Overcoming Industry Staffing and Labor Shortages in 2023 — and Beyond

It’s not a new problem, no matter how you frame it. Labor. Talent. Hiring. Retaining. Staffing. At the crux of the challenge is that finding — and keeping — qualified, passionate people isn’t easy. Global and economic factors over the past few years certainly accelerated some of the pressures, but these challenges were looming for years before COVID was part of our collective vocabulary. And they will continue to play a critical role in the success — or failure — of printing businesses for many years to come.

The personnel problems facing the printing industry aren’t issues that can be resolved quickly or easily:

• There is a growing lack of highly-trained personnel as older generations retire and take that institutional knowledge with them.
• There has been a major reduction in the last decade of school programs for trades of any sort, so younger generations aren’t being exposed to manufacturing jobs as a career choice.
• There is a lack of interest in the printing industry — there is a perception that it is “dead,” or that it is a dirty, messy job and not a modern career choice.
• There is a lack of active, consistent industry recruitment, so those who do make their way into print do so more by accident than by design.
• There is a lack of training and mentoring, making it easier for employees to walk away.

All of these problems, combined with the challenges of a pandemic, supply chain issues, and the looming possibility of a recession in 2023, are a perfect storm that have left commercial printers both large and small scrambling.

“Not surprisingly, companies in the printing industry will continue to have difficulties in attracting and keeping talent in 2023,” Joe Marin, senior VP of member services at PRINTING United Alliance, says. “There is a skills gap, and people with industry experience and technical expertise experience are in increasingly high demand.”

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t steps that commercial printers can be taking to help improve the situation. It won’t be quick — or easy — but embracing the new talent landscape will help printers attract and retain some of the best talent out there.

Competing for Young Talent in a Tech-Savvy World

First and foremost, printing companies need to realize that they aren’t just competing with other printers for the top talent — they are competing with companies like Amazon, Google, Apple, and Microsoft, just to name a few. As newer generations enter the workforce, they are exposed to high-tech companies and industries, and pushed by parents, teachers, and society to covet careers in those spaces. To stand out, commercial printers need to embrace technology as well.

“One of the challenges printers face is that they aren’t investing in new technologies and equipment, and they are going to have a harder time recruiting,” Jules VanSant, founder, Bubble & Hatch, and chairman of the Print & Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF), points out. They are staying with what they have and, because of that, they’re going to have a smaller pool of talent to draw from.

“If you look outside the industry, you see that there is no marketing to those applying [for jobs]. You see green technology, you see software, you see medical, you see IT. These industries — even construction — are constantly talked about in the mainstream, through ads and on social media,” Adam Brenner, president of National Printing and Packaging Specialist (NPPS), notes.

To compete with these industries, printers don’t just need to invest in the latest technologies such as inkjet presses and automated systems, they also need to be actively talking about it. This is perhaps the single biggest action every printer — no matter the size, markets served, or geographic location — can start taking today to improve the labor pool for the entire graphic arts industry. As more talented, passionate youth are drawn into the industry, they will in turn tell others about it, which will draw even more attention. But not engaging means print will continue to lose out to the perceived more “sexy” careers in high-tech fields.

“Most campaigns are ‘preaching to the choir,’” according to Harvey Levenson, professor emeritus at Cal Poly. “Here’s an example — we often hear ‘print is dead.’ But within our industry we say it’s not dead. There are so many discussions and exclamations of how important it is, but those take place among those who are in the printing industry, and are not broadly put out to the public to understand the value of print.

“Relatively speaking, print has changed. Information and communication are not dead, so we need to make the case that printing is one segment of those communications — an important segment,” Levenson adds. “We have to make the point to the public that every means of communication has its own effectiveness, and print is effective in terms of detail, longevity, more recall, etc., promoting the industry and the importance of print.”

Looking Beyond Gen Z

It’s not just the younger generations that would make great employees, however. There are a number of demographics that, overall, aren’t well-represented in the printing industry as a whole, even today. Women, minorities, even those less abled, are all populations with a great deal of skills, talent, and passion who are either being overlooked or who don’t even consider printing when evaluating careers. These are demographics that can help invigorate a print shop with new, diverse experiences and ideas.

But how do you appeal to these age group populations?

At the core of making print a more attractive industry is cultivating a passion in the workplace, David Regan, CEO of Semper, contends. “We need to empower our people to help us power our companies through to the next evolution of the workplace. Give our people the tools and the goals, and step out of their way,” he advises. “Trust them, treat them like adults, and compensate them for doing well. No half measures.”

