Every aspect of the economy goes through cycles. Interest rates rise and fall, consumer confidence balloons and deflates, capital is tight and capital flows. In macroeconomics, general equilibrium theory suggests that, in general, supply and demand of anything\u2014including labour\u2014will eventually result in the title of the theory: general equilibrium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes history repeats itself, and sometimes a new history unfolds. It would seem that Canada\u2019s labour market is firmly in new-history-writing mode. Even before the most recent COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, job vacancies in Canada were 100 basis points higher than they were in February 2020. And while Statscan has yet to publish data from the summer months, we all know that the 4.1 per cent job vacancy rate is going to be much higher. That number is deceiving as not every vacancy shows up, and for some hard-hit sectors such as hospitality, manufacturing, and retail, the number is quite skewed.<\/p>\n\n\n
From entry-level jobs commonly held by students, to well-paid trades and all sorts of occupations in between, people are staying away from sending out resumes. A number of businesses point to federal supports for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit as the reason, and this is certainly a factor. But there are others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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For 18 months, governments, health units, and scientists have been ringing alarm bells and warning us all, rightly so, about the dangers of COVID-19. Much as many of us are relieved that vaccines are rolling out and some activity is returning to normal, a good portion of the labour market is not quite ready to set their concerns aside and rush back into the workplace. The fourth wave complicates this further. Add the challenges of finding daycare, elder care, and other supports, and the path back to a normal labour market becomes a meandering road with many branches, rather than a highway on-ramp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Government supports such as the Canada Recovery Benefit are a matter of politics and a topic I\u2019m going to stay away from. But there are other potential solutions that we, as community members, business owners, and business supporters, can implement ourselves rather than waiting for big politics and things outside our immediate individual influence to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think total compensation, not just wages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The easiest, most obvious way to attract more qualified labour may be increasing wages. But before you go and up your hourly rate, recognize that things can get complicated fast and you can end up costing your operations a lot of money. Many people, both managers and potential employees, think about compensation as simply the money offered. But much of the time, this only tells part of the story. If you are not marketing your total compensation package to potential hires the way you would a product or service, you might be missing out on a pool of qualified candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think about it this way\u2014imagine your real estate office uses a fee structure of 5.5 per cent and you buy big splashy ads but forget to mention that your services also include a $1,000 credit towards a company staging the property, a $1,000 voucher for a local moving company, and a $500 gift card from the local building centre. Because you failed to mention this, a potential customer signs up with the office across town whose fees are advertised at a quarter point lower. You had the better value, but the message didn\u2019t get to the potential customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the position you need to fill comes with things of value beyond a base rate, talk about them. We see ads all the time that fail to mention a benefit plan. Employers sometimes forget to talk about a pension-matching scheme, even a small one. Even things like employee discounts, free or low-cost meals, or other perks sometimes get skipped. It\u2019s not always the hourly rate that interests a potential great hire. Think total compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Highlight other perks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of us can tell a story about working for an organization that wasn\u2019t top-shelf for wages, but the non-monetary pieces made up at least partially for the lower paycheque. Maybe you have flexible hours. Maybe you allow working from home one day a week. Find the non-financial stuff that makes your employees happy and talk it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Communicate your<\/strong> <\/strong>workplace <\/strong>culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Culture can be difficult to describe, but you should try. If you can honestly say, \u201cNow looking to ad<\/em>d another rock star to our line-up of awesome, customer-<\/em>centric pros. You can expect regular feedback, recognition for putting our clients first, and a training plan that makes sure that<\/em> you\u2019ve got everything you need,<\/em>\u201d<\/em> you should. It sounds completely different than, \u201cHelp w<\/em>anted. Now<\/em> hiring a customer service rep.\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve always marketed your products and services, now it\u2019s time to market the roles that you\u2019re hiring for. Tell your human resources story with a perception, not just numbers. As always, make sure what you\u2019re advertising is true. And if your workplace culture needs, well, work, now is the time to address it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Network, network, network<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, make use of your network. <\/strong>Let\u2019s say someone comes in with years of experience in shipping and receiving but you\u2019re not hiring for that position right now. You could steer the applicant in the direction of another business that is and, if karma kicks in, hopefully another person in your network sends you an application for the admin assistant you\u2019ve been looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we think just a little bit differently, we can all help one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please remember, too, that the YMCA Employment Centre is here to help. We can post positions at our centre and online, collect applications, match job seekers with available positions and, in some cases, even offer hiring incentives to help offset training costs. We\u2019d be happy to speak to you further about these and other services. Just call 705-787-0349 or email huntsvilleerc@sm.ymca.ca. We\u2019d love to hear from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rob North is a Job Developer with YMCA Employment Services – Midland<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a sponsored story paid for by the featured advertiser<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Rob North, YMCA Employment Services Job Developer Every aspect of the economy goes through cycles. Interest rates rise and fall, consumer confidence balloons and deflates, capital is tight and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":103656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,1188],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sponsored-profile","category-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2021\/10\/YMCA_0925.jpg\")
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