Blog

Labour shortages remain the persistent challenge for both the corporate sector as well as small business owners who insist the lack of skilled and unskilled workers is the biggest impediment to increasing sales.

These shortages are expected to get worse as baby boomers retire, despite the fact the participation rate in the labour market appears to be higher. According to an analysis piece last month in the Globe & Mail, as of February, that participation rate – the proportion of the population 15 or older that is working or looking for a job – was 65.7% which is the same as it was in April 2018.

But when it comes to finding people to take on leadership roles, the outlook is much more positive, says leadership coach and expert Julie Dupont, Principal Strategist and Owner of Cambridge-based Reimagine Leadership.

“Filling leadership roles hasn’t been a struggle as much as trying to fill the technical or skilled talent roles,” she said. “People are usually happy to step up into a higher pay cheque.”

However, with that promotion also comes immense responsibilities which Julie says not all people are able to handle.

“Being a leader requires a different set of skills and mindset,” she says, noting some organizations often struggle to get the right people to fill the right roles. “And when they have them, there’s always this fear they are going to leave.”

To mitigate that fear, Julie says personal development is imperative and investing in leadership training will benefit the organization.

“You want to spend the money where it counts and that is on your people right now because they need to see there is a future for them,” she says.  “Leadership skills are an investment in long-term success. If an organization makes you feel unvalued, it hurts.”

Among the most important skills are the ones centred around emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.

“These skills are so crucial right now because people need to understand themselves and discover what their triggers are and if they’re going to be resilient,” says Julie. “They need to be able to figure out if what they do works, or if what they do gets in the way of them being successful.”

She says an employee can be great at the technical side of their job, but as a leader may not be much of a ‘people person’ and will struggle.

“It’s about creating that employee-centred approach and is about valuing each and every person in your care,” says Julie, noting that mindset shift can be very difficult for many people but that times are changing. “We are moving slowly in that direction but it’s a big ship and doesn’t turn on a dime.”

In terms of making that change, she says identifying your strengths as a leader is key and reiterates the value of training to create a foundation to help leaders succeed.

“When people feel a little more positive in their abilities, they’re likely to give themselves the grace of making better decisions,” says Julie.

Five skills to developing good leaders:

• Communication: Great leaders must be great communicators. We need people who can learn when to listen, ask the right questions, and speak words of encouragement and motivation to their staff. These skills can be taught.
• Accountability: Not only do we need to keep emerging leaders accountable we also need to teach them how to hold their team members accountable. Many emerging leaders have never been taught the skills necessary to manage staff and earn their respect.
• Time management: Moving people up in our organizations without giving them the skills to manage all the projects, paper and people in a timely manner will lead to burnout or, worse, a broken home life.
• Servitude: Great leaders serve their people by removing roadblocks to their staff’s success. We need to teach our leaders strategies to empower their people by supporting their efforts.
• Mentorship: Great leaders mentor and coach their team members so they can be successful. This isn’t a skill that comes naturally for many people. It needs to be taught.

•    Source Troy Media

The amount of information surfacing almost daily surrounding COVID-19 can be daunting, especially for those running a business.

Trying to keep customers and employees safe while trying to conduct business has become a real change for many. But there is help available thanks to our ‘Chamber Check’ program.

This free and innovative program powered by Axonify and created in partnership with the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce offers valuable certification training to business owners and their employees when it comes to operating in a COVID-19 environment.

Through our Chamber Business Ready platform, Chamber Check participants are provided with a series of valuable resources, including videos and quizzes designed around various safety issues and potential scenarios that can arise while working in the midst of this pandemic.

For Patti Harris-Lindstrom, Office Manager of Towcon Holdings in Cambridge, receiving her Chamber Check certification proved to be a great way to collect additional knowledge.

“We’re trying to gather as much information as we possibly can because no one seems to know what this virus is all about,” she says. “We’re trying to take in as much information as we can to make informed decisions.”

As they work their way through the interactive and educational tools contained in the training, the knowledge the participants gain is designed to benefit them in the day-to-day operation of their businesses.

“We’ve been trying to keep on top of this as much as we possibly can and when this (Chamber Check) came out I decided to take it and see if there is anything we don’t already know,” says Patti, adding there was new information which proved beneficial and would gladly recommend others participate. “It’s very informative.”

Sara Chamberlin, Human Resources Manager at the Cambridge Hotel and Conference Centre, discovered the same and is pleased by the training provided.

“I was impressed that dealing with difficult customer service interactions was also part of the training, not just technical processes of wearing PPE,” she says. “This was very useful for our company.”

Stephanie Melo, Office Administrator/Health and Safety Co-ordinator at Sousa Concrete, also says the training she and members of her management office team received has been extremely helpful.

“One of the major things I learned was there is a difference between sanitation and disinfection,” she says, adding it only took her about an hour to complete the required modules.

The program can also be completed in short increments depending on work schedules, which is exactly what Sara did.

“It took me approximately two weeks as I did one to three modules a day,” she says.

But regardless of how participants approach it, the training they receive will strengthen the business community by helping create more consumer confidence.

“I knew it would be beneficial for the company to have since we take COVID-19 very serious,” says Stephanie, noting building consumer confidence is vital right now for all businesses. “It is very important since this is a very strange time we are living in.”

Sara agrees and has recommended that all her managers now complete the program.

“Any training program we can participate in, we will look into,” she says.

Providing as much support as possible to small businesses, especially now during COVID-19, was the key reason the Chambers developed Chamber Check.

