When Altitude Sports started hiring for the holiday season, the Canadian e-commerce retailer ran into a recruiting problem: it couldn’t find enough people to fill the available positions.
“We weren’t able to reach our goal,” explained Altitude Sports’ co-CEO Maxime Dubois in an interview. “We went into the market and really looked at it and found that we weren’t competitive enough. ”
For example, the outdoor equipment and clothing retailer increased wages by $ 2.0 per hour for its customer service and distribution center employees.
Heavily shaken by the pandemic, the Canadian labor market is forcing many retailers to step up efforts to attract workers as the holiday season approaches, a period of massive sales that, for some, overshadows the rest. of the year.
Economists believe that despite the apparent labor shortage, large wage increases have not followed.
Yet Altitude Sports is proof of the effectiveness of a pay rise.
The base salary of the Montreal retailer is now $ 16.50 an hour – $ 3 more than Quebec’s minimum wage – and some of its employees are earning more.
After increasing wages, hiring became easier. The company’s workforce quickly grew to 520, from 220, as it nears its busiest time of the year.
ALTITUDE SPORTS PHOTO VIA THE CANADIAN PRESS
Maxime Dubois
“We adapted to the market to make sure we were still relevant to current employees and newcomers,” Dubois explained. “We immediately started to see the effect in our recruiting process. ”
Several factors behind the shortage
Many retailers have gone ahead with their holiday hiring this year, but a review of job postings suggests some retail positions are still unfilled after several weeks.
While some employers blame the generous pandemic benefits that they say convince people to stay home, economists note that several factors are contributing to the labor shortage.
“Many restaurants and retail stores were closed for long periods during the pandemic, so some workers left the industry,” said Fabian Lange, professor of economics at McGill University. “They may have gone back to school or pursued other interests, which would contribute to the shortage. ”
He further rejects the suggestion that government assistance benefits have discouraged people from finding jobs, or that low-wage workers have accumulated enough savings to extricate themselves from the workforce for an extended period of time.
“It may be happening a bit, but I find it hard to believe that it would contribute to sustained labor shortages,” said Lange, also the Canada Research Chair in economy of labor and personnel.
Part of the problem may lie in the fact that few companies seem to be raising wages in response to the labor shortage, he continued.
“There is no evidence that wages are increasing,” Lange observed. “In fact, after inflation, wages go down. ”
This makes Altitude Sports an exception in this economic environment – without failing to raise questions about how long an isolated retailer can maintain higher wages without also raising prices, potentially making it less competitive.
Mr. Dubois assured that Altitude Sports prices would remain stable for the rest of the year, and that sales would still be offered on “The Last Hunt”, a website of the Altitude Sports family.
Some brands will increase their “manufacturer’s suggested retail price” next spring to adjust for higher material and supply chain costs, he added.
Less stocked stocks as the holidays approach
Still, while prices likely won’t rise until the holidays, that doesn’t mean supply won’t be affected.
In a note to customers released in early October, Dubois and co-CEO Alexandre Guimond urged people to consider shopping earlier for the holidays this year.
“We are seeing delays in new arrivals (and) deliveries that are outright canceled,” the letter said. “As a result, we are anticipating a lower than normal level of inventory available to you during the fall and winter seasons. ”
Mr. Dubois said he believed it was important to be honest with customers.
“We don’t want to scare anyone, it’s really the simple truth,” he said. “The stocks are less full than usual. We are 15% behind what we would have liked to have had in stock. ”
Manufacturers have focused on more cost-effective adult sizes, which will make the selection of certain youth outdoor clothing and boots particularly scarce, Dubois noted.
In other cases, some models will not be available at all due to material shortages.
“There are fleece manufacturers who haven’t been able to provide their brands with the yardage they need because they just don’t have the raw material,” he explained.
Still, Altitude Sports focused on hiring to ensure top-notch customer service throughout the peak period, he added.
“The average wait time to talk to someone is 20 seconds and we never want it to exceed three minutes during Black Friday,” he illustrated.
The online retailer is also testing different shipping options to make sure it has back-up plans to quickly deliver items across the country.
“We really want to have good execution and make sure our clients get the same peak experience they would get in mid-summer,” Dubois said.
Altitude Sports began selling outdoor gear and apparel online in 1999, making it one of the first retailers in Canada to enter e-commerce.
This experience, the focus on customer service and a wide selection of brands, allowed the company to process more than one million orders across Canada during its last fiscal year, underlined Mr. Dubois. .
“Web adoption has exploded during the pandemic and we are focused on satisfying our customers while attracting new ones. ”