what drives operational talent in canada?

In 2025, operational talent scarcity is loud and clear. Operational talent in Canada thoughtfully positions values they trust deeply above everything else. Employability, autonomy and well-being are increasingly becoming the central tenets of Canadian talent. Employer benchmark in the mind of Canadian operational talent is rising by the day.

Consider the case of employability. The ability to stay employable surfaces as one of the top priorities for operational talent in Canada. This is just a one-off data point. As you peel the onion, talent attraction and retention become increasingly delicate.

On the contrary, this workforce perspective presents a promising chance to cement trust and augment worker commitment. A safe foundation for your business growth story awaits you, with your workforce taking center stage.

Here’s a list of leading operational talent priorities that help you significantly upgrade your talent attraction and retention strategies.

1. pay tops the list for workers in Canada.

A comprehensive compensation framework holds the top spot for operational talent in Canada. Salary ranks highest in the minds of 59% of the operational workforce. However, there’s more beneath the surface.

Work-life balance, job security, structured training and a diverse set of co-workers stay at the forefront of the operational talent priorities in Canada. Your path forward, as an employer? Promoting a competitive compensation and benefits package, where work-life balance stands strong. Ensure a supportive workplace ecosystem with career advancement opportunities, where workers think of as their second home. Flexibility is next in line with schedules that give equal priority to your workforce’s personal priorities.

2. inflation stress grows in the Canadian operational talent.

It’s far from simple to thrive in today’s tough operational career landscape. When economic volatility becomes an additional bundle to deal with, the synergy presents unhinged hurdles. This reflects the reality of the impact rising inflation has on Canada’s operational talent.

Escalating living costs have pushed 28% of workers to switch jobs, citing low compensation as the central rationale. With work-life balance shaping up to become the subsequent factor behind this switching behavior, this thought style is worth your attention. What does this suggest? A fatal blend of employee priorities to employers across Canada.

If you fail to address these critical and just-in-time needs of today’s operational workforce, you may risk a significantly higher turnover rate, which will irreversibly shake the foundation of your engagement.

3. Canadian workforce won’t settle without career growth.

69% of operational talent in Canada prioritizes career progression. Furthermore, workers gravitate towards your brand if such a reskilling ecosystem exists in your organizational strategy. Operational talent in Canada strongly believes that employer-led reskilling is more than essential for career growth.

Additionally, workers are assertive about internal job switches, fueling their career advancement endeavors. Create clear career paths for all roles and departments. This exercise is no longer a choice, but an unavoidable imperative to draw in top-tier operational talent.

In addition, offer mentorship cohorts to your workers, which guide and support long-term career growth. Promote this in all your hiring drives. What does this bring to the table? A standout employer brand that supports worker priorities with a robust in-house reskilling ecosystem and talent that advocates for your business growth objectives.

4. AI is reshaping worker priorities.

AI is disrupting industries at scale. The winds of change are blowing and the operational talent landscape is on the brink of taking a new shape. One-fourth of Canada’s operational workers believe that AI will bring a big shift in their careers.

In addition to this, employers across Canada are not shielded from this volatile hiring landscape. As you present yourself with substantial hiring potential in this pool, take a step back and reconsider your preparation toward adopting AI in your business and recruitment strategies.

Create a sound training ecosystem encompassing AI and automation as key learning priorities. Communicate this initiative internally and through your recruitment drives. Moreover, educating operational talent on how AI will shape the operational talent markets will also help in structuring a supportive and worker-friendly employer brand.

5. purpose and positivity are your work site’s sweet spot.

There’s no going back if you strengthen your ‘workplace culture’ muscle. An unshakeable organizational culture is, really, a gold mine of business growth opportunities. How? When your work site functions on the foundation of positivity, your overall employee health index smiles back at you and fosters a robust base of commitment in the workforce.

Furthermore, putting emphasis on talent diversity can even shape tomorrow’s brand advocates. Brand advocacy, coming right from the heart of your organization, is no joke. Communicating your growth story through worker cohorts and internal communication channels makes your workers feel included.

Solidify workforce engagement rewarding high performers and nurturing an open conversation platform in-house. This approach brings you fruits to reap in the future. While you grow, your workers also grow and thus develop a strong affinity toward your brand, leadership and their co-workers. Eventually, you build a positive and inclusive organization driven by purpose, inclusion and diversity.

6. flexibility moves from perk to priority.

Flexible work schedules surfaced as a standout approach to make traditional work sites more supportive of operational talent. This deliberate flexibility shift combines predictable scheduling with worker shift preferences, paced across the week.

Where does this take your hiring strategy? A place where flexibility creates a new normal, so workers don’t have to leave their personal priorities in vain. Schedule flexibility once commanded a front row seat in your benefits package. Today, however, it keeps the crown in your business growth strategy.

Operational talent in Canada is more inclined to careers that offer them autonomy in choosing and altering their work schedules and believe that these improve their productivity, too. This holds true for your work site scene also. When you can nurture a flexible work culture in-house, your recruitment room opens doors for diverse operational talent in a much cost-effective reality.

How does championing autonomy benefit your workforce? Flexible work schedules allow workers to split their work weeks between heavy and light work days, thus welcoming a broad range of working styles. Ultimately, by enabling your workforce to design their own work week, you’re equipped with high availability and a more committed workforce.

let randstad guide your operational talent strategy.

Attracting high-caliber operational talent in Canada will always remain a challenge. But with Randstad’s expertise in the recruitment landscape, your hiring teams are no longer in the dark. Shifting project demands, worker priorities and economic uncertainty may well be a few giant rocks along your way to finding and nurturing an exceptional workforce. Randstad’s strategic partnership, however, equips you to navigate today’s complex talent ecosystem with information, precision and accuracy.

Start a conversation with our talent experts and device a recruitment strategy that sets your employer brand apart.