Canadian HR Reporter

July 14, 2014

Canadian HR Reporter is the national journal of human resource management. It features the latest workplace news, HR best practices, employment law commentary and tools and tips for employers to get the most out of their workforce.

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PM40065782 RO9496 July 14, 2014 INSIDE Eye on bullying Ostracism an overlooked form of workplace bullying page 3 Stress claims Tribunal decision could lead to flood of claims page 5 SHRP SHRINKING Saskatchewan no longer offering designation page 2 Beauty or Beast? Credit: Edmonton Journal/Bruce Edwards Kendra Behringer, 24, has started a petition to make it illegal for employers to discriminate against people with piercings or tattoos. The Edmonton woman wants "body modification" to become a protected ground of discrimination under the Alberta Human Rights Act. Behringer herself has 22 piercings above the neck, and says she once had her resumé thrown in the trash — right in front of her — after a prospective employer took one look at her appearance. Foreign workers now harder to hire Employers facing increased costs, red tape and enforcement By Sarah DoBSon Major changes to Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Pro- gram (TFWP) are being received with mixed reviews but will defi- nitely have an impact on those employers that make use of the government program. e reforms are meant to en- sure the TFWP is only used as intended — as a last and limited resort to fill acute labour shortages on a temporary basis when quali- fied Canadians are not available — according to the government. at means limiting access to the pro- gram, tightening the labour mar- ket assessment and implementing stronger enforcement with tough- er penalties so businesses will have to make greater efforts to recruit and train Canadians for available jobs, including increasing wages. It's a monstrosity, according to Sergio Karas, principal and lawyer at Karas Immigration Law. "ere is absolutely no dispute by anyone that some elements of the program were being abused," he said. "But that doesn't mean that you can use a sledgehammer in order to deal with problems that require a scalpel." The changes will undermine Canadian companies' competi- tiveness because employers are going to quit using the program al- together and look for other ways to bring in workers, such as interna- tional treaties, said Toronto-based Karas, adding the government is being disingenuous in not men- tioning the impact of other pro- grams such as open work permits. "Instead of having a comprehen- sive approach that makes sense, what (governments) do is they devise these ad hoc measures that respond to political pressures." HIGHER > pg. 7 AD > pg. 7 e end of job postings? Zappos decides to can traditional job ads, build relationships with 'insiders' instead By Sarah DoBSon online clothing and shoe retailer Zappos has always prided itself on taking a different path, focusing on a strong culture that keeps employees happy, as seen in its infamous "pay to quit" program. So its latest move shouldn't come as much of a surprise — the company has announced it will "shut off job postings." Instead, the Amazon entity has created a new careers site featuring information — on the employees, culture, roles — about each of its departments. Rather than apply for a specific position, jobseekers can introduce themselves to a department and become a "Zappos Insider." "We will no longer need to send inhumane rejection templates. Instead, we can begin to focus on long-term engagement," wrote Mi- chael Bailen, senior HR manager at the Zappos Family of Companies, in a blog post. "Job postings are so one-sided. We ask the candidate to sum up their existence on a sheet of pa- per and quickly rush to judgment without giving much in return. In our model, we want to be super transparent and accessible. Zap- pos Insiders will have unique ac- cess to content, Google Hangouts and discussions with recruiters and hiring teams. Since the call-to- action is to become an insider ver- sus applying for a specific open- ing, we will capture more people with a variety of skill sets that we can pipeline for current or future openings." Recruiting has become a walk- ing contradiction, he said, as em- ployers say they care about the candidate experience but only spend five to seven seconds look- ing at a resumé. "We consider ourselves mar- keters but we blow up social newsfeeds with job postings and send generic, templated InMails. We care deeply about company culture and quality of hire, but we strive to fill positions as quickly as possible. We know employment brand and company brand are one and the same in the eyes of candi- dates, but we still allow candidates to slip into a black hole and ignore their existence." And Zappos' recruiters are too busy, said Bailen. Last year, the company received more than 31,000 applicants and hired just 1.5 per cent of them. Instead of posting openings to job boards, Human rights policy clarifies mental health, addiction Ontario policy designed to educate employers about responsibilities By Liz Bernier Mental health and addic- tions disabilities will affect almost one in five Canadian adults over their lifetimes — yet these disabili- ties often remain misunderstood. ose who struggle with men- tal illness have also suffered from historical disadvantage, negative stereotypes and social prejudice, according to the landmark 1991 Supreme Court of Canada deci- sion R. v. Swain. Owen Swain was charged with assault after at- tacking his wife and children in a bizarre manner. His court case spurred Parliament to pass new laws around individuals who are found not criminally responsible by reason of a mental disorder. Prejudice has made many AFRAID > pg. 10 Corporate Outplacement Services CMScareers.ca Leaving made Easier HR_Reporter_SmallAd_2014_Layout 1 1 THE BIG GAMES Recruitment, training for Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games — including 20,000 volunteers — is no easy task page 8

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