“Being small businesses, it’s in our hands to do what we can to keep people safe, both those who work for us and those who enter our places of business,” said Cambridge Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Greg Durocher. “That’s the best defence we have towards keeping our businesses open.”

Upon completion of the training participants receive a ‘Chamber Check’ certificate indicating they have received extensive safety education to conduct business in our COVID-19 world, plus the business receives a decal to be placed in a location to let customers know that workplace offers a safe environment.

The program, developed in consultation with Region of Waterloo Public Health, is available to not just business owners but any number of their employees who receive an email confirming they have completed the training.

“We’re proud to partner with The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce and Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce on the Chamber Check program. As a Waterloo‐based business we’re dedicated to doing our part to keep our local residents safe,” said Carol Leaman, Founder and CEO of Axonify.

To get your Chamber Check training, visit www.chambercheck.ca

Recovery Activation Program expands to Cambridge

COVID-19 has changed everything, requiring telecommuting, on-demand delivery and services, supply chain resiliency and virtual collaborations.

Even as the province begins to reopen, the pandemic has heightened the urgency for businesses to digitize to survive.

To address this change, Toronto Region Board of Trade and World Trade Centre Toronto created the Recovery Activation Program, or RAP. RAP offers businesses the know-how, blueprint and partners to address the conditions that COVID-19 has created by implementing digital solutions to their front, middle and back-offices. It will not only equip them to come through COVID-19 intact, but to thrive.

With the support of a $7.7 million investment from the Government of Canada and Government of Ontario, RAP is now expanding to businesses of all sizes throughout the province, including Waterloo Region. The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce has been selected as an important partner to help ensure local businesses benefit from the customized services and mentorship that RAP offers.

“We’re recruiting for RAP because we believe this program will provide our Members with a great opportunity to move their businesses forward,” says Cambridge Chamber President & CEO Greg Durocher. 

By enabling this partnership between the Cambridge Chamber and the Toronto Region Board of Trade, the governments’ investment in RAP will also help make sure at least half of RAP’s participants are based outside of Toronto.

“The Recovery Activation Program is a direct response to what we’re hearing from our members and the business community at large: digital tools and services are crucial to success, but challenging to implement,” said Jan De Silva, President and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade. “Cambridge’s involvement in this program will result in the digital transformation of businesses outside of Toronto who will now be in a position to shore up their current business offerings, create new businesses opportunities and explore new markets.”

Recruitment is now open and interested businesses can apply here.

For more information, please contact Cambridge Chamber President & CEO Greg Durocher at 519.622.2221, Ext. 2223, or by email at [email protected].

The economic shutdown from COVID-19 may have physically closed many doors but could be opening new ones online for those looking to upgrade their skills or seek new career opportunities.

“Usually we’re all so hustled and bustled by everyday life we don’t’ really get the time to reflect,” says Anna Barichello, Associate Chair, Institute of Online Studies at Conestoga College.

As a result, she says many people rarely take an opportunity to ask themselves some important questions: Do I like what I’m doing? Am I challenged in my life? Do I want to learn to do something better?

Anna says using the shutdown as an opportunity to take online courses could prove very beneficial to some of those in the business community.

“If you’re a small business owner and one of your challenges has always been handling accounting, maybe this is the time you could take an accounting fundamentals course?” she says, which is one of more than 260 courses Conestoga College offers as part of its Ed2Go program.

Currently, Anna says learning trends indicate there is an even split among people enrolled in online courses with most either looking to upgrade their skills for their current jobs or taking programs that have absolutely nothing to do with their careers.

“This could be the time to see if you want to do a career switch,” she says.

According to a recent Globe and Mail article, a recent survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business of the small-and medium-sized businesses it represents suggested approximately one-third that are closed due to COVID-19 aren’t sure they’ll ever reopen.

As well, the article states the federal government is looking at ways to speed up the introduction of skills-training to help out-of-work Canadians. The training was targeted to arrive at the end of this year in the form of an annual tax credit and time off through the employment insurance system for workers that wanted to upgrade their skills, or learn something new to help their job hunt.

In terms of enrolment for its Ed2GO courses, Anna says Conestoga College has seen about 135 students register this month, which is about typical, but speculates that number will increase. She says her office has been fielding many enquiries.

“At our office, it’s been business as usual.”

She says the wide variety of courses – from accounting to writing for children – may be an attraction and so is the convenience. The programs run four weeks in length and take about four hours a week to complete which is ideal for those working remotely at home.

“You can do the work on your own time,” says Anna, noting there are no textbooks. “Everything is done online, including assessments.”

She admits some may be intimidated at the thought of learning online, since it is not the traditional way many of us were taught.

“Sometimes there is a hesitancy; ‘Will I be able to handle the technology?’ or ‘Will I be able to learn in this medium?’,” says Anna. “But what you get from an online course, the learning outcome, is the same as you would get in a face to face course. You are really getting a quality learning experience regardless of the medium.”

She says the Ed2GO programs are created by instructional designers who’ve worked to ensure the students focus on the content and not the technical aspects of how its offered.

“They’re designed for easy navigation. You don’t really need to have technical skills to be able to go through the course,” says Anna, adding there is tech support available if students are experiencing difficulties. “There are support officers available.”

As well, she says the college does offer career counselling for those who may be unsure what courses they should take, noting the three most popular programs are Accounting Fundamentals, Fundamentals of Supervision and Management, and Introduction to Microsoft Access 2019.

Anna herself says she has taken some project management courses offered via Ed2Go.

“I thoroughly enjoyed them,” she says.