Canadian HR Reporter

Canadian HR RepoRteR april 6, 2015 10 News EmploymentSource™ New to WestlawNext® Canada EmploymentSource is your fastest route to the employment and OH&S law you need to expertly advise clients, employers and unions. Be more effective and efficient in your research with the right mix of resources in one online research tool. EmploymentSource combines exclusive expert commentary, case law, legislation and dismissal notice periods, with functionality that is easy to use. Experience the benefits • Prepare winning dismissal litigation strategies • Defend occupational health & safety charges • Advise clients/employers regarding health and safety compliance Visit westlawnextcanada.comemploymentsource or contact us at 1-866-609-5811 for more details 00224VB-A47772 Managers also play a key role in terms of being aware of em- ployees' stress levels and any warning signs they are disengag- ing or thinking of leaving, said Budworth. "e job of a manager is to be aware of what's going on with the people that work with them. So part of it is for the manager to know when the individual they're working with is satisfied with their working conditions," she said. "The manager's core job is around managing the flow of work — and part of that is looking at the people doing the work and taking note of whether or not they have everything they need, you're helping them to remove barriers and roadblocks to their success, and you're managing the circum- stances for them so that they can be successful. So part of your job is to be checking in with them to ensure that they're motivated, but not overly stressed. "It's similar to the idea that there should be no surprises. So managers who are doing their jobs well… will get some signals directly from their employees as they are working." Personal ROI Something that resonates with a lot of employers is framing the issue in terms of the employee's "personal ROI," said Richard Ear- le, managing director at the Cana- dian Institute of Stress in Toronto. "Dealing with the stress prob- lem should yield win-win solu- tions. When you boil this down to doing more with less… if you drill down just one step, (people feel) that we're doing more for less. 'What am I getting back for what I'm putting in?' really seems to be the question," he said. "at personal ROI is really what people are after." Even if employees aren't leav- ing and turning over, it's still a question employers need to con- sider to combat presenteeism and burnout within the organization, he said. "It is the people who stay and just hang on by their finger- nails that's the greater lose-lose problem." Employers need to develop a greater awareness of employee stress and burnout, just as they have with mental health issues in general, said Budworth. "Certainly the universal experi- ence, the thing that affects every- body in the workplace, is stress. So, yes, that should be a primary concern for managers and lead- ers because everybody feels it," she said. "But it's also something that drives people, so a certain amount of stress is tied to motivation. So it's always been this thing that is a bit of a balancing act — to provide enough challenge and motiva- tion... without driving people into this place of discomfort." hIGh stress < pg. 3 Combat burnout perts and, of course, pharmacists. "Target just closed down in Canada; we're expecting to pick up most of the pharmacists that lost their jobs… as soon as Na- tional Access Cannabis opens up its doors," said Abelland. e company hopes to set up new locations in Ottawa over the next few months, he said. "We're taking baby steps be- cause… this is a new ground, it's a new business, a new industry and with a new industry, you need a lot of help, a lot of support and right now we're just looking for cham- pions to be a part of NAC." CannTrust just received its li- cense in February and in setting up the company, Paul has reached out to people he knows from pre- vious workin the field, including pharmacy and lab technicians and nurses. "I've assembled a team of people who are very, very expe- rienced in patient-centric care, knowing what to do and how to relate to the patients in terms of ordering a drug or, in this case, medical marijuana, and relate to that patient and their needs," he said. "It is a huge challenge, if you're serious about the business, and you need to be because it's very regulated… then you better get serious about finding the right people — that is absolutely ev- erything in terms of making the business successful. Without that, it won't happen for you." It was more difficult, however, to find experienced growers, said Paul, but the 30-employee CannTrust now has three master growers who were licensed under the old MMAR program, he said. "In addition, they have de- grees from university in things like agriculture, one has a mas- ter's in microbiology, so very science-orientated." Security concerns All employees at CannTrust are first fingerprinted and cleared with the authorities, said Paul. "e intent is to build this into a safe and manageable industry where the consumer ends up with the benefit." Security and safety are also priorities, with plenty of cam- eras on-site along with personal protective equipment to prevent contamination. "You can't come into my place and go anywhere throughout the facility unless you're completely gowned exactly like a pharma- ceutical company, so that means you're wearing covered boots, a complete body suit, a mask, a hat, latex gloves," he said. "The disciplines of pharma- ceutical manufacturing and disciplines of growing medical marijuana are no different — it's a sterile environment so that you can control what you're growing. People are consuming that." Tilray also does a very extensive background check on all staff, said Engel. "ere's also, for certain posi- tions, another security require- ment where Health Canada is part of the security review, depending on the level of the position," he said. But the biggest winner in all this — "as we continue this dia- logue and start to educate our- selves and find the benefits of medical marijuana" — will be, of course, the medical marijuana us- ers themselves "because it truly is a medicine," said Abellan. "People are just not aware of how big this industry is really go- ing to get." Experienced growers needed mArIJuANA < pg. 6 "If you're serious about the business... then you better get serious about finding the right people — that is everything in terms of making the business successful."

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