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With only a few days left in 2022, the issue of understaffing is becoming an increasingly pressing concern in many industries – especially in this rapidly evolving corporate world. Today, we all are already familiar with global workplace concerns such as Great Resignation, Great Attrition, Quiet Quitting, and others that impacted almost every organization in nearly every way in the post-pandemic era. Needless to say, with the rise of automation and the changing nature of work, businesses of all sizes struggle to keep up with the demands of modern workforces. The "Great Resignation" occurs when employees find that their employers are not providing them with the working conditions, they find comfortable. I recently found one shocking data from Zippia, which states that more than 4 million US employees quit their jobs every month in 2022. Because of this, organizations are having a tough time staying open. As an HR service desk manager, I suggest HRs and employers understand the pitfalls of understaffing, and plan ahead if your company has yet to experience the challenges. In my suggestion, investing in an AI-powered helpdesk like Rezolve.ai can help corporate companies to cope up with these workplace challenges.

Continue reading this blog to know more about understaffing, its negative effects and how Rezolve.ai can help your companies tackle the understaffing issues.

What is Understaffing?

As I said earlier, understaffing has become a common issue in the corporate world. Generally, a company should have enough employees to accomplish all the duties required to keep the various business processes functioning and meet organizational goals. There should be no hurries or bottlenecks, and the company should provide the best possible experience for its consumers and employees. Understaffing is a scenario when a company does not have enough employees to meet the demands of its business. When a company is understaffed, it signifies that there aren't enough employees to cover all shifts and work. As a result, work productivity becomes too slow, impacting overall business productivity.

A temporary employee shortage is sometimes referred to as being understaffed. For example, if you have enough employees but they all call in ill on the same day, this is referred to be temporary understaffing. However, the reasons of each of these issues differ, therefore it's critical to understand when understaffing is a long-term or short-term issues. This can lead to several negative consequences for both the company and its employees.

Negative Impact of Understaffing

1. Lower employee satisfaction
   
   Understaffing or turnover means that existing employees have more to do. An increased workload increases stress levels for completing tasks and meeting performance goals. When the existing employees are overburdened with manual and repetitive tasks, they will start hating their job and their employer. It will impact their job satisfaction, and overall productivity, and eventually, they will start looking for a better company.
   
   
2. Highly stressed work environment
   
   Understaffed organization leads to a toxic workplace that impacts employee productivity, engagement, morale and job satisfaction. Despite this, a highly stressed work culture hurts an employee's mental and physical health and can increase the time away from work. Staff who are overburdened resign rather than deal with greater tasks at the same pay rate, which leads to a higher turnover rate.
   
   
3. Decrease in business ROI
   
   An understaffed company misses out on growth prospects because it lacks the ability to meet the needs of its customers. If a company accepts new clients or products and cannot supply the goods or services, it may lose its business and ruin its reputation in the industry. If there is a lack of business, there is a loss of money and potential for expansion into other markets. A business should balance the cost of an employee with the revenue earned by his or her contribution.
   
   
4. Influence brand quality
   
   When your company is understaffed, available employees are forced to handle the customers in the queue and run production lines, and product and service quality suffers. When quotas are prioritized over quality, fewer people must work more quickly to manage a more considerable volume of work, and errors increase. Employees may be pushed through training or started working without training to reduce workload. Poor quality erodes a company's reputation and drives away customers over time.
   
   
5. Workplace errors
   
   An overworked employee is more likely to miss deadlines and ignore details. When an employee works more than 13 hours per day handling the activities of numerous employees, the risk of a mistake or mishap increases significantly. A tired or stressed employee is not only unproductive, but they are also more likely to have a workplace injury, which can have a negative effect on your workers' compensation insurance policy.
   
   

To help address the issue of understaffing, businesses must take proactive steps to ensure they are adequately staffed and equipped to succeed in the future. The HR service desk manager in me believes that you cannot change the job market, but organizations can apply various strategies to address this global workplace challenge. And that is investing in a robust AI-powered employee helpdesk like Rezolve.ai is the best way to put a full stop to the understaffing issues.

Prevent Understaffing Issues with Rezolve.ai

As I said, Rezolve.ai is a modern employee helpdesk that leverages the power of advanced technologies like conversational AI and machine learning (ML) that brings quick, autonomous and right employee support and personalized employee experience via collaborative channels like Microsoft Teams. The adoption of Microsoft Teams has increased rapidly since the outbreak of Covid-19. With Microsoft Teams, millions of employees are collaborating easier than ever, and they can now use it for employee support, too.  

As a next-generation employee service desk with amazing features, Rezolve.ai can be integrated within Microsoft Teams, allowing employees to ask questions, clear their doubts, create or update employee tickets, or even receive skill training using the power of conversational AI technology. All employees need to do is chat with MS Teams for the right help. The conversational AI interface of Rezolve.ai enable it to understand the employees’ queries and provides a personalized answer or resolve the issue by taking action.

