Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER JANUARY 2019 INSIGHT 27 Things really aren't that bad These days, HR has a golden opportunity to exercise its strategic chops e pundits tell us we live in a world changing at an unimaginable rate — they say we suff er from data overload; we work longer hours than ever; we're stressed out with work-life balance problems; new unpredictable technology is hitting us at lightspeed; and artifi cial intel- ligence (AI) is altering or eliminat- ing jobs, making future planning impossible. Ironically, not one of those points is true. Our grandparents ex- perienced two world wars, an infl uenza epidemic in the 1920s that killed 50 million people, the Great Depression, the rise and fall of communism, the invention of the automobile, airplanes, antibi- otics, microchips, the internet, ge- netics, radio and TV, the creation and use of nuclear weapons, and astronauts landing on the moon. Today, there is nothing remote- ly comparable: • We do create terabytes of data every day; however, search en- gines manage this and we can fi nd information at the fl ick of a fi nger. Twenty-fi ve years ago, we needed days or weeks in a library ploughing through microfi ches. • As for our "unpredictable future," every single thing that signifi - cantly aff ects our lives today was invented at least 10 years ago. Apps, Google, robots, the inter- net, smartphones, Uber — they go back, in some cases, up to half a century. So our future is not as unpredictable as we think. What we see today is an accurate pic- ture of what will impact our lives in the next 10 to 15 years. • As for long work hours? A cen- tury ago, the average person worked more than 100 hours per week. ose numbers have steadily dropped to the point where the average workweek is now 42 hours. Generally, com- plaints about work-life balance mean an individual has picked the wrong job. • In looking at the impact of AI, the highest number of job losses pre- dicted is about 480 million in the next 20 years. It's a big number, yes, but that adds up to about 10 per cent of the global workforce. at means we have to deal with 0.5 per cent of our workforce changing each year — much low- er than the workforce turnover rate organizations manage today. • Over the last 20 years, globally, we have created between 40 and 50 million jobs per year — despite automation, the use of comput- ers and huge reductions in some sector employment. ere is no reason why this should stop. We may not know exactly where the new jobs will come from, but we can be sure they will be there. Does all this mean we should sit back and let things take care of themselves? No. We need to be proactive, and have plans and programs in place to deal with the changes that are foreseeable. To be relevant in the future, HR must step up and be the custodi- ans of their organizations' future. So, how do we do this? Look at the customer: We must defi ne our organization's role from a customer viewpoint. Instead of basing it on what we make or sell, we need to describe it in terms of what customers are buying. Doing that will not only future-proof or- ganizations but provide visibility into potential competition from outside the industry. For example, Toyota's custom- ers are buying the ability to get from A to B as cheaply and effi - ciently as possible. In the past, that may have meant owning a car but Uber understood what customers wanted, as do the makers of au- tonomous vehicles. And Block- buster felt customers wanted to watch videos but really they want- ed the ability to watch or listen to entertainment wherever and whenever they wanted — which is why Netfl ix has succeeded. Understand AI: ere is no question AI and robotics will im- pact jobs down the road but the basic questions are: when, how and how many. In most cases, there will not be a direct one-to- one replacement but an integra- tion of human skills with AI skills. That means every company should have an AI task force to monitor and track developments and the implications for people in the organization. Some compa- nies have these today but see them as a technical function and assign them to IT. In reality, they're more about human capital management and should be an HR activity. To benefi t from these changes requires ongoing audits of skill sets at an organization, including those that will be needed down the road and a talent gap analysis. With planning, missing roles can be fi lled effi ciently at a lower cost by developing and training the current workforce rather than last-minute, costly external hires. Be ruthless: Finally, organiza- tions have to be ruthless about dropping what is not in their fu- ture, and improving the effi ciency and eff ectiveness of the things that are. e question "Why are we doing this?" should be asked con- stantly by every employee. Strategy is not so much about what is included but hard choices about what to leave out — and HR must upgrade those skills. Simply saying, "We are strategic now" is not enough. e profession must act and redefi ne its role to base it not on what it does or sells but on what customers are buying. e employers that will survive and prosper in the coming years are those that are the most adapt- able, aware, proactive and willing to take the necessary risks that accompany change. It is a golden opportunity for HR to exercise its strategic chops by looking closely at the business its organization is in, clarifying its mission to refl ect the customer viewpoint, and pro- actively managing the impact of change on the organization's most critical area — talent. Bill Greenhalgh is president and CEO of business management consultancy Stratx in Toronto, and former CEO of the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) in Ontario. Phil Wilson is director of corporate ser- vices at DST Consulting