How Nova Driver Services Can Help Your Business

The transportation industry is one of the most vital ones in Canada, especially with the holiday season coming up. Having the right drivers working for your company can make all the difference in your business’s success. Finding qualified drivers isn’t always easy, though. That’s where a driver recruitment agency like Nova Staffing comes in! Here are a few ways our hiring experts at Nova Driver Services can help your business thrive and grow. 

 

Recruitment Made Easy

Recruitment isn’t a simple thing, especially for driver positions. Canada is dealing with a driver shortage, and there are many qualifications commercials drivers need to meet. Most trucking companies just don’t have the time necessary to find quality candidates to meet their needs. That’s where a driver recruitment agency comes in. At Nova Driver Services, we take care of the entire recruitment process. We craft job postings, vet resumes, and create a list of candidates we think would be best for your company. This leaves you time to focus on running your business! 

 

Curate Quality Candidates

One of the most time-consuming parts of recruitment is sifting through resumes and applications to find qualified candidates. The transportation industry is heavily regulated in Canada, and commercial drivers have to meet specific qualifications in order to be eligible for the job. Ontario commercial drivers need specific types of licenses, clear a background check, and complete a certain number of training hours. Our hiring experts at Nova Driver Services are well versed in screening driver candidates in these things, as well as assessing whether someone would fit within your company culture. We have the tools and experience to curate a list of quality candidates to find you the perfect hire efficiently!

 

Focus on Flexible Hiring

The transportation industry ebbs and flows, certain times of the year are busier than others. As the holiday season ramps up, trucking companies aren’t always looking for long-term hires. They often need to fill short-term, temporary, or seasonal positions. Nova Driver Services can help you focus on flexible hiring, finding qualified drivers when the workload picks up or when your full-time drivers are unavailable. Flexible hiring means you’ll never have to worry about being short-staffed, especially at crucial times. 

 

Are you looking for qualified drivers in Ontario? Contact Nova Staffing Driver Services today! Our team of HR experts is experienced in staffing driver positions. We even have a dedicated team ready to help companies fill driver jobs with qualified candidates.

Ontario Employment Outlook: August 2021 Report

Ontario’s employment outlook continued to improve in August 2021. The province moved into Stage 3 of COVID-19 reopening in the middle of July, which helped boost employment. Those effects continued into August. 

 

Here is a look at how employment in Ontario was impacted in August 2021, compiled by our employment experts at Nova staffing. All data is from the Ontario Government August 2021 Labour Market report. 

 

 

Employment Summary

In August, Ontario had 7.4 million (60.1%) employed individuals, adding 53,000 jobs. This was a 0.7% increase from July, where the employment rate was 59.8%. This increase was likely a lingering effect of the province entering Stage 3 of pandemic reopening.

 

Unemployment was also positively impacted. In August, there were 607,500 (7.6%) individuals, which was a 5.4% decrease from the previous month’s rate. 

 

Employment by Age

Youth employment (15-24) saw 26,500 new jobs in August. This was an increase of 2.7% from July. Unemployment for this demographic also improved, dropping to 13.8% from 14.5% the previous month.

 

Adult employment (25-54) also improved in August. This demographic added 8,500 new jobs, a 0.2% monthly increase. However, unemployment also dropped from 6.5% in July to 6.3% in August. Senior employment (55+) added 18,200 new jobs, a 1.1% increase, following a 1.1% decrease in July. Unemployment for seniors was 7.1%, down from 8.1% the previous month.

 

Employment by Sector

Some industries continued to be hit harder in terms of employment than others. While the province moved into Stage 3 of reopening in July, restrictions were still in place that impacted employment in certain industries. 

 

Sectors that saw employment growth include Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (+80.6%), Educational Services (+19.9%), Public Administration (+18.4%), and Manufacturing (+6.1%). 

