February 2022: The New York Times put the question succinctly—“Unemployment is high. Why are businesses struggling to hire?” The paper blamed it on health concerns, expanded jobless benefits and an environment where people are still needed at home.[1] The phenomenon has recently been termed “the great resignation” or “the Big Quit”. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in November 2021 an all-time record of 4.5 million people voluntarily left their jobs. During the global pandemic as a whole, 33 million people—over 20% of all workers in the US—left the workforce.[2]
Although nearly 10 million Americans say they are looking for work, there isn’t a generous supply of would-be employees for companies needing to—even desperate to—hire more skilled workers. Traveling around your community you see the clear signs of an employee shortage. Businesses, especially restaurants, have closed permanently. Many other businesses have cut the hours they are open. Others have cut available services. And lead-time on many common services, from plumbing to pest control to package delivery, has increased significantly.
Perhaps in your workplace you have been faced with this dilemma. Where and how can you find qualified potential employees? What can you do to increase your odds of hiring the people you need to operate and grow your business? What might draw someone to your doorstep and grow in them the desire to be a part of your team? While these questions are highly relevant in an employment crisis, they’re really useful to answer in any timeframe.
Many companies face difficulties hiring people to fill now-empty roles. Nehemiah shows that building a team means focusing on a clear mission, delegating tasks and serving others. And let’s also not forget a powerful spiritual element: prayer.
Interestingly, the Bible gives us some guiding principles for building a team in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. In Nehemiah’s time, the nation of Israel had just been freed from exile and defeat. They were making the trek back from Babylon to their homeland. Nehemiah’s desire was to return to Jerusalem and help rebuild the capital city—specifically the protective wall around the city.
In Bible times, a city was defined by its wall. It wasn’t just to keep enemies from attacking. A wall protected the citizens against thieves and animals. No wall meant no safety and nobody would want to live there. When the Israelites planned to move back to their homeland, Nehemiah went ahead to scout out the land. At their former capital city of Jerusalem he found the wall around the city destroyed.
Have a clear vision. Excellent employees want to do something important. The lower end of the workforce is sometimes transactional—earn an agreed paycheck for a defined amount of work. But the people who will stick with an organization through thick and thin are those who believe in a greater vision for their work. In Nehemiah’s case, the call to rebuild the wall was a vision that every Israelite understood immediately. The city needed a wall and fast. And if they were going to live there, it would be their own responsibility to rebuild the wall in order to make their circumstances and families safe.
As employers, a workforce crisis can lead us to the “warm body” mentality. We just need somebody—anybody—to fill these empty chairs. In the long run, that thinking leads to unmotivated employees who may feel a sense of entitlement. After all, they answered your call in your hour of desperation. So you owe them.
Instead, aim higher. In a season when employees are hard to find, take time to clarify your vision. What do you want new employees to help you accomplish, and why is that important? Can you explain the vision for your organization in a few meaningful words like Nehemiah? What is your “rebuild the wall” phrase? What is your organization’s mission and why does it matter?
Pray first. The nation of Israel had been freed from exile in Babylon by the current ruler, the Persian king Artaxerxes. The Persians allowed the Israelites to return to their homeland, but still ruled over them. So when Nehemiah determined to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, he had to receive the king’s permission. Before he did that, though, he took one important step. He prayed. He asked God to confirm and bless his efforts. Never underestimate the effect that prayer has on every area of life—including the hiring process. If you need more employees, have you prayed about it? Have you regularly asked God to prepare the right people, at the right time, to join your organization?
Lack of prayer is really lack of trust as we simply don’t take the time to involve God in our needs. Does God really care about the widgets your company manufactures? Well, maybe not. But God does very much care about the people your company employs, and the provision, opportunities for leadership and personal growth, relationships and other aspects of your organization that those widgets enable. And God deeply cares about you as a leader, and your influence on others as a person of faith. Don’t make the mistake of separating your business needs from your personal and spiritual needs when coming to God in prayer.
When Nehemiah prayed, God answered. But he didn’t just pray before his project began. As the wall was being rebuilt, it angered a group of people who didn’t support the Israelites. They plotted to start a fight as the wall was being constructed. But again Nehemiah prayed. And he posted guards to keep the workers safe as they rebuilt. In Nehemiah 4:15 we read, “When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.” God answered prayer again.
Plan and delegate. In Nehemiah 31-32 we read about the wall being rebuilt. Verse by verse, the workers’ names are mentioned—Eliashib the high priest, the sons of Hassenaah, Meremoth, Meshullam, Zadok, the Tekoites, Joiada. Each of these families and groups had been delegated the rebuilding of various portions of the wall, its gates, doors, bars and bolts. The rebuilding was a massive undertaking and it is clear from the Scriptures that Nehemiah had a well-organized workforce divided into teams to which he delegated portions of the reconstruction.