Engineers in Toronto and past chair of the HRPA. Accommodating transitioning employees What are the legal requirements around washrooms and locker rooms? Question: If an employee declares they are transitioning their gender but still appear as their original gender, when is the em- ployer legally required to allow the work- er to use facilities such as washrooms or locker rooms for their new gender? Answer: To appreciate the em- ployer's obligations, it is neces- sary to understand the distinction between sex, gender identity and gender expression. A person's sex refers to the physical characteris- tics associated with being male or female. A person's gender identity is a person's sense of themselves and may either be diff erent or the same as the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender expression is how a person presents their gender. How a person presents their gen- der may not necessarily refl ect their gender identity. In the past several years, prov- inces across Canada have amended human rights legislation to include gender identity or expression as prohibited grounds of discrimina- tion. However, for those provinces without such legislation, transgen- der people are protected from dis- crimination on the ground of sex. If a workplace policy or rule adversely impacts an employee because of their gender identity or gender expression, an employ- er will need to take reasonable steps to accommodate that em- ployee. e ability to use the appro- priate washroom or locker room is obviously a critical aspect of a per- son's gender identity and the case law certainly recognizes this when it comes to discrimination. e best approach is a fl exible one. An employee is under no pos- itive obligation to tell the employer they are considering transitioning. However, once an employee's gen- der identity creates barriers in the workplace for the employee, the dialogue will typically begin. e need for open and respectful dia- logue in the search for accommo- dation is critical. Demanding that an employee use either women's or men's facili- ties based solely on the employer's assessment of the employee's ap- pearance would most likely be contrary to the employer's duty to accommodate. An employer will want to be certain it has suffi cient information to meaningfully ad- dress accommodation requests. However, any request for in- formation should be made with the employee's dignity and pri- vacy rights at the forefront. For example, requiring medical proof of an employee's transition if the requested accommodation relates to washrooms or change rooms in most instances would be contrary to the employee's right to be free of discrimination. In the 2012 Vanderputten v. Seydaco Packaging Corp., the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal found an employer discriminated against an employee who was in the process of gender transition. When she began the transition process to female, she was forth- right with her employer in her requests to accommodate her sex reassignment, such as using the women's change room. She also asked for diff erent shift times so she did not have to change with her male co-workers to avoid ha- rassment and abusive comments. However, the employer said it would not consider her requested accommodations until she provid- ed medical and legal proof she was a woman. e tribunal found the employer's attitude inconsistent with human rights norms. In the context of gender identity and expression, the accommo- dation aff orded to an employee must be based on the individual and how the individual identifi es themselves. According to the tri- bunal, treating the complainant in the same manner as men until her transition was fully complete amounted to discrimination, as this failed to take into account the complainant's need for identity. e discrimination was further compounded by the employer's failure to provide a safe work envi- ronment and to respond to the em- ployee's complaints of harassment. In the present scenario, an em- ployer may want to explore using single-stall washrooms or unisex washrooms that feature fl oor-to- ceiling walls with gender-neutral sink areas. But in the context of gender transition, an employer's obliga- tions extend well beyond wash- rooms and change rooms. Em- ployers should have appropriate guidelines to assist employees who are transitioning from one gender to another. ese might set out the employer's role in facilitating the transition process, medical leave entitlements and benefi ts cover- age, updating employee records, and dress code provisions. Again, fl exibility is key. Taking the lead from the worker through respectful dialogue will go a long way, and both parties have a shared obligation to meaningfully partici- pate in the process. While an em- ployee is not entitled to the perfect accommodation, in the context of gender transition, employers must be sensitive to their needs. Leah Schatz is a partner at MLT Aikins in Saskatoon. She can be reached at (306) 975-7144 or lschatz@ mltaikins.com. In the context of gender transition, an employer's obligations extend well beyond washrooms and change rooms. Question: If an employee declares they are transitioning their gender but still appear as their original gender, when is the em- ployer legally required to allow the work- er to use facilities such as washrooms or Leah Schatz ToUGHest HR QUestioN e pundits tell us we live in a world changing at an unimaginable rate — they say we suff er from data overload; we work longer hours than ever; we're stressed out with work-life balance problems; new unpredictable technology is hitting us at lightspeed; and artifi cial intel- ligence (AI) is altering or eliminat- ing jobs, making future planning Bill Greenhalgh and Phil Wilson GUest CoMMeNtArY

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