This text is part of the special Business Challenges booklet
The lack of labor is on everyone’s lips, and certain demographic forecasts are dizzying. More than 1.4 million jobs will need to be filled by 2026, according to the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity. To recruit and retain their staff, several strategies can help companies.
Labor shortages are an obstacle for 44% of businesses, according to Statistics Canada. “This rate is 37% in Canada. It is therefore a generalized problem, but more acute in Quebec, ”compares Emna Braham, director general of the Institut du Québec (IDQ). If this problem is not new, it has accelerated with the pandemic. “Between 2019 and 2022, we recorded a 60% jump in the number of vacant positions”, underlines the one who considers that companies do not have only one “magic solution”, but with a panoply of tools.
Build statistics
This year, the ESG UQAM Chair in Macroeconomics and Forecasting signed a three-year agreement with the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Solidarity. “We are working on four themes related to the labor shortage,” explains Etienne Lalé, member of the Chair and professor in the Department of Economics at UQAM.
The Chair thus analyzes labor turnover, wages, the natural unemployment rate and the role of foreign workers in the labor market in order to build statistics and anticipate possible scenarios in the years to come. . The work of the chair will help the government see things more clearly in order to refine its strategy. “We lack the complete panorama, the precise accounting of the phenomenon of shortage, with data on vacant jobs by industry and by region”, points out the professor. We already know that the aging of the population, the reorientation of workers during the pandemic or even the decline in migrant workers have played a role. But these factors are not quantified. “We need finer data, especially longitudinal studies that follow individuals over time,” he continues.
HR at the heart of the remedy
The work carried out by Etienne Lalé has already revealed a major problem to be solved for many companies: remuneration. “The industries with the greatest shortages are those where wages have been very low for a long time and are slow to increase,” he notes.
The most glaring example of this phenomenon can be found in the hotel and restaurant sector, which has experienced a flight of staff to sectors with more favorable conditions. “Wages should rise faster to reduce the shortage,” advocates Mr. Lalé, while understanding the difficulties that small businesses in this sector are facing. The second lever revealed by his work puts the ball in the government’s court, which must better deploy temporary workers according to labor needs.
For its part, the IDQ advocates a better organization of work. “We need to do things differently to improve efficiency by adjusting schedules, redefining tasks and encouraging teamwork,” says Emna Braham, who emphasizes the more crucial role of human resources departments or managers than ever before.
“They have become the most strategic point of companies. We must invest in HR to ensure that we have the right recruitment policy, but also the right retention strategies and a caring environment to welcome a greater diversity of workers,” recommends the general manager. Companies will have to invest more in the training of their employees. “If we want to do more with less, the worker must be more productive and agile to perform different tasks,” she believes.
Recruit and retain experienced workers
Seducing 60-69 year olds is also one of the main levers brandished by the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ). “In July 2021, we made public ten solutions to overcome the shortage in the short, medium and long term. Among these, attracting or retaining experienced workers aged 60 to 69 is probably among the quickest to implement,” said Karl Blackburn, President and CEO of the CPQ.
The employment rate for this age group is lower than elsewhere in the country, deplores the CPQ. “With the same rate as Ontario, we would have gained 77,000 workers on the labor market in 2021,” argues Karl Blackburn. The CPQ launched a survey to draw inspiration from the 30 best companies in their field that have good practices for retaining or repatriating 60-69 year olds, to deploy a guide in 2023. “It is easier to retain a worker who is already on the labor market than to bring him back there, ”already warns the president.
Adapt your business model
Many companies automate their processes to stand out from the competition or seek out new markets. They do not always perceive that this can help them to face the problems of manpower, underlines Emna Braham. “We need to invest in new automation or information technology tools. It’s a matter of survival for most businesses,” she says.
The general manager takes the example of the retail trade. “Having a storefront requires recruiting several low-paid, part-time employees. These are very difficult positions to fill,” she observes. By evolving their business model to incorporate e-commerce, a merchant can become more competitive by recruiting more skilled workers at higher wages. “We have to adapt our business models, not only to adapt to our customers, but also to our employees,” she says.
The expectations of young workers
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.