Too few staff for too many jobs: are there solutions?

In order to get that group to work, a number of things have to happen, says the professor. “For these people, work must be rewarding compared to benefits. They also often need work-learning trajectories to match existing vacancies.”

Employers play a role in this, with the main condition that they must search more broadly. “They have to be prepared to not just look for the five-legged sheep,” says Wilthagen. “Give many more people a chance, focus on skills and not just diplomas or previous work experience in the exact same position.”

Mismatch

Although the current shortage comes after a period in which unemployment rose, this is not a unique situation, says professor Irmgard Borghouts (HRM and Social Security). “Unemployment has never been zero. Even now, there are companies that sell staff or there are people who cannot find a suitable job.”

According to the Tilburg University expert, it is therefore not about the number of jobs and job seekers, but about the match that must be made to match the right vacancy to the right person. “Your policy as a company must be separate from the economy. And that is exactly what often goes wrong.”

Appearance

An important condition for employers to have sufficient staff is to look ahead, says Borghouts. “So a preventive policy. Now you put out the fire if the house is on fire. I argue that we should start talking to staff sooner. How are they doing, what are their dreams, talents and ambitions and how can you help with that.”

And if you find yourself in a crisis situation as a company, as is sometimes the case now, you have to be creative and work together. Borghouts: “The corona crisis showed that companies can help each other: where one person had too many staff, the other had too little. This way you can lend staff to each other, if they want to.”

Borghout’s amusement park Efteling is a good example. “That company already did this a number of years ago: they closed in the winter and the staff worked in the administrative department of an insurance company. At that time, it was experiencing peak pressure at the end of the year. But also for the catering business on the angle applies: look around you.”

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