Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER November 14, 2016 12 NEWS Canada's Premier Human Resources Conference 140+ learning sessions; 8 inspiring keynotes; 200+ trade show exhibitors; 20 industry panel discussions; 2500+ delegates & peers. Register Today at hrpa.ca/AC2017 #HRPA2017 METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE "Excellent performance can only be achieved by engagement, by making sure everybody is evolving, evolved in driving per- formance at their level, owning safety in their own areas," said Ruth Mello, site lead, environ- mental health and safety. "For all the EHS professionals out there… spend time on the floor, make connections with key change agents in your ar- eas in your organizations, make sure that you're developing the capability of everyone around the site so they can make the right decisions when faced with challenges." PowerStream was a two-time winner when it came to the Utili- ties and Electrical category, and the Wellness category. "We take wellness very seri- ously and very holistically, trying to look at the mental, physical, financial and social well-being of all of our employees," said Mark Henderson, executive vice-pres- ident of asset management and COO. "Our goal of this is to engage employees, promote healthy liv- ing, healthy lifestyles, because it is our firm belief that by so doing, we are taking care of our compa- ny's most valuable assets, but also helping them to greater personal growth, more productivity, which is, in the end, essential to our com- pany's success." And 29-employee Tinhorn Creek Vineyards from B.C. was the recipient of the Hospitality award. "I don't know too many health and safety programs that have to worry about customers who drink too much and encounters with rattlesnakes. Or customers who get heat stroke and confined space entry," said Sandra Oldfield, CEO and president, in accepting the award. Psychological safety Touching on the issue of psycho- logical safety was keynote speaker Allan Kehler, mental wellness and positive living expert. Hav- ing lived through addiction, sub- stance abuse and sexual assault, he said he has learned the impor- tance of reaching out to people who are in pain. "If we just approach them and say, 'I don't mean to pry, I just want to let you know I'm con- cerned, I just want to let you know I'd be more than happy to listen if you ever needed to talk' — that's it," he said. Sometimes, people think they have to fix people, but people in pain just want to be seen and heard, said Kehler. "You have now given them an opportunity to be heard and whether or not they act on that invite is completely out of your control." If people don't respond to a co- worker who appears in distress, it can lead to the individual's condi- tion worsening and co-workers picking up the slack, leading to a decrease in team morale, a de- crease in productivity, increased company costs and the safety of that individual and those around him at stake, he said. "Compassion changes every- thing. It changes our own abil- ity to deal with a situation, the workplace and overall culture as a whole," said Kehler. e full list of winners can be found at www.safestemployers.com. Safety about reaching out to those in pain: Expert AWARDS < pg. 8 problem and it's not being fixed by market forces," she said. "Like all labour standards, you have to set a bar, and pay equity happens to be the bar that's set around identifying discriminatory pay practices." But pay equity legislation alone won't solve the gender wage gap, said Singh. Societal norms will need to change as they have prov- en to be the basis for the under- valuation of women's labour. "ere are many reasons for the gap, and some of those aren't ad- dressed in pay equity legislation," he said. "It asks organizations to fix the gap… But the pay equity legislation would only close a fraction of (it). Government has to take additional initiative." Push for transparency Alongside the proposed pay eq- uity legislation is a further push for equality, with the federal gov- ernment promoting corporate transparency in terms of female leadership. In an effort to promote diversity, Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains' Bill C-25 would require publicly traded companies to divulge the number of women sitting on their boards or working in senior management. "Is that a piece of the puzzle? Absolutely," said Borowy. "Until you actually shine the spotlight on what's happening with pay prac- tices and compensation practices in workplaces, you won't see the inequality." Transparency always helps push issues forward, said Heyninck. "Companies can see what their competitors are doing and it sort of levels the playing field for ev- erybody," she said. "It just shines the spotlight on a problem." Women make up 50 per cent of the workforce and population now, said Heyninck. "ey make up at least 50 per cent of graduating classes at virtu- ally all levels of education. Given those factors, it doesn't make any sense that there aren't more wom- en in leadership." Push for equality PAY EQUITY < pg. 3

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