Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR February 23, 2015 FeAtures 13 Register today for industry recognized live or on demand webinars at the Carswell Professional Development Centre. www.hrreporter.com/cpdcentre Join a live 1 hour webinar during your lunchtime that includes a presentation and/or a panel discussion led by industry experts and a live Q&A session where participants can submit live questions to be answered by presenters. These accredited courses are aimed at professionals and employers looking to further their professional development within HR and contextualise acquired knowledge and skills in their workplace. Current industry partnerships include: • Human Resources Professionals Association • Human Resources Institute of Alberta • Human Resources Association of New Brunswick • Canadian Human Rights Commission DO YOU HAVE 1 HOUR TO SPEND ON YOUR HR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT? THOMSON REUTERS CARSWELL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE WEBINAR SERIES Quebec nears goal of 10,000 members F or the last few years, the ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés (crhA) has worked hard to update its profession with the Quebec government in the fi eld of competence. e last time this was done was back in 1973 and there are 46 dif- ferent professional designations in the province, says Florent Fran- coeur, president and CEO. "We have to work on what is the frontier between one profes- sion and the other," he says. "It was not clear what a CHRP (Certifi ed Human Resources Professional) can do and cannot do, and now we will have really our new fi eld of competence, we will be included in the law." e association has also contin- ued to focus on being more visible and strengthening the profession. With 9,700 members, CRHA is close to its goal of 10,000 mem- bers by 2016. "Keep in mind, we are an as- sociation of full CHRP and only CHRP (holders)," says Francoeur. e association now has about 800 students but it also knows about 1,000 HR people will leave the profession in the next few years as one out of four workers in Quebec will retire, says Francoeur in Montreal. e students are the only way to increase the membership, he says — and the 10,000 member- ship fi gure is just a target. "We want to build the profes- sion, we are not at that place where we want to build an association — the association is there. But we are really focused on increasing the value of the CHRP designation." CRHA also endeavours to pro- vide value to members through regular surveys, which show how fast the labour market is chang- ing, he says. In Quebec, there are 5.4 million people between the age of 15 and 65 and that group is growing by only 2,000 people per year. "In Quebec, we will have more people leave… the workforce than people entering," he says. " e challenges for HR people in Quebec over the next years is related to… how to keep our immigrants because in Quebec we are good (at) attracting im- migrants but we are not good at keeping our immigrants." Florent Francoeur, president and CEO, CRHA Nova Scotia, P.E.I. group develops new mission, vision and strategic plan F or the human resources Association of Nova sco- tia (hrANs), last year was a time to assess, evaluate and set a new course. "For us, 2014 was a pivotal year," says Steven Ashton, president of HRANS, which has more than 1,000 members. "We developed a new mission and vision for the organization, then worked on a new strategic plan." at plan targets strengthening the HR profession as a whole in the region, and empowering HR professionals with the tools they need to address the community's needs. ere are a lot of changes going on in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, says Ashton, so a valued HR professional with an up-to-date portfolio of skills and knowledge will help organizations weather the storm and make the most of opportunities. For one thing, the provinces are dealing with an aging workforce as well as increasing health chal- lenges. For HR, this translates into a strong need to fi nd sustainable ways to recruit and retain talent. " at includes fi nding ways to keep people healthy and safe on the job," says Ashton. "We need some really progressive programs to address these issues." e region has also seen up- heavals with respect to labour relations, thanks in large part to changes in the economic land- scape and new legislation and mergers in the health-care sector. "When we look at 2015 and beyond, I think we have a huge amount of work to do when it comes to recovering and rebuild- ing trust between employers, em- ployees and our partners in the labour arena," says Ashton. As for other big trends, Ashton points to recent headline-grab- bing news events. "It's hard not to comment on what happened at the CBC (with former host Jian Ghomeshi) and at the Dalhou- sie University dentistry program (with students posting infl amma- tory comments online)," he says. " ese are broader issues of or- ganizational culture and respect- ful workplaces, and they aff ect us all. As HR professionals, we have a huge role to play in this conversation." Involvement in and education around change leadership should be part of the professional con- versation in 2015, as well, says Ashton. ere is often pressure to re- spond to these issues with knee- jerk responses. "But it's not always that easy," says Ashton. "These are often complex, systemic issues and we need to take the time to carefully consider and look at the problem." e association's annual con- ference, taking place May 26 and 27 in Halifax, will zero in on many of these issues. Steve Ashton, president, HRANS

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