Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR March 23, 2015 14 INsIGHt TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN KandaHaR, afghanistan — Working at a bank must be tempt- ing, with all that money lying around. Which could explain why bank employees in Kandahar ap- parently stole as much as 81 million afghanis ($1.4 million Cdn) from their workplace. Security cameras showed the bank's vault had been cleaned out, but investigators were waiting to gain access before con- fi rming the total amount missing. "yesterday, we could only open one of the treasury's doors. We hope to open the next one today," said Fazel ahmad azimi, the cen- tral bank director for afghanistan's southwestern region. it's believed the raid was carried out by a senior offi cial at the bank, an employee of nine years, with the help of his son and brother-in-law who were also on staff , according to Reuters. e group — who apparently escaped to pakistan — had removed CCtV recordings before fl eeing but in- vestigators hoped footage might be recovered from the memory chip of the security cameras. NOT PLAYING FAIR neW yoRK — also lacking eth- ics was a truck driver in the United States who has been charged with tampering with public records and possession of burglary tools. e crime? He used a device that lifted the bumper on his 18-wheeler to conceal his licence plate when he went through toll gates. pab- lo ortega was caught when he fl ipped a switch on his dashboard as he approached tolls over the Hudson River to evade a US$95 toll, according to Reuters. " e of- fi cer positioned at the toll booth sees the bumper lift to a 90-degree angle. is makes it unreadable to the eZ-pass reader," said Joseph pentangelo, a spokesperson for the port authority of new york and new Jersey police. authorities also found the rear licence plate of the tractor-trailer was obscured with grease and unreadable. the kit cost ortega about US$2,500, said pentangelo, adding it can be used legally to protect bumpers from getting scraped at construction sites and other places with uneven pavement. DRIVING IT HOME Rio de JaneiRo — He was just helping out. at least, that's what a Brazil judge said recently when he was seen driving a seized porsche from a case he was handling, ac- cording to Reuters. Flavio Ro- berto de Souza is presiding over criminal proceedings against eike Batista, once Brazil's richest man. But the judge was seen driving a car of Batista's that was among a number of luxury vehicles con- fi scated by police. " e Federal police did not have a safe place for the car and it was exposed to sun, rain and possible damage. as i want the car to be preserved in good condition, i took it to a cov- ered parking space (in the build- ing where i live)," Souza told local business daily Valor Economico. "i did not take it to use, just to look after it... it is a normal situation." e accused lost almost every- thing as his eBX conglomerate fell apart and his oil fi rm oGX fi led for bankruptcy in 2013. prosecu- tors said he sold 236 million reais (US$85 million) of oGX stock based on privileged information. Batista has denied selling the stock based on insider informa- tion, saying he was legally obliged to sell it to pay off debt. TOILET PATROL SeattLe — Looking for a job? an unconventional one? Bus ser- vice provider King County Metro transit might be able to help. e employer is looking to hire a "com- fort station co-ordinator" who can fi nd easily accessible restrooms for Seattle-area bus drivers. e pay: Up to US$100,000 per year, ac- cording to the associated press. e agency has a legal obligation to fi nd access to bathrooms for the 2,600 drivers, according to Metro transit spokesperson Jeff Switzer. Last november, the state depart- ment of Labor and industries cited Metro transit after an audit found drivers were not provided unre- stricted access to restrooms and some wore diapers. W EIRD ORKPLACE THE Vol. 28 No. 5 – March 23, 2015 PUBLISHED BY Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ©Copyright 2015 by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. CAnADIAn HR REPORTER is published 21 times a year. 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Todd Humber editor's notes PEOPLE IN GLASS OFFICES CHRiStCHURCH, n.Z. — if you're planning to have an of- fi ce romp — literally — it might be a good idea to turn out the lights. at's what two employees learned recently in new Zealand when their on-site dalliance was captured in photos and video by bar patrons across the street. e senior insurance manager and offi ce junior were fi lmed at the offi ce of insurance fi rm Marsh, and the images were posted on Facebook — where the wife discovered the aff air. Bosses at Marsh have identifi ed the pair and have started an investigation, according to the New Zealand Herald. Ceo Grant Milne said the company was taking the incident "very seriously" but did not say if the pair had been suspended. "We're working through the is- sue with them." employment law expert Blair Scotland said the pair could lose their jobs and