In Québec, as is the case throughout the western world, the labour force is changing. Often, both spouses are in the labour market. They must divide their time among career, children, aging parents and professional and social networks. As a result, workers have higher expectations in terms of the quality of their personal life, which is more important than before.
As well, the labour force is shrinking. The predicted wave of retirements is starting to be felt in all industries by professionals, technicians and tradespeople. Since the younger generation is smaller than the retiring generation it is replacing, recruiting has become difficult.
In addition to recruitment, another challenge for businesses is engaging and retaining skilled staff. Competition is fierce and businesses must keep up with providing a healthy, exciting and rewarding work environment to retain their best talent.
To enable businesses to deal with these new realities, the BNQ has developed various standards on the health enterprise and psychological health and safety in the workplace. These standards set benchmarks and guide organizations with respect to their management and human resources strategies. Numerous businesses have already implemented one or more of these standards and have greatly benefited in terms of staff loyalty, engagement, productivity and profitability. That is encouraging and a reason to follow their example!
