Mobile personal devices welcome in Canadian companies
According to the latest Robert Half Technology survey, close to half (49%) of Canadian Information Officers allow their employees to have access to company networks from their personal electronic devices. And firms are making the effort to adapt to the wishes of their employees to use their own tablets or other smartphones by managing the security risks and logistical challenges that this represents. The trend will soon take a turn, according to Robert Half Technology. Companies are planning to develop suitable professional mobile solutions and to offer the best possible management in this area. This would allow employees to work with advanced technological devices and also use them personally.
Competition is not a priority for Canadian companies
Foreign competition is the primary concern for businesses worldwide, according to the recent study published by McKinsey Global. On the other hand, Canadian firms give much less importance to it since they only rank it at eleventh place in their challenges for the years to come. Their main concerns? Costs of logistics and transport and the increasing requirements of policies and laws, according to a joint study by Grand Toy and Léger Marketing. For their part, the experts estimate that the pressure of international competition, geopolitical instability and the international labour market are the main challenges that companies will face in the coming years.
Technical problems: main source of job dissatisfaction
A study conducted by Toshiba Canada notes that technical malfunctions are the main source of complaints at the office as they are at the top for 40% of 1000 Canadians surveyed. A computer that doesn’t work, a printer that refuses to print or an overhead projector that is acting up… Every employee is faced with this at least once in their career. But when these problems are multiplied, they have the ability to create more stress and reduce workers' productivity, the study found. Another item learned – tablet users are more stressed. 86% of them have experienced stress at work, compared to 68% of laptop users and 57% of desktop users.
Protection of personal information: more effort needed
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada (PCC) has just published the results of a survey pointing up shortcomings of Canadian companies in protection of digitally stored personal information. While many companies store data on computers or servers, many of them do not use technologies adequately (passwords, encryption, firewalls). To remedy this, the PCC provides a few tips: ensure that passwords are difficult to guess, change them regularly, use encryption to protect information stored on USB sticks or tablets. According to the survey, protection of privacy is seen as a major concern for 77% of companies surveyed.
Canadian financial officers are confident in their economy
Financial Officers of intermediate companies (metals, agribusiness, food and beverages, trucking) appear optimistic about the state of their industries and the national economy. The study conducted by GE Capital Canada shows that 40% of 186 financial officers surveyed expect their business to grow over the next 12 months. However, they are not as confident about the world economy. Their biggest concerns are about the health of the American economy, cited by 36% of respondents, and fiscal conditions in Europe, cited by 19% of them. Regarding recruitment in the sector, 63% of financial officers have already hired new employees in 2012 and 76% plan to do so over the next 12 months.
New employment site for the oil and gas industry
The Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada has recently upgraded the website that it has been developing since 2007, Careers in Oil and Gas, with a job offers section. This service complements the site's resources, which provides information on the oil and gas industry and career opportunities.
The employment site now lets candidates view offers in the industry, create alerts and a personal space, apply online, share offers on social networks, etc. Development of this new service comes at a critical time for the industry which is currently experiencing a severe shortage in qualified candidates.