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In an exclusive roundtable, MHS Talent
Development and Canadian HR Reporter brought
together virtually a group of HR leaders to discuss
the importance of learning and development in
times of crisis
EMBRACING
UNCERTAINTY
FOR
all the upheaval that came with
the COVID-19 pandemic, some
of the basics of the workplace have
remained true, such as the need for
business continuity, the drive to continue
serving customers and clients and the
importance of employee communications.
Also important? Learning and
development, according to Katie
Ramoutar, manager of organizational
development solutions at MHS Talent
Development, in moderating an exclusive
roundtable with Canadian HR Reporter.
Training can play a vital role "in
helping to provide people with the
resources and support that they need
to manage the crisis today in their
organizations, to really show off those
skills and to make sure that they're in a
great place for when the world finds its
new normal," she says.
"The learning function is absolutely
critical during this time. [It's about]
H R L E A D E R S R O U N D T A B L E
2 0 2 0 L E A R N I N G R O U N D TA B L E
looking out for employees' well-being,
mental health, emotions and how they're
feeing through all this, but also how they
are going to be feeling and how they're
going to be leading their organization in
the future."
Ramoutar was joined — virtually
— by Gina Jeneroux, chief learning
officer at BMO Financial Group; Penny
Farinha, vice president of HR at Ecobee;
Kimberly McLeod, manager of learning
experience at Recipes University, the
training hub for Recipes Unlimited;
and Carolyn Lyons, manager of dealer
training and employee development at
Yamaha Motor Canada.
BMO acts fast
in response to pandemic
Before the pandemic hit, BMO had
about 5,000 employees who would
typically work from home at any given
time. When COVID-19 came into full
