It takes longer to hire now than a year ago, so employers risk losing skilled people to competitors if they aren’t giving them what they want
With Canadian professionals actively seeking other career opportunities, employers need to actively engage and communicate with their workforce to understand why their people might be leaving and make the necessary changes to retain their top talent.
Despite an uncertain economy leading to less turnover in the labour market recently, the demand for skilled talent remains high, and Canadian professionals continue to take advantage of this market to look for new opportunities. According to research from Robert Half, 42 per cent of workers have already started looking or plan to look for a new job in the first half of 2024, up slightly from 41 per cent in July 2023, but down from 50 per cent in December 2022.
With inflation and cost of living top of many people’s minds, it’s no surprise that salary is the largest motivating factor. Forty-seven percent of Canadians looking for work say they want a higher salary, 32 percent seek more advancement opportunities, 32 percent seek a job with more flexibility, and 31 percent seek better perks and benefits.
Though slightly more professionals are seeking new roles compared to six months ago, the number is down from where it was a year ago. The research shows those that are not looking for work believe their current job offers the level of flexibility that they aren’t willing to lose (38 percent), feel fulfilled in their current role, or feel well compensated for their work (30 percent).
The general optimism of people as they look for new opportunities is one of the facts that stands out in the research to Cal Jungwirth, director of permanent placement services with Robert Half in Edmonton, AB.
“People are active in their job search when the economy is a little scary or uncertain, a time when people tend to hunker down and stay where they're at,” he says. “So, when we see numbers like over 40 percent of individuals are planning to look for or explore new job opportunities, that tells us they feel fairly good about what's around the corner.
Demand high for skilled workers
At the same time as workers are actively pursuing new opportunities, the research shows that more than half (54 per cent) of hiring managers are also actively seeking talent for new roles, mostly to support company growth, and organizations are primed to move ahead with strategic initiatives. However, competition for professionals with in-demand skills remains high. Most managers (64 per cent) say it takes longer to hire now than a year ago, and they risk losing skilled people to competitors if they don’t speed things up.
“Employers need to ask themselves a lot of different questions as to why they are losing individuals,” says Jungwirth. “The number one reason people are looking to make a move is for a higher compensation or base salary. With cost of living increases the last couple of years, there's no surprise this is pressing individuals to need to look at other opportunities.
“If people are not fulfilled or they're not engaged, then they're ready for advancement in their career and they'll explore externally. Another main reason people are seeking other opportunities is for flexibility, meaning where and how and when they work.
“People aren't looking for fully remote or even always a structured hybrid position, but what they do want is some flexibility from their employer to allow them to migrate their personal lives into their professional life a little bit more than they ever used to before.
Ongoing communication is key
“We urge organizations to have open, transparent conversations with their employees and ask the tough questions. Ask questions even if you are afraid of the answer, and that will at least give you insight on why you are potentially losing people. And, those conversations need to happen regularly, so don't save it up for the annual performance review because it might be too late at that point in time.
“Employers then need to go one step further and look at external data. Look at information out in the general marketplace so that you could benchmark you what you do as an organization versus what the market is doing so that you can stay competitive. Employers need to have ongoing open conversations because, as we’ve seen, the world changes quickly.”