 

Not every industry was lucky enough to have employment gains. The sectors that saw the greatest employment loss and were the furthest from their pre-pandemic employment levels were Other Services (Except Public Admin.) (-39.2%), Accommodation and Food Services (-29.6%), Construction (-29.6%), and Business, Building, and Other Support Services (-28.3%).

 

Employment by Region

Thirteen of Ontario’s sixteen CMA’s saw employment growth in August 2021. Regions that saw the most employment growth was led by Toronto (+70.6%) and followed by St.Catharines-Niagara (+7.2%), Hamilton (+4.7%), Oshawa (+4.2%), Windsor (+2.3%), Belleville (+2.2%), Kingston (+2.2%), London (+1.9%), Guelph (+1.3%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (+1.3%), Thunder Bay (+0.6%), Greater Sudbury (+0.4%), and Brantford (+0.1%).

 

Only three regions saw employment loss in August. These were Ottawa-Gatineau (-5.5%), Peterborough (-1.7%), and Barrie (-0.1%). 

 

Is your company looking for help hiring top talent or need staffing solutions? Contact Nova Staffing! Our team of employment experts has over 200 years of combined industry experience and is here to help.

 

Everything to You Need to Know About the Recruitment Agency Process

Finding and hiring new employees can be a long and daunting process, especially for businesses that don’t have staff dedicated to it. Working with a recruitment agency can take the pressure off you and allow you to focus on what you do best- running your business! If you’ve never worked with an employment agency before, you might not know what the process is like. Let our hiring experts at Nova Staffing break down everything down for you.

 

Staffing Requirements

Before we start the process, one of our experts will sit down with your business and carefully hear what you’re looking for out of new hires. We’ll take down your requirements such as experience, education, skills, and more. We’ll also take note of other details such as job position, salary, and benefits.

 

Job Posting

Once we know what you’re looking for, our team will create job postings to attract suitable hires. Our team has extensive experience creating clear, attractive job listings that will quickly get you a good pool of candidates to select from. At Nova Staffing, we also monitor these listings, updating them as needed so that you don’t have to worry about them!

 

Screening Candidates

After the job posting is up, the resumes start rolling in. That’s when our job at Nova Staffing really begins. We then start the tedious work of going through each application and shortlisting only the best for you. We’ll weed out those that don’t meet your requirements, sending only the best candidates your way.

 

Initial Interviews

At Nova Staffing, we can also conduct initial rounds of interviews to help you. Our team of hiring experts has over 200 years of combined industry experience, so you can trust them to send only the best of the best your way. This is an excellent option for businesses that don’t have the time to do multiple rounds of interviews.

 

Follow Up

Our job doesn’t end once you hire new employees. We’ll be here to follow up, ensuring you’re satisfied with your new hires and that they fit in nicely. If there are any issues that we can help you with, we will!

 

Whether you’re looking for permanent or temporary hires, Nova Staffing is here to help! Our recruitment agency has a team of hiring experts with over 200 years of combined experience and staff that are fluent in English, French, Hindi, Punjabi, Mandarin, Arabic, and Urdu. Contact us today to get started.

 

Ontario Employment Outlook: July 2021 Report

Ontario’s employment continued to improve in July 2021, following June’s trend. This was likely due to the province moving into Stage 2 of reopening at the end of June and into Stage 3 in the middle of July. More types of businesses were allowed to reopen and expand capacity, helping employment. 

 

Here is a look at how employment in Ontario was impacted in July 2021, compiled by our employment experts at Nova Staffing. All data is from the Ontario Government July 2021 Labour Market report. 

 

 

Employment Summary

In July, Ontario had 7.4 million (59.8%) employed individuals, up 72,400 from June, a 1% increase. Employment was still 1.6% below its pre-COVID-10 February 2020 levels. 

 

Unemployment also improved in July. Ontario’s unemployment rate dropped down to 4% from 8.4% in June. In total, 641,900 people were unemployed, down 4% from the previous month.

