Labor Hoarding Is Trending for Employers Looking To Avoid a Labor Shortage

Back in the day, businesses would reward a retiring employee with a gold watch to symbolize their decades of hard work and dedication to the company. Nowadays, it is common for people to jump from job to job throughout their career in a quest for the perfect work environment. In this post-pandemic world, a fluctuating job market has led to career uncertainty and persistent labor shortages. A new trend is emerging for employers anxious to retain their employees ? Labor Hoarding. Mikel Lindsaar, founder and CEO of StoreConnect, appreciates the struggle, especially for SMBs looking to survive one of the worst economies in decades. eCommerce 3.0 helps SMBs save time and money so they can manage their workforce more efficiently and encourage company loyalty to retain their valued employees.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 30, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- There are a lot of new labor trends and workforce buzzwords that have come about since the pandemic took a sledgehammer to the status quo. The Great Resignation, aka the Big Quit, aka the Great Reshuffle, refer to employees leaving their place of business in record numbers; over 47 million workers in the United States voluntarily quit their jobs in 2021.(1) Quiet Quitting started making the rounds in 2022; describing a movement of employees doing the least amount of work possible to keep their jobs. Gallup reported in 2022 that quiet quitters comprised at least 50% of the workforce.(2) The reasons for workplace fatigue typically revolve around seeking a better work/life balance, better compensation, or more opportunities for advancement. Post-pandemic labor shortages are forecast to continue unabated in 2023 due to an imminent recession and persistent inflation.(3) Mikel Lindsaar, CEO and Founder of StoreConnect, notes, "Employers are mounting an offensive with a trend of their own, dubbed 'Labor Hoarding' in an effort to retain their workforce. eCommerce retailers of all sizes are bracing for the worst. However, the stakes are always higher for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) trying to stay competitive in the midst of another potential labor crisis."

Skynova surveyed 1,010 business owners to find out why they are engaging in labor hoarding, what retention strategies they use, and what jobs have the greatest longevity. The survey revealed that in 2022, 91% of small businesses were actively labor hoarding, and 89% plan to continue in 2023. Among the top reasons cited for SMBs increasing their effort to retain their current employees was confidence in their team (48%), layoffs being bad for employee morale (?48%), and decreasing hiring expenses (>40%). Their retention strategies included higher compensation (50%), connecting and communicating with their employees (?47%), more opportunities for remote work (44%), and more paid time off (16%). Remarkably, 67% of SMB business owners stated that they would be willing to cut their own salaries to keep their staff.(4)

The practice of labor hoarding is understandable when considering current statistical data. The latest research demonstrates that 87% of retailers in the U.S. cite talent shortages as a significant challenge for 2023, currently estimated at 74%. Technology and IT top the list of sought-after skills, and a continued shortage could cost the U.S. $162 billion.(5) So, it appears that labor shortages will continue to pose logistical challenges for SMBs to operate at full capacity with fewer human resources.

Lindsaar advises SMBs, "Technology, above all else, is a labor-saving instrument that does not replace valuable employees but rather facilitates repetitive tasks, allowing a business's workforce investment to apply their talents where they are needed most. And for SMBs, it levels the playing field, allowing the Davids of eCommerce to compete with the Goliaths on a global scale." StoreConnect is the only fully-integrated eCommerce, point-of-sale, content management system and CRM platform powered by Salesforce. StoreConnect incorporates all of the tools necessary to expedite online sales, payments, website management, point-of-sale, inventory management, and order fulfillment. Built on Salesforce, the world's largest and most successful Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, StoreConnect provides eCommerce 3.0 solutions that provide a single source of truth custom-designed for small- and medium-sized businesses to synthesize all of their marketing, sales, and support channels into one system saving time, double-work, and lost information.

Lindsaar advises, "Eliminating tedious and time-consuming tasks alleviates employee burnout and opens up opportunities for their career development and growth. SMBs can spend more time engaging and motivating their team to utilize their talents and create a loyal workforce dedicated to the company's success."

Time is Money. And StoreConnect is Time. Well Spent.

About StoreConnect
Mikel Lindsaar, CEO and Founder of StoreConnect, is an experienced technology entrepreneur whose mission is to infuse small- and medium-sized businesses with the power to be successful in eCommerce 3.0 and scale to meet growing demand. Small companies can't waste time setting up their business on a platform only to repeat the process by changing platforms when they want to scale, nor do they want to waste time figuring out how to integrate multiple platforms. StoreConnect (built on the World's Number 1 CRM, Salesforce) gives clients a complete, powerful, configurable eCommerce and CRM solution where they can manage their website, online and in-store sales, provide amazing customer service, run all their digital marketing campaigns and have up-to-date detailed metrics, reporting and full understanding of their customer. They were awarded Salesforce's 2021 International Partner Innovation Award of the Year for the Retail sector and are changing the ease with which small businesses are run ? with a manageable price tag. StoreConnect is Time. Well Spent. Visit https://getStoreConnect.com/.

References:
1. The great resignation didn't start with the pandemic. Harvard Business Review. (2022, March 25). hbr.org/2022/03/the-great-resignation-didnt-start-with-the-pandemic
2. Harter, J. (2023, April 19). Is quiet quitting real?. Gallup.com. gallup.com/workplace/398306/quiet-quitting-real.aspx
3. Gurchiek, K. (2023, January 31). Report: Inflation, labor shortages top HR concerns in 2023. SHRM. shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-news/pages/report-inflation-labor-shortages-top-hr-concerns-in-2023.aspx
4. 91% of small-business owners. skynova.com. (n.d.). skynova.com/blog/small-business-and-labor-hoarding
5. Global, A. (2023, April 27). Global and U.S. talent shortage report - statistics studies. RSS. advantisglobal.com/blog/talent-shortage-report

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SOURCE StoreConnect