I live in a small rural community of 7000 residents north of Boston. It has lots of lovely pastures and lots of soccer moms (one of which I used to be). My town is also known for the quality of its school system, which is primarily why I chose to move here a long, long time ago.

Because of this well-deserved reputation, historically there have never been more than 8–10 houses for sale at any given time. And, most houses here sell very quickly. That is, until recently. Lately, the "For Sale" signs seem to be cropping up faster than spring crocuses.

Houses We Got — Employees We Don't

If you're looking to buy a new home, you're in the catbird seat right now as supply is heavy and demand is low. Prices are dropping and there are some real values out there.

It's just the opposite, however, in the employment market. Finding the perfect employee at the perfect price is a real challenge.

According to a survey conducted by Milwaukee-based Manpower Inc. this past January of nearly 33,000 employers across 23 countries, about 4 in 10 employers worldwide are having difficulty filling positions due to the lack of suitable talent available in their markets. Says Manpower CEO Jeffrey Joerres, "The shortages are most acute across North America at this point, with employers in Europe and Asia currently feeling much less pressure to compete for employees." (Follow this link to view the complete story and see the top 10 jobs employers are having the most difficulty filling.)

While you are in tough competition with every other company out there that is hiring, you may have an edge if you think about your hiring in a new way.

The Bob Vila Solution

When you're looking for a new house, you make a list of the "must haves" before you start your search. These might include important features like land size, school system, a structurally sound home, proximity to work, etc. You then make a list of the less-important features — the "nice to haves" — such as number of bedrooms, bathrooms, or exterior styling.

But here's the key point: When there is a scarcity of housing supply, you keep the must haves but know that you may have to compromise on the nice to haves because (and this is critical), these features YOU can change. You can add a bedroom or bathroom; you can't change the foundation. You get the picture.

Now — Think This Way When Hiring

Because there is a shortage of qualified talent in today's market, approach your hiring as you would approach your home search. First, make a list of everything you would like in your new employee. Then, review the list and sort out the all-important "must have" qualities from the "nice to have" qualities. Now, go out and hunt!

As with houses, you'll find candidates who meet the must have requirements, even though they aren't (yet) quite perfect. That's OK — be prepared to do a little "rehab" of your new employee! This may take the form of additional product training, training in your industry or some good old-fashioned sales or motivational courses. If he's not at your "dream home stage" make an investment right away to get him there. Just like you'd do with your new home, have a budget for these expenditures and make sure they happen.

Let me be clear. I am not saying that you should hire someone who is not qualified for your job. Your choice should always be the candidate who (in housing terms) is structurally sound. What I am saying, however, is that in a tight market, you should be prepared to compromise on the less important things, knowing that many of these qualities can be "built on" after the buy!

P.S. By the way, newly hired employees aren't the only people in your organization who might need some additional training to get up to snuff. Regularly scheduled job skills training — whether in sales, customer service, quality — will ensure that your workforce is "state of the art" and, most importantly, signal your commitment to your employees. That goes a long way towards your retaining those very precious assets. Make that investment today!