Jerry Rubin
Workforce-development leader, coauthor of “Help Wanted: How to Find and Keep Talent in a Forever-Tight Labor Market,” Senior Advisor at Harvard’s Project on Workforce, and Foundation Fellow at Eastern Bank. He previously served for 15 years as President and CEO of JVS Boston.
Employers Must Redesign Hiring and Jobs for a Permanently Tighter Labor Market
Steve Dawson and Jerry Rubin argue in Help Wanted that employers should treat the tight labor market as a structural condition, not a temporary hiring cycle that will reverse on its own. They contend that demographic change, lower workforce participation, and limits on immigration require businesses to redesign how they recruit, train, advance, and retain workers—starting with the barriers that screen out or drive away people they need. Their case is that employee-centered practices are not a generic fix but an operational response that must account for each employer’s job design, incentives, and workforce.
Employers Must Redesign Hiring and Retention for a Permanently Tight Labor Market
Steve Dawson and Jerry Rubin argue in Help Wanted that a shrinking and changing workforce makes labor scarcity a long-term business condition, not a cycle employers can wait out. They contend that employers must compete for talent by changing how they recruit, train, manage, and retain workers—especially people routinely filtered out by conventional hiring systems. Their case for employee-centered strategy extends beyond wages to job design, workforce partnerships, and management practices that give workers a role in solving the problems that drive turnover.