 

Employment by Age

Youth employment (15-24) saw a 42,500 job increase in July. This was a slower increase than the previous month, but unemployment dropped down to 14.5% from 17.2% in June.

 

Adult employment (25-54) added 47,200 employed individuals, a 1% increase from the previous month. Unemployment stayed unchanged at 6.5%. Senior unemployment (55+) didn’t improve in July, however. This demographic saw 17,400 fewer jobs in July, though unemployment did drop to 8.2% from 8.3% in June. 

 

Employment by Sector

Different industries continued to be hit harder by COVID-19 precautions than others, even moving into reopening Stage 2 and Stage 3. Sectors that were furthest from their pre-COVID-19 levels were Accommodation and Food Services (-80.2%), Construction (-39.2%), Information, Culture, and Recreation (-31.1%), Business, Building, and Other Support Services (-22.2%), and Transportation and Warehousing (-22.2%).

 

Other industries saw employment gains in July 2021. These sectors include Professional, Scientific, and Technical Service (+67.5%), Manufacturing (+27.1%), Public Administration (+17.4%), Health Care and Social Assistance (+11.3%), and Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental and Leasing (+7.4%).

 

Employment by Region

Twelve of Ontario’s sixteen CMA’s saw employment gains in July 2021. Toronto led with 44.4%, followed by Barrie (+4.6%), Ottawa-Gatineau (+3.3%), Oshawa (+3.1%), Guelph (+2.3%), St. Catharines-Niagara (+2.2%), Belleville (+1.6%), London (+0.7%), Windsor (+0.3%), Brantford (+0.2%), Kingston (+0.2%), and Thunder Bay (+0.1%).

 

Only four of Ontario’s CMAs saw employment loss, including Hamilton (-2.5%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (-0.8%), Greater Sudbury (-0.5%), and Peterborough (-0.4%). 

 

Is your company looking for help hiring top talent or need staffing solutions? Contact Nova Staffing! Our team of employment experts has over 200 years of combined industry experience and is here to help.

 

How to Protect Your Workplace During Flu Season

Summer is coming to an end, which means flu season is just around the corner. It’s hard for employees to work their best when they’re not feeling their best. And with Canada still, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, workplaces are more cautious than ever about keeping employees safe and healthy. Here are some tips from our HR experts at Nova Staffing on how you can protect your workplace and staff from flu and cold season.

 

Encourage Employees to Pay Attention to Their Health

It’s always crucial for workers to focus on their health, but it can be easy to forget about the more common diseases like the flu and colds when facing down a global pandemic. Encourage employees to get a seasonal flu vaccine, promote practices like handwashing, and allow them to take sick days if needed.

 

Evaluate Sick Leave Policies

One big thing companies had to rethink during COVID-19 are their sick-leave policies. At Nova Staffing, this is one of the top questions we get asked about when hiring new people. Employees want to make sure they’ll be protected if they must take time off due to illness, especially since it’s highly discouraged to come into workplaces with fevers and coughs, even if it’s not COVID-19. Employers should be flexible when it comes to employees and sickness. Allow work from home and provide extra sick days if possible.

 

Emphasize Cleaning

The good news about the pandemic is that workplaces have been focusing on cleanliness and sanitization. The increased cleaning means that employees are less likely to get sick from common illnesses like the flu as well as COVID-19. Employers may want to consider upping this even more, or at least keep it up even as health regulations slacken, to ensure workers are safe during flu and cold season.

 

Educate on Health Practices

Now is a good time to send out an email or post signs re-educating workers on health practices. Post reminders in the bathroom about washing hands and in eating spaces about covering one’s mouth and nose. You can also remind employees of policies about coming in when they have a fever or other flu-like symptoms.

 

Is your company looking to hire new staff, or do you need more employment tips? Contact Nova Staffing today! Our team of hiring experts has over 200 years of combined industry experience and is ready to help.

