While businesses fight hard like Superman to stay on top, a high employee turnover rate can act as Kryptonite and slow your progress down. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of Americans quitting jobs has increased over the past year, a trend you know as the Great Resignation. People who are uprooting from their positions are half of the conversation. Sometimes, being short-staffed has nothing to do with people quitting. Sometimes life happens. What is your game plan if someone on your team gets sick, has a baby, or must deal with a personal crisis and will need to take an extended leave? It's hard to expect the unexpected, but we can try.

At Cnect, we always keep an eye out for talent, and here are 2 strategies for staying staffed up regardless of what unfolds while saving your business money and time.

1. Prepare for the unknown.

Even if you don't have vacant positions, you may find yourself needing to bring in extra hands to help your team. Give your company the grace to successfully jump over hurdles and still move forward with business. As our CEO Michael Nadeau states, "You should always be thinking about hiring and getting ahead of the hiring process because you don't know when the unknown can hit."

• COVID or serious injuries are just some reasons a team member could be out for a while. If this happens, you can pivot and still move forward with any projects in the works by keeping a fish net available to catch talented people capable of getting the job done and who can jump in and help you at a moment's notice. The previous examples are legitimate reasons to call out, and as with most things, a hefty price tag will result from the unfortunate events.
• The total annual cost related to lost productivity across the US totaled $84 billion. 

Nowadays, we face challenges and situations we can't control, and it's best to be ready to play some defense to prevent a terrible situation rather than playing damage control to recover after the worst happens.

What's a fish net for talent?

At Cnect, attracting the best of the best looks like this "Superstar" job posting on our career page. (Click the link and see for yourself and come right back.) We never want to be in a position to scramble if we were to be down some team members, and having a pool of top-tier talent can save the day. It isn't all Dooms Day either, as we wish to have access to all spectacular applicants looking for their next opportunity. Create a way where you can come across terrific people, especially if they ooze with amazingness and present enough promise! If Bill Gates wanted to join your fully staffed team, you'd make it work! You wouldn't hesitate because of logistics.

2. Re-examine your team.  

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of your team to get closer to the durable staff you want. A poor hire, or a gap in your staff, can also lower production, degrade the quality of work, and lead to a rushed recruiting process when you find yourself in a crunch to meet specific deliverables.

• Companies spend an average of $14,900 on each poor hire.

To avoid this situation, Cnect brings human connection back into the hiring process because we believe people show up to work, not resumes. This new hiring method allows you to gauge chemistry through First Impression Videos and get to know somebody on demand. It's beneficial to skip many steps within the traditional process; by doing so, you'll know it's worth your time and effort to bring an applicant in for an interview. As more hiring teams mitigate the risk of being short-staffed by using Cnect, new hires share their positive experience of what it's like to go through a faster, warmer, and friendlier hiring process.