It’s never a bad idea to get updated on the latest industry trends for the Canadian staffing industry. If you are an employer, these trends are important for measuring the effectiveness of your current recruitment strategies. If you aren’t careful you could find yourself in a tight position, understaffed with your company goals being underserved as a result.
We discuss a few of the most impactful trends to keep an eye on for 2017, below. Yet as with any industry, these trends will continuously develop over the course of the year, so it’s ideal to actively track them.
Temporary Employment Is Becoming the Norm
Canada is fast becoming a nation that favours temporary over permanent employment. Since the recession the amount of temp workers has tripled, with a 14.2% increase between 2009 and 2012. In contrast, permanent work is only up a fractional 3.8% and the divide hasn’t been closed in the years following. Another key related note regarding Canada’s major shift towards temp work is that the growth in said work has been most concentrated in Ontario and British Columbia.
The above means that temp staffing agencies are going to play an important role in helping companies deal with evolving staffing issues. In addition to the usual reasons that a business needs temp workers—busy season, special projects, permanent workers on leave—employers will have to deal with an unpredictable turnover rate, too.
Turnover is costly, and spending extra time and resources trying to find a new set of workers with the correct skillset and cultural fit can be even more costly. Staffing agencies have a roster of pre-screened candidates who have the experience needed to fill vital positions in your company.
Employer Branding is Just as Important as Personal Branding
A large part of the problem of bad hires is related to how your company brands itself. This Canadian staffing industry trend has come to the forefront because a lot of businesses (large and small) neglect the impact of branding on attracting talented employees. Think about the issue this way: candidates must present their best selves on the job market to target the opportunities, and the same goes for employers if they want to attract skilled employees.
Making your company outlook and objectives clear and attractive is key to finding talented temp workers. And if you’re hiring for temp-to-permanent positions, effective employer branding will go a long way to ensuring the candidates you land are qualified. One of the unexpected benefits of partnering with a Canadian staffing agency is improvement of your brand. Recruiters will promote your company as one that cares about its hiring process, garnering you more applications.
Social Recruiting
This last trend to watch out for in 2017 in the Canadian staffing industry is one that’s been developing for several years previous. Social recruiting is all about searching and connecting with potential candidates via social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. This trend is becoming more pervasive as the job market is becoming predominantly composed of millennial workers who are very social media savvy.
Even if you are looking to a staffing agency to help you with your hiring process, candidates can (and will) reach out to ask questions and get answers to any concerns. During any point of your company’s hiring process you should develop an active social media strategy so that candidates see that you’re looking to the future.
You may also find some of your best candidates through social media, given that you do a little research into their profiles to ensure they’re serious about your business and industry.
We’re in the thick of 2017 right now—all these trends may be affecting your business, for better or for worse! But knowledge is power and being mindful of these Canadian staffing industry trends can help you stay on top of your hiring game.
