Okanagan businesses invited to participate in employee study

Own a business in the Okanagan? If so, you’re invited to participate in an employee salary study.

Last week, Accelerate Okanagan launched its study, which is called workforce insights.

The goal, says the non-profit organization, is to gather data that will help local businesses improve their ability to attract and retain employees.

“Anyone who is interested in understanding how their salaries and compensation packages measure up is encouraged to participate,” said Accelerate Okanagan.

“In addition to compensation information from the Okanagan, the final report will have salary comparisons for key regions throughout Canada including Ottawa, Greater Toronto Area, Kitchener/Waterloo, Vancouver, and Vancouver Island.”

Accelerate Okanagan says participating in the study takes around 45 minutes, and that the data should be available this winter.

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“This data will also include information relevant to hiring co-op students and new graduates,” said Accelerate Okanagan.

“It’s important to recognize that competitive compensation doesn’t end with salaries. That’s why there will also be information related to vacation, wellness leave, pension, bonuses, stock options and more.”

2:51 Market and Business Report: Sept. 23, 2022

“Most of the companies here have an average of eight to 10 employees and a lot of the salary data available is for employers of 100 plus,” said Accelerate Okanagan CEO Brea Lake.

“We want to look at the data. Are we paying competitively and are we taking a cut to come here or are you able to have a living wage?”

The executive director of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce called the study important.

“The labour crunch is hitting every sector, so I think it’s important that the more people that participate, the more relevant the data is,” Rogers.

“It isn’t just for the tech sector. It’s being driven by Accelerate Okanagan, but I think it’s focused much more broadly on a variety of organizations, including some of those organizations in the non-profit sector.”

3:14 Market and Business Report: Sept. 20, 2022