Inter-provincial poaching: the solution to your recruitment problem

There’s always discussion about whether hiring internationally is feasible, but why bother when you could just steal from your neighbours?

Hiring locally makes sense: there’s no wait time, no moving costs, no complications with forms or legalities – but what if there is no suitable candidate?

When it comes to looking overseas, there are any number of added complications, which is where the beauty of poaching provincially comes into play. A new report from The Talent Group Canada suggests employers consider looking to their neighbours for opportunities – and they have some tips for making it work.

“The process of securing employees for permanent, project or seasonal roles that will relocate for work or even for Fly-in-Fly-out positions can be extremely difficult and expensive for an employer if not executed carefully." says Chris Campitelli, owner and CEO of The Talent Group Canada. "For those that manage this opportunity correctly, it can quickly resolve real talent shortages."

Make sure your new recruits settle in and stick around:

  1. Streamline your onboarding process

Feedback the company has received shows most turnover interprovincial candidate turnover happens within the first 90 days. What might seem like a small issue can have a big impact on relocated employees and the response most commonly seen from poor onboarding is the employee returning to their home province. To avoid this, have a methodical onboarding framework in place for any interprovincial candidates to ensure that this 90 day period is clearly mapped out.

  1. Decrease the cost and risk

For a potential employee in another province, relocating is an expensive and risky undertaking. Organizations that plan to make this relocation less financially taxing and a little less risky will have greater success. Pre-paid plane tickets, gas cards, bus or train tickets will add a great deal of value to any compensation/relocation package. To really stand out from competitors, a temporary housing arrangement will signal to top talent that the employer is committed.

  1. Build a good, local reputation

It’s not enough to just show up in a city, rent a hotel conference room, spend some advertising dollars on radio, newspaper and web advertising and expect to see top talent walking in the door. Interprovincial recruiting is all about trust and reputation. Instead, try to get involved with associations or charitable and community events, outside of trips that are exclusively for recruiting. Building a local brand is a long-term solution and an essential one if the need is a continued access to talent.

 

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