Lots of business owners seem to agree these days: while people want to work, the wrong people seem to be applying. They find open positions stuck open for longer, and the applicants they have seem less reliable than they used to be. In general, turnover feels more expensive than it used to.

The old explanation that ran as something like the default for a long time was that people didn’t want to work, but that’s literally not the problem anymore, if it ever was in the first place.

Good People Aren’t Working Just Anywhere

The strongest employees have options right now, so they’re evaluating risk in addition to many more standard things like pay comparisons. They’re also asking questions like, will the place be chaotic? Or will expectations change every week? Will they get the blame if things go wrong? And will the job make sense a year from now?

To summarize, workers are doing what customers are doing: they’re going with what they can trust.

Hiring Comes From Identity

Business owners often think that problems with the hiring process start with things like wages and benefits, or even what people hear on job boards. Those aren’t insignificant, but the more important thing is how the business feels from the outside.

Businesses that are familiar feel safer, businesses that are clear about their expectations feel calmer, and businesses that are consistent in how they present themselves feel more stable.

A client of ours didn’t give the highest pay rate in the market for some recent postings, but it tried to make up for it by being clear about its expectations and roles, as well as emphasizing its visible and steady presence in its community.

The posting wasn’t flooded with applicants, but those who were sending their papers in were better fits, and they made the owner stop feeling like their hiring process was a gamble.

In a sense, the trust the company had managed to instill in its applicants filtered the overall pool of them before the interviews ever started.

Disorder And Instability Is Bad

A good employee doesn’t want to work for an uncertain employer. If a business constantly changes direction with new priorities and messages, as well as new pressures, or anything else, it signals instability. The environment feels risky even when the work itself is solid.

More than one business has approached us, saying it was having a hard time keeping technicians. Pay increases and bonuses didn’t seem to help, and the problem was just that the business was being inconsistent.

A business needs to be consistent about all of the following: its message to customers and employees, its internal expectations, and its leadership posture.

If a business can take charge of these factors, it’ll have better employee retention. As an added bonus, there is less pressure for hiring personnel because fewer people leave.

A good worker just wants a stable, predictable place to work and progress.

Your Brand Also Means Something To Employees

Business owners often forget, but they have an “employer brand” in addition to their customer-facing brand. It’s made up of all the ads you run, the way your trucks look on the highway, and every review customers leave on your various platforms.

It’s there whether you intend it or not, and workers will avoid you if it looks unstable or otherwise flawed.

On the other hand, if your employer brand looks calm and confident, it attracts people who want to be part of something steady.

That matters more than ever now that the markets are getting a little unsteady themselves.

What Owners Can Do Right Now

The problem of getting the employees you want and keeping them is solved by being clearer. Some things you can do that will help immediately are:

  • Decide what kind of workplace you are — and say it plainly
  • Don’t oversell the job, as stability is the real benefit
  • Make sure your external message matches the internal reality

When workers trust the business, pay becomes only a factor — instead of the point the whole decision hinges upon.

A Final Thought

Both hiring and marketing are based on trust. Good workers choose businesses the same way customers do: they look for familiarity, clarity, and signs of long-term stability. If hiring feels harder this year, it’s because people are being more careful about where they invest their lives.

My advice would be to become the kind of business that feels safe to choose. Hiring will become automatically easier, and without chasing or desperation.

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