HR Market Update
There are some major changes happening economically and the HR market is not immune to the effects of inflation, low unemployment and supply chain issues. Canada's inflation rate jumped to a new 31-year high of 6.7% and the jobless rate fell to 5.3%, the lowest number since comparable data became available in 1976.
This has contributed to a quickly shifting talent marketplace and we are seeing a number of themes emerge as we look ahead:
How Recession-Ready Are You?
While recruitment remains strong, we have been hearing rumblings, particularly in the financial sector and real estate industry. C-Suites are starting to talk more about recession and preparation. HR leaders are being challenged to come up with a recession plan, which includes thinking about how they manage workforce planning and hiring 12-18 months ahead, and contingencies for career transition and outplacement are now being proactively discussed. Some industries will be more recession sensitive while others may even thrive, both scenarios need a solid HR strategy.
Future-Proofing Your Organization
Retention of talent continues to be top of mind, and leaders are seeing the benefits of coaching and talent development to not just up-skill but keep their people engaged and also as a way to strategically future-proof their organization. Talent agility, alignment and empowerment contributes to overall productivity and competitiveness of an organization.
Compensation Conversations
It’s no surprise that economic indicators are driving conversations about compensation. The market is moving so fast that data that is even a few months old is already out of date, and more and more we are being asked questions such as how to compensate existing employees vs. new hires, are mid-cycle increases needed for cost of living and how to balance the rising cost of both labour and inflation overall. We are also receiving numerous requests for current salary data for specific roles. Fortunately, our HR On-Demand practice can do ad-hoc market benchmarking with a quick turnaround and our compensation practice can help you structure your comp plan to be both competitive and equitable.
How recession-ready are you? Do you have a plan to future-proof your organization? Do you have the data you need to have informed compensation conversations? We’re here to help. Reach out to Greg Vertelman, Chief Growth Officer and Career Transition Practice Leader, and let’s talk.
