I’m a very proud Canadian, born and raised in Montreal, so I have a ton of Canadian work experiences – which makes me more marketable in our current marketplace – right? Unfortunately, it does make a difference and it’s also common practice in our recruiting world to look for that “Canadian experience – eh”!

No, I’m not looking for a job, but what about you? Does the maple leaf experience make you more qualified? If you have worked in a global organization abroad, do you still absolutely need to be exposed to Canadian-ways of technology, development and infrastructure? In a market where there are labour shortages and such difficult positions to fill – should companies be a little more flexible about their overall requirements? Can we enable for upskilling some of the current resources and learn to train new employees through proper orientation and training programs? These are all questions I keep asking myself and I’m still blown away when I receive candidate feedback indicating that someone who has the proper skills and education, still cannot be considered due to lack of “Canadian Expertise or Experience”. Of course, this happens more frequently than anyone can imagine and I won’t refer to any particular candidate or client. Recently, I had a situation with a candidate who had two (2) years in Canada and ten (10) years abroad, and we cannot get this candidate to be moved forward through the recruitment process. As much as possible we are advocates for our candidates and we try to educate and guide our clients. But, if the culture and mindset is fixed on obtaining resources who only have Canadian experience, then please don’t ask us why there’s a labour shortage and why it’s so difficult to find talent. Yes, there are several other factors influencing this labour shortage but we need to shift our mindset and be a little more open to diversity and inclusion (not just as a marketing buzz word), don’t you think?

Here are my “4 Rs” of Recruiting/Talent Acquisition:

RETAIN – the very first thing you need to do is activate the RETENTION of your top talent. At all costs, your current employees can benefit from upskilling and new advancement opportunities. Some companies are giving out additional vacation/wellness days and even bonuses to retain their employees.

REMOTE WORK – Yes, yes, and yes! Everyone is still asking for it and so WFH is here to stay. Be flexible with work schedules and even be creative with what your work week schedules look like. It doesn’t have to be 9-5 anymore – those days are far gone.

RECOGNITION & REWARDS – incentives that go above and beyond vacation and bonus dollar amounts. Recognition and rewarding employees with training and development, company events (post-Covid), attending conferences, and access to VIP restaurants, etc.… Get creative and go with your company’s culture. Oh, and a simple – nice job, once in a while! That goes a long way too!

RECRUITMENT AGENCY – stop seeing recruitment agencies as money hungry vultures and start using them as your
Talent Business Partners – they can be an extension of your HR/Recruitment strategies. (Lookout for my next TA Zone article on how to choose the right Talent Business Partner).

Please share your comments and/or thoughts in the LinkedIn post below and let’s figure out what’s really happening out there!

Hope you all had a restful Labour Day weekend and now it’s back to work!
Nancy