Canadian

Municipal Recruiting Report

January 2013                                                       Vol 7  Issue 1

______________________________________
                                                                         

2013...

  

...What Lies Ahead?

 

Hi  

 

2013 is upon us and those who believed that the  Mayan Calendar predicted the end of the world were wrong... the reality is we are all still here! 

  

In this issue, we have compiled some interesting stats  you may find helpful as you deal with putting together your municipality's 'people plan' for 2013. 

 

We know you'll have many questions in the days ahead: Should we hire now? Where will our talent come from? What type of talent is everyone else looking for? What should we pay them? These are all legitimate concerns of municipal leaders across Canada as they assess their staffing needs.

  

Among the concerns municipal leaders share is the fact that their towns and cities are facing shortages of 

personnel at every level. This shortage is primarily due to the retirement of baby boomers; more than 360,000 Canadians will turn 65 in 2013. 

 

To make matters worse, recent reports indicate that many municipal job applicants are lacking what's called 'soft' skills. Soft skills are things like a positive attitude and an ability to communicate. Many employers would be happy just to find job applicants who have the same sort of soft skills that at one time were almost taken for granted. In a recent Talent Shortage Survey1, nearly 20% of employers cited a lack of soft skills as a key reason they couldn't hire needed employees. Among the other soft skills that employers identified as lacking in potential candidates were interpersonal skills, enthusiasm and motivation. 1Manpower

 

 In a similar survey employers also mentioned a lack of elementary command of the English language. A survey2  of human-resources professionals completed in April compared the skills gap between older workers who were nearing retirement and younger workers coming into the labour pool. More than half of the organizations surveyed reported that simple grammar and spelling were the top "basic" skills among older workers that are not readily present among younger workers. The survey also found that "professionalism" and "work ethic" are the top "applied" skills that younger workers lack.     

 

2 Society for Human Resource Management  

2013  

 Talent Acquisition  

By The Numbers 3

 

30%... that's the percentage of Canadian businesses that say they face a shortage of skilled labour, nearly double the rate seen only 3 years ago at this same time

 

33% ... that's the percentage of Canadian executives surveyed  who say they plan to expand their employment rolls this year

 

 

67% ...that's the percentageof senior executives who cite a lack of soft skills - positive attitude, communications skills, a strong work ethic, teamwork - among today's job applicant candidates.

 

 

56%...that's the percentage of organizations that say they have adopted specific strategies to retain or attract essential talent, the most common strategies being raises and signing bonuses.

3 CIBC World Markets; Workopolis; Conference Board of Canad

 

Five of Canada's  

 

  Hottest Jobs for 2013  

 

 

    

 Some of the best jobs4 for growth, advancement and salary increases in 2013 are in engineering, information technology, skilled trades, finance and health care according to recent government and private industry reports. Source: 4CIBC  World Markets, Conference Board of Canada, Government of Canada

 

Engineering: Salaries continue to climb for graduating students with engineering degrees, and the range of engineering needs continues to expand. Relatively new engineering specialty areas such as sustainability continue to see growth as green practices multiply among government and businesses

 

 

 

Information Technology: With an explosion of social media, new devices (e.g. tablets, smart phones) and increased Internet use (e.g. "cloud computing"), Municipalities are increasing their IT staff. New  companies in the market place seek more programmers and designers, as concerns for security grow. This field covers a wide range including database management, web development, computer system analysts, information security, and more.

 

 

Financial Management: In municipal government Corporate Services including Treasurers, Directors of Finance as well as support staff will continue to be in demand in 2013. Demand for money managers is increasing as the private and government sectors are looking for whizzes who know the complexities of financial management.

  

Skilled Trades: Public Works plays a large part of every municipal budget. Among the most in demand jobs are those for skilled labour. We are talking about skilled trades people whose talents are in demand, including electricians, welders, heavy duty equipment mechanics, heavy machinery operators, and drivers.

 

Human Resources: Only 11% of Canada's leading organizations have a fully implemented talent management strategy, according to the results of a recent survey.5   It's no wonder then that human resources is listed as one of the hottest jobs in Canada going into 2013. 5 Right Management

 

Canadian employers expect the hiring climate to remain favourable for the first quarter of 2013... according to the latest  

 

results of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. The survey of over 1,900 Canadian employers reveals that 13 per cent of them plan to increase their payrolls in the first quarter of 2013, while seven per cent anticipate cutbacks. Of those surveyed, 78 per cent of employers expect to maintain their current staffing levels while two per cent are unsure of their hiring intentions for the upcoming quarter.

 

 

2013 Public Administration Salaries

In the Public Administration industry sector, employers anticipate a fair hiring environment for the first quarter of 2013, reporting a Net Employment Outlook of eight per cent. 6

 

 

With anticipated labour shortages and a high demand for employees in sectors such as engineering, specialist information technology, skilled trades and human resources it's especially important to reward employees fairly as it can be a large factor in attracting and retain top talent.

 

In the public sector the salary increase in 2013 is expected to be 2.8%. The public sector includes federal and provincial government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations; municipalities; hospitals; universities; and colleges. 7  

 

6Salary Increase Survey 2012-2013 Aon Hewitt

7 Jouta Performance Group

  

Highlights from the Census: 

   

 

The number of Canadians aged 65 and older increased more than 14 per cent between 2006 and 2011 and is now close to 5 million.

