Before you begin to recruit potential candidates, you need a clear job description for each role. You can start with the National Occupational Standards for each position. These standards, developed by the Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council, have been established for over 40 tourism jobs. They can be used to build job descriptions for the positions you need to fill, and they're available free of charge to all tourism employers! An added bonus: if you hire someone who has been certified to those standards, you know they have exactly the skills you need. 

Below are articles specific to the recruitment and hiring process:

Clear Expectations:  Tips on Developing an Employment Letter

7 Easier Ways to Find Employees: Hiring Shortcuts for Successful Employee Recruitment

Staff Planning

Recruitment Do's and Don't's 

Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Clear Expectations:  Tips on Developing an Employment Letter

After hours of reviewing resumes, calling candidates to set up meeting times, asking interview question upon interview question, checking references and playing telephone tag to make job offers, you still have more work to do.  Before you can consider your recruiting complete, you must ensure that you and your employees know what to expect from the employment relationship. 

When staff is hired, you make the best decision you can with the information on hand.   Sometimes you end up regretting that decision.  However, if expectations are clearly communicated before the employee starts, you will save time, effort and frustration down the road.  The employment letter (or letter of offer) is a valuable tool for both the employer and the employee.  It lays the ground work for employment terms and conditions, and should include:

Start date
- The day that a person is expected to report for their first day of work.  If there is uncertainty due to weather conditions, for example, you can state it as “Anticipated Start Date”

End date
- As seasonal businesses largely depend on weather, end dates are difficult to determine in advance.  If your business relies on indeterminate factors you may want to consider indicating a broader time frame such as “late September”.
- Although you may expect students to work until they return to school, many want time off between their summer job and school or they might want time to participate in school orientation activities.  Without preparing for the gap in staff, employers are often left scrambling without a full staff from late August through fall.  Conversely, if you do not have an end date stated, they may assume that the position is theirs for future seasons as well. 

Probation
- PEI’s Employment Standards Act is one of the only provinces with a six month probationary period legislated.  Therefore most seasonal jobs fall into this category.  However, if you employ an individual beyond six months, permanent employee conditions are to be followed such as notice of termination, etc.

Anticipated work hours
- If you expect your staff to be at work 15 minutes before their shift to get updated on promotions, sales, duties, etc., change the start of the shift to incorporate that time and consider those 15 minutes to be part of their paid shift.   

Compensation (amount, hourly/per day/per year)
- Include your tip and gratuity pooling policy so employees know what to expect.  Many tourism jobs rely on tips as a significant part of their earnings and it can be a sensitive topic, so be clear, consistent and proactive.  
- Indicate any additional deductions that are taken off the pay, such as staff fund money.

Name and title of supervisor
- Who can they direct their questions to?  Who can they call in sick to?  Who is it that they report to?

Job duties
- Ideally a job description would be attached, however if you have not yet developed a full job description, list the duties required of them as well as the standard “other duties as required”

Employment Standards Act
- Make reference to the Employment Standards Act for PEI by stating that your business complies with the Act.  In doing so you are addressing basic employment policies and acceptable employer and employee rights.

Other important items which can be included in a generic employee handbook are:
- Benefits (including when the employee will become eligible for the benefits)
- Pay schedule - Identify what method of payment is used and if payroll is biweekly, held back a week, etc.

The final step in the employment letter, and the most important, is having both the employer and employee sign off on the letter.  If you do not get the signature and keep a copy on file you will have no proof of what was agreed upon, thus making your efforts futile.  Respect your own time and effort by doing this step - you will be protecting yourself in the long run.

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7 Easier Ways to Find Employees: Hiring Shortcuts for Successful Employee Recruitment By Susan Ward, About.com

1) Connect with your local college or training school.  Instructors of various [tourism] related programs can be invaluable shortcuts to finding good employees. Get to know who's who and call the instructor of the relevant course or program, introducing yourself, explaining what you need, and asking for recommendations.

2) Get involved with your local college or university's cooperative training program.  Cooperative programs are always looking for employers to provide suitable job placements. You get an employee with current skills and while it's a temporary staffing solution, you may be able to hire the person as a full-time employee when he or she has completed the program.

3) Hire through a government program.  [Human Resources and Skills Development Canada offers Programs and Funding Opportunities can be found at HRSDC.]  You'll find more employment programs listed in my Small Business Grants library. The downside of these programs is the time spent leaping through hoops, such as filling out application forms; the upside is the considerable cost savings.

4) Hire a student.  If you can get by without having a permanent employee fill the job, the various hire-a-student programs available can be a great staffing solution. 

  • Local programs are also very visible in season (late spring/early summer).
  • If a college or university exists locally, it will also have its own "hire-a-student" program - another great place to find enthusiastic temporary employees.
  • [HRSDC Just the Facts is a federal government website initiated to help dispel myths and misconceptions as well as raise awareness about HRSDC programs.]

5) Use the web.  There are many "job board" sites on the 'Net where you can place a job listing or search for employees. [The Choose Tourism website has a free job board that is easy to use and focuses on tourism related jobs on PEI.]  Using job sites can help you get your job posting before a local, national (and international) audience of job seekers at a low monetary cost. You will have to spend some time, however, learning how the particular site's system works and/or searching for desirable employees.

