By NICK STEWART
As major companies like CVRD-Inco and Xstrata plc are able to offer stronger salaries and benefits than service and supply firms who require many of the same skilled workers, many of these smaller companies are being increasingly careful about how they choose to compete for people.
“You want to offer competitive wages, but you don’t want to cost yourself out of business,” says Bart Hurley, marketing manager, Hurley Ventilation Technologies Inc.
“The cycle is high right now, and although some are calling it a super-cycle, you want to make sure that when the cycle drops you’re not forced to fire people to keep yourself afloat. Nobody wants to have to fire skilled employees.”
Although business at the Lively company is booming, Hurley says employee retention has become an ongoing issue as many of the company’s welders have been scooped up by the competition or drawn out to the Albertan oil fields in the last five years.
Hurley says the problem has been worsened by the fact that the specialty nature of the work requires a three-month training period, creating lags which further increase pressure on the company.
As a result, the company is trying to manage its growth appropriately, remaining equally mindful of new business opportunities as it is for the need to keep pace with its employee base, he says.
With a branch in Nevada, Cast Resource Equipment Ltd. is seeing much of the same lack of skilled labor in the United States market as it is in its Lively-based business.
“It’s definitely a global problem,” says Mike Castron, technical sales representative at the 35-employee firm. “It’s forcing small companies everywhere to think outside the box to try and solve the problem.”
With this in mind, Castron says that it’s not unheard of for some companies to hire skilled labor from other countries.
“I’ve even heard of a mining services company in Manitoba hiring skilled trades workers from South Africa.”
To successfully attract the necessary workers, smaller companies need to leverage their strengths, as competing with the bigger players on a financial level can spell trouble in the long run, he says.
This means taking advantage of the company’s smaller size to create a competitive working environment. This includes having a stronger relationship and good communication with one’s employees, a feat which can be much more difficult in a sprawling corporate environment, Castron says.
With a tighter and more personal approach to management, smaller companies can better serve their employees and present them a more enjoyable workplace, he says.
This a viewpoint shared by Marc Boudreau, president of Bestech, a Sudbury-based engineering firm with 40 employees.
“For us, the issue is all about employee retention, so creating a family or community within our company is important,” says Boudreau. “We’ve set up a big gym in our office and spent $20,000 on equipment, and give them other little perks to stick around, and so far it’s worked. It’s slowed down the bleeding.”
With major companies sponsoring scholarships and promising jobs for college and university students alike, Bestech attempts to fill in the gaps by approaching high school students as they’re preparing to head off to post-secondary institutions. Rather than guarantee employment, however, Bestech takes a slightly more passive approach by instead informing students about the company and offering them placement positions, Boudreau says.
Similarly, the company is also involved in the Junior Achievement Program, which introduces entrepreneurial business concepts to elementary and high school students.
“It helps us give back to the community, but I think that involvement is also going to help us get more people, and is going to get people interested in our company.”
