What You Need to Do to Overcome Common Staffing Challenges in a Competitive Market

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Finding the right people, for the right role—and at the right price—is a constant struggle for employers. However, with the current labor shortage in the US, these staffing challenges are intensifying. As of December 2024, companies of all sizes were actively seeking to fill over 8 million vacant jobs across a number of industries and geographical regions.

What can employers do to adapt to this reality while maintaining productivity and staying competitive? “Employers must rethink their existing recruitment and retention strategies to better match what today’s employees want, “ says Ruffy Galang, CEO and Co-Founder of Remote Employee.

“They also need to consider newer, more innovative solutions, such as offshore outsourcing, remote work solutions, and better growth opportunities for their existing talent.”

In this article, we’ll discuss today’s most common staffing challenges and what companies can do to overcome them.

5 Staffing Issues And Practical Solutions to Overcome Them

Staffing Challenge 1: Worker Shortages

As mentioned earlier, millions of vacant roles are being left unfilled because of the current worker shortage. This is a reality for many industries facing acute talent shortages, particularly for roles requiring specialized skills or technical expertise. Currently, in North America, 7 in 10 employers cannot find the people they need to fill job vacancies.

This impacts most sectors including healthcare administration, IT, engineering, administration, and others. These shortages create delays, increase workloads for current staff, and lower overall productivity.

What to Do

For worker shortage related staffing problems, employers need to be creative and adopt modern recruiting strategies that serve to broaden the talent search. For instance, consider creating more remote roles that enable you to expand your recruitment borders. 

Or look into hiring nontraditional candidates such as individuals from diverse educational backgrounds, career changers, retirees re-entering the workforce, and people with transferable skills. 

Employers can also tap into underrepresented groups, such as veterans. Hiring a veteran may make an employer eligible for certain tax breaks or other incentives. Or consider individuals with disabilities, or those returning after a career break. 

To overcome worker shortages, it’s essential to adjust job requirements to focus on skills and potential, rather than rigid credentials alone and create access to previously overlooked talent pools. 

Staffing Challenge 2: Increasing Wages and Hiring Costs

With more employers seeking employees than workers seeking jobs, candidates expect employers to go above and beyond previous expectations. Recent studies show that 17.3 of job offers (that’s 1 in 6) in the United States are rejected. An obvious way to secure the talent you want is to offer higher wages and more attractive compensation packages. 

However, it’s not always feasible, especially when inflation is already straining budgets and demanding stronger compensation strategies.

What to Do

To manage increasing labor costs and meet employee expectations, employers can adopt a multi-faceted approach. 

First, consider offshore outsourcing for roles that can be executed off-site. This allows businesses to tap into highly skilled talent pools in regions with lower labor costs while maintaining quality. By outsourcing roles such as administrative support, customer service, or IT, businesses can allocate resources more effectively and reduce pressure on local teams.

Additionally, partnering with firms that handle HR, technology, and physical infrastructure further lowers hiring costs by reducing administrative overhead.

Re-evaluate your compensation structure to remain competitive without overextending budgets. Instead of focusing solely on wages, offer value through benefits like flexible schedules, remote work options, or professional development programs. 

Staffing Challenge 3: Employees Leave Shortly After Onboarding

Candidates dropping out during the hiring process or after accepting offers is a growing problem for employers. Shockingly, 50% of new hires plan to leave soon after starting with 30% of new hires leaving in just 90 days. This challenge wastes resources, disrupts hiring timelines, and leaves critical positions unfilled. 

What to Do

Inadequate training and poor onboarding experiences are generally accepted as to why new employees leave so soon. Additionally, in a market where more jobs than people to fill them exist, employees can easily move to a new company with minimal risk to their career and financial health.

The key to being an employer new workers want to work for lies in creating an environment where the employees feel engaged and valued. This means paying close attention to making early interactions and training meaningful, productive, and motivational.

For instance, communicate regularly with new employees, set clear expectations, and provide feedback promptly. Keep hiring and onboarding processes short to keep top candidates interested and reduce the likelihood of dropouts.

Despite an employer’s best efforts, it may not be enough in such a competitive job market. Turning to borderless hiring solutions can help fill critical roles quickly and effectively. Consider partnering with offshore staffing firms that can handle recruitment and onboarding, and have candidates ready to commit and willing to contribute immediately. 

Staffing Challenge 4: Low Employee Retention Rates

Once employees cross that critical one-year mark, there’s still a risk of them leaving. On average, American workers stay with a company for 3.9 years. This shows that even after successfully hiring employees, retaining them should still be a priority to keep your team cohesive and turnover low.

Low employee retention disrupts workflows, increases hiring costs, and lowers morale for the remaining team. In competitive industries, such as IT and healthcare, employees are more quick to move on if they feel undervalued, lack growth opportunities, or find better offers elsewhere.

What to Do

Focus on building a workplace where employees feel valued and supported. Start by conducting regular stay interviews to understand what keeps employees engaged and address any concerns early. Offer clear career advancement paths, mentorship programs, and training opportunities to foster growth.

Additionally, create a strong company culture by celebrating achievements and encouraging collaboration. Invest in employee well-being through flexible work arrangements, mental health support, and meaningful benefits. Retaining talent is about more than compensation—it’s about creating an environment where employees want to stay.

Pro-Tip: Combat high turnover with offshore outsourcing. Select and hire the talent you want without the risk of lost training investments, equipment and infrastructure purchases, or delays in filling critical roles.

Staffing Challenge 5: Managing Remote Employees

With remote work becoming more commonplace, many employers face challenges in maintaining communication, collaboration, and productivity across distributed employees. Remote setups can lead to feelings of isolation among employees, difficulties in monitoring progress, and a lack of team cohesion.

However, the benefits of remote work for attracting employees are undeniable. 20% of the American workforce works remotely with 98% of workers polled in this study aim to work remotely for the remainder of their careers. 

When looking to overcome staffing issues in the workplace, creating cohesive and motivational remote work opportunities just might be your golden ticket.

What to Do

To create cohesive and motivational remote work opportunities, start by building a strong communication framework. Use project management and collaboration tools, such as Trello and Slack, to set goals, track progress, and maintain clear, instant communication. Additionally, regular video calls and team check-ins are essential for fostering connection and alignment.

Focus on employee well-being by encouraging work-life balance. Provide resources for physical and mental health support. Create opportunities for virtual team-building activities to strengthen relationships and reduce feelings of isolation.

Investing in the technology needed to build an effective remote work environment can be costly. Consider partnering with an outsourcing firm that is set up with the latest solutions and connectivity needed for a successful remote work environment and workflows. 

That way you can instantly access skilled talent and the infrastructure necessary to facilitate a productive and cohesive remote workforce.

Overcome Staffing Problems with Remote Employee

Staffing challenges are an inevitable part of today’s competitive labor market. From worker shortages and rising labor costs to retention issues and managing remote teams, these hurdles can strain resources and disrupt growth. However, the right strategies can turn these obstacles into opportunities.

Offshore outsourcing stands out as a proven way to address these challenges effectively. It allows businesses to access skilled talent, reduce costs, and streamline workflows while maintaining high productivity and employee satisfaction. 

Remote Employee takes offshore outsourcing to the next level. We specialize in providing businesses with the talent and technology needed to overcome staffing issues and stay ahead of the competition. 

Ready to take the next step? Let Remote Employee help you build a stronger, more efficient workforce.