Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER June 13, 2016 FEATURES 37 e type of data being collected now in the HR field has never been collected before — new models are challenging old concepts and data-driven people management is the new normal for most HR practitioners. People analytics can help a busi- ness understand: what attracts candidates; what drives them to perform well and stay with an organization; who will likely be successful; who will make the best leaders; and what is required to deliver the highest quality cus- tomer service and innovation. In 2016, 51 per cent of com- panies are correlating business impact to HR programs, up from 38 per cent in 2015, according to Deloitte's Global Human Capi- tal Trends 2016 report, based on a survey of more than 7,000 HR and business leaders in 130 countries. at means a greater strategic role, but also greater responsibility and accountability. HR departments must be able to demonstrate their value to the business — and that means using hard data. But the revolution is not quite here yet. Just 46 per cent of CEOs say their companies use data ana- lytics to provide better insight into how effectively skills are deployed at their organizations, according to PwC's 18th Annual Global CEO Survey in 2015, based on a poll of nearly 2,000 CEOs. While that number is respectable, it doesn't dig into the quality of the analytics programs or the ability to use data to effect change in organizations. To unlock the true potential of people analytics, HR leaders must become data champions and push their CEOs to push for greater in- tegration of systems and to invest in the skills needed to analyze all of that information. e road ahead In the immediate future, as em- ployers begin wading through the data they collect, HR will need to become more experimental, test- ing out the models they develop and adjusting approaches when predictions don't match results. To prepare for this transition, HR leaders will need to assemble teams that are comfortable with or, better yet, embrace change and revel in building something new. In hiring, HR departments will need to seek out strategic thinkers, people with analytics experience and entrepreneurial spirit, looking at replicating IT and finance skill sets and apply- ing those skills to HR, including data analysts, data visualization specialists, statisticians, financial analysts and data modellers. ough the evolution of the in- dustry will require massive chang- es within HR departments, those who embrace the change will be poised for future success. ose who fall behind will see their tal- ent pool dry up and other compa- nies emerging with a competitive advantage by securing the best of the best. is has happened across industries in the past — those who adapt, win. For HR to adapt, it will need to bring in new thinking in data visualization, financial analy- sis, data architecture, coding, user experience, statistics, anthropol- ogy and psychology. As HR becomes more strategic and analytical, and less transac- tional, what happens to all of the functions that used to make up the bulk of day-to-day work in the department? After all, payroll still needs to go out, benefits pack- ages need to be pulled together and employees still need to read and sign policy documents. e answer is simple: Someone (or something) else will handle it. As noted earlier, a lot of tasks can be handled by the use of systems and online portals. Outsourcing allows HR to fo- cus on doing the core of what it's meant to do — managing people. It also allows HR to better weather periods of expansion and contrac- tion, providing resources when they are needed and limiting costs when they are not. Change of any magnitude can be a challenge. Change of the mag- nitude HR professionals face right now is a challenge of the highest order, but it's an exciting one. HR is about to play a more critical role in business and forge a completely redesigned industry. It's up to HR to look to the future to ensure it's ready to meet the evolving needs of businesses next year, five years from now and beyond. e sooner HR recognizes change is coming and it's inevitable, the sooner it can reap the fruits of its labour. Jo Ann Miele is senior director of tal- ent and organizational development at ADP Canada in Toronto. For more information, visit www.adp.ca. HR leaders to be data champions FUTURE OF HR < pg. 35 Credit: NicoElNino (Shutterstock) SHOULD WE SAY SOMETHING? MANAGING HIDDEN DISABILITIES IN THE WORKPLACE REGISTER ONLINE: www.HRReporter.com/CPDCentre For more Live and On-demand Webinars, visit us online. HIGHLIGHTS: • Examine the types of hidden disabilities that may impact someone at work, such as alcoholism, learning disabilities, PTSD and other mental health issues • Understand your procedural duty to accommodate • Know how to open the conversation, even at times when employees themselves may not recognize their problem DATE: JUNE 22, 2016 LIVE WEBINAR TIME: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. ET PRESENTER: Lauren Bernardi | Bernardi Human Resource Law LLP preventing social media postings that disclose a toxic work environ- ment, even outside of the confines of the office. In the labour arbitra- tion decision of United Steelwork- ers of America, Local 9548 v. Tena- ris Algoma Tubes Inc., an employ- ee posting sexually charged and harassing comments of another employee on Facebook