Hiring a Top Challenge for Broward Businesses

Only 20 percent of Broward business owners say they are not having trouble hiring, according to a survey by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance in partnership with Kaufman Rossin. The two organizations recently held a roundtable moderated by Tom Hudson of WLRN 91.3 FM to discuss the results of the 2016 Broward Executive Survey with local business leaders.

From banking and insurance to technology and non-profits, everyone in the room could agree: recruiting and retaining talent is a top challenge in Broward County.

The survey found that hiring is especially tough right now in these areas:

• Sales
• Management
• Accounting/Finance
• Customer service
• Technology/IT
• Administrative

Business owners have been working hard not only to attract talent, but also to retain it. Some companies have raised salaries or boosted total compensation packages. Some have invested heavily in building and maintaining a great company culture.

And recruiting is even more difficult than retaining talent, said Tom Evangelista of Vistage Florida, a networking organization for business executives with about 800 members across the state. One roundtable participant, Aaron Lee of digital marketing agency Illuminati Studios, said it took him five months to find a qualified candidate for a social media position at his company.

This is not a new problem, said Scott Garvis of Dale Carnegie of South Florida. He has seen companies struggle with these issues for more than 20 years. However, what is new is that many companies are now expecting graduates to come out of school at a higher skill and talent level than in the past and are not willing to take on the significant cost of training inexperienced or unskilled recruits, said Dr. Preston Jones of Nova Southeastern University.

Business owners are often looking to hire employees with three to five years of experience for entry-level jobs. However, many millennials come out of school without any prior work experience, said Laurie Sallarulo of Junior Achievement of South Florida, a non-profit that prepares K-12 students for workforce readiness and economic success. In previous generations, it was typical to hold a first job as a teenager, she said, as many around the room nodded in agreement. Business leaders also expressed other challenges related to millennial workers, including a lack of soft skills and a high turnover rate.

To adapt to the new generation in the workplace, companies are having to adjust not only their expectations, but also their policies and approach toward issues like work-life balance and flexible schedules.

Many millennial employees will put in 150% if they are given the flexibility to work when and how they want to (not just 9-5 in the office), said Ron Antevy of software company e-Builder. Douglas Bartel of Florida Blue said his company has invested in technology to adapt to the desire of younger employees to work remotely.

Jerry Katz of Premier Protection Insurance Services has also made changes to appeal to millennials. Company-sponsored community involvement days, unrestricted paid time off, half days, and a “goal-setting room” (like at Zappos) are just some of the perks he has added to attract and retain employees.

In addition to improving benefits, adding perks, increasing salaries and offering flex-time to address recruitment issues, some companies are working closely with local colleges and universities to close the skills gap and identify potential recruits.

Dr. Jones said he wants to better understand the needs of businesses so Nova can adapt the curriculum and better prepare students to meet those needs. Renee Law of Broward College invites business leaders to participate on advisory boards, where they can help shape the direction of academic programs and share their concerns. And both institutions have employer programs to facilitate internships.

The biggest challenge, Law said, is convincing business owners that there is talent in here South Florida.

“We need to make the next generation excited about South Florida as a place where they want to be and can afford to be,” said Bartel.

Download the survey report