Power is shifting in Saskatchewan’s hiring sector

Despite three tough years, the province has circled the wagons and focused on success

Employees at Saskatchewan Blue Cross writing Valentine's Day notes at a fundraiser for a local children's hospital.

Saskatchewan has traditionally existed somewhat outside of the overall Canadian employment environment. With both a rural population and a unique constellation of industries, Saskatchewan’s economic fortunes have always been partially disconnected from those of Canada, overall.

Now, however, as COVID makes life and hiring more difficult in the most densely populated centers, Saskatchewan employers may be in a position to surge forward to greater prominence. That’s because the new global normal is turning many long-dominant beliefs about employment into the outdated canards of an irrelevant past.

As cities shrink, Saskatchewan is growing

Richard Yerema, managing editor at Canada’s Top 100 Employers, says that one thing that has always differentiated Saskatchewan employers is their well-developed sense of obligation to the community. This has mostly manifested through support programs, from SaskTel’s longstanding ‘Pioneers Program to Flaman Sales Ltd.’s Frank J. Flaman Foundation supporting families in need.

Many Saskatchewanian workers have needed this culture to weather uncertain times, and to avoid having to leave the territory. “It’s a silent benefit to be sure,” says Yerema, “but the importance of reaching out and helping one’s neighbours has taken on a new meaning over the past couple of years. Having a formal outlet in which to do so with your colleagues has shown this ‘perk’ to be quite invaluable in keeping employees engaged with one another and their communities during a challenging time.”

That has given Saskatchewan companies a relative leg up in hiring from pools of workers who have traditionally only considered big city employment. Part of that is a new willingness to move to Saskatchewan — but a lot of it has to do with the rise of remote work, too.

Remote work is the new normal

The pandemic introduced the necessity of remote work, but most companies agree that as pandemic restrictions ease, remote working won’t necessarily leave with them.

Shelley Vandenberg, president and CEO at Saskatchewan Blue Cross, says that remote work has significantly impacted hiring and talent retention. “Competition for talent has increased because candidates can more easily explore opportunities outside of the geographical boundaries that previously limited their searches.” Still, she makes the point that “embracing remote work has also enabled us to expand our talent market and draw from a pool of people that we may not have been able to access previously, especially for specialized skillsets.”

Still, this effect does have a limited total impact, going forward; Saskatchewanian jobs often require in-person labour, making remote work impossible. Yerema says, “With a proportionally larger resource industry representation than other regions, the essential nature of the work [in Saskatchewan] of needing to be onsite has meant greater focus on the implementation of new onsite work safety protocols.”

Creative benefits are the answer to hiring woes

The common thread that runs through policies among 2022’s top employers is clear: a focus on benefits that go beyond compensation alone, and that try to provide specifically what a workforce wants during uncertain times.

Michael Lavis, CEO of Creative Options Regina says his charitable organization leaned into their “commitment to employee wellness” by increasing the number of personal wellness days for full-time employees. They also focused on enhancing health and wellness. “We doubled our benefit amount for all wellness services like massage therapist, counsellor, psychologist, acupuncturist [and] chiropractor.”

It turns out that employers have been some of the most powerful forces in helping to ease the effects of COVID-19 and economic uncertainty. Across the board, Saskatchewan’s workers show loyalty to companies that show loyalty to them. That means that even as their coworkers move physically away from Saskatchewan and other densely populated work hubs, they can stay on as a company’s best, most experienced employees.

In the past year, what helped companies retain talent in Saskatchewan was the same thing that helped companies retain talent everywhere in Canada: a respect for the fact that the most talented applicants and workers are the most likely to leave for greener pastures. Across the country, the only solution has been to grow the company’s emphasis on worker happiness — and Saskatchewan is no exception.