While our elected representatives are holding more and more press briefings about the city’s road works, the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés is concerned about the findings of a survey on Montreal’s traffic problems conducted among its members last week.
This internal survey, which achieved record participation, showed that 55% of respondents felt that the road works were impacting employee management in their organization.
Candidates shun certain positions because of their location
The most disquieting figure concerns recruitment. Of the above 55% who reported that their organizations were being affected, 47% indicated that they had lost potential candidates who weren’t interested in certain positions that involved crossing bridges to get to work.
“The situation is serious," pointed out Florent Francoeur, CHRP, Ordre president and CEO. We’re already coping with a labour shortage and companies are struggling to fill some positions. Montreal can’t afford to lose jobs because of road works.”
Lateness and absenteeism on the rise
Companies’ internal organization is also clearly affected by the situation. Some 80% of those who believed the road works were having an impact noticed that growing numbers of employees were getting to work late. What’s more, 51% of these respondents mentioned that some employees were leaving earlier than usual, while 16% noted that many were cutting back their hours.
Some 43% of these professionals reported that a number of employees are arriving 15 to 30 minutes later than usual every day, while 23% said they’d noticed employees trailing in from 30 minutes to an hour late on a daily basis.
As for absenteeism, which is already prevalent in Quebec organizations, 47% of those concerned mentioned that figures were higher than usual.
Psychological and productivity impact
When we asked the CHRPs whether the road works were having a psychological impact on employees, 80% said they’d observed stress, 70% tiredness and 64% irritability.
Given this context, 59% of professionals are allowing employees to rearrange their daily work schedules. They also recommend that managers review schedules, allow telecommuting or encourage carpooling.
“It should be noted that this survey, with its disturbing findings, was conducted during the summer vacation period. Since it’s more than likely that things will get worse once September rolls around, we are very concerned for Quebec businesses, which are already facing a multitude of challenges,” concluded Francoeur.
To learn more…
Click here for the findings of this survey. (in French only)
About the Ordre
With close to 8,500 members, the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés is the fifth largest association of its kind in the world. It is the only organization in Quebec mandated to award human resources professionals a title certifying their competency.
The Ordre is a leader in employee management practices. Committed to innovation, it supports the ongoing development of human resources professionals (CHRPs) and industrial relations counsellors (CIRCs), thus helping to maintain a healthy balance between employee well-being and organizational success. It is vigilant in ensuring that this multifaceted function promotes leading-edge solutions that address the major issues impacting the workforce.
Through its actions in the public arena, the Ordre contributes to the advancement and reputation of the profession and plays a key influential role in the world of work in Quebec.
