South Jersey BIZ - Issue #6 (June 2021)

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SJBiz_Dept_Help_Wanted_0621_Dept 6 / 21 / 21 1 : 14 PM Page 1 specifically addressing how a nationwide lack E M P L O Y M E N T of truck drivers is hitting home . Division of Roads and Bridges drivers are being trained to assist contracted recycling provider Occu - pational Training Center’s ( OTC’s ) staff with collection , while commissioners and the Bridge Commission entered into a shared - service agreement allowing the latter’s li - Help Wanted censed truck drivers to also work in a collec - tions capacity . after trash cans The announcement came Among the lingering impacts of COVID is a sat outside homes for days and amid resi - widespread worker shortage , which has brought dents ’ begrudging grumbles about being ad - vised to haul their own recycling to local cen - [ By Madeleine Maccar ] unique challenges to the region . ters themselves with no local tax reductions ne of the earliest and most prevailing reflecting their efforts . faced a new hurdle : a shortage of workers . lessons of the pandemic was the in - “ We understand and share the frustra - When National Federation of Independ - terconnectivity of not only local com - tions of our residents about the delays , but ent Business Chief Economist William C . O munities but also worldwide ones . It wasn’t the truck driver shortage has created a lot of Dunkelberg released his May 2021 job re - just embodied in how a virus circled the globe challenges beyond our control , ” said Com - port , he noted a record - high 48 % of small O with deadly speed : It was demonstrated in missioner Tom Pullion in a countywide press business owners said their companies have food banks ’ uptick in donations to meet in - release . “ These additional drivers are not a unfilled job openings . He added that May is creased demand , how communities con - permanent fix and they won’t necessarily get the fourth consecutive month of record nected immunocompromised or immobilized us back to our regular recycling schedule highs in that regard , and stands 26 points previous 48 - year historical residents with neighbors eager to safely lend overnight , but they should help us bridge the higher than the high of 22 % . a hand , and in municipalities organizing drives gap while we continue to work with OTC to “ Small business owners are struggling to benefit international communities still be - help them hire and train permanent drivers . ” at record levels trying to get workers back sieged by high infection rates . But the shortage of workers started play - in open positions , ” Dunkelberg said in his But for the good that emerges in times of ing out much earlier in the pandemic , reports an Morton , president of the Marlton Busi - report . trouble , an international crisis is going to have D ness Association , with restaurants being A number of voices offer commingling ramifications that play out in waves and on an among the first to feel the pains of a retract - opinions and evidence supporting their ex - intimately personal scale . Soon , the human ing workforce . planations why businesses across the country toll spiraled beyond heartbreaking stories of “ As restaurants reopened , they had a lot and New Jersey are suddenly hemorrhaging loved ones lost to COVID or survivors ’ com - quality of life and included those of servers just being honest and say like , ‘ Hey , employees . But , like any other complex issue , promised thrust into financial chaos , food insecurity and I’m getting the extra help and there’s no rea - this one has myriad factors at play . the very real threat of losing their homes . son to come to work , see you in September , ’ Some of the most persistent explanations Among those touched by COVID’s sec - when federal payments are supposed to nat - are : continued unemployment and stimulus ondhand ruination were local business own - urally run out , ” Morton says . payments encouraging people to decline ers , whose livelihoods and companies often No matter the industry or job , being so work opportunities ; remote education and a followed a reluctant path that began with short - staffed means those who do show up lack of child care options mean that many temporary closures and ended with shutting are overwhelmed and doing more with less . parents never returned to work ; and 2020 ’ s their doors for good . Those who were spared That compromises the quality of the product , ban on J1 Visa applicants for summer jobs is a permanent end to their operations soon service or business they deliver , which , in turn , still affecting this year’s seasonal employers becomes a community problem — and a qual - at the Shore — an ad - ity - of - life problem for workers left picking up ditional concern be - more than their fair share . cause tourism season a significant contrib - “ It makes everybody a little more on edge is utor when it comes to the people who are working are do - because directing tax dollars ing more to keep up with the work of five peo - back into the state . ple when they only have two , ” says Craig Most recently , the Dennin , vice president of the Moorestown reality of a worker Business Association . shortage struck South Dennin says that the issue is compounded Jersey anew as recy - by a lack of qualified applicants , or applicants cling and trash collec - at all . He cites his own difficulty filling the tions have been any open positions left by two employees who combination of inter - moved out of state toward the end of 2020 . rupted , rescheduled “ I have not been able to replace either and reallocated . In one of them . I’ve put out ads and I am lucky Burlington County , for if I get one response in three months , ” says example , county com - Dennin . missioners announced Dennin also owns an auto body shop and a mid - June initiative uses his experiences as an example of how 18 | SOUTH JERSEY BIZ | VOLUME 11 ISSUE 6 | SouthJerseyBiz.net

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SJBiz_Dept_Help_Wanted_0621_Dept 6 / 21 / 21 11 : 40 AM Page 2 worker - shortage problems can interfere with one industry’s entire chain of demand , from delaying projects to reducing a car dealership’s inventory to four cars on the entire lot . “ There aren’t enough people and processors to make the entire product … just the other day , we called our paint vendor for a special toner , and they have been out of it for a month with no ETA on when more will come . We can’t finish painting this car without it . ” From the perspective of the Marlton Busi - ness Association , Morton says that some in - dustries are having no trouble attracting work or workers . His wife is a realtor whose industry is booming with long - timers and newcomers alike benefiting from the pandemic driving people from the city to South Jersey in droves ; on something however , the pandemic’s effect like the travel sector means other employers are just trying to keep their doors open . “ I’ve got a long - term member of ours that ran a travel agency , he and his wife , for about 26 years . And they’ve shut down . He’s like , ‘ Where’s anybody going ? Even if I could book a trip , when you get there , you can’t do any - thing because you got to quarantine . ’ ” It’s not all doom and gloom , though . Mor - ton says that businesses like restaurants were able to stay afloat and retain workers by shift - ing to a takeout model and tap into the digi - tal delivery services that grew exponentially in a homebound world , a trend that dining es - tablishments are pivoting toward beyond the pandemic that would relieve the strains of a server shortage . ennin agrees that , if nothing else , the pan - D demic has taught surviving companies how to get creative and flexible with limited resources and staff . “ It is making businesses think outside the box to maintain functionality and cut down on costs , ” he says . “ An insurance agent I know put his building up for sale because they learned to function without an office building . They’re learning how to be a little more frugal so they can accomplish as much with less people . ” Morton also notes that many companies ac - tually reported increased productivity through - out the pandemic , which suggests that a shift toward working from home might be a verita - ble win - win situation — especially for organiza - tions looking for possible ways to minimize em - ployee shortages . “ A lot of these companies actually got with people staying at home more efficient because they didn’t have these half - hour , 45 - minute commutes on the front and back of every day , they’re not coming into the office already agitated or dreading that , ” he says . “ There’s people willing to work , but they’re saying they want at least a hybrid model , if not working fully remote . I think that’s an interest - ing thing that wasn’t intuitive but it makes w perfect sense . ” SouthJerseyBiz.net | VOLUME 11 ISSUE 6 | SOUTH JERSEY BIZ | 19

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