Canadian HR Reporter Weekly

2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 CANADIAN HR REPORTER WEEKLY Many hospitality and retail businesses are struggling to bring new employees on board — and it's not necessarily because of a lack of supply. "Unlike most industries, employers within hospitality and retail have no trouble finding talent," said Ray Gibson, CEO and co-founder of StartMonday in Amsterdam, a recruiting platform for hospitality and retail. "ey do, however, have trouble getting job candidates to complete the hiring process… Between finding a job opening and accepting the position, something is disengaging candidates." To find out why, StartMonday surveyed 750 retail and hospitality employees and found out close to half (45 per cent) would drop out of the hiring process if they found out current employees were unhappy. Concerns about management behaviour, pay disparities, harassment and treatment of customers were some of the reasons why people decided not to pursue job opportunities with employers. More than one-third (35 per cent) said they would turn a job down if they found out previous employees left because of issues with management. And three- quarters (74 per cent) would avoid a job if there was evidence of racist management. "A company's reputation and culture means a great deal to candidates," said Gibson. "Knowing this, hospitality and retail companies can take steps to better position themselves as places where candidates will want to work." Today's candidates have more opportunities, so they can pick and choose, according to Leslie Ng, partner and senior recruiter at recruitment firm Lecours Wolfson in Toronto. "If you want them to choose the job at your organization, you need to make sure you stand out from your competitors," he said. "is means it's critically important to have a strong employer brand." Posting job ads is an ideal chance to promote your employer brand, said Gibson. "Include a description of company culture and give potential employees a sense of what everyday life is like with your organization." Once candidates target a job, most do a little research on their potential employer — 66 per cent visit the organization's website and 44 per cent check out the organization's career website. With that in mind, employers should view their sites through the eyes of a candidate. "Ask yourself: 'Are the company values clear? Does the site reflect the organizational culture? Is it easy to navigate to the careers section?'" said Gibson. Candidates want to know they'll be supported by their employers, said Ng, "so they'll look for any information they can find about leadership's behaviour, company culture and reputation in the marketplace." Deal-breakers Two-thirds (65 per cent) of survey respondents said they would drop out of the hiring process if there was gender- based pay disparity, while 62 per cent would leave if there were allegations of sexual harassment. irty-four per cent of potential candidates would turn down a job if they heard previous employees had issues with management. "If your organization is experiencing any of these issues, they need to be dealt with right away," said Gibson. "You can mitigate damages by sharing details of any inclusion or diversity efforts within the Why do so many retail and hospitality candidates drop out of the hiring process? Employer reputation, pay disparity among top concerns: Survey BY MELISSA CAMPEAU Sign up for the Canadian HR Newswire today for free and enjoy great content from the publishers of Canadian HR Reporter. HR News at Your Fingertips THE LATEST NEWS THE BEST COMMENTARY DELIVERED WEEKLY FOR READING ON ANY DEVICE Visit www.hrreporter.com/ canadian-hr-newswire

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