While high-speed rail could make Ottawa more of an economic hub, experts say that local businesses will need to be ready for increased competition for talent. Martin Imbleau, CEO of Alto, the Crown corporation responsible for the rail line that would connect Toronto and Quebec City, recently said at a business event that high-speed rail […]
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While high-speed rail could make Ottawa more of an economic hub, experts say that local businesses will need to be ready for increased competition for talent.
Martin Imbleau, CEO of Alto, the Crown corporation responsible for the rail line that would connect Toronto and Quebec City, recently said at a business event that high-speed rail would improve productivity and allow Ottawa companies to broaden their talent pools.
In an interview with OBJ, Ryan Malmberg, venture talent manager at Invest Ottawa, agreed, saying the rail line will put Ottawa between Toronto and Montreal and thereby allow it to broaden its talent pool to two of the country’s most populous cities. It might also allow employers and employees to be more selective, perhaps leading to greater productivity, he added.
“The talent pool gets bigger, but the competition for talent does as well. It (will) also allow people to hopefully work in their best, highest-skilled area. People have the opportunity to work in the niches that they are specialists in,” he said.
Having a greater choice of where to work might make for a more engaged workforce, Malmberg argued, a win-win situation for employers and employees.
“If people are more engaged in their roles, they’re able to provide more value. You would hope that engagement level can increase such that maybe retention could increase if people are in truly satisfying and engaging jobs.”
When asked if local businesses should be concerned about Ottawa-based talent having access to more cities for work, Malmberg said it’s no different than what happens now.
“Any of those concerns are valid, but the solution to them is no different than retaining their current teams against the existing competition for talent,” he said.
The high-speed rail line could help employees and employers establish a “try-before-you-buy” approach, where someone could commute to another city before deciding whether to relocate.
“It’s an opportunity for both the company and the (employee) to make sure they were a really strong match before this person uprooted their family and relocated,” he said.
With Ottawa midway between Toronto and Montreal, Malmberg said the city is uniquely positioned as a place where founders could headquarter their businesses. “I think it makes Ottawa a more desirable connector along this corridor for talent. It may reduce the need for a second office.”
If the seven cities along the rail line became one big economic hub, Malmberg said it would give Canada a competitive edge over global counterparts. “It raises the bar for the whole corridor and for Canadian innovation,” he said.
Jesika Arseneau, founder of Ottawa HR firm Forge & Haven, said the high-speed rail project will enable local workplaces to attract more talent, especially in the tech sector.
“I think it means (the job market) is going to be a lot more competitive in some aspects to try and retain some talent, but I think it shows us huge opportunities to grow and further develop our city,” Arseneau told OBJ.
Improved connections between cities along the Toronto-Quebec City corridor might also allow workplaces to shift back to more hybrid work models, Arseneau said.
“During the pandemic, we saw the overwhelming shift to remote work. Now (there is) demand to go back on-site and then I think we’re going to settle at a nice midpoint of hybrid work that gives people the flexibility for purposeful collaboration but still sometimes work from home.”
While more people from other cities might look to find work in Ottawa, more Ottawans might look beyond city limits for their next work opportunity, Arseneau said, and so local businesses will need to evaluate their employee retention strategies.
“Start thinking about how companies are strengthening their employer branding. Do they have strong employee value propositions? How are they investing in their team and leadership?
“Now is the time to start planning and developing employer branding and actioning it so that businesses are prepared when this becomes live. I think there may be concerns for smaller businesses in order to be competitive, especially when competing with salaries in cities like Toronto, but if we’re investing in culture, I think that’s going to matter so much more than commute time or salary numbers,” she said.
Karen Craft, CEO of Ottawa’s iHR Advisory services and CraftXecs, said high-speed rail will allow “Ottawa businesses and residents to access more employment opportunities in ways they couldn’t before.”
By connecting Ottawa with cities like Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City, workplaces in the capital might see a greater number of bilingual candidates.
“It’s really difficult to find bilingual candidates. The pool is small here in Ottawa because we have the federal government as a key competitor for small and medium-sized businesses. If we open a pipeline to Montreal and it’s really fast and easy to get to and from, these small businesses (will be able) to compete for the talent they otherwise couldn’t compete for.”
Craft added that the rail project might encourage more in-person work, such as mentoring.
“If we have high-speed rail, then we have more opportunities for people to create in-person connections for the purpose of mentoring, but also (for) business meetings … There is no better way to increase your sales revenue than to have deepened professional partnerships with the people in your network,” she said.
While there is a possibility that high-speed rail will encourage more Ottawans to look for work elsewhere, Craft said she isn’t worried.
“I think the benefits far outweigh the challenges. Ottawa businesses are incredibly resourceful and they figure out how to overcome those challenges. We’ve got an incredible tech industry and they’re always looking for more people,” she said.
That being said, Craft said local businesses will need to hone in on what makes them great in order to continue to attract and retain talent.
“We can’t rely on being in a big city. We’re a big little city with incredibly wonderful workplace cultures. If we continue to work on healthy workplace cultures and maintain that as a value proposition, I think that’ll give us some serious advantages,” she said, adding that some businesses may look to invest in Ottawa by opening a regional office.
However, not all experts are on board with the new rail project. Ian Lee, associate professor at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business, is skeptical the proposed project will succeed.
With more work happening remotely, he said he doesn’t believe greater connections between cities will affect the job market or economic development in Ottawa.
“If you’d asked me 100 years ago, maybe. But now we’re in this digital economy where … digital communications are becoming more and more important … People aren’t going to commute. If they’re going to go to Toronto because there’s a better job offer, they’re going to go whether there’s a rail link or not,” he said.
