Being an Employer of Choice: Expert Advice for Companies Struggling to Stay Staffed

Feature image: Stephanie Shine

Much has been said and written about the labor issue in Arkansas, which, like virtually every other state, is struggling to fill vacant positions today, limiting companies’ ability to grow tomorrow.

While attention has been rightly paid to increasing the number of qualified employees in the workforce, one staffing expert emphasized that companies must also analyze their own offerings when hiring. Stephanie Shine, co-founder of Arkansas Talent Group, said firms that struggle to fill roles may benefit from reassessing how competitive and appealing they are to job seekers.

“We’ve got over 40 years of experience among our team members in the industries we specialize in,” Shine said. “As such, we have great relationships in those workplaces, and that’s what we focus on. For big recruitment companies, typically, it’s about making the placement, right, making the volume. We focus on those relationships with the clients, really figuring out what they need and helping consult with them.

“Being a consultative partner with our client companies allows us to be just as authentic as we can and really be direct. When we work with someone, we don’t sugarcoat things. We’ll deep-dive into the job description, edit it if we need to or give them our advice on where their compensation lies. I just had this meeting with several clients last week, where they’re offering $90,000 for an accounting manager. We were able to have that hard discussion that says, ‘You’re not going to get one in a market that’s paying $130,000 to $150,000.’”

Shine said one of the biggest challenges companies face is not aligning their pay with the local market. But she added that even offering competitive salaries isn’t always enough on its own. Employees today often value other aspects of their work lives just as much as compensation, especially when pay is relatively equal, she said.

“We just talked about this on a podcast last week. Comp is really not the first thing anymore,” Shine said. “If you would’ve asked us pre-COVID-19 when comps were out of control, I would’ve said comp was very, very important and people were jumping for that. The new generation, and really, just all candidates, their mindset has shifted after COVID-19 to where comp is certainly important, but they are looking for other things. Comps may be third on the list today.”

Why this matters is that given the current labor picture, employees hold much of the leverage to demand such things as work-from-home and hybrid arrangements, as well as a clearly defined path for advancement. The good news is almost any company of any size can come up with such offerings, even if they are not the highest paying in their field. The bad news is employees will not hesitate to jump ship if those things are not offered, leaving slow-adapting employers in the dust.

“There are still businesses in Arkansas, small to mid-sized businesses, that aren’t offering competitive perks and salaries,” Shine said. “There are still a lot of companies that aren’t the most ideal corporate cultures, and that can be a combination of things like companies not paying market values for compensation or not having strong leadership at the helm.

“On the other hand, we’re also seeing Arkansas companies that allow even a little bit of hybrid flexibility are able to snag top talent and retain, typically, the talent that they have.”

Shine said the latter point was particularly important for employers to keep in mind, since it costs far less to retain a good worker than it does to have to fill a vacancy after a company loses them. She said companies often forget to pay attention to longtime workers and, not unlike in personal relationships, that causes many to feel taken for granted.

“If you’re looking to retain your talent, I think the approach should be the same as if you are recruiting somebody new,” she said. “Your current employees can leave at any time for a better opportunity, so it’s very important that management is making sure everything is in line with the comp and the company culture.

“They should also think about what they can do to stay in tune with their people. A single yearly review is not going to cut it to remain competitive and keep your employees happy. This generation wants a lot of feedback. They want to know how they’re doing. They want to know how they can grow and what their next step is in that growth.”