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