CERIC and BCCDA offer new webinar series on millennial underemployment
January 20, 2017New Career Management for Small Business Playbook helps to retain and develop talent
January 23, 2017CERIC is today launching a new publication to help the more than 4 in 5 small- and medium-sized enterprises who worry about engaging and developing the talent to grow their businesses. Entitled Retain and Gain: Career Management for Small Business, this action-oriented Playbook enables small business owners and entrepreneurs to use career management as a strategic lever for stronger company performance.
The need for this Playbook was identified in a CERIC-commissioned Environics National Survey (2014) that examined the state of Career Development in the Canadian Workplace. In the survey, 71% of employers said they have responsibilities for employee career management, however, only 29% felt they were doing anything about it. This resource helps to bridge that gap for SMEs, which employ 90% of Canada’s private sector workforce.
Workforce expert and small business owner Lisa Taylor, President of Challenge Factory, authored the Playbook. In her research she found the following issues keep SME owners awake at night:
- 83% worried about engaging and retaining employees
- 66.7% indicated finding the right talent and recruitment was a challenge
- 61.1% wondered how to provide career development opportunities for employees throughout their careers with limited opportunities for promotion
Written in an innovative “travel guide” format, Retain and Gain provides:
- 40+ tips, activities and actions that SME owners and managers can take immediately (worksheets and additional references included)
- Research, facts and statistics that shed new light on Canada’s small business economy and workforce
- Special sections on new graduates, aging workers and family businesses
“The most important part of any business is, at the end of the day, its people. Investing in employees’ career development is key to promoting an innovative and productive workplace culture – successful companies cultivate a workforce comprised of people who feel fulfilled, valued and nurtured in their jobs. Some businesses recognize this but lack either the resources or a full understanding of how to effectively provide this, and that’s why this type of support provided by CERIC is so essential.”
– Honourable Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development and Growth, Province of Ontario
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce supported the development of the Playbook along with “Knowledge Champions” TD Bank; The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, Ryerson University; Laval University; and The CFO Centre.
The Playbook will be introduced during the Cannexus National Career Development Conference now taking place in Ottawa. Conference highlights include a panel of small business owners discussing what SMEs want career practitioners to know about how they hire. Local entrepreneurs and business owners will also gather for a breakfast briefing on the Playbook, in association with the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce and HRPA Ottawa.
The Playbook is available in both English and French and can be downloaded for free at www.ceric.ca/sme now. It is also available for sale via Amazon.ca and Chapters.Indigo.ca in print ($15.95) or ebook ($6.50) formats.