the key element was whether Marsh believed it had been brought into disrepute. "Some people will have a bit of a snigger while others might wonder what sort of company allows these sorts of activities after hours. it's not an easy process for an employer to weigh up," he said. Credit: Africa Studio/Shutterstock Losing top talent costly but not fatal b ear with me for a minute. It may sound like I'm about to write a sports column, but I'm not. I need to talk about the detroit lions, a football team I've followed closely since I was able to walk (I can thank my dad for that curse). If you know anything about the NFL, you'll know the Lions don't exactly have a winning tradition. ey are one of four teams to have never appeared in the Super Bowl, despite the fact they are one of the oldest franchises in the league. ey are the only team to ever go winless in a 16-game season. But they've been on the up- swing recently — making the playoff s two of the last four years. A big part of that improvement was Ndamukong Suh who, as I write this, is set to sign a massive $100-million-plus contract with the Miami Dolphins and become the highest-paid defensive player in league history. So the Lions — as this column returns to its HR roots — have a retention problem. One of their biggest stars has just walked out the door, leaving some pretty big shoes to fi ll. (Literally, since Suh is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs north of 300 pounds.) While that makes big headlines in the sports world, it's an every- day reality for organizations: Star performers are the most likely to leave. ey are the ones be- ing headhunted aggressively, the ones who have tantalizing off ers dangled in front of their eyes on a regular basis. ese days, the cold truth is spending an entire career with one organization is almost unheard of. So what do employers do when a star performer shows up in her manager's offi ce, clutching that dreaded piece of paper in her hand, and resigns? By the time that happens, it is invariably too late. e employee has already been through the emotional roll- ercoaster and come to a fi nal de- cision — and she is very unlikely to change her mind and renege on the commitment she made to her new employer, no matter the counter-offer. That means em- ployers need to be proactive and look for warning signs among top performers before it reaches that stage. I've talked to some HR profes- sionals who have a "too big to fail" list of key employees — where it would be especially damaging to the business if they walked out the door and never returned. HR works with managers and edu- cates them on warning signs to look for and come up with spe- cialized career paths to keep that talent engaged and on track. Mentoring programs with se- nior executives are popular op- tions, and some have even gone as far as creating new positions — just for those individuals — to show they are committed to their long-term development. But even that may not be enough. Because, sometimes, the grass truly is greener on the other side of the fence. e Detroit Li- ons will undoubtedly miss Suh and the presence he gave them on defence. But this is where the news gets good, and it's something worth remembering when a star per- former walks — nobody is irreplaceable. e Lions are now busy looking for Suh's replacement and work- ing on plans to spend the money they would have given him on other star talent. e same strat- egy works in everyday organiza- tions. A departure can provide an opportunity to shake things up, to change the way things are done and to give new talent a chance to shine. When a key employee leaves the business, it hurts. It makes everyone involved do a bit of soul searching and wonder what they could have done to keep that worker. But, sometimes, the hon- est answer is nothing would have made a diff erence. e opportu- nity was just too good to pass up. As long as you know you've done your best and provided op- portunities to your star workers, then you — as an HR professional — should be able to sleep pretty soundly at night. Because with great HR practices in place, those shoes will be easier to fi ll. — if you're planning to have an of- fi ce romp — literally — it might be a good idea to turn out the lights. at's what two employees learned recently in new Zealand when their on-site dalliance was captured in photos and video by bar patrons across the street. e senior insurance manager and offi ce junior were fi lmed at the offi ce of insurance fi rm Marsh, and the images were posted on Facebook — where the wife discovered the aff air. Bosses at Marsh have identifi ed the pair and have sue with them." employment law expert Blair Scotland said the pair could lose their jobs and the key element was whether Marsh believed it had been brought into disrepute. "Some people will have a bit of a snigger while others might wonder what sort of company allows these sorts of activities after A departure provides an opportunity to shake things up, let new talent shine.

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