The term »shortage« is contradictory to the current situation in our economy. However, when put into context, a better picture emerges. What we are facing in Slovenia are insufficient human resources, which, given the increased workload and outdated operating procedures and designs, are unable to meet even local demands. Incapacitated organizations are pointing out in unison how the labour market is, on the one hand, not enough diverse regarding the classification of occupations, and, on the other hand, inadequately represented regarding certain occupations. This leads some businesses, though already involved in the painstaking process of introducing and training new employees, which by itself involves certain risks, to also resort to poaching good employees from other companies.
The automatization of processes – for example, those processes which provide the management with tangible data, but are only taking up the employees’ time that should be spent on actual work tasks – enables the companies to increase their added value. This means that an increased workload with new orders can be successfully handled with existing human resources given that manual labour (e.g. manual input of data) is automated. Of even greater importance is a well-thought out definition of the process by which the positive and negative courses are defined. Time saved enables the accomplishment of other tasks, which require more time and expertise.
Introducing tools which enable successful automatization is impossible without the effort of the organization looking to implement such tools, and also cannot be accomplished overnight. The tools must be simple to use and flexible, so they can be adapted to the current state and functioning of the organization.
Now is the time, in the peace before the storm, to pave the way that will lead to increased added value and a stronger competitive position. The burden of performing usually unwelcome tasks will be lifted from the employees, bringing about a greater work satisfaction and generally reducing the possibilities of employees transitioning to other organizations, again increasing the added value.
A shortage – when it’s time to bloom – creates opportunities for everyone.