 

Ontario Employment Outlook: June 2021 Report

Employment in Ontario improved in June, after three consecutive months of it going down. This was likely due to the extended provincial-wide stay-at-home order being lifted. Ontario also entered Stage 2 of opening on June 30th, meaning many businesses, such as restaurants, started rehiring. 

 

Here is a look at how employment in Ontario was impacted in June 2021, compiled by our hiring experts at Nova Staffing. All data is from the Ontario Government June 2021 Labour Market report. 

 

 

Employment Summary

Ontario had 7.3 million (59.2%) employed individuals in June 2021, up by 116,900 from May, which was a 1.6% increase. Employment was still below its pre-COVID-19 February 2021 levels by -2.5%.

 

Unemployment also decreased in June to 8.4%, down from 9.3% in May. In total, 668,000 people were unemployed, down 8.8% from the previous month. 

 

Employment by Age

Youth employment (15-24) continued to be the furthest from its pre-COVID levels, but it did drastically improve in June. Youth employment increased by 85,700 jobs, and unemployment dropped to 17.2% from 20.7% in May. 

 

Adult employment (25-54) also saw improvement, with a 20,000-job increase. Unemployment dropped from 7% in May down to 6.5% in June. Senior employment (55+) saw gains as well. Senior employment increased by 11,100 jobs, and unemployment went down to 8.3%. 

 

Employment by Sector

Certain industries were hit harder by COVID-19 due to government shutdowns of those deemed non-essential. Sectors that were hit the hardest and were the furthest from their pre-COVID levels in June were Accommodation and Food Services (-100.8%), Wholesale and Retail Trade (-42.3%), Business, Building, and Other Support Services (-33.3%), and Construction (-32.1%).

 

Not all sectors struggled, though. Many Ontario industries saw employment growth in June, led by Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (+70.2%), Public Administration (+22.9%), Health Care and Social Assistance (+9.7%), and Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing (+4.9%).

 

Employment by Region

Ontario saw employment gains in seven on its 16 CMAs. Regions with the most employment growth were led by Toronto (+10.4%) and followed by Ottawa-Gatineau (+6%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (+0.5%), London (+0.4%), Thunder Bay (+0.3%), Barrie (+0.2%), and Greater Sudbury (+0.1%). 

 

Other regions in Ontario saw employment loss, including Hamilton (-6.6%), Belleville (-5.1%), St.Catharines-Niagara (-4.1%), Kingston (-2.4%), Oshawa (-1.8%), Brantford (-1.7%), Windsor (-1.5%), Guelph (-0.8%), Peterborough (-0.3%). 

 

Is your company looking for help hiring top talent or need staffing solutions? Contact Nova Staffing! Our team of employment experts has over 200 years of combined industry experience and is here to help.

 

Temp Recruitment Agency Debunks Temporary Staffing Myths

There are many misconceptions about temporary staffing services, so many that many companies are hesitant about using these services when it comes to filling employment gaps. Many people believe that short-term workers are unskilled, unmotivated, and accept low pay. This couldn’t be further from the truth.  

 

At Nova Staffing, we specialize in temporary staffing solutions, and our hiring experts are here to debunk some of the most common myths about temp employment.

 

Myth 1: Temp Workers are Unskilled

The idea that temporary workers lack the skills to fill a permanent position is just so false. Companies that work with reputable temp staffing agencies like Nova Staffing will only provide our clients workers that have all the necessary skills and training to fulfill whatever position they’re looking for.

 

Most temps have extensive work experience, impressive educational background, and highly sought-after skills. They could easily find permanent employment but prefer to flexibility and short-term work that temporary employment brings.  

 

Myth 2: Temp Workers Aren’t Suitable for Permanent Positions

The concept that temporary workers are suitable for permanent positions and that you’re getting stuck with someone’s leftovers or undesirables is just untrue. There are a lot of reasons why people may choose to pursue temp work, such as:

  • They like the variety temporary work provides
  • They enjoy the flexibility
  • They are in the process of continuing their education
  • They have family responsibilities
  • They are transitioning into retirement
  • They are new to the area

 

Temporary work just fits into some people’s lifestyles better. For others, temp employment is also just a stepping stone, which brings us to our next myth.

