Organisations can face staffing issues for a variety of reasons. The most common reason is an increase in business demand, which leads to an increase in workload and not enough staff to complete the work. Other common reasons for short-staffing include illness, maternity leave, redundancies and so on.
In the points below, we’ll cover some solutions for how to overcome these staffing issues.
Determine if the work can be rearranged
This solution is best used when businesses are expecting an influx of work, such as during their busy season. By rearranging the current workload, it will allow all employees to have manageable tasks which need to be completed. This solution may also require working additional hours or weekends in order to complete the work on time. However, by doing this, it will avoid any potential errors that could be made if the work was completed by employees who are not fully trained.
Hiring employees
Another way to overcome short-staffing is by hiring new employees – this solution is best used when the workload is expected to be high for an extended period of time. When hiring new employees, it is important to take into consideration the time it will take for them to be fully trained and productive. Also, if possible, try to hire employees who have experience in the same field as your organisation, as this will minimise the amount of training required and they will be able to start contributing to the workplace sooner. Recruitment companies like Drake International can streamline this process for efficiency and convenience.
Automation
Automation is a great way to overcome short-staffing, as it can help reduce the amount of time employees spend on certain tasks. For example, if your business regularly sends out email newsletters, you could use an email marketing tool like MailChimp to automate the process of creating and sending newsletters. Automation can also help with things like social media posts, accounting and data entry. There are a number of different software programs available that can help automate various tasks within your organisation.
Contracting services
If your business does not have the internal resources to complete a certain task or project, you could consider contracting out those services. For example, if you are launching a new website and do not have an in-house web developer, you could contract out those services to an external company. This is a great solution as it allows you to focus on your core business activities while still being able to get the job done.
Cross-training employees
Cross-training employees is another great way to overcome short-staffing issues. By cross-training employees, you will create a pool of workers who are multi skilled and can cover for each other when needed. For example, if one employee is off sick, another employee who is cross-trained in that role will be able to step in and cover until the original employee returns. Cross-training employees can also help with succession planning as it creates a group of people who are capable of taking on higher level roles within the organisation should there be a vacancy.
Which of these options works best for your specific business?
There are a number of ways organisations can overcome short-staffing and recruitment issues. By taking some proactive measures such as cross training employees and automating certain processes, you can ensure your organisation is staffed adequately at all times. Good luck!
