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Businesses can’t find workers. An onslaught of events and changes in circumstances, including the fear of catching Covid-19, the sudden surge of the Delta variant, a desire to leave low-paying retail and food services jobs, childcare issues, worries of what to do if public schools don’t reopen in the fall and enhanced unemployment benefits, created a massive shortage of job seekers.

To remedy the imbalance between the needs of companies and enticing people to join them, businesses are getting creative. They are offering increases in wages, sign-on bonuses and college tuition assistance. Even with these added incentives, it’s still challenging to find enough staff to meet customer demand.

Target announced that it’s offering a substantial benefit to attract and retain workers. The large retailer will take care of the cost of college tuition, fees and textbooks. The employees will have access to around 250 mostly online programs offered by about 40 colleges and universities. The Minneapolis-based chain will extend this offer to its 340,000 full and part-time workers. Additionally, Target plans to help its staff with student debt.

Melissa Kremer, chief human resources officer, said in a company post, “Target employs team members at every life stage and helps our team learn, develop and build their skills, whether they’re with us for a year or a career.” Kremer explained, “A significant number of our hourly team members build their careers at Target, and we know many would like to pursue additional education opportunities. We don’t want the cost to be a barrier for anyone, and that’s where Target can step in to make education accessible for everyone.”

In a company blog post, Walmart previously announced that it will “pay 100% of college tuition and books for associates through its Live Better U (LBU) education program.” The size of the program is staggering. About “1.5 million part-time and full-time Walmart and Sam’s Club associates in the U.S. can earn college degrees or learn trade skills without the burden of education debt.” The largest employer in the U.S. will allocate about $1 billion over the next five years in “career-driven training and development.”

Lorraine Stomski, senior vice president of learning and leadership at Walmart, said about the program, “We are creating a path of opportunity for our associates to grow their careers at Walmart, so they can continue to build better lives for themselves and their families.” Stomski added, “This investment is another way we can support our associates to pursue their passion and purpose while removing the barriers that too often keep adult working learners from obtaining degrees.”

Other major U.S. companies, including Chipotle and Starbucks, previously shared their own plans to attract applicants. Chipotle began offering debt-free degrees to its workers in 2019 and, in April, expanded the program to 10 colleges and 100 different degree programs, including those in agriculture, culinary and hospitality.

Starbucks also had a plan in place. It has been an early adopter of progressive employee-friendly benefit programs. The company said at the time, “We’re committed to the success of our partners (employees). Every benefits-eligible U.S. partner working part or full-time receives 100% tuition coverage for a first-time bachelor’s degree through Arizona State University’s online program.” According to Starbucks, employees may select from over “100 diverse undergraduate degree programs and have our support every step of the way.”

McDonald’s, one of the largest restaurant chains with 800,000 workers and 13,450 U.S. locations, has enacted big changes to entice people to join the golden arches. In the U.S., the fast-food outlet plans to boost pay, provide back-up emergency childcare, give paid time off and kick in for tuition costs. For an entry-level person, they would earn around $11 to $17 an hour. Shift managers will get about $15 to $20 an hour.

There could be some drawbacks. Once you read the fine print, there may possibly be catches. A bigger potential issue that hasn’t been discussed is what will happen to small and midsize businesses.

We’ve already witnessed during the last year and a half of the pandemic that large companies, such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook, have done incredibly well. Revenues went  through the roof, their respective stock prices soared and the wealth of the founders, CEOs and executives exploded to the upside. Meanwhile, many mom-and-pop stores were crushed.

The actions taken by Target, Walmart and other large corporations are highly commendable. Nevertheless, we also have to consider whether or not small companies can survive. Most can’t compete against the multibillion-dollar war chests the giants have at their disposal. The best talent will be siphoned away by Target and Walmart. Small businesses will struggle to find workers and may be forced to close their doors. We could then be left with a handful of large companies owning their sectors without having to worry about smaller competitors. This could irrevocably change the business landscape.

Source: Forbes

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