Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER SEPTEMBER 2018 24 FEATURES CORPORATE CULTURE Maintaining a startup culture of innovation, transparency Software company focuses on entrepreneurial qualities in recruitment, recognition By Kathy Enros C ulture in the workplace isn't something you can touch or feel. It isn't ping- pong tables, beer on tap or co- lourful meeting pods. Instead, it's an intrinsic ecosystem, the backbone that binds a workplace together, and the deciding factor for the types of people who will make up the organization. It's the lifeblood of every com- pany, and undermining its value is one of the most detrimental mis- takes a senior executive can make. While Vancouver-based ACL, a provider of risk management, compliance and audit software, is 30 years old and employs 310 people globally, it's a company famous for its "startup culture" — a term that's defined by a com- pany's value for creative thinking, open communication and flat hierarchy. You don't need to be a startup to have this kind of culture. In order to succeed, a company needs to be entrepreneurial so it's not left behind in the market. If it's not in- novating, it's not succeeding. When Laurie Schultz took over as CEO of ACL in 2011, she inher- ited a founder-led organization with more than 23 years of history and a pre-established culture. e very first goal she set out to achieve was fostering a work envi- ronment free of barriers to creative thought, an open place for ideas to be shared without criticism, where disrupting the norm was encour- aged and not stigmatized. Now, seven years later, ACL's culture is the root cause of many of the company's successes, most of which could not have been ac- complished without a commit- ment to disruptive innovation, authenticity and transparency. Recruiting based on entrepreneurial spirit In interviewing new candidates, it's always a good idea to ask them about the times they've gone out- side of their job descriptions. This is a great indicator of whether people possess entrepre- neurial qualities — if they're able to step back from the day-to-day and assess the bigger picture. It's also wise to look for past examples of when they were self-starters: "Did you start your own company in high school? Did you hike the Andes? Did you teach yourself how to juggle, just because?" It's a person's unbridled energy and inability to sit still that fuels great ideas. And it's about a val- ues match — are they seeking an organization that is transparent, authentic, welcomes creativity and encourages idea sharing? ACL regularly holds "hack days," and everyone in the com- pany is invited to participate. is involves someone pitch- ing an idea (work-related or not), getting a team together, and then providing the tools and resources to make it happen. is could be something like adding plug-ins to existing prod- ucts or building a zombie video game from scratch. It's a way for people to step out- side their role and stretch their brain muscles by working on something new that challenges and excites them. Retaining change agents Change agents are people who im- prove a company by going above and beyond their job description to achieve transformative change in a way that inspires others to do more. It's important to reward and nurture change agents not only to retain talent, but to encourage similar behaviour among others. ACL has a change agents pro- gram designed to provide star em- ployees with the support and re- sources of the senior team so they can bring to life their great ideas. is includes one-on-one time with the CEO as well as mentor- ships from senior staff members. In addition, a peer-to-peer recognition program is an effec- tive way to reward day-to-day achievements and encourage similar behaviour throughout the company. In the common area, there's a "kudos wall" where all employees can call out team members for their great ideas and contribu- tions for going above and beyond their scope. Finally, taking an active interest in the career goals and advance- ment of a team plays a crucial role in maintaining employee engage- ment. When star team members feel their career goals are com- municated and valued at a senior level, they feel a greater alignment between their personal goals and the company's business objectives and targets. Employees are also less likely to seek outside employment if they feel there is the opportunity for growth internally, and more often report greater job satisfac- tion and happiness in their work environment. Encouraging transparency As a company that helps to eliminate fraud and corruption, ACL places great importance on transparency — though this should be a central piece to every organization. ACL has a central motto: "Put the moose on the table." is is a huge part of its culture, and moose will pop up throughout its office decor to reinforce the message. While everyone knows that an elephant in the room means an awkward topic people avoid, the moose promotes extreme trans- parency. Asking employees to put the moose on the table is en- couraging them to discuss what- ever is on their mind, no matter how awkward or uncomfortable it might be. Oftentimes, people's fear of their views being rejected keeps them from voicing their opin- ions — this is especially common among junior-level employees. ACL has attempted to combat this by removing that barrier al- together. True transparency goes beyond open-floor plans and glass meeting rooms — it's showing that every person's opinion mat- ters equally, and everyone has a seat at the table. Kathy Enros is vice-president of talent at ACL in Vancouver. For more infor- mation, visit www.acl.com. Disrupting the norm is encouraged and not stigmatized at ACL. "Employers should keep writ- ten records of modified work they have available and the date they offered this and/or the worker's regular job duties to the worker," she says. "ey should also ensure they are keeping accurate and timely performance management information in the event they need to provide evidence for a worker's termination. If an employer is laying off an injured worker, they should also keep records of all other workers who are laid off to demonstrate why an injured work- er was chosen for the layoff." Along with the reinstatement obligations, employers are still required to accommodate injured workers in the workplace up to the point of undue hardship. Maximum insurable earnings One other Sept. 1 workers' com- pensation change that could im- pact employers is the decision to remove a maximum insurable earnings cap used to set wage-loss benefits for injured workers. While this will not affect the maximum assessable earnings (MAE) cap used to calculate em- ployer premiums in 2018 or 2019, there could be changes in 2020. "During 2019, we will begin col- lecting more data (from employ- ers) to help us analyze the impact of the removal of the cap on com- pensable earnings to premiums and premium rates. We will use that data to determine possible future changes," says Schwartz. "We will be collecting addition- al information about the distribu- tion of earnings in the workplace; in particular, the distribution of earnings above the current MAE levels. is will help us forecast any impacts to premiums and pre- mium rates if the MAE changed." e WCB was still determining which data it would be requesting, but it should not be onerous for employers, she says. "We will not be asking for any- thing that employers don't already have the data to provide, so the impact should be minimal to em- ployers. Our intention is to include the request for information in the annual return cycle, so it can be in- cluded in a familiar process." Sheila Brawn is the editor of Canadian Payroll Reporter. For more information, visit www.payroll- reporter.com. Records important ALBERTA < pg. 22

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