It almost goes without saying that businesses must offer a product or service that people want or need, because if they’re not serving their market, they won’t succeed. 

That said, having good people in the business is what makes a business thrive. It’s the people who come up with ideas, build the products, execute the plans and provide the services. The greatest ideas and the nicest facilities don’t work without attracting quality people, and that’s an area in which businesses are struggling.

As the Business Quarterly section in this week’s paper notes, there are two reasons for this problem. The first is finding people to hire. Ken Fox, vice president of human resources at Monadnock Paper Mills in Bennington, cites COVID as the reason for the labor shortage, as older workers retired or moved on to gig work.

To attract the workers who are remaining, businesses have offered increased wages and tried to get creative, such as Teleflex’s flexible shifts, weekend shifts and a midweek shift that allows employees to have four-day weekends.

Yet even when companies can find employees, if they’re coming from outside the area, they have trouble finding places to live. This is in part due to production that has failed to keep up with demand, according to the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority’s New Hampshire Housing Market Report. The state’s rental vacancy rate is at about 1 percent.

Companies are trying to find solutions – Microspec owner Tim Steele is looking to add 50 to 60 apartments or condominiums for local workers on the parcel where he is planning a new building, and Monadnock Community Hospital has acquired places for employees to live – but this is a problem businesses cannot solve on their own.

State-level initiatives will help, but the real thrust toward increasing affordable housing must come at the local level. Towns need to be sure zoning rules intended to preserve the character of a town don’t unduly hinder housing development. Residents must be willing to support proposed changes, and when they have concerns, work them out during the planning process.

Given the value of good people to the success of all businesses, it’s vital that local companies are able to attract the best people possible.

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