Canadian HR Reporter - Sample Issue

CANADIAN HR REPORTER September 5, 2016 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 Ottawa looking for 'middle ground' in revamp of temporary foreign worker program Planning to present report in September Flight attendant suing WestJet says she feels validated by policy review Report makes five recommendations for improvements 'Barnyard' atmosphere cited as worker fired for sexual harassment reinstated Probation officer hung out in his office in boxer shorts Employer fined $125,000 in workplace violence case Two staff members hurt after youth attacked them at detention and custody unit Judge slams government for nixing woman's airport security clearance Airport worker lost job over 'sparse allegations' AROUND THE WORLD Ex-Wahlburgers employees sue, claiming denied wages and tips 5 workers allege 'rampant' violations of labour laws Abandoned in Saudi desert camps, migrant workers won't leave without pay Workers stranded for months in crowded dormitories with little money, food U.K. labour market shows little sign of immediate Brexit hit Number of people claiming unemployment falls in July Oil tanker stolen in employee dispute Ship carrying diesel with an estimated value of $390,000 Sugar tax could cost 60,000 jobs in South Africa Coca-Cola chairman issues warning MIT, NYU, Yale sued over fees for employee retirement plans Millions of dollars involved Could Brexit whistle in the robots? Britain's move to leave the European Union could force manufacturers to boost their use of robots and automation, say experts hrreporter.com FEATURED VIDEO CCHRA signs memorandum of understanding with SHRM Looking at mutual recognition, shared access, content sharing BY SARAH DOBSON PROMISING it will benefit members and the HR profession overall, the Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA) has signed a memo- randum of understanding with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in the United States. The partnership came about after several discussions over the years, according to Anthony Ariganello, CEO of CCHRA in Vancouver. e two groups had talked about how it would be great if Canada and the U.S. actually led initiatives that other associations belonging to the World Federa- tion of People Management As- sociations (WFPMA) could really benefit from, he said. "For example, we don't really have any international HR stan- dards, every professional body does their own… and profession- als are not always regulated the same way internationally, either — Canada is probably the excep- tion. So… it'd be great if Canada and the U.S. really partnered on a number of areas — whether it's re- search, whether it's looking at do- ing some international standards — together that we can then offer up to other countries." For members, it's also impor- tant to demonstrate that function- al areas like HR, just like engineers and accountants, have alliances with likeminded bodies and, in this case, the U.S. is very similar to Canada, said Ariganello. And it's important to demonstrate that to stakeholders, including govern- ment, he said. "HR can influence government in a number of areas, especially when it comes to labour and spe- cific tax measures that govern- ments introduce on an annual basis. I think HR should be at the table and when they see that you have partnerships and that you are able to influence agendas world- wide, that's key, that helps you." SHRM has been working with CCHRA for a number of years and it's been a great relationship, so they wanted to have a more formal agreement, said Robert Garcia, vice-president of global operations at SHRM in Alexan- dria, Va. "This is a good way for our members to take advantage of many of the things that they do… we share best practices through- out the world, this is a way to learn more about Canadian practices that could potentially be benefi- cial to our members in the U.S. and the rest of the world." It's important for SHRM to have good relationships with oth- er groups, he said. "We rely on sister organizations to provide us with resources and information about local labour laws and employment practices… that's information that is vital to our members, particularly if they work for a country where employ- ees are in a variety of countries." In his travels and interactions with HR professionals, Garcia said it's become apparent that the opportunities and challenges they face are very similar, such as recruiting and retaining the best talent, dealing with the skills gap, becoming strategic, streamlin- ing operations and technological changes. "A lot of these trends occur in North America but a lot of them come from other parts of the world where they embrace these trends quicker than us, and a lot of things start here but they de- velop quicker outside of the U.S. or North America, so it's (about) sharing those ideas and best practices." e CCHRA-SHRM partner- ship is an exciting development, according to Melanie Peacock, associate professor at the Bis- sett School of Business at Mount Royal University in Calgary. It's not only about networking and pooled resources, but learning from any differences between the two countries, she said. "We're looking for ways to en- hance our network, to enhance ways to have access to knowledge and current information and re- search, and it's just great to be able to learn from other person's perspectives. "Even if there are legislative requirements or differences, the more we think about it and talk about it, the more we become analytical and… (use) critical thinking of our own practices, so it's just an amazing opportunity… more and more members want this, they want to work together as opposed to against one another." And the more designations and organizations are recognized, par- ticularly across borders, "the more credibility and rigour it brings to a profession," said Peacock. "When we look at what's hap- pening in every other profession, it's all about collaboration and working together and taking ad- vantage and not reinventing the wheel and duplicating efforts." Areas of focus SHRM and CCHRA have agreed "to work together on key priori- ties that affect HR practitioners and the profession across North America and around the world." eir agreement identified initial areas where the organizations see value in collaboration, such as fur- ther alignment and mutual recog- nition of CCHRA and SHRM cre- dentials and certifications. "We've agreed to look at the certification processes for both organizations to see whether there is substantial equivalents, and then to move forward from there," said Ariganello. ere are lots of governments or countries creating their own certification, so certification is growing on a global basis, said Garcia, citing SHRM's compe- tency model, based on a survey of more than 32,000 individuals from around the world. e agreement could also in- volve joint research, professional development programs, shared access to member benefits and information and content sharing. "Both bodies have certainly really well-done professional de- velopment coursework so that's another area where our members can benefit by having access to those resources, either at a lower cost or even to have access to them, as a whole," said Ariganello. Knowledge sharing and profes- sional development programs are key, said Peacock. "That's powerful, and that even speaks to (the) 'Disrupt HR' CERC > pg. 8 Anthony Ariganello, CEO of CCHRA

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