Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER DECEMBER 2018 26 FEATURES/NEWS Your indispensable resource for conducting thorough and legally defensible workplace investigations Order # L7798-8414-65203 $99 October 2018 softcover approx. 280 pages 978-0-7798-8414-8 Shipping and handling are extra. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. Written by leading experts in the field, Human Resources Guide to Workplace Investigations, Second Edition breaks down the investigative process into manageable pieces and provides you with a detailed step-by-step roadmap that includes sample templates and forms. This handy resource explains: • The need for investigations • The circumstances surrounding workplace investigations • The types of workplace incidents requiring investigation • The investigative process • The evidence and how to report on the findings This new edition includes updated information on legislation and case law surrounding violence and harassment. It also includes additional recommendations for workplace assessments and reviews, tips and strategies for dealing with unreported harassment allegations, information on coaching and other forms of workplace restoration, suggestions for dealing with the media and public scrutiny surrounding investigations, and a new chapter on self-care for investigators. AVAILABLE RISK-FREE FOR 30 DAYS Online: store.thomsonreuters.ca Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 | In Toronto: 416-609-3800 New Edition Human Resources Guide to Workplace Investigations, Second Edition A Canadian HR Reporter Special Report Janice Rubin, B.A., LL.B., and Christine Thomlinson, B.A., LL.B. © 2018 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00249LA-94321-NP "It's excellent, because sales is vital, yet it was an unregulated trade." "I don't know many businesses that function without some sales talent pool driving, promoting the products or services that they provide. And pretty much sales was a self-taught profession... but I think what this does is brings a level of recognition, profession- alism, regulation — just like any other professional (designation, such as) accounting, HR — but it's going to be bringing a differ- ent level of skills, knowledge and professionalism and accredita- tion to basically an unregulated trade within a workplace," said Salveta. e new standards might also attract new entrants to the field, he said. "Not a lot of people come out of school and want to go into sales." "First and foremost, you're go- ing to be highlighting that it is a viable and valuable profession, (it) has lots of career paths; many salespeople end up in a corner of- fice," said Salveta. "It's a highly skilled profession. It has tremendous career oppor- tunities. And I think this is the impression that has to be changed with certainly the under-30 crowd that's going to be their biggest challenges, getting people push- ing to get into sales." Attracting new employees into sales is one of the main goals for the CPSA in establishing profes- sional designations, according to Louttet. "We want underemployed indi- viduals in Canada to understand what a great career path the sales profession can offer, and to be able to leverage the competency standards, the accredited educa- tion programs, to be able to re- train and skill up and move into this underserved segment of the labour market." For HR departments, the new designations will assist in the hir- ing of sales persons, said Louttet. "e HR community is very fa- miliar with the benefits of profes- sional designations and it's great for them to have the opportunity to know that this is here for sales as well," he said. "is will hopefully be some- thing that makes their life easier when it comes to recruitment and selection." Recruitment gains SALES < pg. 7 RELOCATION Interprovincial travel considerations Employees face tough decisions around cost of living, taxes, housing costs By Lisa Hulet C anadian employees evalu- ate a variety of factors when considering an in- terprovincial relocation, and rightly so — moving from one province to another can have significant financial impacts, pri- marily relating to housing, cost of living and personal tax liabilities. Housing at destination and cost of living were among the top four challenges to managing domestic relocations, according to a 2017 Canadian Employee Relocation Council survey of 56 organiza- tions. And high housing costs were one of the top three reasons employees declined a domestic relocation. Concerns like these can deter transferees from accepting a re- location, which can hinder the ability of a company to grow and succeed in a particular market. However, implementing the right relocation policies and pro- cesses can minimize these risks and facilitate movement of the best talent to the right location when needed. Housing costs As in other countries, the aver- age cost of a home varies but the price tag can be two or three times greater in the destination city. For example, the average home price in October in Greater Moncton, N.B., was $182,600, while in Cal- gary, it was $422,000 and in Great- er Vancouver, it was $1,062,100, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. Companies can offer a transfer- ee a variety of financial incentives such as subsidies and allowances to help offset a higher housing cost in the destination city, but housing costs alone aren't the only deterrent. Often, when moving to higher cost areas, even with finan- cial incentives, transferees are un- able to find comparable housing. And moving into a smaller home or apartment might not be appealing to transferees, especial- ly if they are accustomed to larger accommodations. Alternatively, moving to a re- gion with lower housing costs — such as moving from an urban to a rural destination — can also be a barrier to relocation, as the new destination may have an inferior infrastructure or amenities com- pared to a candidate's home city. Cost of living A corporate relocation can be fi- nancially beneficial for employees moving to a region with a lower cost of living. Unfortunately, a re- location often requires a transfer- ee to move to an area with a higher cost of living, which can affect his family's lifestyle. A higher cost of living can impact a wide range of pursuits, from dining out and entertain- ment to groceries, child care and education. A reduction in dis- posable income means transfer- ees will have to sacrifice certain activities which, ultimately, will have a negative impact on their standards of living. As with housing, employers have programs to offset higher costs of living, but this support is often temporary and will only sustain a transferee's lifestyle for a finite period of time. Taxes Tax implications are another fac- tor transferees consider when weighing whether or not to accept a relocation. While most employers in Canada don't see interprovincial tax differences as a significant de- terrent to employees, employees should be aware of the tax differ- ences, as they could be respon- sible for paying higher personal income taxes. For example, a transferee earn- ing $155,000 per year would have a 14 per cent provincial income tax rate in Alberta versus a 20.3 per cent rate in New Brunswick. If planning to move to another province, employees should re- member that their province of residence on Dec. 31, 2018, may be the one they'll have to pay their taxes to for all of 2018. So, if an employee is moving to a higher-tax province, she may want to delay her move until the new year, if possible. On the other hand, if moving to a lower-tax province, she may want to make that move before Dec. 31, 2018. Expertise helps One way to overcome the chal- lenges of an interprovincial move in Canada is to work with a relo- cation professional, whether on- staff or via a third-party provider. Mobility professionals can cal- culate relocation subsidies based on actual rental and housing costs, educational needs, cost-of-living allowances, and other factors. ey also understand in which situations specific policies, such as lump-sum reimbursements, are ineffective and can be detrimen- tal to the transferee or company. Relocation professionals can also help employers consider re- location policy components they might otherwise overlook. While financial assistance is an essential component in overcoming reloca- tion hurdles, other factors, such as cultural or language training, are equally important. For transferees who don't speak French, for example, relo- cating to Quebec is bound to cre- ate significant language barriers. Mobility professionals can help procure cultural and language assistance as well as English- speaking educational programs for transferees' children — a rar- ity in Quebec. Mobility plays a vital role in a company's ability to attract, re- tain and develop skilled talent. In Canada, nowhere is this more evident than in interprovincial moves, which can present as many challenges as international assignments. Lisa Hulet is vice-president of business development at SIRVA Worldwide Relocation and Moving. For more information, visit www.sirva.com. Credit: Jay Yuan (Shutterstock)

• Cover