3 Ways Leaders Can Help Solve Hiring Challenges They Face Today
In a challenging talent market, flexibility needs to be more than a tag line or relic from past job postings that used the catchphrase, “flexible work schedules”. Whether or not a schedule is flexible is determined by the prospective employee, not by the hiring manager. However, flexibility can (and should) benefit everyone. It is a mindset as much as anything else. Are you willing to consider different ideas and possibilities in the name of flexibility? The more you can open your mind to new options, the better positioned you will be to navigate a changing retail work environment.
This can sound like a daunting challenge. There are three steps I believe can help any leader increase their flexibility, expand the mindset for staffing, and build agility to scheduling for their business.
Ask Questions
As with most things that need a solution, asking questions will help find the answers you need. In this case, ask your candidates what they require and are looking for, especially in scheduling. Do not have any pre-determined answers or hoped-for responses in your mind. Be open to whatever they suggest. Then probe further to understand the real need for that versus possibilities of expanded availability in certain circumstances. This will allow you to not only have a better picture of what could be potential options, but for also setting expectations later. (Side note: this is an excellent exercise to complete with all your existing team members as well. You may even need to do it multiple times each year.)
Understanding the needs and the context for which the candidate is coming from regarding their schedule requirements can present different potential scheduling or staffing solutions. Of course, schedule availability is not the only thing to cover in an interview. Any (perceived) limitations in schedule availability should also not be a core part of your interview process. In fact, I would leave it until the end, so you have a thorough understanding of what they bring, before getting into schedules.
Avoid assuming
If I have one hard and fast piece of advice to pass along for interviewing and discussing scheduling, it is this: assume nothing. It is why I started with asking questions. Countless leaders I have spoken to end up making poor decisions based on the assumption they had of someone else. This happens in providing solutions (selling from your own perspective), and it happens with schedules. Most leaders assume that everyone wants as many hours as possible and that they would never want to discuss reducing their hours. On the flip side, there are no shortage of stories I hear where employees leave because they couldn’t work all the hours they were being asked.
It not only applies to the number of total hours, but hours each day. And, by each day, I mean asking about all seven days. Don’t assume that someone could not be available for just a portion of hours, even odd times, on any given day. Someone may not state they are available on Sunday; however, they would be open to a few hours in the afternoon, or very early morning. You only know for sure by asking, and not assuming.
Think Different
When you eliminate assumptions, and you ask good questions, you will find that you likely have more options and potential solutions for your staffing and scheduling needs. Now, you need to be open to those options. Your location may have a history of only having ten people on staff. That is what you can afford, that is the schedule that has always worked. But have you ever considered something else? What if you had twelve people who were okay with truly flexible hours, days, and times? How might that change how you look at your schedule? And what future agility does that give you if someone needs time off, has an emergency where they have to step away, or leaves for another reason. I have always found that more options are better.
Flexibility works in all directions. Providing options for which shifts and days is beneficial to the employee. Having a team that can move around the schedule and flex in or out of certain days, at different (seasonal) times, is a considerable benefit to you and your business as well. It may mean hiring more people than you are used to, and while that may result in fewer hours for each team member, if everyone understands that up front, then there is no concern. You may find that the flexibility of one employee is a perfect compliment to another’s. Ensure that as the leader, you are not assuming or remain caught in history, preventing you from seeing new possibilities and potential solutions to a changing talent and business climate.
How are you flexing your flexibility muscle to solve your hiring challenges?
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