Perfect Labor Storm Author Ira S Wolfe joins this month’s Tune in Tuesdays (SHRM)
In 1999, Ira S Wolfe coined the term “perfect labor storm” to describe an unprecedented future shortage of skilled workers. Twenty-one years later, the Perfect Labor Storm has landed.
Wolfe will be a guest on this month’s episode of SHRM’s Tune in Tuesdays. The episode will air on July 13 at 2 PM ET/11 AM PT to discuss how HR professionals can recruit smarter and stem the turnover tsunami in what Wolfe now calls the “Age of Googlization.” Amber Clayton, director of the SHRM Knowledge Center, will moderate. Joining Wolfe will be Dick Finnegan, chief executive officer of C-Suite Analytics.
Both Wolfe and Finnegan are speakers at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo (SHRM21), scheduled for September 2021. Wolfe is also speaking at the SHRM Talent Conference & Expo 2021 in August. Wolfe’s topics include “Recruitment Marketing for the Accidental Recruiter” and “Recruiters Are Standing in Deep SHIFT, Start Thriving in It!” Finnegan will be speaking about “7 Proofs That Managers, Not HR, Drive Engagement and Retention.”
“Many people blame the pandemic, unemployment benefits, and even the Millennials for the worst labor shortages in modern history,” says Wolfe. “But businesses have been staring down this storm for decades. They blinked, the Perfect Labor Storm didn’t.”
in this vintage interview from the early 2000s, Wolfe predicted what many organizations would be experiencing today:
- The demand for workers is surging.
- The supply of qualified workers is shrinking.
- Wages are rising.
- Quit rates are accelerating at historic levels.
Wolfe notes that labor shortages are impacting services up and down the supply chain: from cemeteries to hospitals, grocery stores to manufacturing. Filling open jobs with qualified workers seems like an unsolvable task.
Asked about the slew of “Perfect Labor Storm” knock-offs such as “Turnover Tsunami” and “Great Resignation,” Wolfe just shrugs. “They just confirmed my forecast wasn’t just another hyperbolic headline.”
What’s ahead? Wolfe points to a recent economic forecast that expects the labor market to grow even tighter moving forward.
Wolfe is available for media and podcast interviews or meeting presentations. You can reach him at 484-373-4300 or click here.