“They send us their application by Messenger. We make an appointment with them and they don’t show up for the interview. We have no news. This situation described by Martin Drolet, owner of BMR hardware stores in Abitibi, is now part of his daily life when it comes time to recruit future employees.
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“We have a human resources manager and for her, it becomes a burden, he adds, visibly exhausted. It gets heavy, it gets complicated, it gets discouraging. We want to bawl sometimes. »
The one who until very recently owned three stores, and who will close at the end of the month for lack of profitability that of Malartic to keep those of Val-d’Or and Ville-Marie, affirms to have never experienced such a phenomenon. The hiring process becomes more complex even before people are hired.
Is he in a period of intensive recruitment for the summer? “We are recruiting year-round, it’s not complicated. And when people don’t show up as agreed, the “ordeal” stretches out.
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Martin Drolet, owner of BMR hardware stores in Abitibi
This phenomenon, commonly called no show, which tends to spread more and more, is not the prerogative of Martin Drolet’s hardware stores. Robert Herrera, owner of several restaurants, including Les Cavistes, rue Fleury in Montreal, is also faced with this situation.
“I am always blown away by no show in interview… People with years of experience on CV who just don’t show up in a scheduled interview, we could read on his Facebook page at the end of April. And then I tell myself that it’s probably better that way because if their level of respect for others is so low, serving and cooking for others is probably not their strength after all. »
“It causes situations where everyone is wasting their time,” adds Mr. Herrera in an interview with The Press. We don’t want to spend our afternoon waiting for people who don’t come. »
“It’s more problematic than before,” he says. Ourselves, we have less time to devote to that. We do things we never did before. We manage the most urgent. We do flooring. We cook. We have less time to devote to interviews. »
For Mario Bélanger, former president and CEO of Mayrand who is now at the head of Groupe Bélanger, a retail and distribution consulting firm, succeeding in “having candidates sit down for an interview, it’s a colossal job”.
This destabilizing situation where people do not show up at the appointed appointment and who disappear without giving any news, he experienced it at Mayrand, a chain of four food warehouse stores. The scenario repeats itself with the companies he supports.
It’s been worse since the start of the pandemic. It’s not even comparable. You set up four interviews and half the time people don’t show up.
Mario Bélanger, former CEO of Mayrand, now head of Groupe Bélanger
“That’s why more and more companies are now hiring human resources agents who do prospecting. They just hire. But that costs the whole thing. Not everyone can afford that. »
Negotiation and retention
Moreover, aspiring employees who present themselves for an interview make their requests right away. They generally have high salary expectations, and the four-day schedule is on their list of requirements, according to the employers consulted.
There is no more seduction game [de la part des candidats]. It is the owner who wants to seduce and who will take out his finest feathers to attract them.
Robert Herrera, owner of several restaurants, including Les Cavistes, in the Ahuntsic district
“If we agree to their requests, from now on, the restaurants will be open from Monday to Thursday from 9 to 5! “, he jokes.
“They negotiate when they show up,” also says Mario Bélanger. Then they cross to the other side of the street and they say they would like to earn $25 an hour, you, what do you offer me? It is the young man who is interviewing us. And then you try to negotiate something… and they don’t come back. »
Some new employees will never show up for their first shift. “Often, we hire them on the spot without really testing them. We got there. We negotiate that on the spot. They come out of the office and they have a post. They are told to show up on Monday and sometimes they don’t show up, ”says Martin Drolet.
In addition to having difficulty finding workers, employers face a serious retention problem. “It’s very difficult to keep and create a sense of belonging when someone stays for a short time,” notes Michel Rochette, president for Quebec of the Retail Council of Canada (RCCC). There are so many offers. People are constantly drawn to other jobs. »
And according to him, the increase in the minimum wage, which rose to $14.25 (+ $0.75) since 1er may not help retain employees. “In the current context, all wages are under upward pressure,” he points out. It can’t be a solution. It just shifts the problem. It just moves workers from one sector to another. In the retail sector, raising wages substantially will necessarily mean increasing the cost of products on the shelves. »