The labor shortage reached crisis status in 2021 further stalling the supply chain which had already been strained by COVID-19.
Despite wage increases and more than 800,000 job openings, the CPG industry, the nation’s largest manufacturing employer in the U.S., added only 12,000 jobs during the second quarter.
The National Grocers Association, which represents independent retailers, urged President Joe Biden and his administration to advance policies that encouraged unemployed Americans to seek work and provide resources to businesses in need of help.
“While unemployed Americans certainly need a safety net as they try to get back on their feet, the benefits of combined unemployment and stimulus policies should not meet or exceed prior compensation, or businesses will be competing with the government for labor,” said NGA president and CEO Greg Ferrara in a letter to Biden.
Food retailers large and small felt the effects of the shortage, with 80 percent saying that difficulties in attracting and retaining employees had negatively impacted their business, according to FMI’s research report, The Food Retailing Industry Speaks 2021.
H-E-B president Craig Boyan, who attributed the shortage to stimulus payments and childcare shortages, encouraged companies to think of labor as an investment and not a cost.
Many retailers did just that and ramped up their recruiting efforts, especially during the months leading up to the busy winter holiday season. Kroger and Publix recruited tens of thousands of employees for seasonal help.
In an effort to make the most of its existing labor pool, Target offered more hours and flexibility to its store employees.
“Five million more hours are being offered to current store employees this season (resulting in more than $75 million more in pay), which will help the company hire fewer seasonal team members and give existing employees the opportunity to work additional hours if they’re interested,” the retailer said.
The chain also launched a mobile scheduling app that allows team members to more easily pick up additional hours and switch shifts. It also enables employees who opt to work “on demand” to pick up shifts that align with their schedules, according to the retailer.
Amazon offered more choices for its employees with the introduction of Amazon FamilyFlex, a program that gives employees the resources to create the right balance between home life and work life, including pregnancy and parental leave, adoption assistance, and in select roles, the ability to swap shifts and create custom schedules. The program was a result of feedback from employees on the most effective ways to provide flexibility and support in managing their work and personal lives.
Restaurants, meanwhile, employed a range of solutions to tackle the crunch, including raising their pay levels and paying bonuses to attract workers, streamlining their menus and operations to get by with fewer staff, and in many cases relying on technologies to reduce the need for some positions.
Related: Report: CPG Category Faces Continued Supply Chain, Labor Challenges; Coop's Partnership Provides Job Training.