Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER July 13, 2015 NEWS 9 HR Manager's Guide to Employment Files and Information Management: Legislation and Best Practices uniquely addresses the management of all types of employee information throughout the employment lifecycle, from recruitment to termination. Employment information and documentation management carries legal requirements that protect an organization from litigation, and are essential to the creation of sound policies for efficient, effective, and ethical business practices. Easy to read and understand, this new guide provides Human Resources professionals and others who deal with employee files, either electronically or in paper format, with: • Key legislation and emerging case law • Best practices in the areas of privacy, records retention, human resources information systems (HRIS), and information security • Practical guidance, tools and templates, such as sample policies • Information on all Canadian jurisdictions Know your legal obligations in managing employee files Available risk-free for 30 days Order online: www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 Order # 986618-65203 $70 Softcover approx. 100 pages April 2015 978-0-7798-6618-2 Shipping and handling are extra. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. 00228VC-A49657-E98872 New Publication HR Manager's Guide to Employment Files and Information Management: Legislation and Best Practices A Canadian HR Reporter Special Report Howard A. Levitt, B.A., LL.B., and Tanya Neitzert, B.A., CHRP Brought to you by: Employers facing 'complete disruption' Recruitment, retention more difficult as social media changes the game: Executive BY LIZ BERNIER EVERY business, no matter the sector, is facing exponential change. And an organization's leadership — and its culture and people practices — need to be prepared, according to Michael Hyatt, executive chairman of BlueCat, speaking at a Human Re- sources Professionals Association (HRPA) Toronto Chapter event in May. "We're facing absolute and complete disruption," he said. "Ev- ery business you've ever worked for is getting turned upside down." Recruitment and retention are becoming more difficult as so- cial media continues to change the game, said Hyatt, co-founder and former CEO of tech compa- nies BlueCat and Dyadem and a dragon on CBC's Dragon's Den: Next Gen Den. "Everyone is recruited. Re- member when we started com- panies 20 years ago, we were wor- ried about people getting our staff list? Well, everyone has our staff list now — it's called LinkedIn. Everybody is recruited. "Having a concept of stopping recruiters or stopping people from talking to your people, that's long dead. What I've learned as a CEO is the best way to get around this is to accept it and to under- stand what people really want," he said. Leaders — especially in HR — need to understand why people leave companies and what they are really looking for in a work- place, he said. "If you want to build a com- pany… what we have to do with people is ignore the fact that peo- ple are recruited. at's going to happen. (It's about) where are you taking me and why?" Strong leadership Giving employees that sense of purpose and direction — bringing them into the discussion on where the company is going — is a mark of a good leader, said Hyatt. "A fish rots from the head, so does your CEO, (so) does your leadership team — show (employ- ees) that this is where you're go- ing, this is why you're going there, this is why you're doing this. Do they have a sense of purpose?" he said. "What's the number one rea- son why people leave companies? ey don't like their boss. at's the number one thing I've seen over 20 years. But once you get past that, it's a more complex concept." It's also about whether employ- ees feel empowered with knowl- edge and purpose about where the organization is going, he said. "All companies have unions. Whether you like it or not, there's an organic union," he said. "There's a collective, breathing community. And… if people don't feel like they're going somewhere, they will always look for other opportunities." For human resources profes- sionals in particular, it's impor- tant to have a seat at the strategy table. Yet, at many organizations, it's still rare for HR executives to be looped into key meetings with the CEO, said Hyatt. "If you're not in the senior exec meetings, why aren't you? What's wrong with that company? at's a mistake — that's a CEO mistake. "e minute we don't start un- derstanding that our business is only about people and only about (the culture) and getting people to do something great, we're in trouble." If you're not in that meeting — you're not part of that process, that inner circle, sitting alongside the CEO and VP of sales — you've got to question that, he said. Creating a safety net Part of understanding the im- portance of people and culture is understanding the need to make employees feel safe, said Hyatt. "If there's that insecurity, is it your job to make your partner and your team feel safe? It really is. And if you're not making your team or your partner feel safe, think about that when you step back — why are you not doing that?" he said. Chief executives are paid to make cuts and hit the bottom line, he said. RAPID > pg. 12 An employee at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Springdale, Ark. The company recently raised the minimum wage for some of its U.S. workers, but that was because it had to, not because it wanted to, according to Michael Hyatt, chair of BlueCat. Credit: Rick Wilking (Reuters)

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