A Guide for Human Resource Professionals | Page 29

A GUIDE FOR HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONALS | 2 9 W hen it comes to employee recruitment and retention, Winnipeg-based Canadian Footwear is doing it right. The company has made a concerted effort to make sure its employees fit the company as much as the company fits the employee. It starts with the diversity of its workforce. The company has staff of all ages, from students to seniors, all working collaboratively. The mix of employees, some working part or full time, has been great for business, says president and principle owner Brian Scharfstein. Employees with considerable life and work experience add so much value to the company, he says. “We get people who have the life experience — whether the background is in business or administration or even technical — and that experience brings us that comfort level of knowing they’ve seen it and done it.” “(This) blend (of staff) is extremely advantageous to us as a retailer for our kind of business because everyone can learn from each other. And in a team environment, this multi-generation (workforce) has turned out to be a real asset for us.” Canadian Footwear is also as flexible as the footwear it sells when it comes to employee scheduling. Scharfstein’s experienced workforce doesn’t want 40-hour work weeks since many of those coming on board are fresh out of longtime jobs. Many are also looking for a position that affords a more reasonable work-life ba