Although the coronavirus pandemic is becoming a distant memory, small and midsize businesses are still feeling the impacts of lockdowns when it comes to hiring and maintaining service levels for frontline teams. In the United States, at least 1.7 million individuals are missing from the work force and 38% of SMBs reported difficulty in hiring for vacancies (US Chamber of Commerce, Conference Board). Lack of personnel in the frontlines poses a bigger challenge for SMBs as gaps in service and quality can negatively impact the business in many areas. Customer facing businesses depend on those frontline teams to generate revenue as well as maintain operations and maintaining high levels of efficiency and productivity is critical to controlling costs and driving profitability. SMB owners and managers have to make the right choices when trying to fill openings but also must employ a strategy to get the very best out of new hires as well as tenured individuals on the team. Challenges in the current labor pools means trying to get the best out of what is available and minimizing and eliminating any potential gaps in service and quality.

Strategies for Hiring

Finding qualified candidates for frontline positions is very challenging, especially for SMBs. Even with a shrinking pool of enthusiastic and qualified candidates, owners and managers must make accurate hiring decisions as impacts from bad hiring choices can negatively affect many aspects of the business. Mapping out a hiring strategy and checklist can help define what the ideal candidate would look like and can be used as reference when vetting applicants. The onboarding process is also a critical component of successful hiring as most turnover in entry level positions occurs very early during employment or right after the first few days. A strong plan for training and support can reduce and eliminate costly turnover and set the new hire up for long term success. Vacancies in frontline teams may cause short term problems for the business but making the wrong hiring decision will impact the business both operationally and financially. A defined hiring strategy can help owners and managers vet candidates correctly and make more accurate hiring decisions that will ultimately benefit the business.

Focusing on the Individual

Openings in customer facing frontline teams may not be filled in a timely manner which may lead to gaps in operations and service quality. The current hiring environment is not friendly to small and midsize businesses and developing current human assets is a key tool in preventing service gaps. Tenured and experienced individuals are also key players in closing gaps and focusing on developing and upskilling veterans can help bridge the gap while vacancies in the frontline team are unfilled. Some benefits to businesses are:

Upskilling adds ability to individuals and can take on different duties outside their normal scope

Reskilling ensures performance and accuracy

Habit forming training can increase organizational abilities and drive individual efficiency and productivity

Consistent and focused development increases individual ownership of the business, a key driver of motivation and productivity

Worker experience and overall happiness can be attributed to ongoing development and training, which also provides long term benefits to the business.

Training in the Digital Age

Hiring and training can be costly, especially for SMBs and utilizing non-traditional methods of training can be more effective in delivery essential information as well as economically practical. Self paced platforms can teach new hires and foundational skills and job specific processes while online learning is a cost effective way to hold small group sessions to convey important training and learnings. Artificial Intelligence is also set to revolutionize training methods and can be highly effective at getting new hires ready to work from their very first day. In development technology such as hospit-Ai-lity, uses AI to quickly train travel new hires in an industry where service gaps are highly detrimental to the business.

The Bottom Line

Most SMBs have some sort of customer facing component to their operation and in this highly competitive marketplace, it is critical to maximize every customer opportunity and deliver top shelf experiences on a consistent basis. Ongoing issues with the quality and quantity of available candidates means any vacancies in frontline teams could lead to service and quality gaps. Making the right hiring decisions and having an effective onboarding strategy will help businesses close service gaps and reduce costly turnover. Ongoing upskilling and development for individuals in the frontline will help reduce and eliminate service and operational gaps when the team starts thinning out. Using technology can be a highly effective and cost conscious method to advance individual development. Frontline teams are of critical importance to revenue generation and maintaining operations and any gaps in productivity or efficiency has even a greater negative effect when it comes to small and midsize businesses. Upskilling and development will drive productivity and efficiency, as well as maintain a high level of performance from the frontline team.