Canadian HR Reporter

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PRESENTER: Arupa Tesolin | Learning Paths International DATE: June 18, 2014 WEBINAR SERIES Arupa Tesolin Sergio R. Karas HRPA's withdrawal from CCHRA will not aff ect the trans- ferability or mutual recognition of the CHRP designation between provinces, said Wilson. "Legally, the provinces have the sole responsibility in this area, and designations can only be dealt with on a province-to-province basis," he said. "So, in terms of the transfer- ability, I don't see any impact there because that's a provincial responsibility." Transferability of the designa- tion is negotiated and supported by the provincial associations' chief staff offi cers (CSOs), who meet regularly, said Wilson. "They've been meeting on a regular basis to basically share best practices. We attend each other's conferences, ensure that there's communication, we ex- change best practices and we sup- port each other as needed." But HRPA's exit from CCHRA will complicate things a bit when it comes to transferability, said Alykhan Bandali, chair of the board of directors of the Human Resources Institute of Alberta (HRIA). "Now we've just got the addi- tional challenge to make sure that the designation is recognized with standards across the country for that transferability," he said. "It's not as easy." Reaction from other provinces Alberta was disappointed by Ontario's decision to leave, said Bandali. "As a designated body for the CHRP, we were very disappoint- ed with the decision on the part of HRPA to leave CCHRA," he said. "This doesn't sever relation- ships with HRIA and HRPA in any way — we still have a great working relationship with them. ey've been very helpful in giv- ing us their experience in the whole self-regulation process." HRPA will continue to ex- change knowledge and collabo- rate with the other provincial as- sociations, said Wilson. "We've always taken the posi- tion with member associations that we're willing to share any- thing and everything that we do," he said. "Staff (have) been sharing our experience and lessons learned in terms of the regulatory voyage that we've been on, and we will continue to do that." Learning about those experi- ences will be helpful as Alberta continues to pursue self-regulated status, said Bandali. "For HRIA in Alberta, this has further solidifi ed our resolve in achieving self-regulation and as- sisting other provinces in doing the same." e British Columbia Human Resources Management Asso- ciation (BC HRMA) is also con- tinuing to pursue self-regulated status, and it's probably two or three years away at this point, said Simon Evans, the associa- tion's former CEO. "We're all at diff erent stages, and each one of us has diff erent experiences around self-regula- tion," he said, adding HRPA's with- drawal from CCHRA will have no impact on BC HRMA's operations or programs. e B.C. association was not surprised by HRPA's decision be- cause now that Ontario is self-reg- ulated, HRPA has diff erent needs, said Evans. Next steps After exiting CCHRA, the Ontar- io association's next steps will in- clude promoting a stronger focus on enhancing the CHRP designa- tion in the province, according to Wilson. "We feel it's fundamental in terms of protecting the public and providing value to our mem- bers. So a lot more emphasis and focus will be put on enhancing the designation for our members, as well as more emphasis in terms of marketing the profession," he said. " at's where we need to put our eff ort and focus, and we are working diligently on that." HRPA's budget line of more than $500,000 annually that pre- viously went towards its CCHRA membership will be reinvested in critical areas that add value for members, said Wilson. "Whatever savings we would see, we will invest those in specifi c areas that are critical as we move to really inculcating our role as a regulator in Ontario. Areas that we will putting extra attention and spending to will be in the area of designation, and in the area of marketing the benefi ts that HR professionals bring to organiza- tions," he said. HRPA does not anticipate the decision to leave the national body will have any implications on its relationships with international HR associations, said Wilson. "We really don't see that that's going to have much impact. e reason for that is we already have very strong relationships with in- ternational associations, really at the most senior level," he said. "We actually meet with those associations on a regular basis… we invite them as well to our conferences and we attend their conferences." e organizations also consult with each other on best practices, said Wilson. "We really don't see that that's going to change moving forward." Leaving the door open HRPA has not ruled out the pos- sibility of rejoining CCHRA in the future, he said. "If, at some point in the future, it makes sense for us to rejoin — if circumstances change at some future date, we'd be open to reas- sessing the situation," said Wilson. "I am, believe it or not, a fi rm believer in national associations, so I'm hoping longer-term that we may be able to re-open the door." In the meantime, HRPA has off ered to remain involved with CCHRA in a reduced role as an observer, he said, adding he has not yet received a response. e decision to leave the na- tional association was a diffi cult one that HRPA's board weighed for some time, said Wilson. "It hasn't been an easy decision for HRPA — our board really did a lot of due diligence on this." But, at this point, HRPA feels that shifting its focus and exit- ing the council is a necessary decision. "I opened the door longer-term to (CCHRA), if things do change. We just feel that the national re- lationship is really important, but they need to review and update how that would work," he said. Reinvesting in 'specifi c, critical areas' Reinvesting in 'specifi c, critical areas' CCHRA < pg. 1 "If, at some point in the future, it makes sense for us to rejoin, we'd be open to reassessing the situation... I'm hoping that we may be able to re-open the door." ACROSS CANADA Credit: Reuters Telecommuting off ers edge to companies looking to recruit talent: Survey Work-life balance ranks as top benefi t of telecommuting Economy slows to 1.2 per cent growth in fi rst quarter Slowest pace since 2012 Workers worldwide not confi dent they will retire comfortably: Survey Few employers facilitate phased transition to retirement AROUND THE WORLD Credit: Francois Lenoir (Reuters) Google releases workforce demographics, vows to increase diversity Few women, minorities represented U.S. lawmakers push for tough labour rules in Pacifi c trade deal Concerns about practices in Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei Spain to pass $9.3-billion plan to boost jobs, cut taxes: Prime minister 1 in 4 Spanish workers is unemployed Tiff any employee sues, says luxury jewelry retailer discriminated against blacks Blacks underrepresented at management level, excluded from executive level, charges lawsuit

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