Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER CANADIAN HR REPORTER March 24, 2014 March 24, 2014 8 NEWS NEWS !DVANCING THE,EADERSHIP 3KILLSOF9OUR #URRENTAND &UTURE,EADERS 0QFO&OSPMNFOU1SPHSBNT *O)PVTF$MJFOU1SPHSBNT &YFDVUJWF$PBDIJOH "QQMJFE3FTFBSDI "EWJTPSZ4FSWJDFT .IAGARA)NSTITUTECOM 8FmWF(PU:PVS-FBEFSTIJQ/FFET$PWFSFE $IFDLPVUIPX5IF/JBHBSB*OTUJUVUFDBO JNQBDUZPVSPSHBOJ[BUJPOmTGVUVSFUPEBZ 1IPOF &NBJMJOGP!OJBHBSBJOTUJUVUFDPN Focus on all to maximize engagement Focus on all to maximize engagement Employers can't aff ord to ignore low-wage earners if they want to survive: Panellists Employers can't aff ord to ignore low-wage earners if they want to survive: Panellists BY TODD HUMBER ED BROADBENT — former leader of the federal NDP — re- cently said Canada's greatest un- tapped resource is the skills and capacities of workers on the low end of the income scale. "We have one of the world's most educated populations but many Canadians without a de- gree spend their lives trapped in low-paying and insecure jobs that lead nowhere, when they could be an economic force to be reckoned with," he wrote in the Globe and Mail late last year. Ian Hendry, president of the Strategic Capablity Network, contrasted Broadbent's stance with the view held by some or- ganizations that the focus should be on the top 20 per cent of performers. "Chances are you'd like to do everything for everyone," said Hendry. "But you probably don't have the budget for it, nor the in- clination. When you see those two extremes, where do you sit?" Warren Bell, executive vice- president and CHRO at OMERS in Toronto, said organizations can't aff ord to choose one over the other. " ey are both right," he said. "I don't think you can have a top- performing organization if you don't pay attention to both issues. You need to get the maximum en- gagement from the bulk of your organization, and the bulk of your organization tends to be at the lower-income level of the orga- nization — or the level below the executive. It's very diffi cult to have a sustainable, long-term, positive outcome unless you maximize the engagement, which is what I think Ed Broadbent gets at." But on the fl ip side, if an em- ployer wants to drive diff erenti- ated performance, it needs to have its top 20 per cent pushing the agenda, he said. "I don't think either one of those things alone gets you to the out- come," said Bell. "You have to do both. It's no longer 'Can you?' — You better, if you want to survive." Laura Dunne, senior vice-pres- ident of human resources and organizational development at Indigo, said customer experience is everything at her organization — and the people connecting with customers on a daily basis are front-line, hourly employees making $10 or $11 per hour. "If we can't help them reach their full potential and feel en- gaged in what they're doing, then we're not going to have the expe- rience we need in the store to re- main viable as an operation," she said. "So we help them reach their full potential." at doesn't mean every hourly employee is going to climb the ranks, said Dunne, but knowing how to inspire and connect with them is a signifi cant part of her team's eff ort and the fi eld of lead- ership as a whole. If there is consensus that lower- paid staff are underutilized and can do more, what does that mean in terms of the actual money orga- nizations spend on development, asked Hendry — how many dol- lars are directed at the front line versus the top ranks? At Indigo, far more resources are pumped into developing the eff ectiveness of front-line store staff than head offi ce employees, said Dunne. At OMERS, Bell said they "overinvest" in a small group of high performers on a per-person basis. " e way we look at it is 'Who are 20 people below the senior leadership team who can lever our performance?' And we're going to take them on a global leadership program journey over 18 months," he said. Judy Hunter, vice-president of HR and organizational devel- opment at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, said her organization targets development dollars to support strategic initiatives. "If we have a big strategic initia- tive around, for example, diversity, equity and inclusion, we send a bunch of people through educa- tion of what that means and how to build that plan," she said. "We are investing in getting people — so that we're not dependent on external consultants all the time — up to speed." High-potential candidates vs. strong bees Hendry then turned his attention to the notion of high-potential candidates — or HiPos, as they're known. " e idea of HiPo, is that gone now? Are we still using it? ere used to be the issue, 'Don't tell anybody that you're a HiPo. Ev- eryone will want to be one,'" he said. "It's the 'solid bees' that you need to stay because they're the group that often sustain the orga- nization over the long haul. And if you tick off enough of those 'strong bees,' as we used to call them, you run a risk with that. e issue around transparency versus risk — I've always struggled with that one." e HiPo concept is alive and well, said Bell, but it's taken a bit of a diff erent form and the language has changed. "I can give you a list of who our 50 highest potentials are," he said, but they don't necessarily know they're on the list. "We're working through that. Ultimately, we will get to the place where everybody knows that," said Bell. "Many of them know but not all. We are focusing on how to manage this transparency really well. But we are on that track and we will get there." e language OMERS uses is a personal language about what the worker's aspirations are and what the organization thinks is realistic for the individual, he said. " ere's no label at all. We have a label but we never use it," he said. "It never comes out." At Indigo, the concept is getting stronger — and that's because the retailer wants to grow its talent Late last year , a group of senior HR professionals who are members of the Strategic Capability Network gathered in downtown Toronto to conduct a sort of "State of HR" session. The conversation was moderated and facilitated by Ian Hendry, president of SCNetwork, an association for senior business leaders. (See www.scnetwork.ca for more information.) PARTICIPATING IN THE DISCUSSION WERE: • Victoria Hubbell, senior vice-president of strategy and stakeholder relations at the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) • Judy Hunter, vice-president of HR and organizational development at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital • Laura Dunne, senior vice-president of human resources and organizational development at Indigo • Warren Bell, executive vice-president and CHRO at OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System) • Suanne Nielsen, senior vice-president and chief talent offi cer at Foresters in Toronto. VICTORIA HUBBELL IAN HENDRY SUANNE NIELSEN WARREN BELL LAURA DUNNE JUDY HUNTER CALLING > pg. 12 "If we can't help them reach their full potential and feel engaged, then we're not going to have the experience we need in the store to remain viable as an operation."

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