Not Ready to Hire Yet? You Can Still Prime the Pump
by Clyde McQueen
Subsidized training, other options can offer opportunities to ramp up your production.
Given the kinds of things you may read about with business these days, or see on the 24/7 cable television programming, it bears noting: Not every business out there is on the threshold of collapse. While many businesses certainly have been compelled to reduce their work forces over the past two years, many others have found their equilibrium during this protracted downturn. They have tightened their belts, gotten back to basics, and, in many cases, found that they can indeed prosper in the face of overall economic stagnation.
But that doesn’t mean those business owners are ready to start hiring. For a variety of reasons, businesses are playing it ultra-safe with long-term staffing commitments. They want to know more about how the costs of health-care reform will affect them, whether there are any additional regulatory changes coming from federal or state offices, and whether their businesses, or they themselves, are going to be assessed with higher tax rates.
They could be growing more, but they need more employees to do that, and they won’t bring on new employees until they know conditions are right to substantiate that growth. It may sound like a dilemma that can’t be resolved, but for business owners and managers seeking creative solutions, there are ways to add manpower without adding the costs normally associated with bringing on full-time employees.
The Full Employment Council, like other work-force development organizations, understands the challenges facing employers in this downturn economy. Employers have several options they can explore to help reduce the costs associated with recruitment and training of new employees.
According to a recent survey developed by the Mid-America Regional Council, an average 90 percent of employers prefer to train on the job; with this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the options available to small businesses.
One of them, On-the-Job Training, is hands-on training designed by the employer. It gives the employer an opportunity to train new employees their way, while investing in their company. The OJT Program can offset training costs of new employees to the small business owner. Employers that train and hire Full Employment Council applicants are reimbursed up to 50 percent of the applicant’s wage rate by the council. Quality training reduces employee turnover, while saving revenue for the small employer; and low employee turnover reduces operating costs.
As with the regular OJT program, the National Emergency Grant On-the-Job Training Program provides a unique opportunity for applicants who have extensive work history but lack specific skills. This is a special program targeting the long-term unemployed job seeker (those that have been unemployed for 20 or more weeks, as defined by the state of Missouri). Small businesses employing fewer than 50 people can receive up to 90 percent of the new hire’s training wages; these employees’ current position must be different from jobs previously held. These funds help offset the extraordinary costs the small business incurs to train new employees.
Another option might be through internships; a number of internship programs target young adults 18 to 21. While they acquire new job related skills, the Full Employment Council will subsidize 100 percent of the trainee’s wages during a specified training period. If the trainee successfully completes the training period, he is hired into a full-time job.
And, of course, there are other options available. The increase in layoffs since 2009 has left staffing agencies flush with skilled workers, many of whom are highly motivated to get back to work and to demonstrate their value. Universities and community colleges have programs dedicated to assisting business development, and can provide you with additional resources and timely guidance.
Can you afford to hire new employees? The better question might be, can you afford the opportunity costs of not hiring?
The economic downturn is real, but much of that reality is grounded in perception and unfounded fears that are fueling a psychological vicious circle. The road back to full employment starts with business hiring. Creative business owners and managers can help start the process by finding new and innovative ways to get people back to work. 
Clyde McQueen is CEO of the Full Employment Council in Kansas City.
P | 816.691.2566
E | cmcqueen@feckc.org