 

 

By contrast, the number of children aged 14 and under increased; For the first time there were more people in the age group where people typically leave the labour force (55 to 64) than in the age group where people typically enter it (15 to 24) 8   

8The Globe and Mail 2012-12-22   

 

Here's Some Good News    

  

I don't know about you, but I have always appreciated optimism, so, I thought I should include this: A new national 9 poll suggests that a majority of Canadians are optimistic about the country's economy in 2013, with most of the positive outlook coming from Western Canada.

Sixty-five per cent of Canadians anticipate that 2013 will be a 'good' year for the economy, while the remaining 35 per cent say the year ahead doesn't look very promising. 

9Ipsos Reid 

Even Better News!

  

Remember, we are Canada's Municipal Recruiting Specialists here to help you with your recruiting needs! Don't hesitate to call our toll free number any time:

 

1- 877-830-0500

Dan ext 702 or  Bruce ext 727 

 

All the best from all of us at Ravenhill Group for a happy and healthy 2013!

detective2 

 

We have found:

  • Manager PW AB
  • CAO, ON
  • CAO, AB 
  • Engineer, AB 

We are looking for :

  • Dir PW, AB
  • Dir PW, ON 
  • CAO AB
  • Mgr PW AB 
  • City Assessor SK
  • Dir PW, AB  
                                             

    

R. Daniel Hughes

Dan is  an Associate Recruiter at Ravenhill. Prior to joining us Dan was the President and CEO

of one of Canada's leading financial services brokers.

He has a proven track record as a leader and top recruiter. Heunderstands every facet of municipal work from finance to roads and public works to IT.

He is in his element volunteering, whether for charity or sports he canbe found rolling up his sleeves to get involved. Among his friends and associates Dan is known for his unflagging energy and boundless enthusiasm. It is said about him that "If you want to get something done ... give it to Dan to handle".

  

1-877-830-0500 ext 702 dan@ravenhillgroup.com

Experience You Can Trust 

 

D, Bruce Malcolm

Managing Partner

1-877-830-0500 ext 727

 

View my profile on LinkedIn

 

Bruce and his team have successfully completed dozens and dozens of municipal searches across Canada over the past 7 years.
 

Assignments have covered senior management positions including: CAO, Town Manager, Director of Corporate Services, Director of Finance, Director of Engineering, Director of Planning, Director of Human Resourses, Manager of Recreation, Manager Water Wastewater, Manager Roads, to name a few
 

 

Bruce@ravenhillgroup.com

Check out our new

  "Hiring Mistake" Calculator

The Official Canadian

Temperature

 Conversion Chart 

 

50 Fahrenheit (10 C)
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
Canadians plant gardens.

35 Fahrenheit (1.6 C)
Italian Cars won't start
Canadians drive with the windows down

32 Fahrenheit (0 C)
American water freezes
Canadian water gets thicker.

0 Fahrenheit (-17.9 C)
New York City landlords finally turn on the heat.
Canadians have the last cookout of the season.

-60 Fahrenheit (-51 C)
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Canadian Girl Guides sell cookies door-to-door.

-109.9 Fahrenheit (-78.5 C)
Carbon dioxide freezes makes dry ice.
Canadians pull down their earflaps.

-173 Fahrenheit (-114 C)
Ethyl alcohol freezes.
Canadians get frustrated when they can't thaw the keg

-459.67 Fahrenheit (-273.15 C)
Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops.
Canadians start saying "cold, eh?"

-500 Fahrenheit (-295 C)
Hell freezes over. 
The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup

  

 
  Past News Letters
 
Municipal
Recruiting Report
 ... now in it's 4th great year!
 
 
December 2012 
          
  
  
January  2012 
 
     
  
  
January 2011
   crystal ball 3    
  
  
January 2010
Carnack     
  
  
  

 

 

 

Tribal Wisdom

 

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says, "When you  discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount." 

 In modern-day government, however, more advanced strategies are often employed, such as: 
  1. Buying a stronger whip.
  2. Changing riders. 
  3. Appointing a committee to study the horse. 
  4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses.
  5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be more productive. 
  6. Reclassifying the dead horse as "living-impaired."   (I like this one)
  7. Hiring outside contractors to lift the dead horse and move its legs.  
  8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed. 
  9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase dead horse's performance. 
  10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance. 
  11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead, and therefore, contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses. 
  12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses. 
  13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position. ( my favourite)

 

 

 

   -15 in Northern Saskatchewan

 

 

 

I just got off the phone with a friend who lives in northern Saskatchewan. He said that the snow is nearly waist high and is still falling.

 
The temperature is at minus fifteen degrees and still dropping... and the wind is increasing to near gale force. Even the plows are having a hard time getting around.

 

The schools are closed, and alerts are on all the TV and radio stations urging people to stay off the streets.

 

He said his wife has done nothing but look through the kitchen window for hours on end, just staring.

He says he's concerned that if it gets much worse, he may have to let her in

 

 

 

.
 RAVENHILL GROUP INC.

 

Canada's Municipal Recruiting Specialists  
Toll Free: 1-877-830-0500
 ext 727
 "Stop Searching Start Finding"