Most of the 5 million people who have left the labor force since the start of the pandemic are over 55 and have retired—early or naturally, according to Goldman Sachs. Many more are switching careers. According to ZipRecruiter, 54% of workers surveyed said they preferred a job that let them work at least a portion of their time from home, yet only 10% of available jobs offer that option. Before the pandemic, less than 3% of work was from home. This massive shift toward work flexibility has greatly increased the need on the part of the leader to plan and delegate.
Help your team help others. A psychological tool known as Maslow's hierarchy of needs attempts to explain what motivates people’s behavior. The theory says that needs like shelter and safety are at the base of the pyramid while transcendence is at the top. People haven't reached their highest potential until they're able to “transcend”, or look outside themselves and serve others. In the workplace, employees should be valued not just for their own performance, but for how they impact others.
Portions of the actual wall that Nehemiah’s team built still exist today in ancient Jerusalem.
Inc. adds, “More meaningful work benefits everyone. Employees who live their purpose at work are more resilient, perform better work, and are more likely to go above and beyond, and studies show that a helping culture builds a better company.”[3]
During the rebuilding of the wall, Nehemiah heard a complaint that had nothing to do with the construction. Nehemiah 5:1-2 says, “Many of the poor people began to complain against their fellow Jews. Some of them were saying, ‘We have many children. We must get some grain if we are going to eat and stay alive.’” Additionally the people complained that they had to pay such high taxes that they were literally selling their children as slaves. Nehemiah said, “When I heard their complaints, I was very angry.”
Nehemiah decided to do something about it. While his team was building the wall, he also engaged them in providing food for the poor. He went to the governing officials and petitioned them to lower the taxes, which they did. And Nehemiah set a powerful example. As the king’s representative on the project he was entitled to an extra ration of food—but he didn’t take it. Instead as long as they were building the wall he gave his extra portion to those who needed it. Nehemiah understood that rebuilding the wall meant nothing if the people starved before it was completed. His team was there to serve the people, whether it was putting rock upon rock, or distributing food to those in need.
Lead with integrity. Nehemiah had a clear vision for what needed to be accomplished, he prayed about each aspect of his project, and he organized and motivated his team well. Because of Nehemiah’s leadership, a team was able to rebuild the wall in just 52 days. Ultimately it was Nehemiah’s integrity—doing what he said he was going to do—that defines his leadership. Nehemiah 6:16 records, “When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.”
A recent study indicates that integrity is among the most essential traits for leadership, and integrity is something that potential employees find incredibly attractive.[4] Tim Hurd, executive director of the survey firm, says, “People want to work for those who are ethical. They know that if their leader acts with integrity, that leader will treat them right and do what’s best for the business.” When talking about attracting new employees Hurd explains, “Companies with strong, ethical management teams enhance their ability to attract investors, customers and talented professionals.”
David Long, assistant professor of Organizational Behavior at the Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary, says integrity is a key pillar of a leader’s trustworthiness. Long says, “Followers determine how trustworthy a leader is based on their ability, their benevolence and their integrity. Followers are willing to be vulnerable in a good way to leaders they trust, and are more inclined to be satisfied with and committed to them.”
Are you magnetic? Looking at Nehemiah’s leadership example, and the landscape of leadership in our current culture, we can clearly see that bringing great employees into your organization begins with you. Where there is a clear vision, a commitment to prayer, a concise plan, a willingness to help others, and absolute integrity, the potential employee will find a workplace where they want to be engaged. These characteristics begin to make an organization magnetic—the kind of environment that attracts the high quality workers that you desire. While many have assumed that work flexibility—the ability to work from home or with flexible hours—is the one key factor that potential employees want, the reality is that clarity of purpose and meaningful work are the two magnetic poles that a broad range of potential employees greatly desire.
A recent study by Clutch.co revealed that although “fair pay” is highly valuable to potential employees (55% surveyed said it was a top factor), they also ranked “fair treatment” (54%), “high ethical standards” (38%), and “makes the world a better place” (24%) as reasons they would work for a company.[5] Writing for Clutch.co, Ian Heinig comments, “Workplace values are essential to recruiting, retaining, and motivating quality employees. If staff needs are met, companies can expect a happy and engaged workforce. But when a business falls short on workplace values, staff disengage and produce lower-quality work.”
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/16/upshot/unemployment-pandemic-worker-shortages.html
[2] https://www.bls.gov/
[3] https://www.inc.com/entrepreneurs-organization/3-ways-to-attract-top-talent-despite-great-resignation.html
[4] https://execed.economist.com/blog/industry-trends/why-integrity-remains-one-top-leadership-attributes
[5] https://clutch.co/hr/resources/what-employees-value-most