Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER JANUARY 2019 22 FEATURES Alberta responds to membership needs, feedback W hen Peter Dugandzic took over Chartered Professionals in Hu- man Resources (CPHR) Alber- ta, membership satisfaction was very low, he says. "Services were misaligned to member needs; members were concerned about transparency; we didn't have a clear path to the future and, as an organization, we failed to execute on what we com- mitted to deliver." e new CEO's mandate was to improve the lines of communica- tion between management and members about any shortcomings. " ey provided the feedback, we listened, we developed a fi ve- year plan and we began to ex- ecute," says Dugandzic. Since then, the level of transpar- ency around what CPHR Alberta does, and how it communicates, has been improved through vari- ous channels, he says, including quarterly reports to the board and online town halls each quarter. Over a two-year period, the as- sociation has reduced its defi cit by 80 per cent, he says. It's also increased the value proposition by focusing on pro- fessional development, with ac- cess to 300 courses through post- secondary institutions, custom- ized courses for the regions, more than 20 webinars and a video-on- demand system, says Dugandzic. "We're not a publicly traded company but we do have stake- holders and those are our mem- bers, so we simply focused on making sure that their needs were being met through enhancements and in terms of how we deliver our services." Overall engagement activity is at a record high, he says, with more than 21,000 members in to- tal attending the various events, including upwards up 1,000 peo- ple for a single webinar. e membership base has also stabilized, with turnover down from 18 to 14 per cent, and total membership of 5,600, says Du- gandzic. "All in all, it's been a very successful two years." e association is also one step closer to self-regulation through an aggressive government rela- tions program, he says. "While we've made tremen- dous improvement in terms of not only working with govern- ment to advance new legislation, and certainly enhancing our rec- ognition through things like a day on (Parliament Hill) and working with global public relations to ad- vance our cause, we would have had ministerial approval had it not been for the impending election." And Alberta's economy contin- ues to be a challenge, he says. "While… a signifi cant piece of the economy is driven by the oil and gas sector, it's the whole un- certainty in the economic climate which is having an impact on in- vestment and diversifi cation." Peter Dugandzic CEO, CPHR Alberta New code of conduct introduced by CPHR Saskatchewan C hartered Profession- als in Human Resources (CPHR) Saskatchewan has had another busy year, ac- cording to Nicole Norton Scott, executive director and registrar. For one, the 1,200-member association introduced a newly adopted code of ethics and stan- dards of professional conduct. "We always had one. However, (this has) a bit more rigour and detail to guide those HR practitio- ners because it's for… all members that belong to the association, whether they have the designation or not," she says. CPHR Saskatchewan also continues to drive towards self- regulation, and to work with gov- ernment — as seen with an MLA reception it held in March. "It was an opportunity for MLAs to come to the legislature where we talked about who we are, about the profession, the designa- tion, and why were seeking self- regulation," says Norton Scott. Eighty-three per cent of mem- bers support the idea of self- regulation, according to a CPHR Saskatchewan survey in 2018. But they also want to hear more about what that means to them, she says. As a result, CPHR Saskatch- ewan held town halls in places such as Regina, Prince Alberta and Moose Jaw "to communicate with the members in person and talk about the board's strategic plan and what it means for the members," says Norton Scott. CPHR Saskatchewan also held two executive HR series events. "It's an opportunity to connect with senior HR practitioners at organizations, an opportunity for the association to connect with them, as well for them to continu- ally build their network," she says, adding "those executive people are very much ambassadors." e association also focused on professional development oppor- tunities, along with releasing re- sults from its HR Trends reports. " e hiring confi dence index is slowly increasing in Saskatch- ewan — it was low," she says. Brand reputation marketing is another goal as the association looks to boost awareness. "We're going to put a lot of en- ergies into the branding, the mar- keting, building the value, what does it mean for current members and... potential members, and also for the business community." Nicole Norton Scott, executive director, CPHR Saskatchewan CPHR Manitoba enjoys rising membership numbers A four-pronged attack was the strategy for Char- tered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) Manitoba through 2018. Efforts included: positioning members as thought leaders; promoting the refreshed CPHR brand; growing the membership base; and pushing for self-regu- lation at the provincial level, ac- cording to Ron Gauthier, CEO of CPHR Manitoba. e Manitoba group has also worked in tandem with provin- cial post-secondary institutions to accredit seven HR programs, and more schools are seeking to hire CPHRs as instructors for HR programs, he says. In terms of the rebrand — which aligned the provincial body with the national association — research shows more Manitoba business leaders are now aware of the brand following heavy promo- tion through marketing and con- ferences, he says. Regarding membership, totals have now risen to 1,490 — slight- ly below the association's highest level of 1,505 a decade ago, says Gauthier. e majority of the increase was attributable to both CPHR candi- dates and student memberships. " at really bodes well for the future," he says. A total of 113 graduates of ac- credited HR institutions applied to become CPHRs last year, even as National Knowledge Exam (NKE) participation continued at a steady pace, according to Gauthier. "We thought most of the young students were the ones writing the exams, but we're fi nd- ing that it's people that are work- ing that are now choosing that maybe there's more value in the designation." The organization's strategic plan will undergo a re-evaluation sometime later this year, he says. As for self-regulation, the sub- mission to protect the public con- tinues to rest before the provincial government, says Gauthier. "Our long short-term goal is to get to the point where maybe we can have the legislation drafted in the near future." Ron Gauthier CEO, CPHR Manitoba With new CEO, Ontario goes through 'major transformation' S ince becoming CEO of the Human Resources Professionals Associa- tion (HRPA) in Ontario in June 2018, the association has gone through a pretty major transfor- mation, both inside and out, says Louise Taylor Green. Internally, it's embraced its regulatory role "and made some enormous strides," she says, citing, as an example, the work HRPA conducted on the measurement of performance of professional regulatory bodies. As a result, the association's registrar was invited to present that work at the Coun- cil for Licensure Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR) conference. HRPA has also conducted com- prehensive organizational analy- sis to inform the development of a refreshed strategy, she says. "We wholeheartedly believe that the HR profession has come of age and is impacting organiza- tions, employees and the public at large in profoundly positive ways — changing culture; en- abling physical and psychological safety at work; driving change and transformation programs; strate- gically sourcing talent; training and developing staff and leaders; designing total rewards programs that drive performance; curating a highly-valued employee experi- ence," says Taylor Green. "We see a fl ourishing HR pro- fession on the horizon, but one that needs some structural re- inforcements to ensure the re- sources and tools that enable the highest standards of professional HR practice are a constant." Externally, HRPA has been reaching out to its 23,266 mem- bers and the public to gain in- sights about beliefs and percep- tions around the HR profession. It commissioned a survey that found most Ontarians have no idea if and how HR is regulated. Public confi dence in HR profes- sionals in respect of honesty and ethical standards also needs to improve, says Taylor Green. Looking ahead, HRPA's over- arching focus for the next several years is to inspire professionalism among members, she says. "Promoting and protecting the public interest by regulating the practice, competence and profes- sional conduct of our members is our paramount interest." ere are also plans for the de- velopment of a public advisory council, says Taylor Green. "In addition, we will begin a process to investigate how the public at large can suff er harm as a result of poor HR practice. e results of this research will be utilized to establish professional practice guidance, resources and tools for professionals, and it will also inform potential updates to our professional competency framework and member learning off erings." Louise Taylor Green, CEO, HRPA

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