Two New Brunswick firms share their insights for winning the war on talent
In Part 1 of TechImpact’s two-part series on the Atlantic Canadian tech jobs market, we share our industry perspective and hear from two New Brunswick companies about what’s happening in the market and their organizations. In Part 2, we invite these firms to share insights and advice about how to stand out in a tight market.
In the before-times, employers were in the driver’s seat when it came to hiring.
Today, though, increased demand for digital talent within and beyond the tech sector has “totally flipped” the traditional employer/job-seeker dynamic, says Jean Keith, Director of People and Culture at Mariner, a Saint John-based tech company whose lines of business include IT and strategic advisory services and commercializing technology.
“From a recruitment perspective, now it really is about selling,” she says. “Five years ago, hiring was a procurement opportunity. Now, we're lucky to have a person join Mariner, and we need to ensure they feel appreciated when they get here.”
Mariner is far from alone.
Recent research conducted by TechImpact shows that the competition for talent is fierce and increasingly borderless, as remote work opens up new opportunities to work from anywhere. In May-June 2022, it surveyed 51 Atlantic Canadian organizations on how the high demand for talent is affecting their salary, benefits and workplace experience offerings.
The results show demand for digital talent both within and outside the tech sector driving salaries up, with 76% of respondents reporting the need to increase compensation to attract and retain talent. And compensation was the top factor in turnover, with 61% of respondents citing it as the leading cause of lost workers.
The Chance to Grow
As the survey revealed, however, salary and compensation aren’t everything.
When asked what employees and new hires are looking for, at 69%, career development was the top response.
This aligns with what Kim McCauley Thomas, Human Resources Director and Business Partner for Global Technology at McCain Foods, is seeing. As technology continues transforming the company and its global IT workforce, which currently numbers more than 330, grows, employee development is a crucial pillar of McCain’s digital transformation strategy.
Along with a dedicated Learning and Development Lead for its global IT department to help staff stay on the cutting edge, employees get five learning days a year.
“We encourage them to get ready for things that are coming,” Kim says.
The company also invites guest speakers to talk about trends and emerging technology and has subscriptions to industry insights platforms such as Gartner to access the latest articles.
In November, Kim took part in Tech Talent Plus, a virtual program TechImpact launched in New Brunswick to help tech and non-IT companies and government overcome the challenges of recruiting highly skilled technical talent.
Kim’s advice to organizations in the early stages of recruiting tech talent?
“Give candidates the opportunity to be a key contributor to the direction your company is headed in the future,” she says. “For people with that entrepreneurial spirit, I think that would be quite appealing.”
The program emphasizes the need for employers to go beyond salary to create a compelling value proposition that includes interesting work, opportunities to advance, and equity and diversity.
“Each company needs to understand what makes them attractive because there is local, national, and global competition,” says Cathy Simpson, TechImpact’s CEO. “Salary matters, but with the pandemic, we have learned from talking to Atlantic Canadian companies that workplace flexibility and culture are so important.”
Our companies need to be more open when hiring, including considering people with more diverse skill backgrounds, international experience, and non-traditional education paths.
“We hear from a lot of candidates about job postings requiring ‘Canadian work experience’ when they have lots of relevant experience from elsewhere,” Cathy says. “Our companies need to see that these backgrounds are valuable here.”
Employee Experience Essential
The employee experience is more important than ever.
“Based on our research, we believe that employees experience work as a relationship,” says Jean Keith. “Employees want to feel valued, appreciated, trusted, cared for, and accepted. They want to belong. We are intentionally creating a culture of connection by designing a work experience that fosters a healthy relationship with our employees.”
As David Baxter, Mariner’s Vice President of Marketing, says, “moments matter.”
“We want to be a great, everlasting company. We can't do that if we don’t focus on bringing in the best people and creating those moments that make them say, ‘This is the place I want to work.’”
In January, Mariner hosted a one-day workshop with a small group of teammates to explore its office space needs moving forward, but it did so with a higher sense of what creates meaning by exploring the question, “What does a good day look like?”
Along with creating “communities of practice” that offer coaching and develop stronger connections among its teams, Mariner is also being more intentional in engaging team members in its core purpose: innovate always and everywhere. Its new Build Studio invites staff members to bring forward product ideas.
“We are being deliberate about innovation in this way, from a people perspective,” David says. “What does it mean for somebody who imagines a difference that matters to take their idea and turn it into something? That elevates their Mariner experience.”
Outside of the tech sector, McCain is likewise focused on experience as a differentiator. Kim says many candidates appreciate the culture of a family-owned business that values its people. And they are also drawn to the vast opportunities for growth and development within a global organization.
“You can have an entire 30- to 40-year career here but feel like you've had five or six careers because of how big it is,” she says. “I think that's attractive to people.”
Geography: Opportunities and Challenges
Atlantic Canada saw a record influx of people moving to the region during the pandemic, and it's easy to see why. We’ve got friendly people, livable cities and communities, and abundant natural spaces.
Over the holidays, Mariner ran a recruitment campaign to entice people to come to Atlantic Canada, promoting the ease of life here. The gist was, if you can work anywhere, why not work here?
But it is also working to transcend geographic limitations.
“If we have the right candidate, we'll support them if they choose to move to Atlantic Canada or not,” Jean says.
As the competition for tech talent goes global, Atlantic Canadian organizations increasingly seek support in their backyards, strengthening relationships with educational institutions, tech communities and support organizations to bolster their talent pipelines.
More than ever, McCain is looking at homegrown talent to fill some of its vacancies by tapping into the University of New Brunswick and other local universities and colleges for hires.
“If we can get talent from New Brunswick, it’s an easier jump for them to come to Florenceville versus trying to get someone who's gone to U of T and has lived in a high-rise all their life,” Kim says.
Both Mariner and McCain are tapped into the local startup community, the former as an investor and through East Valley Ventures, working with founders and entrepreneurs to build and scale great ICT companies. And its new Build Studio supports the development of promising in-house product ideas.
Meanwhile, McCain has been actively adopting home-grown technology in its operations. In 2021, it acquired a significant minority share of the New Brunswick-based data science company Fiddlehead Technology. Last year, it acquired the predictive crop intelligence portfolio from Resson, an analytics technology firm enhancing farming efficiency.
When it comes to talent and technology, the local value proposition is strong.
Future-Ready
Looking ahead, Kim says she sees the need for people who can “fail fast” and be resilient, who are open to change, and willing to grow.
“They need to have learning agility to be ready for what's coming next,” Kim says. “We're looking for people who can be versatile.”
At Mariner, Jean and David echo this need for agility and responsiveness, as ongoing digital transformation and accelerating change continue to drive technological adoption, especially in areas such as cloud computing and cybersecurity.
Davids sees the chance to work on progressive projects with great clients and like-minded colleagues as a differentiator.
“We believe that that's going to be the big draw for talent,” David says. “It's not just a job. It’s the full realization of who I can be, and what I do with other people who are like me.”
To learn more about TechImpact and join members such as Mariner and McCain, visit our website or contact Alex, our Communications Manager, at alex.weavercrawford@techimpact.it.