We Cannot Find Good People to Work For Us-- We Do Have Work!

    That comment is something that I hear continually when visiting with business owners.  Well, OK, let's explore why this appears to be the case.
    Do you have a good work environment?  Is it bright, well lit, airy, clean and fresh?  If not, then here is the first place to begin.  Today's employee wants a good work environment.  Even though you may be satisfied with the environment, does not mean that the new employee will be.
    Do you have modern technology?  Are your computers 6 or more years old, operating an operating system or having applications that are 3 or more generations old?  If so, nobody, absolutely nobody will want to come work for you.  Modern technology is the next step to fix if you are having employee attraction/retention issues.
    Do you have clear, complete and comprehensive job descriptions?  Do the job descriptions identify, in some detail what the job entails, what the responsibilities are, who/what is responsible for each job and how the incumbent will discharge those duties?  Today's employee wants to know what he/she is expected to do, how they are to do it and most importantly, why it is important to be done.  Now, this sounds onerous.  It is not.  Detail a good job description-- the work you do here will be paid back several times over in having the task completed correctly the first time, without a lot of rework.
    People are people.  It makes no difference what kind of job it is that you are trying to fill, people are people.  Respect them and they will do an awesome job for you.