It's on everyone's lips and the media is also reporting on it: the time will soon come when the baby boomers will retire. This is exacerbating the already prevailing shortage of skilled workers and anyone who as a boss does not yet have a strategy for this problem would be well advised to take action here. More than half a million jobs are currently unfilled! Another economic problem is declining growth, which is exacerbated by the shortage of skilled workers. The logistics sector is in the top 10 industries that suffers from a lack of staff.

But what could such a strategy look like?

More money?

Wage increases only work to a certain extent in retaining skilled workers. The problem that arises from exorbitantly rising wages is also an increase in prices for the end consumer and should be used with great caution given the current inflation. More pay doesn't ensure that the work that needs to be done gets done if there is too much of it for the existing workforce. Many companies rely on the remaining colleagues being able to cope with the work through overtime and this is certainly a short-term solution. But over time, the number of absences due to illness increases and this needs to be prevented in the long term.

Family friendly?

The compatibility of family and career can only be one component of the strategy. A change in thinking is one of the most important factors here. With this compatibility, home office is one option, a company-owned kindergarten or childcare is another. Especially in commercial areas, smaller companies can join forces in this regard and organize private childcare. The hurdles for this should therefore be minimized by the state. The expansion of all-day schools and homework support is also a way to support parents or single parents. Flexible working hours are also required for activities that can be carried out downstream. In this way, the proportion of part-time positions could be reduced slightly and full-time positions could be expanded.

Rethinking also means that we now have a lot of technical possibilities, so that so-called “male or female jobs” no longer exist. There have long been women who drive trucks, for example, and men who work in nursing. With a female quota of over 45%, OCS Spedition proves every day how capable women are and Mr. Dennis Braun is very enthusiastic about it.

Immigration?

One of the most well-known demands from business is to demand that the federal government facilitate the immigration of skilled workers. Nevertheless, we should not underestimate the potential of the migrants who have already arrived in Germany. Here it makes sense to reduce the hurdles for the labor market by learning the German language and recognizing foreign qualifications. This can also be integrated into the company if everyone; both managers and employees; is open to it. This system has been in practice for over 50 years, but at the beginning it was unfortunately forgotten that integration should extend beyond the work itself and also include the family of foreign colleagues.

Education?

Many of the immigrant young people need and want to start training after school. And here too is an effective lever that can be used to counteract the shortage of skilled workers. Training in general is useful for companies to replace employees who are retiring. Of course, you can't expect short-term results here, but at least you can achieve sustainability. The better the training of young people, the higher the probability that the trainee will become a future valuable specialist who will stay with the company. Unfortunately, the knowledge of the departing employees cannot be transplanted into the heads of young people, but through knowledge databases and training with these same experienced colleagues, a large part of the skills can be retained for the company.

The employee as a partner?

Last but not least, it is up to the management level itself. The days in which, as a superior, you dictate the work that needs to be done are over. Employees want to work independently and contribute to the company. It is therefore important to redefine the role of a manager and see “leadership” as a service. Nevertheless, the world of work is not a democracy and votes like the ones Elon Musk carried out on Twitter will be the exception. Every manager should be aware of what they would be if they had no other colleagues to guide. Then you would be left alone with a mountain of work that you cannot handle.

What is a boss without employees? Nothing! appreciation of skilled workers is more likely to be demanded by a superior than more salary! Maybe you've experienced it yourself and wanted a "well done" or just a "thank you" from your boss. The huge advantage for every company is that appreciation is completely free in the first step! Because “please” and “thank you”; words that should be part of everyday use; are very easy to pronounce. Here too, “only” a rethink is required and perhaps a little practice in individual cases.

Conclusion

In summary, it can be said that there is no one right approach. It should be a mix of everything and what that mix looks like for each individual company or industry is very individual.

At OCS Spedition we have found a mix that suits us and gives every colleague the freedom to make their own decisions for the company to a certain extent and thus achieve the best possible results. Our demands on the training of trainees often go far beyond what is necessary and our track record so far shows us that we are right in our approach.

Our satisfied customers also reflect this opinion when we #smoothlogistics . When can we expect your request ?

Note: For reasons of better readability, the language forms male, female and diverse (m/f/d) are not used at the same time. All personal names apply equally to all genders.