How does Oberson retain millennials?

Through a coherent set of levers rather than a single perk: flexibility and respect for scheduling requests, team activities anchored in a passion for sport, ongoing training, group insurance and transparent communication of results. According to management, it is above all the atmosphere, teamwork and respect that make the difference.

What results has Oberson achieved?

Oberson's public source does not publish a quantified measure of retention or engagement. The results are therefore qualitative: loyalty counted in years (three employees with more than twenty-four years of tenure, several others for fifteen years and more) and about ten jobs created by the shift to e-commerce.

Why are millennials harder to retain?

In a job market that favours them, Generation Y compares and chooses. Pay is no longer enough: they look for meaning, flexibility, recognition and a healthy atmosphere. The organizations that succeed in retaining them are those that offer a consistent job experience, day after day.

How does Amélio help engage a team?

Amélio is an organizational intelligence platform. It listens to your teams continuously, draws on the scientific Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R), and translates what they experience into two or three concrete action levers. This way you know where to act first, instead of guessing.

Is this approach suitable for a small or medium-sized business?

Yes. A company like Oberson, which ranges from a few dozen to 120 people depending on the season, shows that engagement is not a matter of size, but of consistency. Amélio adapts to seasonal realities and to teams spread across several locations.

Customer story · Oberson

Oberson: recruiting, retaining and engaging millennials

How a family-owned sports retailer keeps its people, attracts Generation Y and builds a sense of belonging, in the midst of a labour shortage.

The essentials

At Oberson, a sports retailer based in Laval and Brossard, recruiting and retaining millennials is a daily challenge in a context of labour shortage.
The answer is not a single perk, but a coherent whole: atmosphere, flexible scheduling, team activities, ongoing training and transparent communication.
The result shows in the longevity of relationships: employees who have been there for fifteen years and more, and managers who talk about atmosphere and respect before they talk about pay.
Amélio's organizational intelligence turns these sound instincts into measurable levers: knowing where to act this week, rather than guessing.

Creativity and imagination. These two words guide retail employers who try everything to hold on to millennials, who are heavily courted by competitors. There is one figure that Daniel L'Écuyer, vice-president of Oberson, knows all too well: out of three people who qualify for an interview, two will not show up, and will not even bother to call to explain their absence. This is the daily reality of retail recruiting, where the labour shortage hits hard and Generation Y is spoiled for choice.

Oberson is a family business founded by Maurice Oberson, now led by his daughter Alexandra and a team that grows to as many as 120 people at peak season, across the Laval and Brossard locations. A month before the holidays, having staff on the floor is critical, because good service often ends in a sale. "When the economy is doing well, you need good employees to serve people," says the vice-president. Skis in winter, bikes in summer: a passionate but seasonal business that must constantly attract, train and keep its people.

So the real question is not only "how do we recruit?", but "how do we make people want to stay?". And Oberson's answer is nothing flashy. It is an accumulation of consistent, repeated gestures that eventually create a strong bond. To understand what nurtures that bond, our page on employer branding is a good starting point.

Team of smiling young professionals collaborating together around a work table

Context

A labour shortage in seasonal retail

A sports retailer with locations in Laval and Brossard, Oberson employs up to 120 people at peak season. The challenge: recruiting and retaining millennials when the job market is strongly in their favour. Out of three candidates invited in, two do not show up for the interview.

Action

A set of levers, not a single recipe

Oberson bets on quality of work life: flexibility and respect for scheduling requests, team activities built around a shared passion for sport (ski outings in winter, mountain biking at Bromont in summer), an annual trip draw, group insurance, and a two-month initial training followed by ongoing training every year.

The company also shares its business results transparently, so everyone understands where things are heading, and takes part in the Laval Chamber of Commerce networking scene.

Result

Relationships that last, measured in years

Without published turnover targets, the result shows in loyalty: three employees each have more than twenty-four years of tenure, several others have been there for at least fifteen years, and the shift to e-commerce created about ten jobs. Among managers, it is atmosphere, teamwork and respect that come up first as the explanation.

Qualitative result: Oberson's public source does not provide a quantified measure of retention or engagement.

"It is the atmosphere, the teamwork and the respect between managers and employees that make the difference."

Daniel L'ÉcuyerVice-president, Oberson

Selling the job

Recruiting is the challenge of the moment, and the balance of power has shifted. "Today, the employer has to sell the job and create a really engaging workplace where people feel involved and motivated," notes Daniel L'Écuyer. That inevitably comes down to quality of life: few people want to work more than 40 hours a week. Employers have to show great flexibility toward the requests of millennials, who want to protect their social life and enjoy their Friday night.

