Posted at 11:30 a.m.
Unfortunately, the river is much less accessible this year for those who do not have their own boat. Organizations and businesses that rent out kayaks, canoes and paddle boards have had to slash their opening hours because they simply don’t have the employees they need to operate.
“We don’t have a large pool of available employees,” laments Annie Morrisseau, assistant director at the Rivière-des-Mille-Îles park.
The park had to prioritize certain activities in the spring, such as welcoming school groups. It will only offer boat rentals to the general public seven days a week from June 25 to August 21, in addition to a few weekends before and after these dates.
Creativity
The problem affects 82% of regional parks in Quebec, according to data collected by Aventure Écotourisme Québec (AEQ). Nearly two-thirds of the parks have unfilled seasonal positions. “The most difficult positions to fill are related to customer service, maintenance work and development work,” says Valérie Bélanger, communications manager at AEQ. She says parks and outdoor businesses need to get creative to attract people.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY PARC AVENTURES CAP JASEUX
The Cap Jaseux Adventure Park has put several measures in place to find the rare pearl.
This is the case of Parc Aventures Cap Jaseux, in Saguenay.
“For four or five years, it’s been more and more difficult,” says Rébecca Tremblay, general manager of the park. Some years we do well, but this year we were a little worried. Here it starts to improve. »
The park has implemented a series of measures to facilitate recruitment, starting with on-site accommodation.
We have always welcomed employees who came to live on the site in the summer. In recent years, we have increased the reception capacity because as it is seen as a one-summer experience, they need accommodation.
Rébecca Tremblay, General Manager of Parc Aventures Cap Jaseux
The park also offers various benefits to employees, such as access to free activities, discounts for family and friends, discounts from suppliers, etc.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY PARC AVENTURES CAP JASEUX
Not easy to find employees in the outdoors this year.
Rébecca Tremblay affirms that it is more complex than it seems to increase salaries. “We have close to 50 employees, we are subject to everything related to pay equity. If one job category is increased, the others must necessarily be adjusted. Generally, we adjust our salary scales according to the minimum wage. Thus, it increased by 5.5%, so we adjusted the salary scales by 5.5%. »
Recognition and training
The park puts a lot of emphasis on recognition. “Already, the coordinators and team leaders were highlighting the good moves, but in recent years, we display them, we publish on social media, we don’t just say it,” says Ms.me Tremblay.
The company has also moved to provide more training to employees instead of requiring prerequisites. “We ask for a minimum of experience and ease. It seems to work. »
The Cap Jaseux Adventure Park intends to open all year round within two years, which should retain employees who are looking for stability.
The park has also cautiously begun to hire younger employees, ages 13 and 14. “We take those who come on their own, specifies Mme Tremblay. We put them in positions that require less experience and prerequisites, we don’t make them work 40 hours a week. These young people come back from one year to another and they can progress in the organization. »
“Basically, the employee experience, we consider it as important as the customer experience. »
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