 

Myth 3: Temp Workers Always Stay that Way

At Nova Staffing, we have a number of companies that use temporary staffing solutions to figure out whether or not a candidate is a good fit before hiring them full-time. This is called temp-to-hire, which allows companies to test out workers before offering them permanent positions.

 

In fact, many of our temp workers get offered full-time, permanent positions after their temp contracts are done. It can be hard to gauge whether they’ll be a good fit beyond past employment and skillset when hiring new workers. Temp staffing solutions can help with this issue, giving you a chance to test employment without any commitment.

 

Myth 4: Temp Work is Low Paying

It’s not just employers that buy into myths about temporary employment. Many workers are hesitant to accept temp work because they think it means taking lower pay. While temporary employees don’t get the same benefits as permanent workers, they do tend to get paid good salaries. This is especially true if the temp worker has a sought-after skillset. Many companies are willing to pay a higher salary since they don’t have the additional financial burden of PTO, vacation days, and benefits.

 

Is your company looking for temporary staffing solutions? Contact Nova Staffing today! We’re one of the top temp employment agencies in the GTA and can help your company with all of its recruiting needs.

 

Workplace Etiquette Reminders Before Heading Back into the Office

With vaccination rates on the rise, many companies are now looking at bringing employees back into offices and physical workplaces. The shift from work-from-home to back on-site may be challenging, but employers can help ease the transition by reminding employees of these simple workplace etiquettes. The workplace has evolved since the pandemic, so while some of this will be a quick refresher for employees, other tips may be new habits they’ll have to learn.

 

 Here are a few workplace etiquette tips for today’s workplace from our employment experts at Nova Staffing.

 

Dress Appropriately

What people wear while working will be one of the biggest changes people will have to adjust to when returning to the office. For many people, their work clothes have gone untouched in their closets for the past year. While rocking sweatpants and messy hair at home was fine, be sure to remind employees of the office dress code before they return. Now is the time to review dress expectations or create new ones if you feel your company culture has shifted.

 

Prioritize Personal Space

Personal space has always been important, but even more so since COVID. Employers should do what they can to ensure the workplace follows socially distancing guidelines, like moving desks further apart and organizing chairs in meetings so that they’re spaced out. Also, be sure to encourage employees to respect personal space and social distance. You can even try to develop a color-code system so that employees can signal how comfortable they are with physical contact.

 

Focus on Health

One of the biggest things employers should address about workplace etiquette is sickness. Employees are more concerned than ever about ill co-workers coming in at this time. Make sure you have clear guidelines on what they should do about physical health. It’s also important for your company to review and possibly revamp its sick policy. While it might have been okay for workers to come in and work while sick in the past, that isn’t acceptable anymore. Employees who are sniffling, have a fever, or have other contagious symptoms should stay home. The good news is that workers showed they can work from home effectively, so there are options!

 

Remember how to Socialize

It’s been so long since co-workers interacted with each other in person, many of them are probably out of practice. Consider hosting a social event prior to bringing everyone back into the office. This will give them a chance to reconnect without distracting them from work and give them a chance to remember how to socialize in a professional environment.

 

Establish Conversation No-Nos

Some things haven’t changed when it comes to the workplace. Certain subjects still aren’t good for work time discussions. Employers might not want to ban conversation, but it’s still good to remind employees that it’s unprofessional to discuss things like religion, money, sex, and politics while on the clock. That also goes for COVID-19. Opinions about origins, vaccinations, statistics, and others might cause rifts. Companies should be open to discussing employee concerns about working with unvaccinated co-workers and other health and safety guidelines.

 

If you’re looking for more employment tips or need to hire new staff, contact Nova Staffing today! Our team of staffing experts has over 200 years of combined industry experience and is here to help.