The same reasoning applies to hiring young mothers. "They are ready to offer 28 to 30 hours a week. As a result, that requires more staff. I have to hire two additional part-time people," explains Mr. L'Écuyer. Flexibility comes with an organizational cost, but it is the price of a stable team.

Networking as a recruiting source

Involved in the Laval Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Daniel L'Écuyer has turned networking into a genuine recruiting source. "Some pool and spa businesses are busy in the summer and have to slow down hiring in the winter, and for us it is the opposite," he explains. These exchanges between business owners partly solve the current labour shortage.

3 employees

Came from Trevi last year, thanks to networking between retailers with opposite seasons. When the neighbour slows down in winter, Oberson is hiring.

Source: Oberson

Retention through atmosphere and passion

Many of the staff at the Brossard and Laval locations are cycling and skiing enthusiasts. They are offered team activities that extend that passion: in winter, trying out new pairs of skis on different mountains; in summer, a getaway to Bromont to test the latest mountain bikes. Every year, the staff's dedication is rewarded with a draw for trips to the Alps, Whistler, Banff or the Chic-Chocs. When they get back, these lucky winners share their experience in Oberson's magazine.

Add to that a benefits program and group insurance. But for management, the heart of it lies elsewhere. "We also keep them thanks to our benefits program, including group insurance, but I think it is the atmosphere, the teamwork and the respect between managers and employees that make the difference," believes Daniel L'Écuyer, who this coming August will celebrate 30 years with the company founded by Maurice Oberson.

A sense of belonging

At Oberson, three employees have more than 24 years of experience. That is the case for Alexis Charlebois-Laurin, who started working part-time as a teenager. A computing enthusiast, he was the one who suggested developing the website for online sales. Visionaries that they are, Daniel L'Écuyer and Alexandra Oberson, the founder's daughter, invested $250,000 to build an appealing website, recognized for the excellence of its people-focused service. Alexis's idea made it possible to create about ten jobs.

"Several of my colleagues have been here for at least 15 years. We feel a sense of belonging to the company because our employers keep us informed: here is where we are, and here is where we are heading."

Alexis Charlebois-LaurinManager of the e-commerce site, Oberson

No room for secrecy or evasion: sales results are shared with full transparency. Everyone knows where the company is heading, and why. It is this sharing, as much as the perks, that nurtures the sense of belonging.

Training, year after year

Once inside the company, employees work together in a team spirit. "It is part of our values, our culture. We provide training that lasts about two months," says Mr. L'Écuyer. And the training never stops: even employees with 25 years of experience take part in this annual training. "You always learn something new, whether it is about how we think or about motivation," he adds.

The retail world is going through a deep period of change, both in human resources and in the digital shift. "You have to stay alert to change. Those who keep their eyes shut will not be able to get through the crisis," believes Oberson's vice-president.

Before, after

The common reflex

You recruit in a rush, as people leave.
You rely on pay to attract, then wonder why people go.
You "sense" the atmosphere without ever measuring it.
Good instincts stay locked in the heads of a few managers.

Oberson's approach

You build a consistent job experience, season after season.
You retain through atmosphere, meaning and flexibility.
You keep the bond alive through concrete, repeated gestures.
You share the results so everyone knows where things are heading.

24 years

The tenure held by each of three Oberson employees, in a sector known for high turnover. Here, loyalty is counted in decades.

Source: Oberson

You do not keep millennials with a single perk. You keep them with an experience: a stream of small signals that say, every day, "here, we see you, we listen to you, we trust you."

What Amélio changes for a company like Oberson

Oberson's story shows it: the right instincts already exist within the company. Managers know that atmosphere matters, that flexibility retains, that shared passion binds a team together. The challenge is not to find these answers, but to know where to act first, this week, rather than guessing.

That is exactly the role of Amélio's organizational intelligence. Rather than one more survey, Amélio listens to your teams continuously and translates what they are experiencing into two or three concrete levers a manager can act on right away. Our questions are grounded in the scientific Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R), which distinguishes what weighs on an employee from what supports them: every answer points to a specific action.

The return on effort is real. A disengaged employee who stays costs more than one who leaves, because they drag the others down without anyone seeing it coming. By making the invisible visible, Amélio lets HR turn recognition, listening and meaning into everyday actions, instead of merely running programs. And a year from now, you will no longer recognize your decisions: they will be based on what your people actually experience, not on a hunch.

750+

organizations use Amélio to engage and retain their teams.

+85%

average participation in initiatives run with Amélio: when you ask the right questions, people answer.

"Amélio brings credibility to the human resources department." Décathlon, an Amélio customer

From instinct to lasting transformation

Amélio is not a survey, nor one more report: it is a transformation that lasts. See how it can apply to your team.

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