As business owners already know, staffing shortages have been running rampant throughout every industry, impacting many aspects of operations. Last year, about 47 million workers quit their jobs or left their employers for one reason or another. This can result in the delay of service, lapsed contracts and lengthened processes, all roadblocks to success. As we move into an era of more steady business operations, it’s time to take a serious look at how staffing shortages can impact your company, including the delivery of meetings and events
Challenges
When it comes to hosting important events, staffing shortages can have a negative impact on the end result. It takes a lot of people to pull off a well-planned meeting, and staff shortages are especially burdensome at this time.
After two years of constricting demand for in-person events, some companies had to let go of the employees that made things possible in the first place in order to make ends meet. Then, as things began to open up again, the demand for labor began to rise once more, which led to a staffing shortage. Here are some of the most common challenges that can arise from this issue:
Along with COVID-19 fears leftover from the past two years, staffing shortages have made significant changes to the way the business creates contracts. One example is an increase in force majeure clauses in certain event contracts. This is because venues are looking out for their best interests in the case that there is an extenuating circumstance that requires the event to be canceled.
In addition, with fewer employees to do the work, there is also a noticeable gap in services that are normally needed to host events. Many hotels and other hospitality venues are also struggling with service fulfillment — an issue that filters into the event industry as well.
Supplier relationships can suffer when there is not enough labor to get the business done. There are other factors to consider as well, like local economic conditions and the amount of work required. The cost can increase for venues and other event necessities.
Many of these issues are made worse with poor communication internally and externally. When teams don’t share the roadblocks and cooperate effectively, these challenges can be made worse. It is a necessary strategy to ensure that suppliers are aware of your team’s changing requirements.
The worst-case scenario is that your team will have to cancel the meeting or event as a result of the issues mentioned above. Staffing shortages and poor supplier relations, left unchecked, can have a negative impact on the overall public view of the company.
Whether you have experienced the results of the previously mentioned challenge or not, you may feel a little overwhelmed. Luckily, there are some ways that you can bridge the gap between services and laborers. Here are some of our best options:
One of the main solutions that we touched on before is partnerships. It takes a lot to host an effective meeting or event, and it could not be done without the help of the subject or industry experts. Here are some examples of partners that make a difference:
JTB is one of the best partners you can have, especially when trying to handle supplier relations. We already have relationships with many different suppliers and vendors across the country that you may not know about. Have staffing issues of your own? No need to worry — JTB can help you cover the bases. To learn more about how to meet the changing world of meetings and events, reach out to JTB today.