6) Put the word out on the street.  If the situation isn't critical (an "I need someone right now" situation), try using word-of-mouth and/or referrals to find employees. Tell all your contacts (both business and personal) about the position you're seeking to fill and what kind of employee you're looking for.

For small businesses that don't have departments devoted to Human Resources, finding the right employees at the right times can be an especially time-consuming and frustrating struggle. Why not try one or more of these strategies for hiring employees the next time you have a position to fill?

You may be surprised at how much shorter and more successful your hiring process becomes.

Source:  About.com  Small Business: Canada

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Staff Planning

1. Plan early. Hire early. Plan for the future.  Recognize the need to start recruiting employees earlier (e.g., January or February)

  • Plan for the following year prior to the end of the current tourism season.
  • Sit down with the best employees at the end of the season, ask them what their intentions are for the following year, and find out if there is a particular job they would like to advance to.
  • Attract people to the establishment when they are younger in hopes that they will return for a few years.

2. Understand what people want in a job and promote employment within the company based on their needs and wants. Employers who conduct performance reviews with employees and offer them opportunities for professional development (e.g., availability of training and job rotation) have been able to effectively recruit employees. Employers who offer challenging and rewarding work generate positive word of mouth and find it easier to recruit employees.

3. Ensure expectations of employers and employees are aligned; work hard to maintain balance between work and private life for employees. People are interested in employment where they can maintain some balance between their work and personal life. Employers who offer some flexibility in scheduling are seen as offering a favourable working environment.

4. Determine who is motivated to do the work that is required for the compensation available. Two employers recruit qualified chefs from off Island, and at least one pays for the cost of the flights to and from PEI. Another successful approach is contacting the PEI Association of Newcomers to Canada to recruit new immigrants for positions such as housekeeping.

 

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Recruitment Do's and Don't's

Now that you know what you need in relation to filling positions and determined the job descriptions, you may be ready to recruit and interview.  Test your knowledge as to what is and isn't appropriate to ask.

Questions

1) If a position requires regular overtime and has an irregular schedule, can an employer ask: "Do you have children?" 

2) If a job requires heavy lifting, can an employer ask: "Do you have a bad back or any medical issues?"   

You need to ensure your interview process is not intentionally or unintentionally asking questions on prohibited grounds. It is important to describe the job and requirements in a way that gives all applicants a chance to apply.

Solutions

1) An employer cannot ask: "Do you have children?" as you may be assuming a person with children could not work longer hours or is not committed to their job.  To ensure the candidate can work the schedule you need, you should ask: "This job requires regular overtime and has an irregular schedule, can you meet this requirement?"

2) An employer cannot ask: "Do you have a bad back or any medical issues?" as you might be discriminating against a candidate with a disability.  To ensure the candidate can meet the physical requirements for the role, you should ask: "This job requires periods of heavy lifting for most of the day. Are you able to do this?"

Source: Legal Issues You Need to Consider in Your Recruiting Process

For more information regarding Human Rights on PEI, go to the PEI Human Rights Commission website.

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Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Every year, Canadian employers hire thousands of foreign workers to help address skill and labour shortages.

Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) work to ensure that the employment of foreign workers supports economic growth and helps create more opportunities for all Canadians.

http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/index.shtml

Where there is a demonstrable shortage of Canadians citizens and permanent residents available, the Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC)/Service Canada (SC) allows for the temporary entry of foreign workers into lower-skilled occupations under the Pilot Project for Occupations Requiring Lower Levels of Formal Training (NOC C and D).

In Canada, lower levels of formal training are defined as occupations that usually require at most a high school diploma or a maximum of 2 years of job-specific training according to the National Occupation Classification (NOC) system and are coded at the NOC C or D skill level. See NOC job descriptions.

GUIDELINES FOR HIRING FOREIGN WORKERS:

Before you apply to hire foreign workers under the Pilot Project for Occupations Requiring Lower Levels of Formal Training (NOC C and D), HRSDC and CIC will expect you to:

  • Demonstrate comprehensive and on-going efforts to recruit Canadian youth, Aboriginal peoples, recent immigrants and Canadians in areas of high unemployment;
     
  • Show efforts to hire unemployed Canadians through HRSDC and provincial employment programs;
     
  • Consult with the local union if the position is covered under a collective agreement;
     
  • Sign an employer-employee contract outlining wages*, duties, and conditions related to the transportation, accommodation, health and occupational safety of the foreign worker;
     
  • Cover all recruitment costs related to the hiring of the foreign worker;
     
  • Help the worker(s) find suitable, affordable accommodation;
     
  • Pay full transportation costs for the foreign worker to and from his/her home country;
     
  • Provide medical coverage until the worker is eligible for provincial health insurance coverage;
     
  • Register your worker under the appropriate provincial workers compensation/workplace safety insurance plans; and
  • * If the offer of employment is for longer than 12 months, the employer/employee contract must indicate that you agree to review and adjust (if necessary) the foreign worker's wage after 12 months of employment. This will ensure that the wages you pay the foreign worker continue to meet the prevailing wage rate of the occupation and region where he is employed.

Excerpt from Human Resources and Social Development Canada: Pilot Project for Occupations Requiring Lower Levels of Formal Training.  For more information go to  (http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/workplaceskills/foreign_workers/lowskill.shtml)
 
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