Canadian HR Reporter

January 27, 2014 FEATURES FEATUR 21 CANADIAN HR REPORTER HR LEADERS TALK Mike Burgess, director of HR at Xplornet Communications The Fredericton-based rural broadband provider has 540 employees W ith the recent downturn in the economy, Xplornet Communications saw pockets of lower turnover rates — such as in Ontario, where there weren't a lot of job opportunities. But, overall, attrition rates have stayed more or less the same, says Mike Burgess, director of human resources at the rural broadband provider based in Fredericton. "The younger generations switch jobs every three to four years, but there's regular attrition that is bound to occur, especially where it's been stagnated," he says. The company, which has 540 employees, is trying a variety of initiatives to enhance its environment so employees don't want to leave, he says. These include a comprehensive communications program that has been updated and enhanced over the last four years. Xplornet has regular contact with employees through a monthly "all-hands" call where the organization is "extremely transparent" about the company's overall performance, strategy and direction it's going towards. "What we've found, by providing this transparency to our employees, is there's a greater sense of trust and loyalty within the organization, especially when they compare and talk to friends at other companies," says Burgess, who has been at the company six years. The telecom also puts a big focus on career development and has an internal promotion rate of 76 per cent. "We work very hard in regards to building programs and setting up opportunities for employees to develop from a career perspective," he says. are department-specific as well as company-wide, and that way we're always working on improving certain things to be able to make that difference." In a competitive marketplace, up against the likes of Bell, Rogers, Cogeco and Telus, it's a challenge for Xplornet, he says, but the company tries to provide employees with non-traditional benefits such as career development. And when the struggling economy made for tighter budgets, the company decided to develop "It's important that we're always providing well-rounded total compensation, so we do annual merit increases, we review the external market... we enhance benefits." Xplornet also offers an online university, giving employees access to 350 courses in a variety of different topics, along with leadership programs and job shadowing. To stay on top of employee engagement, the company does a large annual survey along with a scaled-down monthly "pulse check" with about 15 questions, says Burgess. "We build action plans that programs internally, with about 12 courses conducted each year by internal subject matter experts. "We've built it so it's customized to Xplornet, so when we're talking about a certain topic such as conflict resolution, it's really tied in with our business — and the company's employees have really responded well to that," says Burgess. "What we'll do now, as the economy's improving and the budgets in all areas start increasing, we'll now layer those opportunities on top of a couple of our existing programs." A lot of competitors, especially the new entrants in the market, go with very aggressive compensation programs, particularly on the base salary side of things, he says. "It's important that we're always providing them with well-rounded total compensation, so we do annual merit increases, we review the external market utilizing national surveys to ensure that if there's any adjustments necessary, we do those as well," he says. "And we continue to enhance our benefits program and adding new things in there to provide the coverage so it's a more valuable component of compensation." High-potential employees are also on the radar, not necessarily with more money or more training but with development opportunities and chances to work outside of their traditional roles, says Burgess. "The profile of employees we're hiring is they're really keen in terms of developing themselves to the next step in the organization." School of HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Master of Human Resources Management Executive-style degree is unique in Canada Continue working while you gain the competencies and credentials required by Human Resources professionals. The program is designed to fit your busy schedule and can be taken on a part-time or full-time basis. Apply now. PhD and Bachelor degrees also available EXECUTIVE HR MANAGEMENT EDUCATION Learn with colleagues and top scholars at Canada's leader in human resource management education www.yorku.ca/mhrm Contact us for more information mhrm@yorku.ca | 1-866-780-MHRM liberal arts & professional studies

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