This text is part of the special section Municipalities
Historically considered to be highly sought-after employers, municipalities today suffer from a labor shortage. To continue to do well, they will have to take care of their employer brand and highlight the positive aspects of a job in the municipal sector.
The portrait of hiring has changed a lot in several municipalities, where stability and good employment conditions no longer seem sufficient to convince job seekers.
“It seems that cities attract less than before,” says François Adam, director general of the City of Drummondville. Previously, we encountered no difficulty in recruiting blue collar workers. Our working conditions and job security, as well as the stability of schedules allowed us to stand out, but today, it has become more difficult to compete with the industries that are on our territory. Last year, we lacked 25 blue collar workers to complete our work teams. We will have to find ways to change our management models to attract job seekers. »
Same observations for the City of Nicolet, also located in Centre-du-Québec: “Municipalities have long been perceived as employers of choice, but over time, I think we are less competitive than before. compared to other levels of government and the private sector,” notes Geneviève Dubois, Mayor of Nicolet.
The new generation is looking for more latitude and flexibility and, according to Mme Dubois, this type of environment does not seem to fit with the perception we have of cities. “Young people no longer have this mentality where the goal is to get a good job and spend your life in the same place. They want variety. These aspects play against us, but we are working on it to become more attractive. »
Survey and employer brand
To obtain data likely to help municipalities take steps in the right direction and better position themselves, the Union à des municipalités du Québec (UMQ) has set up a committee on employer branding. France Bélisle, Mayor of Gatineau, chairs this committee, which commissioned a survey from the firm CROP. However, the survey shows that if all is not rosy, the future of recruitment in cities is not completely bleak either.
“Municipalities are well positioned to recruit,” says Dominic Bourdages, vice-president of CROP. The labor shortage affects them, like other employers, but that being said, it is not as glaring as in other sectors of activity. In fact, our survey shows that two-thirds of people would consider their municipality as an employer if they found themselves looking for a job. People are aware that municipalities offer good working conditions. Other good news: young people, although among the most demanding, are among those who have the best opinion of their city as a potential employer on almost all criteria. »
This observation comes from the CROP survey on the employer brand, the detailed results of which will only be revealed on May 4 as part of the Assises 2023, in Gatineau. Although the survey revealed positive aspects, the exercise has its advantages in helping cities paint a better picture of the situation.
“Cities are asking questions about the kind of employer they are, but also about the kind of employer they want to be,” says France Bélisle, Mayor of Gatineau. With the immense challenges of labor scarcity they encounter, they are looking for ways to evolve with the labor market. »
Working for a municipality means working for an order of government. But the new generation has its own requirements. “The new generation wants to work with high-performance technological tools, take advantage of work-family balance measures. There is a reflection to be done on the evolution of cities as employers to get up to date,” she argues.
She also insists on the important communication that remains to be done to inform the population of the diversity of jobs offered by cities. “We are looking for engineers, accountants, people in leisure, culture, lawyers. Our needs are very varied, but we have the impression that citizens are not aware of these possibilities. »
A campaign will stem from the survey results, as municipalities want to attract job seekers. “We want to send the message to citizens that cities are attractive workplaces and employers of choice,” adds France Bélisle. We also need to rejuvenate our public service. If you have a young professional who comes to work and discovers a work environment that has archaic technologies, it’s a less stimulating work environment. This is part of our questioning. »
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.