Do you discuss P&L, profitability, financial goals, and overall business operating expenses with your employees?

There's a noticeable disconnect that exists between businesses, employees, and job seekers. From a job seeker's perspective, one of the most significant gaps I've uncovered is a complete lack of understanding of the cost of doing business.

In a recent survey I conducted, the overwhelming majority of entry-level job seekers had no idea about the employer's costs, including CPP, EI, WCB, vacation pay, and all other employer expenses from a hard cost perspective. This ignorance extends to the soft costs of training, onboarding, setting up technology, lost opportunity costs, benefits, sick pay, bereavement leave, and other employer-mandated expenses.

For employees earning between $20 and $25 per hour, it was clear that most believed the cost to the employer was directly correlated with their pay rate—$20 to $25 per hour.

Challenges for Employers and Job Seekers:

The ongoing push for increases to minimum wage and lower barriers to entry for employment, coupled with the ease for job seekers to apply in high volumes, has exacerbated challenges on both sides. Employers are forced to develop deeper interview processes to ensure they are hiring suitable and qualified candidates, considering the operating expenses involved. This compounds the challenges faced by the average job seeker, who faces increased competition and often fails to understand that they need to apply to jobs for which they are directly qualified.

Understanding Employment's True Purpose:

Furthermore, the average job-seeker does not seem to grasp why employment exists in the first place. Businesses hire people to solve problems profitably, which means understanding the cost of employment and how directly you affect the business’s profitability when applying. This ties into the overall mutual understanding of fit within the position.

Educating Job Seekers on Employment Costs:

Job seekers, students, or employees unaware of these true costs are creating a divide, making it the employer's responsibility to at least inform their employees. It may not be reasonable to inform the average job seeker. I'm curious how managers or businesses out there have helped their people or teams understand how the business works, how it becomes profitable, and how these costs directly tie into your ability to bring on new team members.

Who is Responsible for Educating Job Seekers?

Ultimately, who is responsible for educating the job seeker, which will aid them in their search? Is it the public school system, universities, the government, or is it ultimately the business's job to educate and inform job seekers to ensure their expectations are mutually aligned? There is a discernible gap, and in my opinion, this is the foundation of it.