monitor progress towards goals. Automated workflows eliminate the need for manual intervention in many routine, everyday tasks such as invoice approvals. And a mobile framework enables employees to do their best work anywhere, anytime.

Technology is the lever

Numerous factors contribute to the labour crisis, and trying to address each one can quickly overwhelm a business and its HR professionals. Instead, organizations can use technology to mitigate the impacts of understaffing. 

For example, technology can help your organization forecast labour needs to minimize disruptions. With instant access to accurate, up-to-date project and operational data, for example, managers can proactively spot trends and predict gaps. In addition, real-time visibility into the workforce and projects allows you to quickly reallocate existing resources based on priorities. 

In addition, as we outlined above, technology can also boost worker productivity by eliminating time-consuming manual tasks, which in turn, reduces labor demands. By connecting disparate applications, technology allows employees to pull real-time data and make smarter decisions faster. Modern ERP applications now incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) such as machine learning capabilities that further boost productivity by streamlining processes and improving accuracy.  

The labour shortage could be here to stay. Incorporating technology solutions like Acumatica can help your organization combat the challenges by empowering and engaging employees to do their best work every day. 

Learn much more about combatting the labour shortage and how Acumatica can help by downloading the eBook, Beat the Labor Shortage. Of course, you can always reach out to our team with your questions.