Business author Alan Deutschman popularized the business catchphrase, “Change or die“. Taken literally, that‘s a pretty draconian view, but it rings true with many of the clients we work with in the skilled trades arena, particularly those that are looking for new and creative ways to solve their staffing shortages. But change is hard and it often takes a significant level of pain to bring an organization to the place where they are ready to adjust course and try something new.

As business leaders, cost is on our minds all the time. It’s an essential part of the job. However, sometimes we can overlook the true costs of our hiring approach when we’re focused on the urgent problems of today. The immediate problem is the lack of skilled workers, but oftentimes the real problem is what it’s costing you to not solve it.

One of the most challenging issues that companies looking for quality skilled workers face is simply finding workers that show up—in other words, reliable dependable employees. It seems crazy, but one of the most consistent laments we hear from leaders from multiple industries sounds something like this: “I’m not as concerned with the skills they have as I am about finding folks that just show up and work!”.

As a company focused on finding and placing skilled craftsman all over the country, one of the questions we are often asked by our clients is simply this: “How are you guys able to find these great candidates when we can’t?” It’s a great question and one that we obsess on answering every day we come to work. We are 100% focused on finding great candidates from across the country and discreetly matching them to very specific open positions that our clients trust us to fill.

The economic shutdown from COVID-19 earlier this year caused unprecedented impact to the trade sectors: supply chains were disrupted or completely broken, customer bases disappeared, workers were furloughed, and the look of the workplace fundamentally changed. We’ve all had to adapt.

How our quest to be relevant can backfire