Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER June 15, 2015 NEWS 9 you can't have people making their own rules. I think we need to bend the rules and then leave it at that because everybody comes to an organization with their own beliefs and values and there has to be that level of consistency." Guidelines But unless there are serious im- plications — such as legal or legislative issues — it's better to dispense with the rules altogether and instead use guidelines, said Hogg. at means establishing an organization's values and ser- vice principles, with senior leader- ship framing the decision-making process. "When you start from that perspective, I find that the folks within the organization don't think they're as constrained by rules and they in fact feel that they can make the appropriate decisions from a customer's perspective, with clear guidelines that have been provided by the organization so that there's more consistency there in terms of the overall experience that a customer might get." e service principles should be prioritized and introduced to the organization as a whole, with a good amount of dialogue, he said. "So people start to understand what that decision-making process looks like, examples of good decisions, examples of bad decisions, and the reality is if that kind of dialogue is taking place, then you have a reasonably good shot at people really having a good understanding of what is appropriate." This focus on flexibility and employee autonomy started way back in the 70s and 80s in the auto industry, with Toyota's approach to service quality, said Keis, and now the hospitality industry is very much committed to the concept. "It's catching on because people understand the ROI of it — once you see the business case for this, then that opens up a lot of eyes, it's not just a touchy-feely, HR-y kind of thing." Focus on flexibility RULES < pg. 3 You know you want to… Now's the time to enter your nomination for our first-ever National HR Awards PEOPLE are an organization's biggest asset — and we want to honour organizations that under- stand this. HR departments across Canada are taking on increasingly strategic roles, driving human capital management strategies and helping their organizations outperform competitors across the country and around the world. With this in mind, Canadian HR Reporter is proud to pres- ent the inaugural National HR Awards. It makes sense — since 1987, we have been the trusted source of news and information for hu- man resources professionals. Pub- lished by omson Reuters, we bring unparalleled credibility and ethics to the world of workplace reporting. ese awards are about sub- stance, not style. We are going to celebrate the winners in a special issue of Canadian HR Reporter on Sept. 21, in which we will tell the stories of the winners. We are also producing an exclusive series of videos with the winning organi- zations — it will be unparalleled, inspiring coverage of the best practices in the country. And we've put together a judg- ing panel of experts from across the country. But we need your help to make it happen. We need you to shed your cloaks of modesty and shine a light on the work you do every day in your organizations. Don't be shy — some of the best stories we've heard over the years have come from HR practitioners who didn't think they were doing anything special. What seems routine to you could be ground- breaking to other organizations. In 2015, we will be honouring HR departments across Canada in 11 special award categories. Nominations close July 31, 2015, so be sure to get your application in today. To apply, visit www.national- hrawards.com. And if you have any questions, contact associate publisher and managing editor Todd Humber at todd.humber@ thomsonreuters.com. Award categories: •Best Diversity Program •Best Recruitment Program •HR Challenge Award •Canadian Lawyer Magazine's Employment Lawyer of the Year •Best Employee Communications Program •Best Corporate T&D Program •Venngo Employee Engagement Award •Best CSR Program •Best Recognition Program •Technology/Innovation Award •Healthy Workplaces Award

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