If you keep your eyes open you are likely to see help wanted signs all over town. Many companies are struggling to find workers. To sweeten the pot, some companies are finding creative ways to lure workers. The restaurant industry has been one of the industries hardest hit for a worker shortage. The Wall Street Journal reports that McDonald’s is adding emergency child care, boosting hourly pay, giving workers paid time off and help cover tuition costs. The publication explains that what the fast-food chain does is important because it’s one of the largest private employers in the country. This means that other restaurants follow what the corporation does closely.
McDonald’s in May said it would bump up starting pay in its corporate-owned restaurants to $11 to $17 an hour and said it would keep assessing wages to be competitive.
Another perk is coming in the form of bonuses. According to CBS News, “From last July through mid-June, the share of job listings offering hiring bonuses has more than doubled, according to recent data from Indeed Hiring Lab.”
Employers across many industries are relying on hiring bonuses to recruit, but the analysis found that the trucking, dental and nursing industries have the largest share of job postings that include incentives, Indeed Hiring Lab economist AnnElizabeth Konkel said.
Help wanted signs aren’t exactly doing the trick for some businesses. So some corporations are going where the young people are, TikTok. CNBC writes:
Chipotle, Target, WWE and Shopify are among the companies teaming up with TikTok Resumes, a pilot program that lets job candidates submit video resumes on the social platform. The recruitment offering is yet another way for companies to connect with potential employees as the war for talent rages on.
All this may be a reckoning for businesses that typically pay workers low wages. Many businesses have been blaming the extra government assistance during the pandemic, but there is a lot more to that argument than meets the eye.