“Labour shortages are affecting growth for many Canadian busi-nesses
and this has an impact on Canada’s competitiveness,” said
Pierre Cléroux, vice president, Research and Chief Economist at
BDC. “Businesses are being forced to refuse orders or delay deliv-eries.
To help deal with the impact, entrepreneurs should think
about hiring from under-represented segments of the population,
such as younger or less-qualified workers, retired workers or new-comers
to Canada.”
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The study, based on a survey of 1,208 entrepreneurs, finds a
direct link between labour shortages and slow sales growth. Firms
affected by labour shortages are 65 per cent more likely to gener-ate
low sales. The situation is most dire in Atlantic Canada, British
Columbia and Ontario with manufacturing, retail trade and con-struction
the hardest hit sectors.
LABOUR SHORTAGES ARE HURTING
SMES, MAINLY MID-SIZED FIRMS
Nearly six in 10 entrepreneurs said the labour shortages mean
existing staff must work more, while 47 per cent said they have
had to raise wages. The indirect costs of labour shortages are no
less damaging. For example, business owners are forced to spend
more time on the shop floor because of a lack of workers, which
means less time spent on developing the business. This holds busi-ness
back and hinders growth.
The impact of worker scarcity also differs by the size of the
business – it is less acute for very small and very large firms. The
severity of hiring challenges peaks for firms with 20 to 49 employ-ees
and then drops for firms with 100 or more employees.
The study also describes a list of strategies that can miti-gate
the impact of labour shortages on business, which include
the following:
■■ Developing an employee value proposition to make the business
more attractive to existing and new employees. Using best
marketing practices to promote the business as an employer
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8 ❚ OCTOBER 2018 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
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