Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER CANADIAN HR REPORTER March 24, 2014 March 24, 2014 14 FEATURES FEATURES Unifi ed Alberta focuses on self-regulation Nora Molina, Executive Director, HRIA L ast year was a big year for the Human Resources In- stitute of Alberta (HRIA) as it became a unifi ed provincial association with the inclusion of six chapters including Calgary, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Edmonton and Red Deer. e votes in each chapter varied from 90 per cent to unanimous support in favour of joining HRIA, according to executive di- rector Nora Molina. e next major focus is self- regulation, following in the foot- steps of Quebec and Ontario, she says. e association has estab- lished two member-driven policy advisory groups to review self- regulation models and establish a new code of ethics and standards of professional conduct for HR practitioners in Alberta. HRIA is in the process of going out to the major cities in Alberta to talk to membership about the new code of ethics and standards of professional conduct, says Mo- lina, along with holding consulta- tions with government. " e key behind our focus this year is really going to be around communicating — communicat- ing with all of our stakeholders, particularly around self-regula- tion and what does that mean for us and our continuous evolution of the profession here in Alberta. Making sure our members un- derstand what's the difference between what we were and how we were operating and getting to that place of having recognition as a whole profession, on par with all the other leading professions." Some of the key work includes the implementation of a good character attestation, which is a fairly standard practice, she says. "If you look at any self-regu- lating professional body, one re- quirement is a means of assessing character and members on a con- tinuous basis… it's really looking towards an individual's judgment and character so in some way you can make an assessment in terms of how they will provide services to the public in the work they do." One issue of concern for the 5,911 members is the move to- wards requiring professional li- ability insurance, says Molina. Individuals providing HR consult- ing will be required to have this in- surance and the change could be implemented by January 2016, so HRIA is looking to have a group insurance plan in place by then, she says. Also a priority for the asso- ciation in 2014 is the Certifi ed Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation. With the Canadian Council of Human Re- sources Associations (CCHRA) phasing out the term "CHRP candidate" — to avoid any ambi- guity pertaining to a person's cre- dentials — anyone who passes the National Knowledge Exam, as of July 2014, will be referred to as a "certifi cation candidate." "Right now in Alberta, since we're not self-regulated, we actu- ally don't have any law or right to protect that designation in Alber- ta — anybody can call themselves a CHRP. And we can ask them not to — as the only designation- granting body in the province because of the CCHRA — but technically we don't have a legal right," says Molina. "Where self- regulation comes in, it gives you protection, both of the designa- tion and the brand." Another new development for HRIA is an HR case competition. e 2014 HRIA Challenge was held at the University of Alberta in March and showcased students' skills through an academic com- petition among fi ve post-second- ary institutions: the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge, Mount Royal University and Athabasca University. e two-day competition in- cluded a $1,000 cash prize for the winning team, as well as a $600 and $300 award for the second- and third-prize winners, respec- tively. e event came about after the Excalibur competition in Que- bec, which used to be national, became provincially based. It's an exciting initiative, she says. "We do anticipate making it an- nual and potentially inviting other Western provinces to participate as well." HRIA was also busy with a survey of members on the CHRP and its value. It found holders of the certification have a higher median annual base salary and are more likely to hold manage- ment positions. CHRP designa- tion holders have a base salary of $91,800 while non-designation holders reported a base salary of $67,000 — a diff erence of $24,800 (37 per cent), found the survey of 1,407 members (with 821 CHRP respondents). CHRPs are also more likely to hold management positions, as 72 per cent of respondents in a man- ager, supervisor or lead position hold a CHRP, compared to 75 per cent of directors and 73 per cent of vice-presidents. Regular (non-management em- ployees) are the least likely to hold the designation. The Alberta association also engaged Abingdon Research on a project to identify trends in the province's labour market and to provide the latest benchmarking data for members. Members will be surveyed on the retirement trends of older workers and turn- over rates among employees. Saskatchewan takes strategic view Greg Honey, President, SAHRP O ver the past year, the Saskatchewan Associa- tion of Human Resource Professionals (SAHRP) has been working on three main areas: transitioning from a tactical board to a strategic, governance- oriented board; elevating the profession through the pursuit of self-regulation; and improv- ing programming