HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – As we approach the holidays, some local businesses are reporting greater-than-ever struggles with finding workers.
Gerald Einhorn owns Gerald’s Ice Cream Bar in the Hilltop Shopping Center in Virginia Beach. He said he is getting a lot of applicants, but the people are either not showing up for interviews or once they’re offered the job, they never return.
“Sounds like it’s trifling but it’s not. I spent three hours waiting around yesterday for people who didn’t show up,” said Einhorn. “So you’re talking about wasting my time and money.”
Einhorn said he pays to post positions on a popular job search website.
“I thought it was like someone was targeting me for some fun and game, but it’s not,” stated Einhorn, who also said he contacted the job site about his troubles.
“It’s a national problem, big time, to the point that they’re trying to develop a way of controlling this," said Jenny Crittenden, senior vice president of Retail Alliance. She said other businesses are also feeling the pinch.
“Those that apply don’t even show up to the interview because they’re applying to multiple places. So, if you don’t grab them quickly, get them in that day, do an interview and make an offer, they’re most likely being taken by someone else they’ve applied to at the same time they applied to you as well,” Crittenden said.
As we approach the holidays, small businesses are competing with big box stores when it comes to hiring.
“We are entering the fourth quarter. You know, this is a time we need extra people, whether it’s for packing and shipping and selling, serving larger parties at restaurants, there is a huge need for workers in those industries,” she said.
Crittenden suggests small business owners offer flexible schedules which are in high demand. She also recommends spending lots of time training current employees and striving for a positive work environment because happy employees will often naturally recruit others.