It’s also a matter of being proactive, notes VanSant, who points out that for establishments that want to be more diverse, the first step is just to start hiring those individuals. “To attract those people, you need to look like them,” she says. “Purposely make sure to hire women, people of different ethnic backgrounds, etc. Make sure people of different social orientations and backgrounds are given the opportunity to excel. Move them into leadership positions. Include them in committees. Engage them, and make sure to show that their voice matters.

And then have that be forward-facing with your brand, with the story you tell both internally and externally. In the end, authenticity is job one,” she says. “It has to look and feel authentic; you can’t fake it — people will know.”

Levenson stresses that opportunities to learn and grow are another key element to attracting a more diverse workforce. “Show them the company is sensitive to the professional development of the entire staff,” he says. “Show that there is room for advancement and development, not only to enhance the company, but development that will advance each person — development around the field in general, such as understanding the role of print and the different technologies.”

Many companies make the mistake of looking at training as a one-time event that usually occurs at the start of a job when an employee is given the fundamentals, Marin points out. “However, there’s a lot to learn after this initial training. Organizations should concentrate more on continuing learning and development opportunities for all employees, rather than providing one-time, job-specific training.”

Brenner says that the perception of print shops as being dirty, hot, and uncomfortable environments is also holding printers back when it comes to recruiting some of the most talented individuals, regardless of age, race, or gender. “Most have the mentality of print as a high production environment with poor climate,” he notes. “That is not attractive to a lot of individuals.”

Brenner notes that a lot of printing facilities have already invested in those areas — going back to investing in various technologies that are cleaner, cooler, and better for the environment.

“But printers need to then tell that story — don’t just talk about what technology will do for the business or its customers, but actively promote how investments are improving working conditions, and print will become a more attractive workplace option,” he says.

Looking at Conditions in 2023 — and Beyond

What can printers expect in the days and weeks to come? First and foremost, Regan notes, there is some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. “I think we are in flux,” he says. “We are moving towards a better, more stable market for labor, and companies for the first time in a long while see labor as a key value. We still have huge hold outs, but companies are changing.”

Industry employers are getting their feet back under them, VanSant contends, “and are feeling like ‘Okay, I can move forward.’ There’s going to be opportunities to recruit new employees from outside our industry — people with great talent and enthusiasm — and to bring them aboard and see where they might fit, as opposed to trying to put them into a set position.”

Of course, attracting and retaining good workers also requires them to accept positions that will actually pay their bills. Brenner stresses that while compensation isn’t necessarily the only thing potential candidates are evaluating when it comes to where they ultimately go to work, it remains a major motivator. “Especially because of the inflation rate, you have to be able to accommodate individuals,” he says. “That is going to be a major problem. People coming from outside the printing industry are often demanding higher wages than those already inside it.”

Brenner does point out, however, that just throwing money at people isn’t the answer either. First and foremost, he says, printers need to have the right people on board — those who are passionate about the work the company does, and who are committed to lifting the team. Those are the people employers should focus on, both from the standpoint of hiring and promoting from within, to build up a culture of teamwork. On the other hand, it doesn’t matter how much, or little, the compensation is if the person isn’t contributing to the workplace and is bringing the team down.

Don’t hire just to have a warm body in front of a machine, and be prepared to fairly compensate the highly talented and motivated people who can be trained if they don’t already know the business.

That said, Levenson notes that, especially after the past few years, printers that want to compete for the best talent out there also need to embrace other benefits.

“The pandemic demonstrated that for certain types of jobs, flexible opportunities are attractive to employees: flextime, working from home, childcare and eldercare support, maternity leave, and professional development,” he continues. “Hire bright and promising people, and delegate responsibility and authority, and get out of the way. Don’t micromanage. Trust the judgment of bright people as a rule, not as an exception. Make professional development part of the employment package offered.”

The bottom line? Hiring and retaining talented, highly motivated individuals isn’t going to get any easier. Commercial printers need to consistently look outside of the industry for fresh, new talent — hiring not for skillsets or knowledge, but more for passion and a willingness to learn.

Talk to schools, cultivate relationships with community groups, participate in job fairs, and offer open houses and tours. Be an ambassador for print as being a high-tech, creative, and exciting industry. Set up mentoring programs and continuing education opportunities to help pass on the institutional knowledge that is slowly walking away as longtime workers look at retirement, and embrace new ideas that can help take the business to the next level.

And then be willing to compensate these highly sought-after individuals for their dedication to growing your business. This is the industry blueprint for a vibrant, innovative future.