One of the most cited keywords of 2022 was certainly “scarcity”. Shortage of certain drugs, shortage of certain products or food, but above all shortage of manpower.
The latter has caused many headaches for managers, whether private companies or public bodies. The perverse effects of the labor shortage have made the headlines, and several unfortunate stories have resulted: closures, relocation, limitation of supply, pressure on employees, etc.
Future retirements, very weak labor force growth, too slow immigration, all of this seems to indicate that this shortage is here for a long time and that we will have to be very creative in order to come to terms with it.
Several attempts have been made to find a solution, but they are reactive rather than proactive. It is as if we were trying to fill a bathtub without putting the stopper on.
And if this shortage also had its good sides? What if we could take advantage of it?
Is it even possible? The answer is yes, for the benefit of managers, but especially employees. Taking advantage of the labor shortage is betting on using technology as a means, as a tool, instead of a miracle solution to all our problems. It’s knowing how to value what we have and transform weaknesses to quickly save time.
According to a collaborative study by Accenture Research surveying all G20 countries and carried out in partnership with the G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance, 89% of working time, all jobs combined, could be either optimized by digital technologies, be completely eliminated! In fact, of this number, 38% of working time could be completely automated in order to allow individuals to focus directly on value-creating actions.
Because yes, current employees are in the best position to propose new, more effective and efficient ways of doing things. With the right tools, they know where they’re wasting time unnecessarily and what issues are preventing them from reaching their full potential.
This is exactly what companies should implement in 2023: allow employees to find possible improvements in order to eliminate what hinders the full creation of human added value.
Why not approach the problem of labor shortage from this perspective: by using the individuals in place and giving them the means to be in the right place at the right time? The labor shortage may well be the shock the market needs to question itself and realize that things can be done differently.
Quebec has already put everything in place to support businesses and encourage transformation. We just need to avoid the mistakes of the past and start by valuing people. This first step, often forgotten, frees up time and allows those who want to be actors of change for their individual and collective well-being and the sustainability of the organization.
Barack Obama said that the current situation “in itself is not the change we seek, it is only an opportunity for us to create this change”. Let’s hope that the labor shortage in 2023 will become the opportunity through which we will be able to renew our ways of doing things and also advance both our businesses and our economy. What if we give it a shot in 2023?