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Employers up the ante to attract workers
Some use humour, others hike wages in a tough market
Carla Wilson, Times Colonist
Published: Saturday, October 06, 2007Prepare to be dazzled.
Employers are pumping up wages, adding benefits and trying to tickle your funny bone to attract workers in today's tough employment market.
Victoria's high-tech Neverblue Media is using humour to find a web designer, saying in one ad: "Red Bull and Full Throttle (energy drinks) are two of your basic food groups ... You have more e-mail addresses than pairs of shoes."
Another firm's ad promotes its "hip, energetic and funky waterfront environment," saying everything from its office to boating activities "screams high-energy, creativity and fun." Another company offers birthday bonuses.
Clubs, events, parties and other carrots are being dangled as incentives.
Victoria's unemployment rate inched up two basis points in September to 3.8 per cent, the result of more people joining the labour force. A slight increase in employment was seen in the professional, scientific and technical fields, said Vincent Ferrao, Statistics Canada analyst.
Canada's unemployment rate fell to a 33-year low of 5.9 per cent in September as the economy generated more than 51,000 new jobs, most of them full-time position.
Neverblue spokeswoman Sarah Gulbrandsen said the company's culture reflects a dynamic workplace providing career opportunities -- not to mention free pizza on Thursdays, a video games room, barbecues and dodge ball tournaments.
Young, enthusiastic, confident workers are often found at universities, she said, and participates in career fairs, which are increasingly common these days.
Generation Y (the cohort following Generation X), is targeted in a particular way, Gulbrandsen said.
"They want things differently in the workplace than the previous generation. They want to feel self-worth. They want to make sure they actually enjoy what they are doing.
"And they are really looking out for what they can get for themselves. That's not a bad thing. We like that, because they are usually enthusiastic as well."
Budd Stewart, site director of West Corp. call centre in Central Saanich, is down to 400 employees but wants 100 to 200 more.
As the unemployment rate tightened, the operation was hit by the rising Canadian dollar. It is paid in U.S. dollars and pays out here in Canadian funds.
Developers of the 28-storey Brio condo project in Abbotsford are at the leading edge.
Incentives to attract workers include valet parking, hot meals on the job, a restaurant at the work site, real porcelain toilets and a concierge to send flowers to your loved ones. The construction company says the perks will actually save money by slicing construction time in half.
"Get used to it. It's the way of the future," says Ken Stratford, Business Victoria CEO.
The minimum wage is increasingly irrelevant now that high school students can make $10 per hour at big box stores, he said.
