Workforce Impacts Survey
Note: Survey responses were collected from July 20–28, 2020. These findings are part of a Conference Board series on work and pay during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay tuned for updates as this situation evolves.
Working Through COVID-19
Here’s what we found.
Q: Which of the following strategies or approaches has your organization taken as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Note: Total is greater than 100 as respondents could select more than one option.
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
(n = 132; percentage of organizations)
Hiring has slowed
Seeking stability and a return
to how it was
August 17, 2020
More than half of responding organizations are not having difficulty attracting, recruiting, or retaining talent. This is not surprising, given the amount of hiring freezes and workforce reductions in place across the country.
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Want more info? Explore more topics in our ongoing
Working Through COVID-19 series.
Amanda Holmes
Kelsey Coburn
Research Associate
Senior Research Associate
Get an inside look at our respondent profile.
Download the data.
Download the data.
Q: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the following rates have:
Note: Totals may not add to 100 due to rounding.
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
(n = 124; percentage of organizations)
Employees are choosing to stay put
From family obligations to remote work, we’ve surveyed COVID-19’s effects on Canadian employers and workers. But how is the pandemic changing the ebbs, flows, and makeup of the workforce?
The Conference Board of Canada asked organizations across the country about how COVID-19 is affecting their turnover, attraction, and retention rates—and the strategies they’ve put in place to manage.
In this study, we define voluntary turnover as turnover due to an employee-initiated departure. We define involuntary turnover as turnover due to an employer-initiated departure (e.g., severances, dismissals, redundancies). Involuntary turnover does not include temporary layoffs.
What about having the right talent in place?
Q: Is your organization having difficulty attracting/recruiting or retaining talent with particular skills?
Note: Totals may not add to 100 due to rounding.
Source: The Conference Board of Canada.
(n = 135; percentage of organizations)
Few are struggling to retain talent
Research Associate
Jonathan Francis
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Download a PDF of this page
Voluntary turnover rate
For those that did put some of the strategies in place, hiring freezes were the most common. This aligns with what we are hearing from employers. Many have indicated that a top concern right now is returning to prior business levels and financial stability.
Involuntary turnover rate
Retirement rate
Over one-third of organizations (35 per cent) reported not implementing any
of the strategies or approaches we asked about. (See chart below.)
