A lot has changed since Brad Bouchard moved to Penticton two years ago with his family of four. As a recruiter, he has seen the world take a seismic shift toward remote working. Still to this day, the majority of his clients continue to hire employees to work from home.
But is this trend set to continue? Or will businesses start clawing back their employees to the office? As someone who regularly deals with employers on the hut for skilled personnel, we picked Brad’s brain to find out more about what the future of remote working might look like here in British Columbia.
About moving to Penticton
Ever since Brad’s move to Penticton, he has been fielding questions from others eager to follow in his footsteps.
The recruiter with TEEMA Recruitment agency bases his work out of Penticton, having previously lived in Langley, commuting two hours a day to and from Vancouver. This has proved to be a great decision for his family, including kids ages five and nine.
“When I first moved up here, I loved it so much, people were calling me and asking how we did it. How did we escape? There wasn’t much remote work available at the time, but this past year, it has grown exponentially,” he said.
What is the future of remote work in B.C.?
“For whatever reason, pre-pandemic, Vancouver was well behind in offering remote work. Many organizations were forced into this, whether they were ready for it or not. By and large, the feedback is that everyone has been pleasantly surprised in terms of productivity and engagement, so I expect this trend to continue,” said Bouchard.
“By and large, what most of my clients are talking about, is the new normal may be a hybrid – one or two days in the office, hot desking – plugging in and off you go.”
Bouchard focuses on recruiting technology professionals for all businesses, from software companies to crown corporations, banks, manufacturing, or any organization that has a need for technology. Even today, he says most are working entirely remotely.
“A lot of folks are in ‘wait and see’ mode,” he said. While there may be some companies that will say they want everybody back in the office two days a week, employees in high demand will be the ones calling many of the shots when it comes to the future of remote working.
There’s such a high demand and low supply for good tech talent in Vancouver right now. I think because of that supply-demand issue, employees hold a lot of the cards,” said Brad, adding that those who have grown used to their newfound freedoms may leverage a “take it or leave it” proposition.
“There could be some push-pull. In the six months after it’s safe to go back to the office, you’ll start to see that shuffle of folks leaving town,” he said.
Why are people leaving Vancouver?
“I think it’s the pace, for me. When I started to do the math of my drive from downtown Langley to Vancouver every day, it was a full extra work week stuck behind a sheet of glass in traffic. That’s what it came down to for us – time. We have everything we need here in town, 10 minutes away,” he said.
“When we moved here, we thought we would be homesick, but we haven’t looked back. Now I have flashbacks of sitting in traffic. It’s such as more stress-free existence up here.”
Are you in the tech industry, looking for a new job? Feel free to contact Brad.
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