If the chatbot cannot auto-resolve the issue or employees are not satisfied with its first-level support, Rezolve.ai automatically hands off the issue to dedicated human experts via Live chat or by creating a ticket. Rezolve.ai’s auto-resolution rates are typically between 30 to 60% - and these keep getting better as Rezolve.ai keeps learning based on feedback. Despite this, Rezolve.ai is capable of automating manual and time-consuming, repetitive IT-related tasks such as resetting passwords, installing new software, configuring laptops, accessing IT-related documents etc within seconds. Rezolve.ai automates tedious processes like employee recruiting, employee onboarding and offboarding, training, and other key processes. It also integrates with all major HRIS, payroll, and benefits systems to provide employees with a “single window” solution.

How Rezolve.ai Can Prevent the Understaffing Issues?

I hope that you have a better understanding of Rezolve.ai; let’s look at how Rezolve.ai prevents understaffing issues in global organizations.  

1. Rezolve.ai helps to hire the right talents
   
   According to me, the first step to resolving an understaffing problem is to identify the root cause. Is it a lack of qualified applicants or a lack of resources? This will help you determine the best strategy for addressing the issue. A wrong hire may be both costly and time-consuming. Examine your application and interviewing procedures to improve your chances of hiring people who will fit in and stay. It's vital to learn about an applicant's previous employment experiences, but you should also learn about what inspires them, how they handle stress, and how they create teamwork. When organizations invest in automated service desks like Rezolve.ai, it will automate the entire recruiting process, find the top talent and give an exceptional experience to each candidate.
   
   Read More: Top Tips To Improve Your Employee Recruiting in 2023
   
   
2. Rezolve.ai automates repetitive and manual tasks
   
   If your existing employees cannot handle manual, time-consuming and routine tasks, such as data entry, collecting reports, eliminating computer errors or accessing documents, automation is a good idea. The continuous economic upheavals have resulted in a significant increase in automated platforms. Rezolve.ai is focused on streamlining these mundane tasks that can enhance workflow efficiency by providing your employees more time and energy to focus on higher-value work, reducing expenditure, and boosting organizational ROI.
   
   Read More: Automate Your Routine Tasks with Rezolve.ai
   
   
3. Rezolve.ai helps to determine your employees' needs
   
   Before starting a new strategy, organizations should look for employees' feedback. It will be impossible to devise an actionable plan to address understaffing issues until you know why your employees leave or the challenges they face.
   
   Rezolve.ai helps organizations conduct employee pulse surveys to understand the employees' requirements and suggestions and measure the employee engagement level.
   
   Read More: Why Employee Surveys Are Crucial in 2023?
   
   
4. Rezolve.ai streamlines team communication and collaboration
   
   There is no doubt that team collaboration and communication are important for every organization, regardless of its size and industry. Enhanced team collaboration will help organizations to get insights into the issues faced by the employees and the areas of improvement.
   
   Being a conversational AI-powered employee helpdesk integrated within collaborative channels like MS Teams and Slack, Rezolve.ai ensures a seamless team collaboration experience and personalized experience to the employees in a centralized platform. It also encourages employees to work together to brainstorm solutions to existing problems and make sure they feel empowered to ask questions and offer their own ideas.
   
   Read More: Tips To Enhance Your Remote Teams’ Collaboration
   
   
5. Rezolve.ai ensure personalized training
   
   Investing in employee training can help ensure your staff is equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to do their jobs effectively. This will ensure that your staffs are working together as a team, making the most of their collective skills and resources. Conversational microlearning is an innovative and effective way to empower, engage and upskill your employees and help them develop their skills without committing to a long, dull course.
   
   The conversational microlearning module of Rezolve.ai is geared towards providing seamless and personalized employee upskilling, reskilling, and upgrading employees by providing them with relevant knowledge within the "flow-of-the-work." Integrated with MS Teams, Rezolve.ai offers a comprehensive learning experience that's easy to use and enjoyable. Its conversational chatbots help the trainee when they need help while learning and create a great "feedback loop".
   
   Read More: Conversational Microlearning is the new normal of 2023 
   
   

Conclusion

Understaffing can seriously impact an organization's success, but it can be managed and resolved with the right strategies. One major issue with understaffing is that it can lead to increased workloads for existing employees. This can lead to increased stress and burnout, which can have a negative impact on employee morale and productivity. In extreme cases, it can even lead to employees leaving the company in search of a less stressful work environment.  

Understaffing can also lead to a decrease in the quality of the products or services offered by the company. With fewer employees, it becomes more difficult to ensure that everything is being done to the highest possible standard. This can lead to a loss of customers and a decrease in revenue for the company. In addition to the negative effects on employees and the company's bottom line, understaffing can also have a negative impact on the overall economy. When companies are understaffed, they are often unable to fully utilize their resources and capabilities. This can lead to a decrease in overall economic productivity and growth.  

I believe that understaffing is a significant issue in the corporate world that can have negative consequences for both companies and their employees. By identifying the root cause, investing in the right resources and automated tools, and creating a collaborative, communicative environment, organizations of all sizes can ensure they are adequately staffed and positioned for success in the years ahead.

Read More: A Complete Guide To Set Up A Modern Employee Helpdesk