AMonline Blog

Manpower’s ‘Hardest Jobs to Fill’ list reveals that many workers with traditional blue-collar skills are leaving the workforce.

Engineers, Machinists, Tradesmen in Short Supply

Because of an aging workforce and a new generation of workers entering other professions, engineers, machinists and skilled trade workers are the three most difficult positions to recruit for, according to Manpower’s annual list of “The 10 Hardest Jobs to Fill.”Baby boomers are starting to retire, which means many workers with traditional blue-collar skills are leaving the workforce, says Melanie Holmes, vice president of corporate affairs for the Milwaukee-based staffing giant. The survey, released Tuesday, April 22, covered 42,500 employers from 32 countries.The retiring boomers are compounded by fewer young people entering these fields. Less than 10 percent of college students in America are getting engineering degrees, Holmes says.The 10 Hardest Jobs to Fill are:

1. Engineers

2. Machinists/machine operators

3. Skilled trades (your Route Drivers?)

4. Technicians (your Machine Technicians?)

5. Sales representatives

6. Accounting and finance staff

7. Mechanics

8. Laborers

9. IT staff

10. Production operators

Technicians, sales representatives and accountants/finance staff also made it onto Manpower’s list.

Employers struggling to fill these vacancies can, in the short term, enhance recruiting efforts on college campuses and at technical schools and also emphasize the retention of older workers.

Longer term, Manpower suggests, employers should partner with local educational institutions and encourage students to enter these professions.

Nearly 25 percent of employers say they are having problems filling positions because of a lack of talent.

“Employers need to do everything they can to give opportunities to everyone who is willing or able to work,” she notes. “This includes the aging workforce, the younger generations, people of color and people with disabilities.”

Successfully recruiting young workers will depend on how well companies can cater to their specific needs. “This generation wants flexibility, they want to be innovative on the job,” Holmes notes. “And they want to have fun while they are at it.”

To minimize the impact on your company,

PredictiveAssets suggests you:

1. Modify your employment profile: Focus on learning skill, behavioral traits and occupational interests as opposed to education and experience.
2. Broaden your employment profile: Establish core competencies for all jobs in your company. Compare all applicants to all job functions, not just the one being applied for today.
3. Utilize accurate selection tools: Tomorrow, more than ever, you cannot afford to make a bad hire; use all available resources
4. Become an employer of choice: Job fit is much more important than compensation; do you have good job fit for all personnel at your company?
5. Finally, use broader advertising tools (i.e. CareerBuilder or similar online services) instead of local tools: a qualified applicant might be moving to your market next month!

For information and/or assistance with finding, selecting, hiring and developing your workforce, contact Dave McCaffrey at profiles@predictiveassets.com or 866 584-9551 (toll free).

During my visits with operators regarding cashless solutions invariably the word “cost” comes into the conversation. “How can we absorb more costs when our current bottom line profit is so small?”

 First determine how you can make more money in your accounts with a cashless solution.

• Price increases

I have been told that the average reduction in unit sales after a price increase is around 15% to 20%. I have seen time and time again when a cashless solution is implemented at the same time prices are increased, unit sales stay the same. As an example, you have a beverage machine that sells 100 units per week at $1.00 with a 6% sales tax and 10% commission and a case price of $15.00 (62.5 cents per unit). You raise the price to $1.25 and lose 20% in sales, you will gain $650 in annual profit. If you take the same scenario but install a cashless solution and maintain unit sales, you will see a $775 increase in profit after all the costs for cashless are taken into consideration. You will see an increase in profit of $940 if the account absorbs the processing and monthly service costs.

• Sell higher end items

I have visited operators who are using one machine to vend traditional beverage and snack items and other machines to sell higher end items such as energy drinks and teas and higher quantity snack items. By “mixing up” the pricing structure in a category, the price increase process becomes much easier as all items are not priced the same. Simply add new higher end items to maintain margins. Cashless will help you guarantee that you do not lose these high end sales due to the fact that the customer does not have the cash in their pockets.

• Have the account pay for part of the cashless expenses.

Many operators and bottlers are selling their accounts in such a way that the account picks up part of the expense for the addition of cashless to their machines. But the account must believe that there is a benefit for them to have a cashless solution on their machines. During the “price increase” meeting, explain to the account that we must go to $1.25 on our beverages. The convenience store down the road is at $1.39 plus tax., we only want to take price to $1.25 including tax.. We know how hard it is to buy something from a vending machine when the price is over $1.00. We have been thinking of installing a cashless solution using debit and credit cards for your employees (students, visitors). How do you think this could be of benefit to your employees (students, visitors)?

An answer you might get is that we have a young work force and they do not carry cash. Another might be that we would like healthier items in the machines but we know they tend to have higher prices. Another might be that we depend on the commission dollars and that a credit / debit card solution will allow you to sell higher priced items thus higher commissions for us.”

Your answer is “You are absolutely right in that this would benefit your people in these ways. Let me share with you our costs associated with implementing such a program. First the hardware cost is $???, the card processing fee is a certain percentage and our supplier charges a certain dollar amount per month for the cell phone and card settlement capabilities. If we pick up the hardware cost could you pick up the monthly fee and the card transaction fees? With the price increase, your commission dollars should stay at the same level if not go up after all the costs are taken into consideration.”

I know it is easier said than done, but I personally have been on these calls and I have seen it work first hand. Let me know if I can help you achieve the same results.