The Skills Gap Crisis and the Serious Cost of Open Positions

ee gap image

from the Turning Good People Into Top Talent blog series

The United States Chamber of Commerce reports that 90 percent of U.S. employers recognize that it is increasingly difficult to find qualified applicants to fill open positions.

The Chamber’s website refers to the skills gap by stating, “The engine of the U.S. economy is facing a serious crisis.”

According to Career Builder, on average, a company loses more than $14,000 for every job that stays vacant for three months or longer and one in six companies loses $25,000 or more.

Considering the fact that more than half (54 percent) of employers currently have open positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates – and 35 percent of all employers have positions that stay open for 12 weeks or longer – those costs can add up quickly and have broader implications for business performance.

Sixty percent of employers are concerned about the costs associated with delays in filling open positions, with one in four stating they have experienced losses in revenue as a result.

Employers also reported compromised productivity and work quality and a rise in voluntary employee turnover among other consequences:

  • Lower morale due to employees shouldering heavier workloads – 41 percent
  • Work does not get done – 40 percent
  • Delays in delivery times – 34 percent
  • Declines in customer service – 30 percent
  • Lower quality of work due to employees being overworked – 30 percent
  • Employees are less motivated – 29 percent
  • Loss in revenue – 25 percent
  • Employees making more mistakes, resulting in lower quality of work – 25 percent
  • Higher turnover because employees are overworked – 22 percent

How is your organization dealing with these issues? What steps are you taking to shorten the hiring cycle? What initiative have you implemented to minimize the effects on current employees of unfilled jobs?

Could this be an ideal time to embark on a team development process?
Click here to get an informational pdf to learn more about The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team™ and the benefits you can expect.  Or send an email to Bob@Effectiveness.com with Five Behaviors in the subject line.  You will also get a link to view video clips of the program.  This is a powerful do it yourself or done-with-you process, complete with facilitator’s guide and support.

Please comment below.

Previous Post

The Number One Problem Facing Business Today

Next Post

U.S. Employee Engagement Averages Up (Slightly)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.