Food Business News - January 4, 2022 - 7

EDITORIAL STAFF
EDITORIAL
Editor-in-Chief
L. Joshua Sosland
Editor
Keith Nunes
Executive Editor
Eric J. Schroeder
Managing Editor
Monica Watrous
Senior Editors, Markets
Jay S. Sjerven
Ron Sterk
Senior Editor
Jeff Gelski
Associate Editor, Markets
Matt Noltemeyer
Crystal Futrell
Digital Associate Editor
Sam Danley
Contributing Editor
Donna Berry
Markets, Senior Graphic Designer,
Purchasing Seminar Coordinator
Christina Sullivan
PUBLISHING STAFF
Publisher
Mike Gude
Associate Publishers
David DePaul
Bruce Webster
Matt O'Shea
National Account Executive
Tom Huppe
Director of Audience Development
Michael Barbee
Audience Development Analyst
Dustin Pickman
Audience Database Specialist
Hannah Carney
Audience Development Coordinator
Lauren Juliana
Director of Digital Media
Jon Hall
Digital Advertising Manager
Carrie Fluegge
Advertising Manager
Nora Wages
Advertising Coordinator
Annie Fournier
Design Services Manager
Elisabeth Spillman
Production Specialist
Marj Potts
Senior Design Consultant
Becky White
Promotions Manager
Jim White
Promotions Media Designer
Abby Chronister
Sales Coordinator
Whitney Hartman
CORPORATE
Chairman and CEO
Charles S. Sosland
President
L. Joshua Sosland
Chief Financial and
Administrative Officer
Staci Greco
Chief Operating Officer
and Executive Editor
Meyer Sosland
Chief Marketing Officer
Jim Saladin
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS UPENDED
so many aspects of the food business, beginning
with what people eat, where they buy their food
and where they consume it. Building blocks of
the production side have been rattled during
this period, including the reliability of inputs
and, perhaps most troublesome, the availability
of a dependable labor force. Most, if not all,
employers are struggling to attract and retain
skilled and unskilled employees. Better wages
and benefits have helped, but it is clear employers
must do more if they hope to fill their ranks.
Tyson Foods' recent announcement it will
offer childcare programs at two of its processing
facilities is an example. The company plans
to build a $3.5 million on-site childcare and
learning center at its new Humboldt, Tenn.,
poultry complex. In addition, Tyson Foods said
it will work with local childcare providers near
its Amarillo, Texas, beef processing plant to
offer free childcare to its second-shift workers.
Tyson's initiative is a response to severe
disruptions in the childcare industry in the
United States due to COVID-19. Childcare providers
that have continued to operate have had
to raise rates significantly to cover the higher
per-child costs because of the need to assign
fewer children per caretaker because of the
necessity of social distancing. Due to the higher
costs, some families have found it makes more
economic sense for one parent to stay home
and care for children full time than to have two
parents working and pay for childcare.
Most companies do not have the resources
of Tyson Foods and would find it
impractical to undertake such an initiative,
but other benefits prospective employees
may find attractive merit consideration. A
joint study recently released by the American
Bakers Association (ABA) and the American
Society of Baking (ASB) looked at workforce
recruitment for commercial baking and may
provide guidance. The study, which included
70 companies, found 53% faced a high or severe
shortage in skilled production, unskilled
production and transportation workers in
2021. Many of those surveyed expected the
shortage to last for years, with half of respondents
saying they expected driver shortages to
last into 2027 and 58% predicting the same for
maintenance and engineering jobs.
Marjorie Hellmer, president of Cypress
Research, the research firm that conducted the
ABA/ASB baking industry workforce study, said
Most, if not all, employers
are struggling to attract
and retain skilled and
unskilled employees.
while most baking employers offer competitive
benefits and starting salaries for hourly skilled
and unskilled production positions, only about
half offer consecutive days off, and only about a
third offer flexible schedules.
" While concepts like workplace flexibility
can be challenging when applying them to the
production floor, I expect that (bakery employer)
strategies are going to get bolder in order
to keep talent in commercial baking, " she said.
" Conversations around cross-training teams,
developing pilot programs to test alternative
ways of working and gathering input from employees
and managers in the pilot to encourage
buy-in and to create effective and sustainable
programs, are all critical steps to attracting
and retaining new generations of bakery team
members. "
In January 2020, the labor participation rate
in the United States stood at 63.4%, according
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly two
years later, in November 2021, the participation
rate remained below pre-pandemic levels at
61.8%. The supply of workers remains well below
demand, and employers
must continue to think
creatively about what
they can do to attract and
retain employees who are
essential to all food and
beverage businesses. FBN
Keith Nunes
knunes@sosland.com
We're eager to receive your feedback:
Email editor@sosland.com or write to us at:
Food Business News, 4801 Main Street, Suite 650, Kansas City, Mo, 64112
January 4, 2022
Food Business News
7
Creativity required to overcome
labor shortages
Food Business News - January 4, 2022

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