From an employer perspective, the labor market may appear to be in poor shape as many fear the U.S. is nearing, or is already in, a recession, says Matthew Weldon, director of the R.I. Department of Labor and Training.
But according to some data, the hiring difficulties many companies are experiencing have a bright side, he notes: last year, more Rhode Islanders were in the workforce than ever recorded, and the state’s December unemployment rate of 3.5% was down year over year.
That’s not to discount the troubles caused by a tight labor market.
At Lifespan Corp., “we’re feeling the crunch,” said Bill Schmiedeknecht, interim senior vice president of human resources and chief human resources officer of the health system. “And on top of that, the burnout that’s happening with our clinical partners has been really challenging.”
Weldon and Schmiedeknecht spoke alongside other business leaders on a panel at the Providence Business News 2023 Workforce Development Summit, held Feb. 16 at the Providence Marriott Downtown.
At the two-hour summit, panelists discussed how employers can overcome issues such as the hiring difficulties seen at Lifespan, as well as what to expect and how to prepare for a potential recession.
While Lifespan continues to struggle with staffing needs, the health system has moved beyond the worst of pandemic-induced workforce shortages: as the state’s largest private employer, Lifespan has around 1,700 vacancies, compared with a high of 2,400 openings last year. In the same year, Lifespan hired around 500 nurses and lost 600.
Just before the pandemic, the number of job openings sat at around 800.
Now, Lifespan hires around 100 new employees per month, though that still isn’t enough to keep up with staffing demands.
“We’re holding our own,” Schmiedeknecht said. “We’re losing about as many as we’re hiring.”
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ATTENTION-GETTING: Providence Business News Editor Michael Mello, standing at far right, moderates the panel discussion at PBN’s 2023 Workforce Development Summit. The event took place at the Providence Marriott Downtown on Feb. 16.
PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI[/caption]
Worker shortages have impacted nearly every industry over the past few years, although the difficulty finding qualified employees has been particularly severe in two of the state’s more significant economic sectors, health care and manufacturing.
But it’s vital that employers keep pushing to find new ways to attract and retain employees, said Nina Pande, executive director of Skills for Rhode Island’s Future, a nonprofit providing employment and professional advancement assistance to unemployed and underemployed Ocean State residents.
“Human capital is your single greatest investment,” Pande said.
As such, employers need to stay on top of current employee values, such as flexible workplace and remote or hybrid arrangements, to remain competitive, panelists said.
For companies hiring at least some workers on a fully remote basis, such as Lifespan, Schmiedeknecht noted pros and cons: while remote hiring gives the health system access to a larger pool of candidates, local workers now have more opportunities to take a new, remote job without uprooting geographically – sometimes with significant salary boosts if their new company is based in a large metropolitan area such as Boston or New York City.
In improving workplace values, employers must also think critically about their efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, Pande said.
That means not just basing success on overall organizational statistics but on how those numbers are distributed across the company’s levels. While a workplace may seem diverse when looking at broad figures, Pande said, companies need to make an effort to ensure that this representation extends to executives and hiring managers.
Employers also need to be mindful of the multigenerational nature and differing values of today’s applicant pool, panelists said, including those in the rapidly emerging Gen Z workforce.
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ATTRACTION PLANS: Panelist Nina Pande says employers need to keep finding ways to appeal to job candidates or find themselves left behind when trying to hire top talent.
PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI[/caption]
Younger workers in particular place a strong value on flexibility and work-life balance, said Doug Sherman, senior vice president and provost at New England Institute of Technology, in addition to benefits that can help them offset high levels of student debt.
“Of course, they look for competitive salaries, but one of the things we see employers offering are sign-on bonuses and also loan forgiveness plans,” Sherman said.
At the West Greenwich manufacturing plant of Amgen Inc., a California-based biopharmaceutical company, connecting with and retaining employees has meant an increased emphasis on treating employees as individuals and making an effort to accommodate personal needs.
This value shift helped the company start to reverse high turnover rates, said Julie Matthew, manufacturing director at Amgen Rhode Island. It also increased morale in the workplace.
“When your people see and feel heard … people feel a sense of purpose,” Matthew said.
Workers also need to feel a sense of trust, Matthew noted, especially if they’re working remotely or in a hybrid setup. “We find the time for connection if we build that flexibility and trust people to deliver what they need to for their roles,” she said.
But when offering these opportunities, employers also need to make an extra effort to keep employees connected to the company.
These efforts can be as straightforward as catered social events for employees, Pande said, with emphasis on the social aspect.
“You’ve got to get that sense of belonging,” she said. “You can’t just sit in your office and build culture behind a Zoom wall.”
For now, Weldon wasn’t overly concerned about how the state and its workforce will fare in a potential recession compared with other states. But regardless of the economic uncertainties that lie ahead, employers that are inflexible in the workplace or don’t make their companies more attractive to talent are at risk, panelists agreed.
A shift back to office norms from before the COVID-19 pandemic is “not going to happen in most industries,” Weldon said. “I don’t think where it’s at today is where it will be next year, and I don’t know that it’s going to go further in terms of employees feeling they need all these things. But it’s certainly not going to go all the way back.”
“The employers that are fighting the change or resisting the change are not going to be able to keep up,” Pande said. For those who aren’t willing to be innovative and flexible, “it’s not going to be pretty for the next several years.”