Service Industries Scrambling to Hire Workers

Companies hiring housekeepers, custodians, and other service workers can confirm the results of a survey from The Conference Board, a nonpartisan and nonprofit think tank. The survey of human resources (HR) executives from companies across the country found small businesses are having difficulty finding qualified workers, especially in the service industry, as after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Among respondents hiring manual service workers, 80% reported some difficulty finding quality workers, compared to 74% who reported some difficulty before the pandemic. One-quarter of respondents reported extreme difficulty finding qualified workers, compared to 4% who reported extreme difficulty pre-pandemic.

“Before the pandemic, industry and manual services workers were high in demand and short in supply. While this changed at the onset of the pandemic, as the economy reopens this trend is resurfacing—and fast,” said Frank Steemers, report co-author and senior economist at The Conference Board.

The survey reported four main challenges HR departments will face in the months ahead:

1. Recruiting qualified service workers and retaining existing ones: Almost half (49%) of respondents said it will be somewhat or very difficult to retain service workers. Among those hiring professional and office employees, 28% reported difficulty retaining workers.
2. Managing a large share of employees working remotely: Nearly 40% of HR executives said they expect many of their employees to keep working remotely a year after COVID-19 subsides.
3. Addressing deteriorating employee well-being: Most (76%) respondents said employees are “burned out” as they are working more hours, 72% said employees are seeking mental health support, 60% said the number of vacation days has decreased, and 55% reported a decrease in work-life balance.
4. Managing the return to the workplace: More than 70% of respondents said their workplace will reopen between now and October, with more than half predicting their workplaces will reopen no earlier than August. More than 40% said their workplaces will have a hybrid workforce with employees working part time in the office and part time remote.

Robin Erickson, report co-author and principal researcher at The Conference Board, said in order to retain workers employers will “need to continuously monitor their employee experience and holistic well-being.”