NH firms ‘pleasantly surprised’ by uptick in activity

As New Hampshire employers adapt their processes to “the new normal” — working remotely, placing in-house workers and machinery six feet apart, implementing temperature checks and sanitization stations and doling out PPE — they’re also looking ahead to their goals for 2021. And one way to accomplish those is by hiring, says Maura Mann, vice president of The Nagler Group and KNF&T Staffing Resources, staffing firms in Bedford and Portsmouth.

Hiring halted back in March and April, when the pandemic created uncertainty over how companies could operate and the extent of the virus’s impact on their workforce, customers and suppliers.

“Every company was caught off guard initially,” says Kevin Lipperman, branch manager at Bonney Staffing in Dover.

Lipperman himself was hired by Bonney in August after he was furloughed from an HR position at a collections agency in Dover. That company sent out an email at the beginning of the pandemic, telling employees “we don’t know how this is going to affect us, but we know that it is going to affect us greatly.”

“From talking to candidates now, it seems (the pandemic) had a huge impact in New Hampshire initially,” says Lipperman. “With that being said, I have noticed there has been a big rebound since then.”

Chad Merwin, managing partner at Technology Search Partners in Portsmouth, agreed. “I’m pleasantly surprised by the activity,” he said. “New Hampshire companies have been looking for IT talent,” he says. Yet, he notes, companies have been “very selective in their criteria of who they are looking for.” They want experienced individuals, particularly because many companies looking for IT professionals are searching for outside talent to lead the implementation of new software to streamline their processes or sales initiatives, he said.

Manufacturers are hiring individuals for that very reason, but also continue to try to fill senior engineering positions as well as lower-level electromechanical, soldering, assembly and technician roles that were in high demand before the pandemic.

While hiring has picked up, the companies Mann of Nagler and KNF&T are working with are “being careful and fiscally responsible to make sure the market stays stable before making a more permanent commitment,” she says.

But Mann thinks, with the availability of a Covid-19 vaccine around the corner, businesses want to be optimistic about their near-term future. And Lipperman thinks positive economic conditions are already there to justify adding new jobs.

“People are hiring because the economy is moving again,” he says.

Worker reentry

Lipperman expects a surge of workers reentering the workforce soon, as federal funds for unemployment and family medical leave programs ceases at the end of this month, as of deadline.

Even if Congress extends jobless benefits for a few more months, “people are getting cabin fever,” he says, “or realizing they need to find long-term employment for security for their families.”

Lipperman says workers at home “want to get back into the workforce, and us, as a society, we’re learning better practices to live with the virus, by being careful, by wearing our masks, by employers adhering to and complying with CDC recommendations and guidelines.”

“People feel safer going back to work now, and we do have people in call centers going back to work. We have front desk, production workers — people are going back to work,” he stresses.

Hospitality workers are the most notable segment of the labor market to be displaced by the pandemic, with a lot of employees furloughed, waiting to hear back on the status of their jobs.

“Some companies are using their PPP money to pay their employees at home, some are choosing not to do that and they are collecting unemployment. It depends on the client,” says Samantha Goodwin, senior recruiter at Goodwin Recruiting in Manchester.

As benefits end, hospitality workers and others will increasingly return to the workforce and likely have to explore other options.

“We’ve seen quite a few people out of the food and beverage industry,” said Mann. “And maybe they’re not even making a permanent move. Their intention may be going back to the (hospitality) industry, but they can’t work or their hours have been cut.

We’re trying to help as many people find temporary work to bridge that gap.”

Hospitality workers are well suited for other jobs in customer service, she says, or they could enter a new field such as light industrial and assembly manufacturing where there are open positions, says Nancy Newell, owner of Pro-Temp Staffing in Concord.

Goodwin lists hospitality workers’ strong points: “Time management skills, organization, teamwork, and it’s a fast-paced environment. I hope other industries that are hiring are looking at hospitality people, because they need a chance right now.”

Workforce shortage

Everyone remembers that New Hampshire had a workforce shortage before the pandemic, and that hasn’t changed.

“Our New Hampshire activity is as great as it is in Massachusetts,” says Merwin, who sees great potential for New Hampshire companies to nab analysts and developers across the border, especially as the industry lends itself well to working remotely, maybe commuting a couple days a week, once the pandemic is over.

Earlier in the pandemic, Technology Search Partners assisted a Portland, Maine, company with hiring a professional in Cambridge, Mass., who has yet to visit the office.

And some people are fleeing cities to avoid the pandemic.

“We have met a specific amount of new people to central and Seacoast New Hampshire who moved due to the pandemic and are in the market, looking for their next activity,” not due to a layoff, says Merwin.

John Roller, owner of Express Employment in Manchester, has seen for 30 years the failed hope of drawing in enough talent from nearby states, at least in regard to the manufacturing industry.

“We have many more positions than people, and that’s really the truest at the lowest level,” he says. “It would help these companies so much if we had an influx of people. The problem is the cost of living and cost of rent is very tough compared to other parts of the country. I’m not sure if (employees are) prepared for that when they come here. If they had more affordable rent, decent housing and apartments, people would come because the jobs are here.”

The shortage of healthcare workers is even more dire. “All healthcare companies are struggling to get qualified staff,” says Cheryl Bonanno, HR manager at Interim HealthCare in Manchester, which provides home care, hospice and healthcare staffing services through its pool of vetted, licensed workers.

“The majority of our staff are per diem, meaning they don’t have regular hours; they can pick and choose what they want to work. We do have core people who have a schedule of 20 to 40 hours per week,” says Bonanno.

Interim HealthCare has been tasked by the governor’s medical task force to fill positions, primarily at nursing homes and assisted living facilities, where staff have to quarantine if exposed to the virus.

“(Staffing is) more a challenge with Covid-19 — the needs are great,” says Bonanno. “It’s not something you know a week in advance to temporarily fill positions. “You might find out today (Friday) they need someone this weekend from 11 to 7.”

In general, “it’s tough to find people right now logistically,” says Mann. “There definitely are challenges in some of the lower-level positions where people have to weigh out the amount of money they’re making is worth it if they have to find outside day care or somebody to manage the remote schooling place. That’s where we have seen some challenges.”

Employee loyalty

Surprisingly to recruiters, candidates who are employed are passing up solid job offers of equal or greater value.

Brian Hughes, owner of Great Bay Staffing, saw an extreme version of this with a candidate in the final interview for a position with a local bank in Bedford.

“The money was there, everything he was asking to get was there, and he called me one day and said, ‘I think I need to stay here,’” Hughes recalls.

Hughes expects the pandemic has inserted a level of uncertainty that has workers, though enticed by a job offer with career advancement, siding with the security of what they know, especially after a dinner conversation with their spouse.

“It really has to be something extra special, more than before,” says Roller, who recruits engineering and executive positions in manufacturing. “Some have turned it down because the commute they considered unreasonable, whereas I’ve been doing this long enough I know most people would have to take that salary and commute before.”

However, there may be more behind candidates’ decision-making.

“I am seeing companies where the people not only are staying put, but they’re being well taken care of to make sure they stay put. I think there are a lot of defensive precautions by companies,” says Roller. “They’re treating their people really well, paying them really well, and it’s working so they don’t leave. This is something I’ve never seen before to this degree, and this goes back to the mid-‘80s.”