5 STAFFING CHALLENGES FOR CEOs
Diane Taylor • April 9, 2025
CEOs today are facing several significant challenges when managing staff, here are some of the current concerns and potential strategies to overcome them:
1. Employee Well-being and Mental Health
- Concern: Employee burnout, stress, and mental health issues are on the rise, exacerbated by economic uncertainties and remote work challenges. CEOs are concerned with the well-being of their staff and the impact on productivity, engagement and retention.
- How to Overcome:
- Promote a supportive work culture: Encourage open conversations about mental health and provide resources like counselling or wellness programs.
- Work-life balance: Implement policies that allow employees to take time off when needed and respect boundaries between work and personal life, especially in hybrid or remote environments.
- Regular check-ins and support systems: Leaders should check in with their teams more often to gauge their mental well-being and offer support where necessary.
2. Employee Engagement and Motivation
- Concern: Many employees are disengaged, particularly when they don’t feel connected to the company's mission, or their work feels repetitive or unacknowledged.
- How to Overcome:
- Provide meaningful work: Ensure employees understand how their roles contribute to the company's overall mission and vision. When people see the impact of their work, they’re more motivated.
- Recognise achievements: Regularly acknowledge and celebrate achievements—both big and small—through public recognition or performance rewards.
- Encourage autonomy: Give employees more control over their tasks, allowing them to make decisions and take ownership of their projects.
3. Talent Retention and Recruitment
- Concern: With high employee turnover rates, CEOs are struggling to retain top talent. Recruiting is also more competitive, with companies fighting for skilled professionals. Over a third (36%) express worries about labour market shifts, including a wave of retirements and a shortage of skilled replacements (according to Dynamic Business).
- How to Overcome:
- Offer career development opportunities: Employees want to see a clear path for growth. Providing training, mentorship, and development programs can boost retention.
- Enhance company culture: A strong, inclusive, and positive company culture can make employees feel valued, reducing the likelihood they will leave. A large part of this is ensuring they are managed through great leadership.
- Offer competitive benefits: Beyond salary, consider offering benefits like flexible work schedules, wellness programs, or personalized perks (childcare assistance, mental health days, etc.).
4. Managing Generational Diversity
- Concern: Today’s workforce consists of multiple generations, each with different work styles, values, and expectations. CEOs need to navigate these differences to maintain a harmonious and productive environment.
- How to Overcome:
- Promote cross-generational collaboration: Encourage mentorship programs where younger employees can learn from more experienced ones, and vice versa. This helps bridge generational gaps and facilitates knowledge transfer.
- Foster flexibility: Recognize that different generations may have different preferences in terms of work-life balance, work methods, and communication. Flexibility in how work is done can improve satisfaction across the board.
5. Succession Planning and Leadership Development
- Concern: Many organisations struggle with identifying and preparing future leaders. Without a clear succession plan, CEOs risk losing talented leaders without having a solid strategy in place.
- How to Overcome:
- Create leadership development programs: Offer mentorship, training, and leadership opportunities to identify and nurture future leaders within the organization.
- Build a talent pipeline: Ensure there is a clear plan for identifying high-potential employees and preparing them for leadership roles. Succession planning should be part of the company’s long-term strategy.
By addressing these concerns with clear strategies and a focus on employee engagement, development, and well-being, CEOs can create a more resilient and effective workforce. It requires flexibility, empathy, and a willingness to adapt to the evolving needs of both the business and its employees.
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It’s definitely a funny old market. On one hand I’ve got a friend with a sizeable retail business telling me his last ad for casual workers attracted over 900 responses and then I’ve seen people come to us after having chronically unfilled job vacancies in their business costing them an absolute fortune in lost customers and reputation. Granted the casual workers aren’t the skilled labour market we work in but I’m not sure anyone could have guessed this shifting job market 6 months ago. Seek are quoting job ad numbers are highest since the Covid-19 pandemic and we’re definitely feeling it at Norwest Recruitment. Not all companies are thriving of course and my heart goes out to those but many are and recruitment plans for our clients in Western Sydney are pedal to the metal. So that means that skilled job seekers have choice. Not only are they a little gun shy at leaving the company that kept them through the tough times of Covid but they now have plenty of options. Their counterparts who were let go when Covid hit will also be wanting to make it into your shortlist. It’s going to take some due diligence to work out which one you want in your business. We all know the cost of a bad recruitment hire. One hiring mistake I’ve seen a few times in the last month may be because some hiring managers aren’t aware of the changed market conditions and are feeling over confident. Maybe they think there’s 900 skilled professionals applying for every job. Four times this month I’ve heard of offers to candidates being less than the salary they were represented at. What??? One thing I’ve learned in life – don’t mess with people’s salaries. It’s very personal and it’s often attached to their status and ego. We all live to our salary capacity. There usually isn’t any wriggle room to drop. Don’t mess with it. This is what happens next. You will not get another bite at that cherry. Don’t think for a minute you’ll be able to come up to meet their salary expectation once they’ve rejected your low-ball offer. It’s over. Very rarely have I seen job seekers accept the reduced salary offer. It’s a risky move. If they’re talking to another company you’ve lost them. Sometimes I’ve seen them decline and then accept the second higher offer. Sometimes. But here’s how that scenario plays out. It’s can be even worse than the jobseeker declining. They accept it. They accept it with a bad taste in their mouth and then keep their eye on the market and feelers out with recruitment agencies. As soon as a Recruiter represents another role to them they’re gone – two months into starting in the new job. It’s disruptive, costly and time consuming. Back to square one for you. So, recruitment 101 tip. Unless the job seeker doesn’t meet the job criteria and hasn’t got the right experience do not think this is a good time to save money. Don’t risk the best person in your shortlist going to your competitor. Here’s to attracting and retaining the very best people in 2021.  Written by Erica Westbury, Managing Director of Norwest Recruitment.
