Here's How Small Businesses Can Stay Competitive During a Labour Shortage

By Kiran Virk

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a labour shortage across industries in Canada. According to the findings of a BDC survey, 64% of Canadian small- and medium-sized businesses say labour shortages are limiting their growth. While 55% of the employers surveyed were having a tough time hiring new staff, 26% said retaining employees was also difficult.

There may be many factors causing the current labour crisis. The pandemic affected a major source of labour by reducing the number of new immigrants, students, and temporary foreign workers coming to Canada. The frequent lockdowns and ensuing job losses led employees in the hardest-hit sectors, such as retail, personal care, hospitality, and food service, to change careers. The federal income support programs also made it feasible for many to stay home and avoid taking up customer-facing jobs during a pandemic.

Given how the pandemic has transformed the current labour market, it is important employers adapt their hiring strategies to attract top talent.

Here are 5 ways small businesses can attract qualified candidates and adapt to a candidate-led market:

Offer competitive pay and benefits

First and foremost, offer a good compensation package. Competitive pay and benefits, such as paid vacation, paid sick leave, health care coverage, and perks, such as wellness programs, staff discounts, etc., are critical to drawing qualified candidates.

It is equally important you offer opportunities for growth in the role through upskilling, training, and mentorship programs. The 2022 Hays Canada Salary Guide states 62% of employees said they would switch jobs if not given opportunities for professional growth. According to the BDC study, better wages and benefits were the two main reasons why the employees surveyed wanted to change jobs.

Provide a COVID-secure workplace

If the nature of your business requires your staff work out of an office, makes sure you follow all public health measures to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission in your workplace. As an employer, it is your legal obligation to take all reasonable precautions to provide a hazard-free work environment for your staff. Putting stringent health and safety controls in place will help lessen any fear or anxiety your employees may have about catching COVID19 at work. Ensure you have relevant COVID-19 policies in place, are following masking, physical distancing, hand hygiene, and active screening protocols.

Make sure your employees have the personal protective equipment they need. Employers should develop a protocol to protect their customer-facing staff from being harassed by angry customers who refuse to meet proof of vaccination requirements.

Improve your recruitment process

We recommend the following best practices to ensure you make a good first impression on your applicants:

Post clear and realistic job descriptions: The job description plays a major role in determining the sort of candidates you attract. It should provide clarity on what is expected from the role. It should not be a long and unrealistic wish list of job requirements and qualifications. Doing so may discourage talented applicants from applying simply because they don’t meet all the listed criteria. You may want to split the skills you are seeking into “must have” and “nice to have”.

Conduct structured interviews: The purpose

of interviewing is to find a candidate who is a right fit for the job, and thus more likely to stay with the company. Structured interviews that include behavioural questions (openended questions about specific situations) are an effective way to gauge how a particular candidate may use their experience to manage the challenges and duties of the role you’re hiring for.

In structured interviews, you prepare a questionnaire in advance and ask all applicants the same questions in the same order. This ensures fairness and objectivity in your hiring process. You could also include a skills test to assess a candidate’s suitability for the job. Another way to find strong applicants is to offer a referral bonus to existing staff.

Be transparent during the recruitment proc-

ess: Provide clarity on the next steps in the recruitment process after the skills test or the final interview. Let the candidates know of the timeframe within which you would be making your decision.

Let flexible work be an option

Offering perks such as flexible work is another effective way to make your company an attractive place to work at. The 2021 Hays Salary Guide said the option to work from home was listed as one of the “most desired benefits” by employees. If switching to remote work entirely is not possible, you could offer remote or hybrid work options for certain roles that do not require staff to be present in the office.

Offering remote work will also widen your hiring pool – enabling you to hire qualified people from across your province and even the country. A remote/hybrid work arrangement is also cost effective for employers as it reduces costs (rent, overhead expenses) associated with a physical office functioning at full capacity.

Focus on staff retention

According to the 2022 Hays Canada Salary Guide, 40% of employers surveyed said they were already losing skilled staff to competitors offering higher pay.

It is important that you invest in retaining your employees. The last thing you’d want during a

shortage of skilled workers is to lose experienced employees to competition. Improve employee retention by: • Offering pay and benefits at par with industry standards • Providing opportunities for career growth (training, workshops, and mentorship progr- ams) • Providing flexible work options to employees who need it • Recognizing the achievements of your empl- oyees • Keeping favouritism out of your workplace • Encouraging your employees to strive for a work-life balance • Conducting annual performance reviews

Use annual appraisals to get staff feedback, talk about their goals and future with your company. Doing so will help you provide them with growth opportunities and training aligned with their future goals.

Through mentoring and upskilling, you can groom an existing employee to take on new roles and greater responsibility within your company. Remember, people are more likely to stay with a company that invests in their career.

Do you have questions related to HR and employee management?

At Peninsula Canada, we specialize in everything HR and health & safety. Whether you need advice on handling employee performance issues or have other HR questions, we’re here to support you. Our experts can help you develop company policies and can offer you any other HR, health and safety, or employment advice you need.

About Peninsula

Peninsula is a trusted HR and Health and Safety advisory, serving over 80,000 small businesses worldwide. Clients are supported with ongoing updates of their workplace documentation and policies as legislation changes. Additionally, clients benefit from 24/7 employer HR advice and are supported by legal assistance.

Kiran Virk is the Talent Acquisition Manager at Peninsula Canada and heads recruitment for all company operations across Canada.