Can’t Fill Jobs? Help Workers Define a Purpose and a Path

“Everyone has been made for some particular work,
and the desire for that work has been put in every heart.” — Rumi

After a couple of quiet travel years due to COVID-19, it’s nice to be on the road again. (Kathy strongly agrees with that statement!) One of the biggest strategic challenges member company leaders keep raising to me is finding talent. In fact, when I asked attendees at any of my recent chapter events everyone in attendance identifies the competition for talent as their number one challenge.

These comments are not surprising. The Wall Street Journal reported on June 1 that government statistics show there are more than 10 million total job openings in the United States. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has found about 40 percent of jobs in the durable goods manufacturing sector are vacant and, more broadly, there are nearly two jobs open for every person in the United States looking for work.

Too many people are sitting on the sidelines. There were 2 million more workers in the labor force before the pandemic hit.

The poet Rumi was right: Work is meaningful and most people desire it. Working together, we can help people rediscover that drive.

What American Workers Want
According to Deloitte research released this spring, Gen Z and Millennial employees are increasingly interested in part time work. What is going to make them stay full-time?

The research is clear: it’s the two “Ps.” Employers must provide purpose-driven work and help workers map a path up their own personal ladder of success.

A 2021 Manufacturing Institute survey found 69 percent of manufacturing employees under the age of 25 stayed in their jobs because of training and development opportunities. As the Society for Human Resources Management noted, employees wanted a purpose-filled job even before the pandemic made them rethink the role of work in their lives. One 2017 survey found 90 percent of professionals would sacrifice 23 percent of future earnings — an average of $21,000 a year at the time — in exchange for “work that is always meaningful.” Additionally, research from Great Place To Work® has found three questions will predict workplace turnover:

• Are you proud of where you work?
• Do you find meaning in your work?
• Do you have fun at work?

Great Place to Work said these questions drive all employees, regardless of generation or job type. Whether it is the machinist on your shop floor, or the inside salesperson making a cold call, each person on your payroll must believe they are driving toward something larger.

Help Your Employees Define Their Purpose
Employers can provide space for workers to identify their purpose — but they cannot define an employee’s purpose for them. A 2018 Harvard Business Review article explained how KPMG got this balance right.

Through a program called the 10,000 Stories Challenge, the company invited employees to create posters that explained their role at KPMG and connected their specific tasks to the organization’s mission. Each participating employee created a purpose-driven headline, such as “I Combat Terrorism,” and wrote a clarifying statement that provided more detail.

MSCI recently asked veterans how the hard and soft skills they developed during their military service to their jobs in the metals sector. Bralco Metals’ John Hall told us his experience in the military helped him adapt to changes in the industry and to work well even in the middle of uncertainty. Hall said, “What makes a good teammate during tough times is resilience, self-confidence, and trust that we can try new methods and find new markets for our products with the support of our co-workers.”

What a beautiful statement of purpose.

MSCI’s Human Capital Management Series with Dr. Jia Wang also provides fresh ideas for keeping workers engaged and focused on their purpose.

Help Your Employees Map Their Path
Korn Ferry’s Megan Jackson has said, “When I think about the future of work, I think about creating an experience within an organization that provides a career pathway.”

With dozens of training opportunities, MSCI helps its member companies advance in their career. You can find these offerings in our new Knowledge and Learning Catalog. We offer programs on topics ranging from sales to safety to strategic leadership. There’s something for everyone, regardless of skill level or functional role.

MSCI’s new Apprenticeship Program also will help employers recruit and retain high quality workers. The program is open to new entrants until June 30. As an added benefit, participants will be eligible to join virtual quarterly meetings to network and exchange talent development best practices.

MSCI’s FORGE AHEAD initiative fosters the development of the next generation of professionals who want to make an impact on the industrial metals sector and helps member companies drive ideas that will create a sustainable, innovative, and inclusive industry. Our next FORGE AHEAD event, which is free for millennial and Gen Z metals employees, is in June. Register here.

Finally, our popular complimentary weekly webinars cover a variety of topics that can help employees pick up new intelligence and skills that will help them advance in their careers.

In his 1597 book Meditationes Sacrae, explorer Sir Francis Bacon used the Latin phrase, “ipsa scientia potestas est,” which means “knowledge itself is power.” By helping employees gain knowledge and connect their work to a higher purpose, we have the power to address our industry’s greatest strategic challenge: the jobs gap.