Lori Karpman | Canadian Business Franchise | December 16, 2021
With the economy beginning to bounce back from the pandemic, the challenge is to find competent and qualified staff. Heavily impacted industries such as travel, hospitality, and retail are having the most difficulty with this task.
Canada’s unemployment rate reached unprecedented highs during the pandemic. However, the number of people willing to leave their existing jobs decreased with the uncertainty in finding new employment. It is not surprising there is a lot of uncertainty in the current marketplace and as such, the overall job applicant pool is decreasing.
The loss of an employee, especially one requiring training, can cost the company twice that employee’s salary to find and re-train their replacement. This proves it pays to invest in your current talent.
The hardest hit by the pandemic are people working minimum wage jobs or hourly labour. Pre-COVID, there was many people willing to work hourly jobs, but it has dwindled and left employers struggling to fill open positions as their businesses reopen.
In some cases, financial support from the government to those impacted by COVID-19 is more than would be gained via employment. Many candidates are staying home and not returning to the workforce. On the other side of the issue, the number of qualified franchise prospects has grown.
Create a great corporate culture
Creating an environment where employees want to work is key to engaging and retaining top talent. Company culture plays a critical role in attracting and retaining employees. Many job seekers cite company culture as being very important to them when they decide on an employer. The culture of the entire organization is set by its corporate leadership team and flows from the top down. Ideally it moves to employees as well. When leaders create a positive environment for people to work in and flourish, they will not only be more loyal, but will go out of their way for customers. It will also attract fresh and new talent to the pool through a solid brand reputation.