Top five workforce issues in 2014
Experts weigh in on emerging trends
It was been characterized by some as a better year for job hunters in 2013 compared to the previous year, but the labour market remains highly competitive and your chance of landing a great job appears to depend largely on what industry, occupation and type of company you’re targeting.
Recruiters and human resource experts weighed in on what trends they see emerging in 2014 as part of an informal survey by the Calgary Herald.
In general, company leaders are focusing more on an individual’s “fit” with the organization’s corporate culture and values, while balancing the needs of a diverse workforce with the need to boost productivity and increase employee engagement.
Focus on culture and ‘fit’
“It’s about employers consciously deciding what constitutes a good fit for their organization and then targeting these specific attributes, which almost always includes an alignment of values and the right attitudes,” says Janet Salopek, who surveyed 13 of her consultants for her 2014 predictions. “The labour market is hot in Alberta and employees have choices.”
For both employee and employer, finding that “fit” is taking a higher priority as organizations look to reduce turnover and boost employee morale, along with enhanced team dynamics in the workplace.
A forecasted higher level of mergers and acquisitions in 2014 will only increase the need, particularly among junior oil and gas companies, to clearly define cor- porate culture and a conscious decision to apply that in hiring strategies.
Carmen Goss, president of Prominent Personnel in Calgary, says there are plenty of “good people” looking for employment right now and organizations are being very specific about what they’re looking for in 2014.
“We are seeing a tight labour market in terms of finding the right talent in the oil and gas industry,” says Goss.
An unbalanced talent demand
Junior oil and gas companies, in particular, are facing a tough time raising money, gas prices are still depressed, the differential in oil prices remains a challenge, transportation issues add to the dilemma and hiring in the industry remains somewhat unbalanced, depending on the specific type of job.
Rising labour costs and a shortage of tradespeople is offset by flat or stagnant hiring in other areas. However, planned oilsands expansion in 2014 and a projected “revival” of natural gas export terminals could create new job opportunities.
“Creating an appealing offering that goes far beyond a good salary will be critical as will partnering with trades schools to ensure a homegrown workforce,” says Salopek.
Demographics change the nature of work
Shannon Bowen-Smed, president and chief executive of Bowen Workforce Solutions, says that for the first time, companies will be looking at attraction and retention of their contract workforce “with the same vigour as they have traditionally for their conventional employees.”
The aging workforce and continued exit of Baby Boomers into retirement will require organizations to step up their succession planning efforts and address their increasingly diverse contingent workforce.
“Companies will have four generations of labour under one roof,” says Bowen-Smed. “Know- ing what drives each audience will be key to both attraction and retention.”
Productivity and employee engagement
Canada lags many other industrialized countries when it comes to productivity, including our neighbours south of the border. Controlling labour costs through better management of the workforce will become an increasing trend in 2014 as executives and leaders try to find innovative ways to improve productivity, adds Bowen-Smed.
Using automation and analytics to manage costs will increase efficiencies.
Salopek says the executive suite is equally under the gun to produce and do it in a more transparent way in publiclytraded companies to “justify to the shareholders” the incentives provided to the “top tier.”
“Public scrutiny on C-suite compensation has increased and everyone will have a say on pay without really understanding the complexity of executive compensation,” Salopek says. “Transparency will be important as well as a strong correlation between performance and pay.”
Broadening the search for talent
With so much at stake on an organization’s human capital and ability to compete in the marketplace, Calgary and Alberta, in particular, will increasingly begin looking abroad for top talent.
Goss says her organization, Prominent Personnel, has recently been engaged in several large international hiring initiatives for the oil and gas industry in Australia and Nigeria, for example.
“We are a resilient industry and we will come back,” says Goss. “We always do.”