This year, teleworking remained on the list of priority issues for CEOs. Many of them wanted a return to the office full time, if only to occupy empty office towers and revive activity in city centers. Many had to give up.
A text from The Canadian Press (PC) published in April presented us with a president and CEO of the National Bank worried about the effect of teleworking on the vitality of the metropolis. “I worry about downtown Montreal and I think the business community has a very big responsibility [d’assurer] the dynamism of Montreal’s ecosystem,” declared Laurent Ferreira.
Unlike other financial institutions, the head of the National Bank, however, intends to maintain a flexible approach, preferring to suggest that staff be in person 40% of the time. This did not prevent him from wishing for a “better balance”, implying a presence in the office exceeding this threshold. The president adds that teleworking has not had an adverse effect on employee productivity.
It must be said that the institution has just moved into its new premises at Place Banque Nationale, an office tower of around forty floors, whose project, announced in 2018, involved an investment of more than 500 million. And that it announced last week the acquisition of office and commercial spaces in the building located at 700, rue Saint-Jacques in Montreal, adjacent to its new head office, which employs some 12,000 people.
As for office towers, those in the greater Montreal area continued to post a significant vacancy rate in October. According to the latest data from the real estate agency CBRE recorded by THE Montreal Journalthere was a record vacancy rate of 17.4% in the city center in the third quarter, compared to 16.1% in the same quarter of 2022. It is not much better in the suburbs, with a vacancy rate of 18 .3% compared to 17% a year earlier.
“Obviously the ship is difficult to turn. We have not yet achieved it, but I feel that it is moving in the right direction,” commented the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, Michel Leblanc.
The article from Newspaper takes up data from the Chamber showing that two-thirds of large companies in Montreal currently require an office presence of “two to three days per week”, on average.
Setback among leaders
As part of the ninth annual KPMG Global CEO Outlook survey, the professional services firm surveyed executives from 775 companies in Canada. It found that while business leaders across the country and around the world remain committed to bringing more employees back to the office, the number of Canadian executives who predict a full return to in-person work over the next three years does not. is more than 55%, compared to 75% a year ago.
To accelerate this trend, 77% of them, and 75% of Canadian SMEs, say they are very likely or likely to use incentives such as favorable assignments, raises or promotions to encourage their employees to occupy their desks longer. The labor shortage, however, is weighing down efforts, remaining a major obstacle to growth according to leaders. After reducing their workforce last year in anticipation of the recession, these companies now plan to move into hiring mode over the next three years. At least, this is the case for 88% of CEOs of large companies, but for only 59% of SMEs. However, “the difficulty is finding the right people to help them be competitive in an economy based on technology and services”. Thus “77% of CEOs declared that labor shortages and the lack of qualified workers constitute a threat to Canadian organizations”.
Immigration did not meet expectations
And for many of them, immigration has not been the solution they hoped for. At least in SMEs, since 84% of respondents declare that, “despite the influx of immigrants to Canada, they are unable to find the talents they need and 72% recruit directly outside of Canada for a highly qualified workforce. Almost three quarters [74 %] add that the high cost of living in Canada, mainly due to prohibitive housing costs, makes it “extremely difficult to attract and retain top talent,” including foreign workers,” KPMG continues.
Among other Canadian CEOs, we go further by invoking the rising cost of living as the socio-economic trend most likely to have a negative impact on the prosperity of their organization.
Everything must be put into perspective that the younger generations have the largest number of people within the working age population (from 15 to 64 years old). According to projections from the Business Development Bank of Canada, millennials and members of Generation Z will account for nearly three-quarters of the workforce in 2030. This is not without modulating the labor market, notably in the form of a work-family-leisure rebalancing. We also talk about the importance of professional development and the purpose associated with work. This is true for loyalty at work, for employee retention and for flexibility in scheduling.