To The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—A new community business survey will dive into the workforce needs and challenges of area employers.
The EmployerOne – Spotlight on Quality of Work survey has been launched by the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie and is supported by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
The survey will also be promoted by many community organizations, including chambers of commerce and economic development departments.
Previous EmployerOne surveys have provided valuable insights into issues affecting employers in Brantford, Six Nations of the Grand River, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and Brant, Haldimand, and Norfolk counties.
“With labour shortages and other workforce-related issues affecting many employers, we felt the time was right to bring back the EmployerOne survey,” said Danette Dalton, the board’s executive director.
Dalton continued, “This year’s focus ties in with research we did in the last couple of months talking to employees and job seekers about what they value in a workplace. It’s now the turn of employers to give their perspective.”
Hundreds of area employers have completed EmployerOne in the past, but the survey wasn’t carried out over the pandemic.
Dalton noted, “A lot has changed for businesses, to say the least.”
The survey is available online now at surveymonkey.com/r/E12023.
Traditional EmployerOne questions touch on hiring plans, hard-to-fill jobs, strategies for staff attraction and retention, and other topics.
New quality of work-related questions look at what practices and policies businesses have in place that may make them attractive to new and existing workers, such as: health benefits, on-the-job training, the chance for promotions, flexible work conditions, and working from home.
The survey also asks employers what barriers they face in bringing in or enhancing quality of work practices.
“Some employers may have things in place that other businesses can learn from,” Dalton said.
This Employment Ontario project is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario
The Workforce Planning Board is one of 26 non-profit organizations in Ontario that play a leadership role in labour force planning.
