Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR March 9, 2015 2 News Recent stories posted on www.hrreporter.com. Check the website daily for quick news hits from across Canada and around the world. web O n t h e Across cANAdA New wrinkle in Tory plan to fast- track veterans into civil service differences in pension calculations creates 'significant barrier' for ex-soldiers: Former captain CN Rail, Unifor reach agreement to avert lockout of 4,800 hundred workers details of agreement to be disclosed after ratification Ontario should regulate private safety industry after training death: NDP Legislative gaps exposing workers to unnecessary risk RCMP lays fraud, corruption charges against SNC Lavalin, subsidiaries alleged to have paid $47.7 million to public officials Ontario pension plan could cost jobs, hurt economy: Survey Business group touts pooled registered pension plans ArouNd the world Church of England accused of double standards over low wages Some cathedral jobs pay below living wage: newspaper reports Sweden ends job program accused of recruiting militants introduced in 2010 to address high unemployment among immigrants Wal-Mart wage hike seen pressuring Target, fast-food Company boosting its minimum wage to US$9 this year Court ruling opens door for without-cause dismissal under Canada Labour Code Wilson v. atomic energy of Canada ruling overturns 40 years of arbitral law and says federally regulated employers may dismiss employees without cause. anastasiya Jogal reports. hrreporter.com Featured Video No one ever expects to have cancer. When it strikes, having CAREpath as part of your benefit package shows your employees and their families how much you really care. Employees diagnosed with cancer are assigned a personal oncology nurse providing guidance and support throughout every stage of their cancer journey. CAREpath is the only complete cancer navigation provider in Canada. No one ever expects to have cancer. cancer? Does one of your employees have We'll be there. 1-866-599-2720 www.carepath.ca THE CANCER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Anita McGowan, RN, CON(C), OCN Head Oncology Nurse Manager engagement, strategy and a seat at the table HRPA survey identifies most pressing concerns of senior HR leaders By Liz BeRnieR When it comes to creating and maintaining employee engage- ment, it doesn't matter how senior you are in human resources or how much experience you have. Entry level or CHRO, employee engagement is a challenge for ev- ery HR professional. But senior-level HR profession- als have additional challenges on their plates as well — pressing, complex issues such as strategy, business acumen and getting a seat at the senior management table. ose were among the findings of a survey of 24 senior HR lead- ers from large, medium and small organizations from a broad range of industries. "ose HR professionals were defined as 15-plus years' experi- ence, at a director level and above," said Anne Bloom, vice-chair of the Human Resources Profession- als Association (HRPA) Toronto Chapter's Senior Leadership En- gagement Committee, which con- ducted the survey in partnership with BizLife Solutions. "What we were looking for was what are some of the successes, some of the challenges, as it re- lates to the day-to-day care and feed of your employees — not only the HR employees but also all em- ployees within the organization." It was very clear, right across the board, that the majority of HR professionals have the same pain points and the same successes, said Bloom. "But what became very, very clear was the number one chal- lenge for HR professionals was all around the employee life cycle. And that sort of examines em- ployee engagement, recruitment, employee retention and succes- sion planning, including perfor- mance management," she said. "at goes back to a lot of the things that we are all feeling in the marketplace today." Employee life cycle e survey used Likert scale ques- tions to rank different issues in or- der of their importance to senior HR leaders. Those issues were divided into four categories: employee life cycle, performance manage- ment, employee relations/em- ployee wellness and operations management. Employee engagement stood out as the most important issue, found the survey. And that result was not a surprise to Rita Price, a senior human resources executive who has worked as the vice-pres- ident of HR for Flight Network. "Absolutely, (engagement) is the most important. Engagement triggers everything from produc- tivity to performance to atten- dance — everything," she said. HR has already focused quite a bit on employee disengagement and presenteeism, said Leesa Fer- nandez, a senior human resources leader who has worked as an HR director at Home Depot Canada and Unilever. But true engage- ment is about engaging the whole person — making sure employees can bring their whole selves to the workplace, she said. "When I was at Home Depot, I did a lot on the diversity side and it was really about bringing your whole self to work. And I think that's part of it — you have to have something that resonates for you in what you're doing, not only in your current job but with the organization overall. And if you don't have that passion, then that's where the engagement seems to be falling off," she said. "It's not surprising, I think, (that) if you look at studies over the last 10 years, more successful employers tend to have employees that are more engaged." Training and development In terms of performance manage- ment, the most important issue was that of training and devel- opment, found the survey. It's a critical piece, but one where many organizations still miss the mark, said Fernandez. "I have yet to work with an or- ganization that does development really well with their employees. So everyone goes through the per- formance management cycle and they put together a development plan, but they don't always follow through because the development plan tends to sometimes be above and beyond what their regular jobs are," she said. "If they don't have that need or that want to continually be learn- ing, then it tends to fall off the map." As technology continues to advance, there are so many dif- ferent options for training and development that it doesn't nec- essarily have to mean a major commitment of time or money, said Sharon Coleman, director of human resources and administra- tion at Aylmer, Ont.-based IGPC Ethanol. "ere's so much variety right now with webinars… people can get a flavour of training and then you can decide if you're going to invest more in that individual development related to that," she said. And training and development links back into engagement, said Price. "Training and development is definitely important but I think it does go back to engagement," she said. "It makes (employees) more engaged, which makes them per- form — so it's just a circle." Employee relations, wellness Issues around employee relations and wellness were also discussed in the survey — and managing the different generations, dealing with mental wellness and addressing workplace bullying were among the top four issues. When it comes to managing an intergenerational workforce, it can be challenging to adjust to the different management styles each cohort wants and expects, said Price. Millennials in particular are a completely different generation in terms of what keeps them en- gaged, she said. "And a huge piece of HR mov- ing forward is keeping that group engaged and aligned because it is different than the traditional man- agement of employees." Mental health and bullying are both issues that are becoming in- creasingly prominent in the work- place, said Fernandez. "Bullying is an interesting one because I think that it can be so subtle that people don't even re- alize that they're being bullied. I think also companies have not taken the time to really develop their managers as to what is ap- propriate management and what deAliNg > pg. 10

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