”If your employees are satisfied, you might not even need as much new staff as you initially thought,” says HR consultant Martine Pauw. ”Companies tend to immediately start recruiting new people when the business grows, but that’s not necessary. First, have a conversation with existing employees: Does anyone want to work more or fewer hours? Does anyone have ambitions to develop in a different area? Especially in smaller companies here in Nijmegen, it’s useful to first look together at where the opportunities lie.”
Special initiatives to attract new staff
In this period of staff shortages, retaining existing talent within your company is absolutely crucial. You’re now seeing some truly remarkable actions to attract the attention of potential new employees: from speed dates with management to bonuses for referring new staff; the sky’s the limit. But why don’t you take a look in your own kitchen first?
Martine Pauw has been in the business for forty years, so she knows what she’s talking about. ‘As the owner, director, or manager of a growing company, first ask yourself whether you have a clear picture of where your current staff can be deployed. This way, you can search for new employees more specifically for the positions that are not yet filled.”
Causes of staff shortages
There are several causes for the current staff shortages,” Martine explains, “The obvious things like a good salary and good (secondary) employment conditions are certainly great prerequisites for keeping an employee happy, but this is not the deciding factor.”
“Sometimes, management teams look too one-sidedly at the functioning and results of their company,” Martine explains. “They then only manage based on financial interests (KPIs). The focus isn’t on staffing levels, and this can have major consequences. Without a good working atmosphere, pleasant working conditions, and an efficient organization, productivity can be negatively impacted. That’s why it’s certainly so important to also pay a lot of attention to the development of your own people.”
Research what’s important to your staff
If your company has high staff turnover or a poor working atmosphere, then according to Martine, you need to thoroughly investigate among your existing employees what the causes might be.
Analyze what the needs are and also look at the individual employee. For example:
– What life stage is the employee in?
– What is the work-life balance like for this employee?
– Is there an issue of overload or underload in the work for this employee?
– Does the employee’s profile align with the competencies that are expected?
These are all questions you, as a company, need to ask yourselves to determine what’s going on within your organization. But it’s also important to look at the performance of the managers.”
Also investigate the current and desired qualities of managers.
“Often, you see people in leadership positions who have been promoted from within. As a result, they are often very task-oriented and lack competencies such as coaching and communicating. A manager needs to be able to communicate well and listen actively,” Martine explains. “I help companies map out the current and desired qualities of their managers so that we can work together on improvement.”
And how do you become the ideal manager then?” Martine asks. “As a manager, you need to be able to look at the organization from various perspectives. A manager with practical experience isn’t necessarily better than a manager who has only held management positions. The combination of being results-oriented and people-oriented allows you to achieve the best results with your employees. Perhaps it’s a good idea for a manager to first lead a smaller team or have an assistant role.”
Listen to the people around you.
Martine points out that managing isn’t always easy. ‘Especially for the middle manager, it can sometimes be tough: they often find themselves caught in the middle. The best approach is to focus on the progress of the organization, on thinking strategically, and on planning ahead. It’s also important for a manager to be sensitive to their environment: listen to the people around you. That applies not only to those above you but also to those who work below you. Stick to your own vision and make sure you can explain it. And it’s important that as a manager, you can handle resistance.”
”Are you, as an entrepreneur, also facing issues with retaining and recruiting the right personnel? Would you like to discuss HR, competencies, mission and strategy, training, and vacancies? Then contact us without obligation to see how we can help your company with HR (or other areas).”
