Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER AUGUST 2019 FEATURES 15 FEATURES W ith a changing industry — as shipping lines grow bigger and more consolidation leads to tougher competition — retention is an important issue for GCT (Global Container Terminals) Canada. e war for talent is heating up yet again, partly because of baby boomers retiring and fewer entrants coming into the workforce, says Ed Kwan, vice-president of HR at GCT in Vancouver. " ere's a demand and supply issue there." e other issue is the arrival of millennials to the market, he says. "It's not a job-for-life mentality; it's not just a paycheque. ey don't hesitate to move and they want to be passionate about what they're doing. So, if they don't feel a pretty strong sense of purpose of why they're there, and what value they're creating, they won't hesitate to move on." ere's also a greater recognition that it's not just the bells and whistles or the technology and equipment that retain people. "People and culture really is a competitive advantage," says Kwan. "We're starting to see much more of an emphasis on creating a culture that really attracts and retains people." To gauge its retention eff orts, the 2,500-employee company looks at its voluntary turnover rate, which sits at about seven per cent. GCT also focuses on engagement levels, and it recently held focus groups among the diff erent departments to garner further insights, he says. "I like to peel back the onion and understand, 'OK, what really is on the minds of employees?'" While the company pays well, says Kwan, one of the challenges around retention is the 24-7 shift environment. Many workers — especially newer ones — are keen on greater work-life balance, he says. " is new group, it's a very diff erent mentality right there. ey'd rather not have the overtime in some cases, because they've got things to do." So, the company has worked to provide shift schedules that create more stability, such as four days on, four days off or 12-hour days. While it has taken people some time to adjust to the new approach, they now appreciate it, he says. GCT also has a recognition program that includes a monthly employee appreciation lunch and a program run by a third-party vendor that gives out experiential awards — popular with employees looking for their next Instagram photo op, says Kwan. "When you have a performance-based environment, and you have high achievers, the tendency is you're always looking for what's next. And sometimes you don't take that time out to celebrate and acknowledge what we've accomplished and what people have done." "[It's about] trying to build that habit and culture across our management group. And… it's not an employee of the month — there will be some months where there won't be anything, and they'll be other months where we might recognize two or three people or, in some cases, a whole department… so it just helps connect our organization." Emphasizing opportunities for growth development and career progression are also key, he says. "We tend to hire, at the front end, capable people, and we promote from within before going external, as much as possible." It's also important to have strong leadership at the company, and let people know that they're making a diff erence in their role, regardless of where they are in the organization, says Kwan. "When people contribute and perform and are engaged and have a good attitude, then there's typically opportunities for progression." GCT has also worked hard to clarify roles and responsibilities across departments, he says. " e nature of our business being logistics, there's a lot of interdependencies across diff erent departments. And there's this heightened focused on, 'OK, how do we change process? How do we become more effi cient? And how do we leverage technologies?'" says Kwan. "And as we go through all of that change, that impacts what people thought they had responsibility for, and what they're now doing going forward. And how does this impact them? [So] how do we work together eff ectively, as we make these changes?" Silos start to build up, he says. "So, we need to constantly look at 'OK, let's make sure we break down those silos, make sure we're working collectively as a team, as opposed to competing for the work — there's plenty of work to go around." R etention used to be the holy grail as an HR metric — but HR professionals need to rethink what is the new norm for retention, according to Denise Hayes, CHRO of Moneris in Toronto. In tracking both internal data and external benchmarks, the highest level of turnover is among the millennial demographic and those with less than three years' service, because they are moving on to the next new thing, she says. "When that fi rst started happening, we wondered: 'Did we have a problem?' But as we delved into it more, my question, really, is is this the new norm? And I believe that it is." Hayes says she is seeing a change in the focus on retention and its importance. "I see it personally as really being highly aff ected by change and employee expectations. And, certainly the business world — technology's advancing, there's economic factors, there's business evolutions, etcetera. But I'm seeing a real change in employee expectations around what they want from their workplace experience," she says. " e millennial population are defi nitely more keen to advance [their] career and be less hesitant to make moves from organization to organization, whether it's to grow upward, up the corporate ladder, but also, we're seeing they will change just to do diff erent things and have diff erent job experiences." To gauge the need for retention initiatives, and to focus strategy, Moneris relies heavily on data and feedback from employee surveys, says Hayes. "We cut the data by millennials and gen X and boomers, and we're seeing some really distinct drivers of engagement and drivers of retention." In the millennial population, for example, drivers of retention are all around career, career goals and recognition. For gen-Xers, it's around action taking, so having confi dence that Moneris will respond to the feedback from surveys, their purpose and inclusion. And for boomers, it's about manager feedback and career paths, she says. " is data is really important because it actually enables us to… focus our retention strategies around the various populations and, where possible, cross-pollinate, so that we're not delivering a multitude of strategies, but we're really being both focused and cross across generational boundaries where possible." If employers don't diff erentiate how they approach retention discussions with changing demographics, there will be constant churn, says Hayes. "It will be hard to drive an engaged workforce, but if there's stratifi cation around your retention focus, based upon your own personal organizational data, I think that you can still run a very successful organization and have good key talent — you're just spinning it to what makes sense for your business and for your culture." Several retention initiatives e company has several initiatives around retention, such as formalizing career development plans. It also has seen a huge impact in focusing on its culture, and reinforcing and re-establishing corporate values, says Hayes. "If you're doing good things and the right things around your culture, and you're consistent with your messaging and what you're communicating back to employees and you act on it, I think you can really have a diff erentiator in terms of that employee experience, that employee relationship, that ultimately does positively impact retention and engagement." ere's also an online learning platform and a recognition program for employees, along with greater interest in fl ex arrangements, says Hayes. " at's one of the areas we've gotten feedback on [in] some of the surveys that we've done. And so, over the past a year or so, we have formalized all of our fl exible work arrangements, whether it's fl ex hours, whether there's fl exibility around working from home," she says. Moneris also does regular check-ins around performance, with annual and mid-year talks. It's about calibrating or fi ne-tuning approaches for the second half of the year, says Hayes. "We really encourage keeping the ongoing dialogue and conversation going to be able to course-correct where needed. And we really equip our leaders and put a focus on training them and preparing them so that they can go out and have these conversations," she says. Moneris also does stay surveys and exit interviews, to be more proactive and predictive. "We try to get out ahead of it and say, 'What's keeping you here? Why do you stay with us?'" she says. "We're getting some really consistent, reliable data that we can actually action and been actioning, and now we're starting to see results from the actions that we've been taking." stratifi cation around your retention focus, based upon stratifi cation around your retention focus, based upon your own personal organizational data, I think that you your own personal organizational data, I think that you can still run a very successful organization and have good can still run a very successful organization and have good key talent — you're just spinning it to what makes sense key talent — you're just spinning it to what makes sense e company has several initiatives around retention, e company has several initiatives around retention, such as formalizing career development plans. It also has seen a huge impact in focusing on its culture, ere's also an online learning platform and The nancial technology company has 1,750 employees across ve of ces in Canada The Vancouver-based company has 2,500 employees Denise Hayes Ed Kwan CHRO of Moneris in Toronto vice-president of HR at GCT (Glo bal Container Terminals) Canada

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