Canadian HR Reporter

JULY 14, 2014 Canadian HR RepoRteR & StRategiC Capability netwoRk Getting in the game An inside look at recruitment, training and retention for the 2015 Pan Am Games By Liz Bernier it's a Massive, awe-inspiring undertaking: Within just a few years, a huge organization will be built from the ground up — and then completely disappear. at's exactly what the organizing com- mittee of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games has set out to do. e committee is approaching the home stretch of the pre-games work, and two senior members of its HR department gave the Strategic Capability Network an inside look at some of their re- cruitment, training and retention strategies — as well as how they've overcome unique challenges. e vision for the 2015 games is "e Peoples' Games," said Karen Hacker, senior vice-president of human resources and volunteers, general counsel and corporate secretary. "ey are going to be inclusive and accessible to the families that live and work here," she said. "In our smaller, more intimate ven- ues, the fans are going to be able to meet and mix with our athletes. We will have an affordable ticket strategy, which means that an av- erage family of four will be able to attend actual competitions." A major part of that inclusive strategy is a critical focus on di- versity, said Hacker. "ey will be dynamic and in- clusive and a celebration of the global village that southern On- tario is," she said. "We are also pro- moting diversity in our workforce, volunteers and businesses that supply us. We live in the most di- verse region in the world and (the Games) are going to reflect this cultural strength." As the largest international sporting event Canada has ever hosted — bigger than any of the Olympic competitions held in Montreal, Vancouver or Cal- gary — the Games will see about 10,000 athletes, coaches and of- ficials, 41 different countries and 250,000 visitors travel to the re- gion. e committee's intent is to create three lasting legacies for the region, said Hacker. "We're working to create social, economic and sport legacies from these Games that will last for de- cades to come," she said, adding that those will include 26,000 jobs, 10 new sporting facilities and 15 renovations, and fast-tracked transportation infrastructure. Massive volunteer base But a critical element of the Games is the massive volunteer base. With a target of 20,000 volunteers, the volunteer force will be the heart and soul of the Games, said Hacker. Beyond those volunteers, the Games will employ about 435 full-time staff, more than 200 temporary staff and thousands of contractors, said Naki Osutei, director of human resources and diversity and inclusion. ose employees come from the public, private and non-for- profit sectors. Some have expe- rience with sport or large-scale events, and others do not. ere is a board of directors they are ac- countable to, as well as seven dif- ferent divisions and 51 functional areas, she said. "One of the things that is really fascinating about an organization like this are the blended cultures that make up this committee," said Osutei. "Bringing together the best of all of these sectors has been quite beneficial to the orga- nizing committee." And they've made good use of all that combined expertise, facing down several unique challenges. "We have very interesting ex- ternal realities that we have to contend with. Among them are the staff and budget constraints, and one of the things that we of- ten talk about in these presenta- tions is the scale of these Games compared to the resourcing that's attached to it," said Osutei. To put that in perspective, con- sider this: e Pan Am Games are going to be significantly larger than the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. "Where Vancouver had about nine venues, we'll have 30-plus. Where Vancouver had 21 sports, we'll have upwards of 51 sports. Vancouver had an ultimate staff size of about 4,000 — we'll have a workforce of about 450,000," she said. And that workforce faces the realities of "working in a fishbowl," said Osutei, with the very public face of the organizing committee. "You can imagine how that impacts the workforce. From a positive perspective, it means that people are very excited about the organizing committee that we're part of… but on the flipside, there's this constant scrutiny that the organizing committee is un- der," she said. Another challenge they've had Credit: Mark Blinch (Reuters) With the Pan Am Games coming to Toronto next year, it seems like the entire city is one giant construction zone. Staffing such a large event — with contractors, volunteers and full-time staff — is an enormous HR challenge. lImItED > pg. 10

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