Dissonance: Wage-Demanding Talent in an Uncertain Economy
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy added 528,000 jobs in July— dramatically beating out estimates of around 258,000. On the wages and benefits side, compensation also increased and beat out expectations that were slightly lower. While these indicators point toward a stabilizing economy, fears about a recession remain.
While wages and benefits have grown and continue to be one of the key aspects organizations use to compete for talent, companies are now struggling to balance candidates’ push for better offerings with experts’ concerns over the economy. Many organizations have paused hiring, while others are being advised to cut expenses where they can — but without losing key talent.
This has created complexity for HR and people teams that are actively seeking to win over the best people for their organizations’ open positions. Meanwhile, many candidates still want flexibility in where and how they work (which further convolutes matters and increases costs for companies). Additionally, Gen Z — the most diverse generation that’s rapidly growing its presence within the workforce — wants flexibility as well as strong compensation and benefits.
But not just the basic benefits: Learn how candidates want more from their benefits packages — and how small businesses can meet that expectation.
The Problem is That Much Worse for Small Businesses
This paradox is uniquely challenging for smaller businesses that already struggle to compete for top talent, particularly in the tech sector. Lacking the resources to win a wages and benefits bidding war for a leader or skilled employee, smaller businesses are often left behind as talent looks to larger organizations that have the cash and benefits muscle to outdo them.
Nevertheless, the need to press onward remains. Companies of all sizes have expectations on them from their customers and partners as well as goals to reach. While job growth is there and other efforts are being made to combat a potential recession, much remains to be seen — but companies can’t afford to sit by and wait. Roles must be filled, products and solutions must be developed, and HR and people teams need to find the people to make it all happen — while supporting them as best they can along the way.
You Can’t Be Everything to Everyone
HR is a crucial function of any business, large or small. But for smaller businesses in particular, capacity and capability are often a challenge. Often, the role of HR is performed by an organizational leader until a small team can be built out. Even when a business has a small HR or people operations team, those individuals aren’t likely to have decades of experience across the many facets of HR — payroll, benefits, policy development, hiring and onboarding, and so on. Each of these is a specialization within HR.
As an example, the rise of remote work over the past couple of years has created a great deal of complexity and risk for HR teams. With workers in different states and cities (each of which has its own employment laws and costs), no one person or small team can possibly know all of the requirements and laws needed to support a distributed workforce — at least not in a way that keeps their work efficient and reduces risk for the company.
That’s just one example, too. Add in policies for remote work, building strong wages and benefits packages, and streamlining employee onboarding, and you’ve instantly got an overwhelmed HR team that won’t be able to meet the needs of its employees. This is where a professional employment organization (PEO) can step in to keep you moving forward.
How a PEO Addresses the Complexities of Today
A PEO brings an entire team of experts to support your organization’s wages and benefits, policy development, and other HR needs. Working in partnership with your existing HR and people team, a PEO becomes an extension of your HR function to:
Address questions from employees that your team doesn’t know
Assisting with payroll processing and payroll issues
Developing and administering desirable benefits programs
Creating and communicating policies and requirements
Assisting with new hire onboarding and talent assessments
Developing and managing employee training and coaching
Providing guidance on workers’ compensation matters
Additionally, a PEO provider enables you to focus on growth. Often, the tasks and requirements outlined above bog down HR teams with hours of administrative work each day — resulting in little to no progress on more strategic priorities. By outsourcing many of these tasks to a PEO, your HR team can finally serve as a true partner in the organization’s growth strategy.
Connect with us today to learn more about the benefits of working with a PEO.