A shortage of workers in Flin Flon has led to some frustration amongst local businesses, and some business owners are looking to new methods to stay fully staffed.
Dan Hlady, co-owner of Chicken Chef, said that he has had trouble hiring people for 13 out of the 14 years he has been in business. Hlady said the issue isn’t so much that there aren’t enough people to fill the positions he offers, but rather that people don’t want to work.
“It’s kind of become, instead of me making a schedule for someone to work, I now have to turn around and make a schedule to accommodate them,” said Hlady.
“It’s absolutely mind-boggling, but if you want that body, that’s what you have to do.”
Hlady said his business requires about 35 staff to run at optimal effectiveness, but that it currently runs with 26 employees.
In the service industry, keeping customers happy is key, and in order to do that, Hlady must take from one area of the business – maintenance or cleaning – to fulfill frontline customer needs.
“We’re in the service industry. We have to put a good face on. We always strive for the best service possible. Yeah, there are going to be some mistakes, but we always strive for the best.”
It isn’t just the service industry that has had challenges recruiting workers. The Northern Health Region, a major employer in the area, said it has experienced some challenges in filling vacant positions.
While the City of Flin Flon has been successful in filling most of its positions, finding experienced employees can be tough.
“Recruitment in the north is a struggle, but I think it would be fair to say we’ve been very successful in filling positions from senior management to labourer within the city workforce over the past three and a half years,” said Flin Flon Mayor Cal Huntley.
“Experience and technical skills remain a challenge, but we have a fairly attractive wage and benefits package, which definitely helps.”
Wages are part of the challenge Hlady faces when hiring staff.
“I can’t afford the wage that people are looking for unless I increase my prices. It’s cause and effect.”
The difficulties Hlady has had staffing his restaurant have led him to look for workers outside of Canada. He has used a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to show that his business is having difficulty finding Canadian workers to fill available jobs, and allows his business to hire temporary foreign workers.
“Basically, I know that I will have an employee for the next two to five years. I know that I’m going to have that body available to work for the next two to five years.”
Hlady said there should not be any unemployment.
“I have jobs,” he said.
“But guess what? I can’t find anyone to work when I need them to, when I need staff past Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm. No one can work these shifts; they are not available.”
