Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER JANUARY 2019 FEATURES 23 Quebec's CRHA to unveil new strategic plan in 2019 R efreshed provincial la- bour standards and a new competency framework made for a transformative year at the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés (CRHA) in Montreal, says gen- eral manager Manon Poirier. In June, the Quebec govern- ment updated its work rules, including changes to overtime, pensions and leaves of absence, and CRHA was heavily involved in the process. "I don't think it was quite the 'modernization' of the labour standards," she says. "It was tweaks and little add-ons and little mea- sures to help families and individ- uals. But it wasn't fundamental." The association launched a new competency framework in November, following a design process that involved 250 people from both HR and non-HR back- grounds, says Poirier. e group dug into the future of work and the profession to create a framework that will help transform HR through changes in technology, numeral literacy and artifi cial intelligence, she says. "We do believe that we need to transform," says Poirier. " ere's quite a bit of new elements in the competency framework that we believe is absolutely needed to support the transformation of the profession." For now, the CRHA's new framework diff ers from that of CPHR Canada, though the two bodies are working on alignment opportunities, she says. CRHA is also working with Quebec universities to synchro- nize programming wherever pos- sible, says Poirier. Heading into 2019, the associa- tion is focusing on a certifi cation program that aims to reserve in- vestigations of incidents of work- place harassment for HR profes- sionals, she says. "We feel that an investigation that is rightly done by someone that's competent would have an impact in making sure that our workplaces are safer and without harassment." A new strategic plan fl eshing out ways HR can protect the pub- lic will also be unveiled this year, according to Poirier. "We defi ne our protection of the public well beyond making sure that our CPHRs are compe- tent, and they're doing a good job and giving great advice. Ultimate- ly, our mission… is to allow each person to work in an environment that is safe, that is innovative, that is collaborative." e CRHA is also aiming to continue supporting its member- ship base of 10,440 with skills de- velopment and liaising with em- ployers and managers, she says. Manon Poirier general manager, CRHA New year means new CEO for CPHR Nova Scotia R ecruiting a new leader tops the agenda for Char- tered Professionals in Hu- man Resources (CPHR) Nova Scotia, which will bid goodbye to Sheila McLean, the group's CEO since 2007. "Once our new CEO is in place in early 2019, we will begin work- ing on our next strategic plan and furthering the work we have been doing on strengthening our member value proposition and enhancing the knowledge of the CPHR designation and the HR profession in the business community, as well as working towards our strategic focus of enhancing the workplaces in our communities," says Layla Khalil, chair of the board at CPHR Nova Scotia in Halifax. Legalized cannabis was a hot topic for the association in 2018, which has 635 members after sep- arating from the Prince Edward Island association in 2017. "In 2018, we further enhanced our partnerships with the busi- ness community through a part- nership with the chamber of commerce on a 'cannabis in the workplace' event to increase the awareness and readiness of busi- nesses," says Khalil. "Hundreds of business leaders had the opportu- nity to hear from a panel of leaders and discuss how the changes may impact their own businesses. is was in addition to the ongoing ac- tivities we had been doing to help our members prepare their own organizations." "We will continue to monitor the impact of cannabis legaliza- tion and other workplace trends to tailor our programming and re- sources to meet the needs of our members and the HR community." Continuing education was a new initiative for the Nova Scotia association last year, she says, as the group launched a post-sec- ondary accreditation partnership with the Nova Scotia Community College, "which means the insti- tution's HR program has been ac- credited from a knowledge con- tent perspective relating to the CPHR designation." Just like other HR associations, CPHR Nova Scotia completed a rebranding and that has been very well-received, says Khalil. " e consistency of our brand with other provinces has helped increase the awareness of the HR profession and the CPHR designation." Layla Khalil, chair of the board, CPHR Nova Scotia With help from other associations, CPHR PEI ready to serve members A fter being in business for about 18 months, Char- tered Professionals in Hu- man Resources (CPHR) Prince Edward Island is set to ramp up eff orts to attract new members and better serve its existing base. e province teamed up with Nova Scotia in 2002, after starting up on its own in the 1980s, before heading out solo again in 2017. "When I look at everything we had to do, from transitioning our members from Nova Scotia over to P.E.I., that was a monumental piece of work; making sure there was continuity and fi les and doc- umentation processes and then everything from the background, like setting up all the structural pieces, bylaws, constitution, HST numbers, online member-man- agement system — there's a lot of stuff ," says Detry Carragher, chair of CPHR PEI in Charlottetown. But the HR group was not left on its own when setting up shop, says Carragher, as other CPHR chapters also pitched in. "We have what's called a chief staffing officers group. We get together a few times throughout the year, but we're always sending questions back and forth like 'Do you have a policy on this? And what's your practice on this?' We do inquire a lot and really every- body's been very helpful to share processes, and then just looking at how to refi ne that and what are the considerations for each of those areas." Some of the bigger topics tack- led in 2018 were setting up the certifi cation committee, looking at the requirements around the National Knowledge Exam (NKE), and moving people through that process, says Carragher. " ere's not a standard path- way to the CPHR designation across Canada. But I think we're all kind of working collectively to get there." e P.E.I. association currently has 95 members, up from 85 last year, and work on its website is close to completion. "(We are) making a few changes to the structure of the website so we can communicate more eff ec- tively with our members. We're adding a number of other things for 2019," says Carragher. With the enhanced website in place, CPHR PEI will be "looking at a recruitment strategy, really a member-development strategy," she says. "And because there really hasn't been a physical presence for an organization on P.E.I., now we just need to get the message out and then build on that." And though the timing is still unclear, self-regulation is a main goal, says Carragher. "Our counterparts are moving a little faster than we are on the East Coast with that. It's some- thing that's defi nitely on the radar." Detry Carragher chair, CPHR PEI Education tops agenda for New Brunswick HR association A new partnership with the New Brunswick Commu- nity College (NBCC) is a "big win" for Chartered Profes- sionals in Human Resources (CPHR) New Brunswick. "People that will be graduat- ing from NBCC with the diploma will be exempted from writing the NKE, which is the National Knowledge Exam," says Luc Page, executive director of CPHRNB in Moncton. " at's a big win for us." Besides the obvious goal of pro- viding members with increased education, the partnership should help attract new members to the 874-strong organization, he says. As well, greater integration with CPHR Canada has provided even more educational opportunities. "At the national level, our mem- bers were able to be recognized with the SHRM designation (from the Society for Human Resource Management in the U.S.), we were able to establish a partnership with them," says Page. But the Progressive Conserva- tives taking over from the Liberals in 2018, and forming a minority provincial government, might be tricky to deal with, he says. "Right now, the new govern- ment is in place and they're all new. We're trying to establish rela- tions by being present on various committees, and also to meet with our local MLAs to have a bigger voice." e rebranding of the group's look and feel continues, says Page, and is going quite well. "We're trying to do the best we can with the fi nancial resources that we have." "We did a marketing campaign, we did put some advertising on various billboards, at the national level as well at the provincial level," he says. "Probably we will need to consider maybe increasing our dues in the next year in order to be competitive in the market to do more marketing and have a bigger budget on branding." And an ongoing outreach pro- gram continues to spread the message about the new branding and the association. "We've been doing a lot of pre- sentations and recruiting at the post-secondary level, promoting the brand throughout," says Page. "We sponsored a lot of events as well, like the Atlantic provincial trucking association, which was really good for us." For 2019, more partnerships are on the program, he says. "We're looking at maybe part- nerships with the Atlantic HR associations... on some branding activities where we can share the cost and promote a better aware- ness of the designation and con- tinue to market." Luc Page, executive director, CPHR New Brunswick

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