Canadian HR Reporter

www.hrreporter.com 19 The Innovative HR Teams 2021 report recognizes teams that are breaking boundaries to move the HR industry forward in what has been a tumultuous year — whether it's by taking a progressive approach to recruitment, introducing new technology or rolling out a ground-breaking reward and recognition strategy. The report offers HR teams a unique benchmarking opportunity to see how their initiatives compare to those of the profession at large. There was no fee to enter a nomination. Nominations for the Innovative HR Teams 2021 were allowed between April 5 and April 30, 2021. Readers were invited to submit entry forms that showcased HR teams that were agile, bold and forward-thinking in their people strategies. Entrants were encouraged to focus on a broad range of areas including talent management, diversity and inclusion, health and wellness, and HR technology. Entries were to largely focus on initiatives introduced and results achieved in 2020. Canadian HR Reporter objectively assessed each entry for detailed information, true innovation and proven success — along with benchmarking against the other entries — to determine the winners. We reserved the right to disqualify any nominations that did not follow the rules or demonstrate true innovation in their HR practices. METHODOLOGY "[KickStart] allows them to understand how the organization operates, and how all of the cross-functional teams interact with one another." Lisa Scian, ProntoForms togetherness strong despite people separating to their homes. So, the charity decided to create virtual events such as paint nights and a gift exchange. There was also drive-by recognition of staff who had new babies during COVID, with cards and flowers, along with personalized gift boxes for all employees at the end of the year and virtual birthday greetings. A strong culture has always been a foundation of Islamic Relief Canada, and that was definitely a consideration w i t h t h e p a n d e m i c l o c kd o w n s , says Kanawati. "We were nervous because our culture is so special. We were like, 'How do we make sure this incredibly engaged and active in-person culture transfers to online?' [And now], we are more than excited for everything to go back to 'normal' so we can actually go back to the really vibrant in-person culture that we had before." The various endeavours are definitely appreciated by staff, as employee feed- back surveys show innovation is the number one driving factor for engage- ment, she says. "For other organizations, there are other driving factors, so it can be some- thing like the senior leadership team… but for us, the big one was innovation, like how willing we are to innovate and to listen and to really do that." Enhanced onboarding at ProntoForms ProntoForms had always had a robust onboarding program, but with the pandemic, this was enhanced consider- ably "to make sure that we're really making them feel part of our family with the personal touch, even before their start date," says Lisa Scian, vice president of people and culture in Ottawa at the software and mobile app developer. For example, the HR system asks new hires personal questions so current staff can get acquainted with the newcomers. ProntoForms then puts together a personalized welcome kit that includes favourite food items and supplies that are hand delivered in a socially distant way. "They get them before their start date so it creates a level of energy for them, and a great welcome," she says. Once the person starts working, a virtual "KickStart" program of 14 sessions over four days sees all the cohorts come together to hear directly from leaders in all areas of the business about organizational priorities and strategy, says Scian. "It allows them to understand how the organization operates, and how all of the cross-functional teams interact with one another." That's followed up by a virtual "ProntoCaf " lunch each month, connecting new hires with longer-ten- ured employees. Staff can expense their lunch from a local eatery, she says. "It's just an opportunity for people to connect and get to know one another." ProntoForms also launched a 40-day technical challenge that involved a series of 40 microlessons to build employees' product skillset. In the end, m o re tha n 3,5 00 lesso n s w ere completed, says Scian. "[It was about] putting together a curriculum that we felt would enable all of our staff to really fully understand our products so much better and put everybody on an equal playing ground… then it would enable them to be able to enable our customers to understand our product so much more." The organization was also keen to recreate its popular summer event online. For 2020, staff were encouraged to select a themed event — such as sushi rolling or golf lessons — and then pick up a supplies kit to participate. Employees located outside Ottawa had the event goodies and swag delivered to them. In the end, the company had the highest participation rate — 87 per cent — in its history, she says. "It was most appreciated because we were trying to be creative and think outside the box."

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