Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR March 23, 2015 News 7 ceo for a day < pg. 3 Join our professional community of Canadian HR & Organizational Leaders: • Connecting @ monthly events • Collaborating with peers • Challenging conventional thinking The Power of Human Capital CULTIVATING LEADERSHIP FOR 35 YEARS Great Leaders GROW www.scnetwork.ca encouraged to set up a day when something of note is happening, such as a public event or investor call, to really open the students' eyes, said Quinn. "A CEO is the face of a company so they have to have exceptional communication skills, they have to connect with employees, share- holders, customers, government and for students to be able to see that and to see all the aspects that a business leader is involved with is incredible." Esposito's day at the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) in- cluded a weekly meeting with a group of store managers, a tour of a distribution centre and one-on- one time with president and CEO Alain Brunet. "It was very nice to see the con- versations they have, the lead- ership style he has, the way he communicates," he said. "(Bru- net) gave me a lot of valuable in- sights… at every point of the day, he really made me feel included. And the SAQ culture, I was very impressed with it. ey were all super-welcoming, super-friendly, they always asked for my opinion on things, they always made sure that I understood everything." At Hugo Boss, the day coin- cided with the end of the month, a planning season and collection presentations, said Layton. "(e student) had the oppor- tunity to see the wholesale aspect, the retail aspect, we did a tour of one of the stores as well... We also had the opportunity, because I was planning for board meetings this week, that she could sit in on a store planning session on our re- tail stores and shop in shops with our wholesale partners." e student also sat through a marketing presentation with a di- rector looking at upcoming public relations and events, including a New York fashion show, "so she really got the benefit of seeing the overall broad spectrum of the Hugo Boss Canada operations," said Layton. e student shadowing Rafi had an opportunity to meet with legal counsel to get an idea of sports management law and entertain- ment law, he said. She also sat in on a meeting with key stakeholders around marketing, advertising and com- mercial rights. "at allowed her to see the other side of the Games that one wouldn't necessarily see, is how you go to market with your sponsors, how you protect your sponsors while also maximizing opportunities with other stake- holders who may have different sponsors. at's the delicate bal- ance," he said. e student also had lunch with Rafi for a one-on-one conversa- tion and met with a partner and his interns helping with volunteer recruitment. "(e student) was put on the spot as CEO to summarize the discussion and to provide some encouragement to the interns and to provide feedback on their proposals, and she did a remark- ably professional job with literally no notice — we didn't tell her that going into the meeting," he said. Generational insights e CEO program also gives ex- ecutives an opportunity to see the new generation and really get some insight — like reverse men- toring, said Quinn. "For a CEO, one of their big challenges or one of their big objectives is to engage the work- force, the total workforce, and with this new generation... there are different things that appeal to them, that get them excited about getting out of bed and engaged." It's about understanding stu- dent expectations in the work- place, their career expectations and career trajectory, and even their personal growth, said Rafi. "And that's helpful because we have a very young workforce here at the Games, but also it'll help me in my future roles that I'll be taking on to just better understand what is a growing demographic to attract for em- ployment purposes." Reverse mentoring by their employer than their families." irty-one per cent of women feel their families provide enough support on the homefront, while 68 per cent feel their employer provides support for work-life balance, found the study. But women still tend to shoul- der a lot of the burden at home because they place high expec- tations on themselves, said Julie Barker-Merz, president of BMO InvestorLine. "We are the CEOs of our house- hold, to a large extent… one of the stats in the study that I found re- ally fascinating was that 24 per cent of women feel that they need more support at home, compared to 14 per cent of men." Not just a women's issue Even so, there are plenty of men who struggle to balance career and family responsibilities, said Connie Stefankiewicz, head of North American channel strate- gy and solutions, BMO Financial Group. "Forty-nine per cent of men said they've achieved work-life balance. So that's the same. We're not just talking about a women's issue here — we're talking about a broader issue in terms of work-life balance," she said. "We sometimes lose sight of the fact that it's actually difficult for men as well. And if we think about the fact that we've got predomi- nantly two-income families now, the demands on everybody… the demands all of our employers have on us just continue to grow. "So I actually think that this is something that is not just a wom- en's issue, I think that this is a so- cietal issue." Increasingly, employers are recognizing work-life balance is a significant issue and there is a strong business case behind it, said Stefankiewicz. "It is more of an issue for everybody." Employer's role Some employers have made great progress in terms of promoting and enabling work-life balance for employees. Others, however, are still challenged by the issue. Twenty-seven per cent of sur- vey respondents cited better ben- efits as something they'd like from their employers, while 24 per cent cited flexible time, 21 per cent wanted sick or family emergency days and 18 per cent wanted more vacation time. It's also a challenge because, societally, there are still some ves- tiges of the double standard that women have to "do it all," said Col- leen Campbell, vice-chair of BMO Capital Markets. "Outside the company, regard- less of what the company does, there's still those broader ele- ments that are lagging." But employers can certainly make a big difference, said Joanna Rotenberg, chief marketing of- ficer and head of strategy, BMO Financial Group. "From an employer perspective, you really need two things to hap- pen. One is more policy-based, which really sets the institution up. We all know that that's only part of the equation, and the criti- cal one is the second one, which is on-the-margin little comments, little looks that a manager might make," she said. "It really does come down to, when somebody needs their Fri- days and they really are working four days, don't pay them four days and have them work five days… It's really about a man- ager's responsibility to be really thoughtful in those moments, to be not emailing and not sending out that 15-minute call that turns into half the day." Technology has been a crucial factor in enabling more flexibility for employees, said Barker-Merz. "Technology has been a big fac- tor and when I think about being able to work remotely and to be able to go to your kid's play… stay- ing connected to the workplace has been really, really helpful. And it's allowed us as managers to enable that flexibility in others as well." But technology can also be a threat to work-life balance if it's not used thoughtfully, said Rotenberg. "Technology as we know it can be a double-edged sword. It's great at the four o'clock play, but at nine o'clock when it's also beckon- ing you… we sometimes abuse the technology because it may be con- venient for me to work at 9 p.m. at night, but it's not convenient for my team." Better benefits, flex time help bmo study < pg. 1 It's also a challenge because, societally, there are still some vestiges of the double standard that women have to "do it all." Payroll and HR regulations can be complicated especially at tax time! Are you at risk? Powered by ATTEND our LIVE WEBCAST UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF PAYROLL & HR COMPLIANCE Tuesday March 31 st , 12 -1 p.m. EST REGISTER at: cpdcentre.ca/hrreporter STOP ERRORS IN YOUR PAYROLL! Watch our four-part, 10-minute video series to learn more. Go to the Resources & Tools section on www.ceridian.ca! HR-Reporter_quarter-page Ad_Unlock secrects_FNL.indd 1 2015-03-06 11:22 AM

• Cover