Collage HR Trends for Q2 2025:

Evolving strategy, changing job market, and HR platforms taking heat

Jun 2, 2025

Table of Contents

This quarter is moving fast and change seems to be the only constant, with companies across Canada doing their best to adapt. Let’s jump in!

1. Evolving business and people strategy - how do we adapt?

Q1 felt like a shock to the system. Q2 has been about adjusting and adapting, with a lot of unknowns. The most impacted are organizations that are buying or selling in the US. However, every organization has looked to identify opportunities to be better in either growing revenue or, more frequently, reducing costs. Some took drastic measures. Most are not making the headlines and it is often the negative news that does.

Hudson’s Bay has been in crisis for some time. Its brand and intellectual property is being acquired by Canadian Tire. Shopify continues to do what Shopify does, in looking to save its merchants time and this time with an AI powered store builder. TD is laying off 2% of its staff while committing to larger AI investments. CRA is laying off almost 300 permanent roles while Canada Post is trying to figure out a path forward. Windsor and Oshawa are cities that are significantly impacted by tariffs on the auto industry, with over 5,000 job losses between GM and Stellantis.

Almost every company I speak to is assessing its options and opportunities.

Our Recommendation: too often, HR teams are only brought in to execute on the plan. As an HR leader, get involved early and contribute to the business and people strategy. Part of what leadership teams struggle with is company communication. Be as transparent as you can be about the business results and assessments. You can’t share everything but people appreciate some visibility on the business results or impact. With no communication, people often assume the worst.

2. Changing job market - is demand growing or is supply shrinking?

New candidates are hitting the market as a result of layoffs. Unemployment in Canada grew to 6.9% in April and would have been higher without temporary election hiring. Some cities are more impacted than others, with Windsor at 10.7%. A lot of these roles are not coming back in their current form.

At the same time, hiring is not picking up. This was already a trend in Q1. Given these dynamics, many who are currently employed are satisfied with their job stability and are not looking to leave.

A lot of leaders are tasked with increasing (or not decreasing) output with less people. They are focusing on the most important areas and often improving team performance.

Our Recommendation: growing the team is out of the question for most companies at this time. With that in mind, spend time with your leaders to help them improve performance and focus on the most impactful efforts. Look to energize your team. Recognize your top performers and get them excited about the future.

3. HR platforms taking heat - who said HR software is boring?

HR software has been making the news for the wrong reasons. Workday, who is often positioned as a villain, is facing a discrimination lawsuit. The collective action suit claims that its algorithms discriminate against those over the age of 40. We considered an AI algorithm for our applicant tracking system (ATS) at Collage but refrained from pursuing it given its unknown biases. It will be very interesting to see this lawsuit play out and potentially set a precedent for AI bias in the US legal system.

Rippling and Deel were never seen as friends but their relationship recently took a negative legal turn with Rippling suing Deel for spying, resulting in a countersuit. That legal battle is not likely to end soon. These are HR software companies but they are also US based unicorns valued at billions of dollars, which drives some competitive behaviour.

Our Recommendation: buy Canadian and use Collage as your HR and payroll platform. Ok, we are biased 😀 However, we have seen a lot more organizations move to Collage for a better experience and dollar savings.