Dr. Steven Lindner, partner here at The WorkPlace Group, talks to NPR regarding “America’s Talent Crunch.”
The reality is that more companies are finding it difficult to hire skilled employees, pressuring employers to rethink their hiring strategies. Truck drivers can get a $5,000 signing bonus to drive for Walmart. Kroger grocery baggers can get tuition reimbursed. New-mother baristas at Starbucks now can get their full salary for up to six weeks of maternity leave. And traveling Goldman Sachs bankers can ship their breast milk home for free.
These new job perks are just a few signs of the hot and competitive labor market. The U.S. unemployment rate is the lowest its been in decades. That means companies from restaurants to engineering firms are being forced to find new and creative ways to lure workers.