What will it take for small business owners to recover from the labor shortage?

The end-of-pandemic labor shortage has put small business owners in a particularly tough spot: It’s a job seeker’s market.

Nearly 650,000 retail workers quit their jobs in April alone. And with companies like Target, Best Buy and Under Armour all raising their minimum wage to $15 or more, how can small businesses keep up if they feel they can’t afford such a rate?

C. Nicole Orr, the co-owner of A&C Pack and Ship, a shipping store located in Baltimore, has experienced this challenge firsthand. She recently hired a new employee and found that, in addition to a higher wage, it took lots of creativity to attract some quality applicants.

So, what does that creativity look like? Here are four ways small business owners can stand out and attract new employees amid the labor shortage.

Reward top performers

Orr offered her new employee an incentive: a bonus for meeting certain key objectives. She sees it as a win-win, as the idea helped her attract…

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