The leading sawmilling/wood processing magazine in Canada, focusing on leading edge technology in this ever growing sector from British Columbia to Newfoundland.
 
 
 

From The Editor

Wednesday, April 25

Winning the talent war

It's no fun looking for talent these days, and we are constantly told it will only get worse. Demographics point to a future where job seekers, not employers, will hold the cards. We're not there yet, but we can see it from here.

Or maybe not all of us can, judging from the 15th Annual Global CEO Survey from PwC. The survey is predictable in some ways, showing CEOs that are streamlining processes, finding new products and markets, cutting costs and reducing jobs. CEOs are not confident in their ability to boost revenues in the coming 12 months, not surprising given global uncertainties.

Maybe that understandable short-term focus explains the relative nonchalance about what will surely be the driving challenge as early as next year - a shortage of warm bodies. As the report's author notes, CEOs have their heads down focusing on today's main challenge - cost control and reducing head counts - making it hard to focus on the talent they'll need in 18 to 24 months.

"Only 41 per cent see the shortage of talent as a potential threat to growth. Similarly, fewer forestry CEOs see it as a reason to make strategic changes, and fewer want to spend time developing the talent and leadership pipeline."

Those priorities are understandable, but competing against other industries more focused on this war for talent will yield predictable results, especially against those industries that start with inherent advantages. The survey finds that almost one third of global forestry CEOs feel that a dearth of talent is hindering their ability to innovate. If that's the case in this soft labour market, what happens when the lumber economy turns?

The labour challenge will vary with location and the type of staff you need to hire. Many of those surveyed felt that attracting good middle managers is a primary concern. That concern will explode as the economy turns and the industry turns to cannibalization to fill vacant mill and forest management roles. Yet in areas with competing mining, infrastructure, and oil and gas sectors, skilled production help is already tight. And, finally, attracting young workers is a challenge for all sectors, but to date we are not even on the radar thanks to the state of the industry in the past five years.

Each of these groups requires a separate strategy. At our modest publishing company we are well on our way to changing how we recruit and retain the various staff groups we need to grow and innovate. Business as usual has simply not been working. What's your plan to win this war?

Scott Jamieson, Editorial Director

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