Employers in the Southeast are feeling the pressure of a labour shortage that’s also being experienced in other provinces.

Steph Wiens, Vice-President of Strategy and Culture at Goldenwest, says there are numerous opportunities for people to change employers and this means business owners should look at ways to retain staff.

She feels a starting point is to look at what is happening within the workplace to find out why employees want to leave. That will give employers an idea on what needs to change in order to retain talent.

Workplace culture is also an area that Wiens believes warrants attention. Empathy should be an important focus to improve the corporate culture.

“The research is clear, empathetic leaders have a way of inspiring greater commitment because they care about people,” Wiens explains. “And employees respond to that. Don’t we all want to work with a leader who truly cares about us?”

Meanwhile, Wiens says there were signs indicating that a labour shortage was going to happen, and the pandemic has escalated the issue.

She says the pandemic has caused a lot of us to reflect on what’s most important and that’s caused some changes in the way we think about the way we work.

Wiens encourages collaboration within teams and with fellow entrepreneurs, sharing ideas and supporting each other. She believes Steinbach business owners have a strong determination to succeed and Wiens feels that determination will go a long way in helping the business community to bounce back, stronger than ever.

Although it can be difficult to see the silver lining with something as big as a widespread labour shortage, Wiens encourages business owners to see this challenge as an opportunity to make powerful changes that will strengthen the organization. She says this will help businesses to be better prepared for the next storm that may come our way.

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Written by Judy Peters