Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER November 30, 2015 Credit: Blend Images (Shutterstock) 14 FEATURES/NEWS EMPLOYEE/HR EDUCATION Family-friendly education Company scholarships make a lot of sense when it comes attraction, retention By Heather Cayouette T hese days, attracting, hir- ing and retaining top tal- ent requires workplaces that reflect the importance of work-life balance and a com- mitment to employees and their families. One benefit emerging as a competitive advantage is access to a company scholarship plan. ere are typically two types of scholarship programs an employ- er might offer. e first is a public scholarship in support of a com- pany's corporate social responsi- bility (CSR) mandate. at makes sense: CSR initia- tives are drivers of employee en- gagement and retention, accord- ing to a 2011 white paper by CR Strategies and Mandrake. e second type is an employee scholarship program designed to support a company's employees and their families. is kind of program allows a company to demonstrate the val- ue it places on higher education, as well as its long-term commit- ment to employees and their fami- lies through a direct contribution towards university and college studies. As with most benefits plans, a scholarship program can be built to support the unique demo- graphics at a company, and can be designed to suit most budgets. A scholarship administrator should be able to guide the company through the process of setting up the plan, and advise them on what type of program would best suit their needs. Typical program A typical program might see a company offering up to 10 four- year, renewable scholarships of $3,000 per year for students work- ing towards a Bachelor's degree from an authorized Canadian degree-granting institution. Dependants of full-time em- ployees who have served more than one year with the company will be considered for this pro- gram. To be eligible to apply, a student must have a 75 per cent average and demonstrate com- munity involvement through extra-curricular activities as well as through an essay and letters of reference. If successful, the student must continue to be enrolled full-time and maintain a good academic standing in order to renew his scholarship. Consider the details When considering the implemen- tation of a scholarship program, it is important to consider the details involved. e majority are dependent on both an employer's budget and the objective of the program. If the program, for example, is intended to provide access to education for employees' families, the employer may consider a non- competitive program that would provide an unlimited number of awards to all who apply — pro- vided they meet the minimum criteria. e option to make an award renewable, or to distribute funds over multiple years, is another consideration for early in the planning phase. These options would, of course, depend on an open bud- get, so if there is a specific bud- get planned, the employer would instead consider a competitive program where students submit applications for a fixed number of awards. Logistical details — such as how much to award, how employ- ees will apply, how to ensure the information collected is reliable and how to establish a fair and transparent selection process — will follow once the objective and budget are in place. It is best for employers to take their time and plan according- ly — it can take weeks or even months to establish these details and ensure the support of senior management. From there, the preparation of application material, promotion of the program and actual run- ning of an application and selec- tion cycle all must occur before students can be paid. You will want to factor in the traditional academic year as the majority of scholarships are paid out in the fall, and also to develop payment channels if the institu- tion is paid directly. Be sure to learn as much as you can about the various provincial education systems, university or college practices and consider partnering with an organization experienced in administering scholarships. A scholarship administrator can: help ensure a program is running effectively throughout the academic year; lead a compa- ny through the program design, from concept to program launch; manage the application process ensuring fairness and transpar- ency for all employees; manage the renewal process and disburse- ment of funds either directly to the student or to her university or college; and offer suggestions and improvements for the next launch. By helping to provide a defen- sible, arm's-length approach to the selection process and award payment of a company's recipi- ents each year, an employer can rest assured employees and their families will be well-served. Heather Cayouette is manager of higher education scholarships at Uni- versities Canada in Ottawa, which represents 97 universities and univer- sity degree-level colleges, managing scholarship programs. For more infor- mation, visit www.univcan.ca or call (613) 563-1236 ext. 218. The option to make an award renewable, or to distribute funds over multiple years, is another consideration early in the planning. predominantly what I'm talking about, ensuring that we remain a hospitable environment for invest- ments, because that's what's going to drive business creation and that's what's going to drive employ- ment growth over the long term." If the government was prepared to subsidize, say, 50 per cent of new wages across the province for any new jobs created, that might make sense, he said. "(is is) a very slippery slope, in our opinion — it's just a very heavy handed public sector ap- proach or encroachment into a private labour market." Safeguards e big question is how to define a "new hire," said Mintz. "If you break up a firm and hire new people, then all of a sudden you're getting new-hire credit so it's not particularly a very effective type of tax credit," he said. "A new hire credit is really very difficult to police and audit properly." If the appropriate safeguards aren't in place, it will be hard to ward off nefarious behaviour, said Smith. "ere has to be some way for the government to take an assess- ment of existing employment right now or on Jan. 1st and be able to recognize what a legitimate new addition to that employment base is, and therefore be entitled to the credit, versus a company that has gone through a series of layoffs and maybe augments the amount of those layoffs in the tail end of 2015, only to supplement back their workforce in 2016," he said. "ere needs to be a way to po- lice that and I don't see that in the details yet." e Alberta government has said grants will be calculated using insurable earnings data employers must submit to the federal gov- ernment. Net new employment is determined from employment in 2016 over 2015 to determine the employer's grant eligibility for 2016. "ese need to be net new hires so if people are laid off by a com- pany, and then they rehire with this, it has to be a net new job," said Sigurdson. "at means we're using em- ployment insurance data that employers already submit to the federal government, and it has to be above what the 2016 submis- sion would have been. So if they lay people off and then rehire them, there's nothing net new, so we'll know how many people they hired in 2015. So that's a safeguard to make sure that these are actually an increase in working positions." Funds for 'net new hires' only ALBERTA < pg. 6

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