It seems like every business has a “help wanted” sign out front these days. Not only are companies finding it difficult to attract workers, but when they do finally fill the positions, they’re contending with high quit rates and poaching.

Now, everyone's favorite: staff shortages. A discussion with Andy Cohen, Renee Frey and Kathy Finnerty Thomas #ASIPowerSummit pic.twitter.com/AQLGHj9zp0

— Sara Lavenduski 🦥 (@SaraLav_ASI) October 14, 2021

ASI’s Andy Cohen discusses hiring, retaining and motivating team members with Kathy Finnerty Thomas of Stowebridge Promotion Group and Renee Frey of TalentQ Inc.

Hospitality giant MGM Resorts International told Bloomberg in September that for every 500 to 800 people they hire in a week, they lose 300 to 400 others. Grocery store company SpartanNash says about 10% of their new hires don’t even show up for their first day.

The phenomenon is impacting promo companies and their suppliers as well.

During an ASI Power Summit session entitled “Staffing Shortages: Creative & Effective Ways to Hire, Motivate & Retain,” Andy Cohen, ASI’s senior vice president of events, media & marketing services, spoke with Kathy Finnerty Thomas, president of Stowebridge Promotion Group (asi/ 337500), and Renee Frey, president of TalentQ Inc., about how to deal with these challenges.

In a poll question during the session about finding talent, almost 85% of respondents said it was difficult while only about 15% said it was easy.

“People are the most important part of the business,” said Finnerty Thomas, who motivates her team by surprising them with morning banana pancakes and $100 bills for a paid day off. “COVID really showed us the personal issues that people have to deal with.”

Motivation to retain talent is key right now, as employees leave their companies in high numbers. It’s been called the Great Resignation as people question their futures at the firms they’ve worked for.

“Everyone is feeling the pain of finding talent,” said Frey. “We now have to entice them to come to us. We need to be creative in hiring and offer them opportunities for exploratory calls with hiring managers so they can ask important questions about the specific positions.”

Frey added that it often takes an average of seven touches to get a candidate to apply, including calls, texting and emailing, and to look to “boomerangs” (those who left the company who might be interested in returning) and those who didn’t accept a job previously.

If there’s flexibility in the budget, consider expanding the salary ranges. If not, consider hiring someone with less experience or search a wider geographic area, which can benefit the employer, said Frey.

“Benefits are becoming very competitive,” said Frey. “Things like unlimited PTO, cellphone allowances and happy hours on Fridays are popular, especially with the younger generation. And those who are more flexible are retaining employees. People are quitting because they want to stay remote and their employer is requiring that they come in.”

Moving forward, it’s important that employers make sure their teams feel valued. Frey recommends developing a performance plan for each individual team member to review monthly, and to start each one-on-one meeting with life questions rather than jumping right into business; it builds trust and stronger relationships, she said.

“As an owner, I’m switching my job from being all customer-focused to be employee-focused as well,” said Finnerty Thomas. “Employees are our number-one asset. We have to make sure that they have what they need, they feel valued and they feel like they belong. You can’t fix employee culture and move on. It’s a daily task that seems simple but it’s actually complex to manage.”