warranted summary dismissal. Following the end of a shift, the grievor posted a complaint about his co-worker, without naming her, but with enough description to warrant the attention of other employees and, ultimately, management. e comment escalated into an hours- long string of comments. When confronted by management, the grievor apologized and deleted the impugned posts. The company immediately terminated the grievor's employ- ment citing the Facebook posts that had come to their attention through a complaint of harass- ment. e company took issue with the public nature of the posts. In response, the union pos- ited the company's harassment policy requires the person being harassed to ask the harasser to stop, and the grievor was not af- forded this opportunity. As well, the union asserted little damage was caused by not asserting the employee's name in the post and the chances of the two employees working together again could be avoided in the future. Nevertheless, the arbitrator found that the harm caused by the public nature of the post, and the distinctive way the employee was targeted, were insurmountable. On the issue that workplace poli- cies did not speak to Facebook use specifically, the arbitrator opined, "Facebook... is an act of publicity" and "it is obvious that the policies would include threats and harass- ment via Facebook and that dis- charge is a potential response to threats or harassment." As such, the company is held responsible under the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and the collective agreement for maintaining a workplace free of harassment, and so the griev- ance was denied. More recently in the 2012 Bell Technical Solutions v. Communi- cations, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, two employees were discharged and another sus- pended because of pictures and comments they posted on Face- book that amounted to offensive malicious ridicule of the employer and harassment of a manager. Citing EV Logistics, Chatham- Kent, Wasaya Airways and other cases, the arbitrator stated, "It is well-established that inappropri- ate Facebook postings can result in discipline or discharge, de- pending upon the severity of the postings." To determine how insolent, insulting, insubordinate or dam- aging the postings were to the company and the manager, the arbitrator considered such fac- tors as the nature and frequency of the Facebook postings, whether the postings were deliberate or "a momentary aberration" and how public they were in terms of the number of Facebook friends the employees had and the likelihood of their seeing the postings. After assessing these factors the arbitrator reinstated one of the two discharged employees subject to a one-year suspension without pay, while upholding the discipline received by the other two employees. Creating a policy When creating a social media policy, there is no one-size-fits- all plan but here are some tips on how to create an efficient and ef- fective social media policy: •Involve all departments. IT, HR, public relations/marketing and corporate managers and execu- tives should all work together to create a policy that works for everyone. •Be broad enough to cover social media technology that will be in- troduced in the future. Further- more, the policy should not only cover the material on the compa- ny blog, or company Facebook or Twitter account, but should also cover the appropriate use of a personal blog, Facebook page or Twitter account. It must also be clear the policy is not restricted to use from work computers and applies to the use of social media on employee time. •Implement a positive social media policy. Recognizing the pervasiveness of new technolo- gies and allowing access to social media in moderation could be the answer so long as it does not affect productivity and the com- pany is protected. •Employees should be kept in- formed about the legal and se- curity risks involved in social networking and what they can do to protect themselves and the company. Emphasize the need to use caution and good judgment as comments posted on social networking sites can spread despite the original posting be- ing removed. It is important to encourage employees to use a disclaimer that the opinions expressed are not those of the company. •Define what is and is not consid- ered "acceptable use" both on the company's network and outside of it. It should be clear that com- pany systems may not be used for illegal activity such as copyright or plagiarism and downloading pirated software. •e policy and its enforcement should be clear to all employees. It is important to clarify what disciplinary action will be taken, up to and including termination, if policies are not followed. •e policy should be written and it is a good idea to have employ- ees sign off on it or track accep- tance or receipt to ensure they have read its contents. •e policy should be simple and accessible — employees will not be inclined to read through an overwhelming manual. Circulate the policy regularly and have it readily available both electroni- cally and in hard copy. George Waggott is co-chair of the em- ployment & labour group at McMil- lan in Toronto. Chandra Ewing is a student-at-law at McMillan. George can be contacted at george.waggott@ mcmillan.ca or (416) 307-4221. Policy should be simple, accessible SOCIAL MEDIA < pg. 33

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