Managing a Staffing Shortage - ApplicantStack
The article discusses the ongoing national staffing shortage exacerbated by the pandemic, highlighting industry-specific disparities such as surpluses in leisure and hospitality versus significant shortages in professional services and nursing, and explains how this shortage impacts businesses through employee burnout, increased turnover, and decreased productivity while emphasizing the need for flexible work options to attract and retain talent.
A staffing shortage can be stressful on everyone in a business: managers, employees, customers, and clients. The pandemic disrupted the job market in a way that’s been difficult for some industries to fully recover from. Here are some ideas to cope with the challenge of finding staff for every position.
National Staffing Shortage Trends
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “The U.S. is in a worker shortage, meaning if every unemployed person found a job, there would still be open jobs.” Participation of workers ages 24 to 54 years old in the labor market reached a 20-year high in 2023.
The numbers don’t tell the whole story, though. For some industries that means a surplus of workers, while others are seeing major shortages. As of May 2025, the leisure and hospitality industry, for example, finds itself well-staffed, whereas professional and business services report around 50 percent job openings. Nursing is another industry with a projected shortage based on the number of nurses expected to enter the workforce in the next 8 years.
Though the perception may be otherwise, the Chamber of Commerce reports that “across all industries, hiring rates have continuously outpaced quit rates.” Still, if your business has experienced more turnover than you’d like, those statistics may be cold comfort. And the nature of daily work in many industries has changed since the pandemic necessitated remote work; some workers never want to go back to full-time, in-office schedules. These flexible options may affect how your company can compete for top talent.
Effects of a Staffing Shortage
A staffing shortage may affect your company in the following ways:
- Retention: When current employees perform the job of two people, they may get burned out or resentful, especially if the extra work isn’t what they’re specifically trained for. They may decide to resign, leaving your company with an even bigger shortage.
- Decreased Productivity: There are only so many hours in the work day, and a skeleton crew may not physically be able to meet production or customer service goals or meet project deadlines.
- Lowered Morale: It can be challenging to promote a positive and robust company culture in the face of overworked employees. You may not have time to implement perks or initiatives that contribute to a positive workplace.
- Safety: In some industries, such as manufacturing or retail, an unfilled job on a production line can lead to accidents, or a retail employee may end up working alone. In the healthcare industry, shortages can affect patient care.
How to Manage a Staffing Shortage
Knowing the trends and concerns can be helpful for the big picture, but when your company’s daily bottom line is affected by staffing shortages, you need more than just facts. Here are five practical suggestions to try.
Hire temporary staff
In healthcare especially, this may be a critical stopgap to make sure patient care isn’t compromised. In other industries, consider replacing support staff like assistants or receptionists with temporary or virtual staff. This can allow longer-term employees currently filling those roles to take on more critical work in other areas. For example, a long-time executive assistant may be well-suited to assist with HR tasks. These additional responsibilities should be fairly compensated. Extra work shouldn’t be seen as a favor.
Communicate with current staff
Open communication has two advantages. One, it shows the current staff who may feel anxious and overworked that their concerns are real and valid. You can describe how you’re approaching the job searches, solicit referrals (with incentives!), and celebrate when open positions are filled. Two, it can yield interest from current employees who may be interested in changing roles or taking on additional work.
Solicit employee feedback
When you’re stretched thin, it may seem counterintuitive to spend more time with employees in one-on-one sessions, but it’s crucial to help employees feel heard and validated. Take their concerns to the appropriate people and make sure that the company acts on their feedback. More frequent meetings can help you take the temperature of company morale.
Offer more perks
Feedback may show that some employees are willing to take on additional tasks if they can work on an adjusted schedule or remotely. Work flexibility can offer support in the way your team needs. You may consider adding additional PTO hours, adding vacation days, or even monetary bonuses. Other perks may include break room snacks and drinks, lunch on the company at regular intervals, company swag, upgraded workspaces, afternoons off for wellness activities, or organizing office events like book clubs or trivia nights.
Offer upskilling education
Pay for community college courses or development programs for current employees to develop the skills to take on additional tasks or advance in their careers. You may find that an influx of newly-trained employees allows some company reorganization. An open position may be coverable by a few employees and no longer needs to be filled.
Use the right tools
With ApplicantStack, you can shorten the time to hire while reaching a wider pool of qualified candidates. Using this applicant-tracking system streamlines the recruiting and hiring process. Onboarding tools also make it easy to bring new hires up to speed, reducing the effects of the staffing shortage.
Staffing shortages may feel like an insurmountable challenge, especially when you find yourself competing for top talent. With some open communication, compassion for current employees, and some strategic thinking, you can find ways to boost morale and keep the company moving forward.
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