B.C. companies offer big signing bonuses amid tight labour market

A number of B.C. employers are offering signing bonuses, sometimes in the thousands of dollars, to try to entice new hires. It’s a sign of the times, as many industries face a labour shortage ahead of busy summer months.

“We have been recruiting very hard over the past little while, but we do still need to hire some more people — captains, chief engineers, chief officers, those type of positions,” explained Deborah Marshall, a spokesperson for BC Ferries.

“We have decided a signing bonus to try to encourage people to come join our team,” Marshall added, noting BC Ferries is offering $10,000 for some postings. “It would be $5,000 after successful completion of their probationary period and then it would be another $5,000 after one year of working with us.”

Marshall notes BC Ferries is still looking to hire about 120 people in a variety of roles, adding, “We wanted to offer this recruitment bonus to try to encourage people in some of these particular skilled positions to come work with us.”

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The company is just one of many turning to this kind of incentive in an effort to increase staffing levels.

“For qualified conductors, CP is offering hiring bonuses anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000,” said Salem Woodrow, media relations manager for Canadian Pacific Railway (CP Rail).

Rhys Giannarelli, owner of Point Grey and Fraserview Veterinary Hospitals, says while he doesn’t have trouble finding support staff, vets are a different story.

He’s offering a significant signing bonus for the right person — up to $50,000.

“Vets are very hard to find and because they’re in high demand, it’s now about finding creative ways to attract talent. It’s just the norm now, it’s not about here’s a straight salary. We have to be creative in how we put together a package — and the package can be made up of many different things, many different signing bonuses, or retention bonuses, or relocation bonuses,” explained Giannarelli.

A job search online shows employers aren’t even just offering bonuses for highly skilled positions. Chuck E. Cheese in Langley currently has a $200 incentives for some openings.

“Providing some extra monetary reward upfront is one thing that employers can do, of course, to try and attract that talent,” Sylvia Fuller, a sociology professor at UBC, told CityNews.

“A sign-up bonus is one tool in the employer toolkit when you have a tight labour market, which we have right now. We have very low unemployment rates at the moment, so that gives workers a fair amount of choice in terms of what they might be looking for in employment.”

From people battling long-COVID to workers being hesitant to get back to pre-pandemic normal, Fuller believes the pandemic is the main cause behind this labour shortage.

“When you have a significant share of the labour force that has become disabled, that has become very ill, initially, some of whom have died in this province and elsewhere, and many are facing ongoing disruption around their children and their care responsibilities,” she added.

Nurse Next Door says it’s always offered a signing bonus to nurses and caregivers. However, the current market has forced the company to bump its offers up, among other things.

“Our hourly rates have increased substantially, our mileage, our health-care benefits — so it’s a full package. Being able to offer full-time hours,” said Veronica Tissera, VP of client experience with the company.