Wiegers Financial & Benefits is one of Saskatchewan’s premier locally-owned family businesses specializing in financial planning and employee benefits consulting. Our Group Benefits Consulting Division is vital in helping clients become – and remain – employers of choice by providing their employees and families with the group benefits, personal insurance & retirement plans they want. In our latest article, we share the details of a recent webinar where the Managing Principal of our benefits division, Deb Wiegers, joined Michael Watkins and Miranda Miller from Immigrate Software to talk about labour shortage strategies not just to find and attract but also to retain the right talent for your business.
The Labour Landscape in Canada
Let’s discuss one of the shared missions of our business community and why we think it’s important to discuss how to obtain and retain talent. Recent surveys say about 42% of workers have already started looking for a new job in 2024, up from July 2023. The labour shortage, whether it be from an aging population, declining birth rates, reduced immigration, and the shift to remote work. This has caused a labour shortage in Canada, making retaining and recruiting skilled employees a leading challenge for businesses to face in the short term. In turn, businesses plan on increasing work hours for management and current employees to mitigate these labour obstacles. So, how can you combat this with labour retention strategies? We’re here with the help of Immigrate Software to give you tips, tricks, and tactical advice on overcoming any labour shortage you have in your business.
About Immigration
About ImmigrationAt Immigrate, they pride themselves on the mission of successful outcomes to make immigration simple for you. Immigrate is an immigration services platform that connects Canadian employers and international workers with best-in-class immigration experts to give them the highest chance of achieving their immigration goals. They have a fantastic success rate regarding labour market impact assessments. They make sure they combine not just technical support but also the right advice.
Why should you be looking at Immigration for your business staffing needs?
- 76% of small business owners work extra hours to compensate for their labour shortages. Of course, the problem is that if you’re not alone, that means everybody else is looking for that talent, too. They’re also looking to hire the same people. So, this is a considerable challenge.
- 64% of Canadian businesses say the labour shortage limits their growth.
- 19% of the population will be over 65 in 2022. Of course, a big chunk of the population is also nearing retirement. Due to demographic shifts, fewer young Canadians are entering the workforce. So, we need to be creative when evaluating how we bring in more talent and how we retain that talent. The key is good talent within our businesses.
Immigrate Software monitors about 30,000 jobs for Canadian Businesses looking for workers.
The top three categories they service are;
- Construction trades helpers and labourers
- Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations
- Harvesting labourers
Labour Shortage Strategies and Group Benefits
When looking at the retention side, benefits are a massive part; finding what you can do for your employees to help them stay with you is huge. We can certainly understand some of the challenges of finding that great talent and retaining it. That’s why at Wiegers Financial & Benefits, we proudly say that we work with about 625 clients in every industry you can imagine, from small to large, from manufacturing to hospitality. One key aspect of retention is group benefits. As the competition for talent intensifies, employers must recognize the pivotal role of benefits in attracting and retaining employees. At Wiegers, we specialize in guiding employers with benefits for employees who are visitors from Canada, talk to one of our advisors about how you can retain great employees.
Another thing to consider is that systemic rewards are gaining prominence, highlighting the importance of holistic well-being initiatives beyond traditional compensation. Mental health support, for instance, has emerged as a critical component of employee satisfaction, necessitating a broader perspective on benefits management. Here are a few more reasons to ensure you offer your employees the right group benefits.
- 84% of Canadian employers say that the competition for talent is their number one issue, and it is influencing their benefits strategy
- 70% of younger Canadians entering the workplace often say they’ll go elsewhere to find better benefits.
So, in our world, we talk a lot about having generous benefits, and it’s not just our benefits; it’s indirect and direct, and definitely putting a large, significant emphasis on health, as long as it goes along with that solution as well. Customization and personalization are paramount in addressing the unique needs of a diverse workforce. Conducting employee engagement surveys can provide invaluable insights into individual preferences and family requirements, enabling organizations to tailor benefit offerings accordingly. We also need to think about what benefits mean to them. Watch and listen below to hear Deb Wiegers speak about addressing labour shortages.