Last year the Hays Salary Guide report showed a trend towards doing more with less, improving productivity, but with a cost as employee stress leave increased and office morale was negatively impacted. What does 2016 hold for Canadian HR professionals?
Human Resources (HR) now has a seat at the leadership table where they help companies attain business objectives by developing and implementing robust and scalable HR programs. This transition has been a long time in the making but we’re pleased to say HR is a trusted business partner for the majority of Canadian companies.
One important way to align talent and business strategies is to perform a talent assessment as part of succession planning. By analyzing what skills you have, and determining what skills you need now and will need in the medium and long-term HR leaders can develop an agile talent strategy that enables your company to respond to immediate hiring needs, while planning and preparing for future requirements.
We’re seeing some of this change reflected in the market. As many large-scale business transformations have already taken place, the demand for change management experts is flattening while more companies are switching focus to talent management, with the goal of improving productivity and retention.
“Human resources teams must be business focused and align their actions with company goals, such as investing in talent, and divesting in areas that don’t add value,” Compugen Director of Talent Acquisition David Clarkson told Hays Canada. “One way we are finding the best people is to spend more time in interviews ensuring we get to know candidates beyond their resume.”
Compugen’s personality-oriented hiring approach is focused on finding candidates with not only the skill sets required for the role, but the attitude, ambition, and personality traits that will make them a good fit for the company now, and into the future.
A few different survey results point to the way forward for companies that want to attract and retain the right workers in 2016 and beyond. For the first time career progression passed salary levels as the number one reason for employers’ retention challenges, showing that Canadian workers want variation, progression, and increasing responsibility in their roles.
This year’s salary guide results also shows an increasing number of employers (58%) reporting using training and development as a recruitment and retention tool, which aligns with the desire for career progression.
Improving career progression by implementing training and professional development programs is crucial for not only retention, but also growing your own talent and future leaders. However, for this to be truly strategic, it must align with your business goals. This is where a company’s succession plan will make or break their talent strategy. Just one-third of employers say they have a succession plan, which means two-third of Canadian companies are making decisions without a clear understanding of their current talent and future leadership requirements.
A succession plan is no longer a “nice-to-have”. If your company does not have a succession plan it’s time to invest the resources to at least establish a plan for the top positions in your organization. If you do have a plan, ensure you are using it as a retention and recruitment tool but creating internal and external communication plans to inform current and potential employees about long-term opportunities for career growth.
Learn more about the 2016 labour market trends. Visit hays.ca/salaryguide for videos, webinars, and to request the guide.