A survey of EMEA leaders carried out by digital workplace WorkJam has found 78 per cent of businesses are currently understaffed. With almost half of those surveyed (46 per cent) admitting to having been understaffed for 5-6 months, and a further 36 per cent being understaffed for 3-4 months. The research, which surveyed CxOs, Directors, and VPs in industries including retail, manufacturing, consumer goods, transporting, and warehousing, found that a worrying 48 per cent have lost customers due to the effect of staff shortages.
These shortages do not amount to just a few members of staff. For 30 per cent of businesses, the losses have amounted to between 16 and 20 per cent of their workforce in the last 12 months. An additional 26 per cent lost 11-15 per cent of their staff in the same period. This level of shortage seriously impacts on the day-to-day performance of these businesses and is putting additional strain on the employees left behind.
WorkJam also discovered that for the majority (64 per cent) of businesses, churn levels have stayed the same (33 per cent) or are somewhat higher (31 per cent) than in the previous 12 months, and there is little expectation of imminent improvement. 53 per cent of those surveyed expected hiring issues to stay the same over the next 12 months, and 50 per cent expected retention issues to remain unchanged.
“We’re in the midst of a global recruitment crisis,” said Mark Williams, managing director EMEA of WorkJam. “While it’s no secret that key sectors have been struggling to find and retain talent since the start of the pandemic – if not before – the figures revealed by our survey really put the problem into context. And the difficulty is that the issue is self-sustaining. Churn puts additional pressure on existing employees, increasing the likelihood that they, in turn, will seek employment elsewhere, again heaping pressure on those left behind.”
Williams adds: “Executives are faced with finding solutions that will aid retention and recruitment without necessitating a price hike in the middle of the cost-of-living crisis. According to our research, a quarter of businesses have already had to raise their prices. But this carries the risk of further deterring customers. It’s a difficult balance to strike.”
The most commonly cited reason for leaving among employees is that their hours are too long or there wasn’t enough flexibility in their position. This was the case for a quarter of business leaders. Other reasons given for employee churn included: diversity and inclusion issues (16 per cent), dissatisfaction with salary (14 per cent), and dissatisfaction with benefits (10 per cent). More than half (51 per cent) of all executives surveyed are seeking to solve retention and hiring issues through the provision of better employee perks or benefits. While 30 per cent are investing in HR technology or frontline technology, 27 per cent are investing in learning and development.
