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Education

StreetSmarts SM

SHARING WISDOM
SHARING WISDOM

WITH JEFF FORTNEY WITH JEFF FORTNEY

Short staffed doesn't mean short on service

By Jeff Fortney has the highest number of people resigning their posi-
The Strawhecker Group tions and not going to other employment. This group is
not eligible for unemployment, as Texas does not allow
I've noticed an increase in the number of signs on or payment of unemployment benefits to those who volun-
adjacent to merchants' doors lately. And I'm not talking tarily resign.
about marketing signage. Sure, everyone has an open and
hours sign, along with any disclosures required by law, If you had asked six months ago what this has to do with
but I now see other signs that were either nonexistent or our professions, I would have said nothing. I figured that
rare before the pandemic. One is the mask sign indicating most open jobs would be filled relatively quickly. Instead,
masks are either required or encouraged. Another com- the potential workforce has shrunken, requiring small to
mon sign displays the curbside pickup/online ordering midsize merchants to search harder for workers and likely
options. And the newest sign I see consistently is the help pay higher salaries when they find qualified candidates.
wanted notice.
Now, the need for assistance with payment acceptance
I had seen help wanted signs earlier but assumed they and other business solutions isn't going away just because
were due to the fact that many workers found other jobs merchants can’t find someone to hire, and this creates op-
during the lockdown and business closures. A few cur- portunity for our industry. They need alternatives to help
rent openings are likely due to this reason, but it seems them address their needs and pains, and we have them.
many people quit their existing employment and decided
to not seek other employment. This was due to three basic You might be thinking I have lost my marbles, that we are
reasons: helping merchants collect payments and giving them the
1. While home during the lockdown they discovered ability to sell more products. We aren’t workforce replace-
they could survive without the income from their ments. We pride ourselves on our ability to help them in-
job. crease sales, which increases demand for our services.

2. They chose to take early retirement or early semi- I spoke to a number of small to midsize merchants and
retirement (this may be related to the first reason). asked them what they needed in an employee and what
they were hiring for. The most common answer wasn’t to
3. They developed alternative revenue earning ac- man a cash register. They needed people to assist consum-
tivities during the lockdown. ers, help stock shelves and fill online orders. The employ-
ees they had were working the cash registers and check-
It seems clear the extension of unemployment benefits was ing people out. They just could not find time for these
not one of the reasons people did not return to the work- other needs.
force after resigning from their jobs. For example,Texas

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