Special Report: Top 10 people & culture trends for 2024

At our first webinar of the year, our co-founder and CEO, Kathryn Tremblay, offered a snapshot of Canada’s labour market, along with the top 10 people & culture trends for employers to watch in 2024.

‍We’ve summarized the trends into separate deep dives, each linked below.

First things first: A snapshot of Canada’s labour market

We learned that there’s light at the end of the tunnel for Canada’s labour market in 2024, after a year that saw many ups and downs, including:

• Inflation trending down (annual inflation for 2023 was 3.9%, down from a 40-year high of 6.8% in 2022).  

• Layoffs and restructuring trending up as employers realigned their workforces (cuts were reported in the thousands, spanning industries and regions).

• Unemployment trending up (5.8% in December 2023) and open roles trending down (~700,000 in November 2023).

• Job creation trending down (only 100 net new jobs created in December 2023).

• Immigration trending up (Canada was set to welcome 465,000 permanent residents by the end of 2023).  

• Retirements trending up (1,000 people retire PER DAY in Canada), posing challenges in industries already beset by labour shortages, such as construction and healthcare.

What does this mean for 2024?

While major global events like the US presidential election will have an impact on Canada’s economy, overall, we foresee a return to a more predictable labour market this year, with measured, careful hiring and an uptick in growth if interest rates are cut as predicted in the latter half of the year. Note: The Bank of Canada doesn’t expect inflation to fall to its target 2% until mid-2025.

Overshadowing all forecasts, however, is one giant unknown. You guessed it, AI.

Click below to read each of our deep dives.

• Trend 1: AI, AI and more AI: It will affect every aspect of work in 2024

• Trend 2: ChatGPT and recruitment: Be on the lookout for fakes in 2024

• Trend 3: Hiring in 2024: Bring on the specialists

• Trend 4: Compensation and total rewards: Candidates will be seeking more of both in 2024

• Trend 5: Pay transparency is coming: Here are some ways to get ready in 2024

• Trend 6: Where we work: Zoom in on hybrid in 2024

• Trend 7: Social media and the workplace: 2024 is the year to get clear

• Trend 8: Upskilling and reskilling: It’s back to school for everyone in 2024

• Trend 9: Performance feedback in 2024: Time to tailor it by generation

• Trend 10: Mental health in 2024: Beware of “wellbeing washing”

Snapshot: The biggest ideas to keep in mind this year

We’ve summarized key takeaways from each trend here:

• Keep those approaching retirement engaged: Roughly 1,000 people retire in Canada EVERY DAY, making ours the largest generation in Canadian history to move into retirement. Here are some ways to prepare:
  • Identify successors and document all processes; develop training for knowledge transfer.
  • Ask workers approaching retirement if they’d like to shift away from high-pressure management roles into something different (e.g., mentorship—even part-time, for less money).
  • Offer a gradual transition to retirement (e.g., working fewer days/hours over a period of years) rather than a sudden on/off switch.
  • Offer benefits like paid grandparent days and additional flexibility to encourage older workers to stay.

• Prepare for different generations at work: This is the first time we have up to five generations at once in the workplace, each of which has different work preferences. We’re also seeing more multi-racial/religious/cultural/sexual identities than ever before. Has your HR model kept pace?Here’s a snapshot of Gen Z:
  • By 2025, Gen Z, the most ethnically diverse generation, is going to make up 27% of the global workforce, so it’s critical to attract and retain this generation.
  • Gen Z prefers flexible work models (hybrid) more than other generations. They also list positive culture, mental health and well-being benefits and a sense of purpose and meaning as their top three priorities. They want continuous feedback, prioritize DEI, and want to work for employers open to trying new technologies, like AI.

• Get ready for AI as a disruptor: Identify the ways it might disrupt your processes, catalogue the skills required in each seat and determine which employees will be impacted and where they can re-skill, re-tool or transfer their skills. For example, if your Help Desk agents will be replaced by chatbots, see if they could apply their customer service and product knowledge in a sales, business development or training role.

• Focus on CONTINUOUS learning: Offer regular, ongoing training on AI as it evolves. Consider hiring experienced contractors or retirees to upskill your team. And when hiring, lean on skills more than education/credentials and years of experience (i.e., skills-based vs. credentials-based hiring).

• Make onsite count: While remote work is still wildly popular, remote workers report feeling the least connected to their colleagues. Be intentional about causing connections, check in regularly on non-work-related things, and bring team members together to collaborate and brainstorm rather than just have lunch.  

• Build trust to boost productivity: A study from Deloitte shows that while trust is more important than ever, the tendency to trust employees is at an all-time low, with employers turning to electronic monitoring and return-to-office mandates, so they can see “bums in seats.” Without trust, however, productivity will fall. Workers at high-trust companies report 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement and 40% less burnout.  

• Offer whatever you can to boost total rewards and compensation: Whether it’s a subsidized transit pass, free meals in the office, subsidized home internet costs or help paying off student debts, workers will be looking for extra compensation this year, as the cost of living remains high.

About Altis

In the lead up to our 35th anniversary this year, we amalgamated all our separate brands—including Excel—under ONE brand umbrella: Altis.

Today, we’re one national company with two sub brands: Altis Recruitment and Altis Technology (for all tech recruitment and placements).  

Working under these two sub-brands, our collaborative team of more than 200 specialized recruiters places more than 8,500 skilled candidates per year in permanent, contract and temporary roles from coast to coast. Fast and flexible, our highly trained professionals source hard-to-find talent for roles ranging from entry-level to executive, supporting clients in the public and private sectors, as well as in publicly held companies and not-for-profits.

Our specialized industry verticals include:

• Professional & Financial Services

• Retail, Manufacturing & Logistics

• Healthcare

• Broader Public Sector (i.e., provincial/municipal governments) and Federal Government Services

• Non-Profit & Associations

• Construction & Property Management

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If you have any feedback or questions about any of the topics in this special report, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us: hrtopics@altis.com