for members. e board is in its second cycle of strategic planning, so it annually identifi es short- and long-term goals for the organization and specifi c objectives to fulfi ll those goals, along with action items, budget and timelines, says Greg Honey, president of SAHRP. "Not only do we want to be a strategic board with very defi- nite action plans that support the strategy, but we want to be a good business and highly accountable." To ensure sustainable and ef- fective board governance, SAHRP has done a complete review of its bylaws and is creating a gover- nance manual and handbook. Additionally, board succession is being tackled by the execu- tive committee which has been charged with ongoing board re- newal and presenting the organi- zation with a framework for sup- porting the recruitment of board members. Another objective for the Regina-based SAHRP is to be- come a mature, dual-object en- tity supported by statute. This means seeking legislation for the profession to become a level-four profession (along with professions such as accountants and lawyers). is direction was introduced to members at the October 2013 an- nual general meeting in Saskatoon. It is being followed by a detailed project plan, communication to the association's 1,500 members and approach to the regulatory bodies, according to Honey. "Really, overall... what I want to achieve and we as a board of directors want to achieve is to continue to further the profes- sion by increasing the credibility in the eyes of our stakeholders of the people that are practising hu- man resources in the province. It's critically imperative for the orga- nization and for the province." Members have also stated they want and need quality program- ming to support their develop- ment and professional standing. "We know that we need to improve... the quality of the pro- gramming to meet the needs of what our members are saying," says Honey. "With that in mind, we embarked on getting better- quality speakers. We hit the ball out of the park as far as the 2013 annual conference was concerned — we had a record number of attendees." SAHRP is also developing an educational framework that will guide the continuing develop- ment of professional competence for members. e framework will enable the SAHRP to: better plan member development through learning initiatives and programs; define the competencies being developed through the programs; and better articulate the param- eters for assessing the quality of the programs. Manitoba: Goal is self-regulation by 2019 Ron Gauthier, CEO, HRMAM T here may be some exciting changes on the horizon for the Human Resource Management Association of Manitoba (HRMAM). The Winnipeg-based associa- tion recently developed a fi ve- year strategic plan with a new mission, as well as plans for self- regulation and a strong Certifi ed Human Resources Professional (CHRP) brand, according to Ron Gauthier, CEO and CHRP regis- trar of HRMAM. "In the fall of 2013, we decided to look at creating a new strate- gic plan. We hired a consultant to come in and do that," he says. "We surveyed our members, we had the consultant contact different stakeholders like the Chamber of Commerce, the ac- counting professions, all the edu- cational institutions that we deal with… to sort of just talk about the organization, where it's going, how they see its role in all of those sorts of things. And from that, the board came up with a new strate- gic plan." e plan includes a new mis- sion: "Advancing the human re- sources profession and driving business excellence," as well as four new goals — one of them be- ing self-regulation. "Our first goal is to become self-regulated by 2019. Our sec- ond goal is to promote the CHRP brand. Our third goal is to grow the membership to 2,500. Our fi - nal goal is to position the associa- tion and the profession as thought leaders of signifi cant infl uence in the community," says Gauthier. "Our vision is that the CHRP brand is a premiere brand, a household name in Manitoba, and that… we are a self-regu- lated body, a partner with busi- ness sponsors and the education community." HRMAM, which has more than 1,250 members, is looking to double its membership within the next fi ve years. But, in the shorter term, it will be launching an accreditation program this year. "We are going to accredit peo- ple that do education and train- ing," says Gauthier, adding that a volunteer panel of CHRPs will re- view their education or training curriculums and then accredit them as HRMAM-accredited programs. "If it's a four-hour program, you will get four continued pro- fessional development hours, and we will allow those accreditation partners to use that accreditation in their marketing materials," he says. Those accredited programs, combined with HRMAM mov- ing to an annual conference in- stead of bi-annual, will hopefully further establish the association as a "hub" for its member base, says Gauthier. " e emphasis for us on that is that we want to sort of be the networking hub of facilitating education and professional devel- opment for our members, without having to have all the resources to put them on. We've got a lot of people out in the community doing that already so we want to partner with them." The 2014 HRIA Challenge was held in March and showcased students' skills through an academic competition.

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