Small Business Staffing Issues Can Be Problems – And Opportunities

Among all the challenges facing small businesses, employees are involved in most. These can include everything from insurance to office squabbles, but one of the most serious and often overlooked involves the challenges of filling skill gaps with new and incoming staff.

Larger corporations don’t have it easy, but their size allows for entire departments dedicated to onboarding, training, and other employee issues. Small businesses don’t have it so good. It’s the owner, or the manager, or one of the other over-worked staff who already have more than they can handle.

There are some answers, however. Small businesses several strategies to fill skill gaps in both their current employees and prospective hires. Consider some of these proven approaches:

• On-the-Job Training: Provide hands-on training to help employees learn new skills while they work. Depending on specific skills needed, this may be possible without too much loss of productivity. The new worker will not be up to speed immediately, or even quickly, but he or she can produce while learning directly. The success will be greatly impacted by the employee’s patience, motivation, and other traits, along with those same traits among the employee’s co-workers and especially a manager. If they are good at mentoring and coaching, and don’t mind, then you may have a good option.

• Speaking of Mentorships and Coaching, these are important options. Simply pairing less experienced employees with seasoned staff members can facilitate knowledge transfer. You may also wish to hire external coaches or consultants to provide specialized training and mentorship. This is a big topic but there are a lot of resources readily available, including Mid-Continent Public Library’s Square One small business program, KCSourceLink and the Kauffman foundation.

• Workshops and Seminars are another great resource. Even one- or two-day programs can provide a dramatic boost in skills. That’s why looking for good learners when you’re hiring is a good plan and offering to host or send employees to relevant workshops and seminars is a great perk to help your company compete in a tough job market. Increasingly, this option needn’t involve travel or extensive time away from the business. Online courses and certifications are available through platforms like Coursera, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning.

• Hiring is obviously related area and involves many unique issues and requirements. We mentioned keeping an eye out for candidates with strong soft skills, such as adaptability and a willingness to learn, which can be more critical than specific technical skills. You may also consider using assessment centers to evaluate potential based on real-world tasks and simulations.

• Internship Programs are increasingly popular. Consider offering internships to students or recent graduates to provide them with hands-on experience and training.

These are ideas to get you started; hopefully some will be relevant to your business. The primary message here may be that you can’t overlooking these staffing issues as they will ultimately determine how well your business actually works. Good luck.