Workforce DevelopmentRetention and Recruitment

Alberta Agriculture and Forestry

October 29, 2015

Content

• Alberta’s Labour Market• Workforce Retention• Workforce Recruitment• AF’s Workforce Development Initiative• Questions

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Alberta’s Labour Market

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Current Labour Market

• Alberta’s Unemployment Rate is 6.5% (national 7.1%).

• The map shows the unemployment rates as of September 2015, for each Alberta Economic Region– Edm 6.1%– Red Deer 7%– Cgy 6.9%

• Ag employment up 7,200 from September 2014 to 61,800

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Current Labour Market

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Data Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey 2014

• Sustainable labour force?

Workforce Retention

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The Cost of Turnover

• Many studies show that the total cost of losing an employee can range from tens of thousands of dollars to 1.5-2X annual salary

• New Hire Costs– Time (staff hours and dollars) spent recruiting and training

new hires

• Termination Costs– Exit interviews, severance, legal costs, time spent on

termination

• Loss of Productivity Costs– Loss of productivity prior to departure of worker, during

vacancy, during orientation & training and during transition

• Exit Costs– Costs of increased errors/defects, lost or dissatisfied clients,

misused materials or equipment, decreased workforce morale, etc…

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Importance of Retention

• Reduce costs associated with turnover– Turnover created more turnover (spiral effect)

• Increased workforce morale• Increased productivity

– Economic value of employee over time

• Enhances recruitment– Effective retention strategies begin during the

recruitment process

• Good turnover? – Actively disengaged employees

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Importance of Retention

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Retention Drivers

• Compensation– Significant but not most important factor (too little or too

much can cause problems)

• Job Fit– Critically important. Are you attracting the right person

for the job?

• Career Opportunities– Younger folks are motivated by growth, career

opportunity, and meaning

• Work Environment– Does the job make use of an employees skills? Are they

appreciated? Do they feel included in the workplace?

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What does a Retention plan look like?• Increased Compensation?

– Not sustainable

• Referral Program– Costs less– Takes less time to recruit– Greater understanding of what job entails– Stays with company longer

• Onboarding Program– More productive worker– More productive faster– Stays with company longer

• Rewards Program– CARES (Compensation, Assistance & Benefits, Recognition, Equal

work/life balance, System of career development11

Workforce Recruitment

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Strategic RecruitmentOpportunities

• What is strategic recruitment?• How does it fit into your plans?• What is working in your current hiring

process?• What have you done to fill your labour needs?• What can you do differently to attract more

qualified workers?

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Strategic RecruitmentOpportunities

• During the hiring process;

– Do you have to say yes?

• OR

– Can you say no?

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Strategic RecruitmentOpportunities

• Options to recruit strategically– High school career counsellors– Post-secondary– Targeted / strategic messaging– Social media

• Focus on marketing agriculture – https://vimeo.com/46449198

• Diversity of careers available in the sector

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Agriculture Industry Overview

Agriculture

Cropse.g. wheat,

canola, vegetables

Livestocke.g. cows,

pigs, chickens

Cropse.g. bakery, confectiona

ry

Livestocke.g. beef,

hog, chicken

Bio-industrial e.g. hemp

fibre, cosmetics

Primary agriculture or Farming

Agriculture support servicese.g. machinery dealer, agronomist, commodity broker, researcher, veterinarian

Related industriese.g. logistics, transportation, farmer’s markets, retail

Processing

Beverage Processing,Vegetable Processing

Strategic RecruitmentOpportunities

• Options to recruit strategically– Referral program– Partnerships with immigrant serving societies– Collaborative strategies with other businesses

– Be unique in your advertising– Be strategic in your offerings

• Relocation assistance• Assistance integrating into community• Subsidized housing for the first few months• Waive the waiting period for company benefits• If you do not have company benefits look into getting

these

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Strategic RecruitmentOpportunities

• Options to recruit strategically– We cannot compete with the higher wages in other

sectors– So sell what you can offer

• Full time, year round work• Work outdoors or with animals• Opportunity for paid overtime• Time in lieu for overtime worked, if you can manage this• Opportunity to grow• Training provided

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Strategic RecruitmentOpportunities

• Options to recruit strategically– If you have long term employees, talk to them

• What is it that keeps them with you?• Why do they like the work?• What drew them to the industry?

• Get these great people to be your recruiters– They know what they like about the job and the

company so pay them to bring in someone they will be happy to work with.

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Workforce Development Initiative

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• Grants for primary ag and food processing– Retention (50% up to $25,000)– Productivity Improvement (80% up to $25,000)

• Services– Coaching

• Initiatives– CAHRC, Farm Safety, Green Certificate

• Scott, Al and Gerard– www.agriculture.alberta.ca/workforce

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Questions?

Gerard Bos

gerard.bos@gov.ab.ca

780-980-4222

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