Automation Shouldn’t Spook Companies and Employees Amidst Ongoing Labour Shortages
London, Ontario - October 26, 2022
London, Ontario -Despite facing ongoing labour shortages heading into the busy holiday shopping season with 40% of companies with open positions that cannot fill, most Canadian companies do not plan to increase automation, according to a survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.
A majority of hiring decisions-makers (57%) agree automation is key to ensuring businesses can keep up with current demand and half (50%) saying they waste time each week with tasks that could be automated. However, only a small minority of companies (17%) say they've adopted new technology to automate tasks because of labour shortages and most (64%) do not have plans to use automation to help alleviate labour shortages.
Saving time (35%), saving money (33%) and increasing productivity (25%) are among the top potential benefits of automation according to hiring decision-makers, while a quarter (25%) believe it could help streamline processes and a fifth (20%) feel it has the potential to decrease employee workloads.
When it comes to hiring and recruiting, companies say, on average, 17% of the process is automated. Unsurprisingly, companies with more than 100 employees have a higher average of automated functions than small businesses (2-9 employees: 7%, on average, 10-99 employees: 14%, 100+ employees: 22%).
"While many of the larger companies already have some level of automation in their production processes, we are not seeing an increase in the application of automation. Those changes require time and skilled resources to implement, and then additional training to get the automation working. With the shortage of skilled and non-skilled workers, any attempt with implementing automation would not be viable in the short term and may be disruptive to the current manufacturing processes" said Michael Elliott, multi-franchise owner of the London and Kitchener/Waterloo Express franchise offices. "In the longer term, automation will be an important consideration for companies large and small, to remain competitive in domestic and global markets. I also believe that automation offers development opportunities for today's workforce where you can shift the labour group into semi-skilled and skilled trades."
"Companies have been forced to find a way to keep their businesses up and running and automation seems to provide a logical solution when so many workers are on the sidelines," Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller said. "Instead of fearing it, automation could create opportunities for both employers and their staff to ensure business continuity and professional growth."
Survey Methodology
The survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between May 3-23, 2022, among 504 Canadian hiring decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in Canada who are employed full-time or self-employed, work at companies with more than one employee and have full/significant involvement in hiring decisions at their company). Data were weighted where necessary by company size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.
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About Express Employment Professionals
At Express Employment Professionals, we're in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, employing 586,000 people globally in 2021 and 10 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com/CA.
The London Express office is located at 300 Dundas St and serves the broader London, St Thomas, Woodstock and Ingersoll markets. Local businesses and applicants are encouraged to stop by, visit www.expresspros.com/london/ or call (519) 672-7620.
About Bill Stoller
William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment
International. Founded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the international staffing franchisor
supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and related brands. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.