While skilled labor was the challenge 6 months ago, the current challenge is more around unskilled labor. Attracting people to the necessary roles of warehouse, parts cleaners, etc., has become a real challenge. And when you do find them, they are asking for significantly higher starting pay rates.
The days of people being excited to “get in the door” and grow from there appear to be gone, at least for the foreseeable future.
There is a lot of focus on labor shortages around pilots and aircraft mechanics and rightfully so. However, the need for people who keep the infrastructure moving on the ground is equally as important.
For many months we’ve been hearing “Where did all the people go?” Once the federal subsidies went away, we assumed they would all come back. But that hasn’t happened. So, where did they go, and more importantly can we get them back?
This issue is affecting companies big and small and doesn’t seem to have an end in sight.
Will this be the catalyst for changing how we treat people at work? Can companies use this as an opportunity to distinguish themselves as “the place to work”?
The aviation industry (at least in the US), is concentrated around a handful of geographic centers. It doesn’t seem like it would take much for the word to get around if a company were truly doing something new and innovative with/for its people.
Small to mid-size companies use words like flexible, nimble, and quick to adapt to capture new business. Can they apply that same approach to people and capture new team members in this new labor market?
