Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER November 14, 2016 8 NEWS Whether it's household debt, long-term savings, health-care costs or unexpected expenses, many employees are feeling the stress of fi nancial concerns — they're worried about running out of money, managing investments or maintaining a desired lifestyle. As a result, both their physical and mental health can be affected — they may be distracted or absent from work, make greater use of health benefi ts or even suffer from depression. So what's to be done? Canadian HR Reporter hosted a special roundtable looking at fi nancial wellness, including the importance of education and awareness; tactics to change employee behaviour; and newer, more effective tools. Look for a special report in the Nov. 28th issue of Canadian HR Reporter. Canadian HR Reporter presents an exclusive roundtable on Canadian HR Reporter presents an exclusive roundtable on Canadian HR Reporter presents an exclusive roundtable on SPONSORED BY PANELISTS: • Lianne Buchanan, director of total rewards, HR, Economical Insurance • Naren Daniels, director of retirement and savings programs, total benefi ts, HR, Sun Life Financial • Vatche Rubenyan, senior director of compensation and benefi ts, Rogers Communications • Heather Briant, senior vice-president of HR, Cineplex Entertainment • Frank Wiginton, fi nancial wellness expert Financial wellness: Taking a holistic approach Financial wellness: Taking a holistic approach Canadian HR Reporter presents an exclusive roundtable on Financial wellness: Taking a holistic approach Canadian HR Reporter presents an exclusive roundtable on NB Power big winner at safety awards Psychological safety part of annual event recognizing employer practices, cultures BY SARAH DOBSON MORE THAN 40 employers were recognized for award-win- ning safety practices and cultures at the sixth annual Canada's Saf- est Employers (CSE) awards in Toronto recently. And there were more nomina- tions for 2016 than ever before, said Amanda Silliker, editor of Canadian Occupational Safety. "is year, our winners truly span across the country, from an oil platform off the coast of Newfoundland to a mining site in Nunavut," she said. "I am continually blown away by the amazing programs you have in place to keep your work- ers safe. Some are elaborate and innovative, others are simple yet effective, but they are all a winning formula in your organizations." Attendees were also thanked by Federal Deputy Minister of Labour Lori Sterling. "Without your commitment and your leadership to improve the safety of Canadian work- places, we would not really be the envy of the world. Each time you take to improve safety in whatev- er industry you are, you raise the standards of that industry; you create a new benchmark for oth- ers to follow. And, at the end of the day, your goal is shared by all of us here in the room and that is that workplaces are safe and workers go home at night." Canada has been doing better when it comes to workplace safe- ty, she said, with an 18 per cent decline in the disabling injury rate over the last 10 years, and fatalities down by 35 per cent. "Nevertheless, on an average year, across Canada, 919 people lose their lives in the workplace. And so while we are making prog- ress, it's really too early to sit on our laurels, and there's still good work to be done." Award winners e first — and biggest — award of the night went to NB Power, win- ner of the Canada's Best Health + Safety Culture award. e company spent a number of years building a conventional safety management system, said Duff Boyd, director of health and safety. And though it saw gains, eventually these plateaued, while safety stats went in the wrong di- rection during times of organiza- tional change. So, NB Power decided to re- cruit an industrial and organiza- tional psychologist. "Together, we built an organi- zational model that was designed based on psychological principles — not to replace the safety man- agement system, but rather to en- able it," said Boyd, adding the util- ity has reduced medical aid inci- dents by 97 per cent and disabling incidents by 99 per cent. "e challenge of zero is not only attainable but it is inevitable if you accept the two sciences must work together." Another major category was the Young Worker Safety award. For 2016, the recipient was Tech- mation Electric & Controls. It's a company that values the different generations and works towards integrating them to work as one team, "a successfully moti- vated team that is self-actualizing towards the common goal of en- suring everyone gets home safe," said Dan Hathaway, health, safety and environment manager. "It's important that you give these people the time, the tools, the training and the mentorship to ensure that they are successful." When it came to Psychological Safety, NB Power was again a win- ner, having launched a "We don't need a better hard hat" program. "When you study most of the bad things that happen in the world, the vast majority of them would not have happened if only the folks involved, at all levels, had have committed to the standards that they have. And while we're not saying you can't improve those standards, wouldn't it be in- teresting if we put the same degree of resources and intelligence into understanding why the people couldn't commit to the standards they had that were specifically de- signed to keep the bad things from happening?" said Boyd. "That's what our program is doing right now, is understand- ing that — at both individual and organizational levels." For the Manufacturing award, GSK Mississauga Manufacturing Plant was the winner. SAFETY > pg. 12 Duff Boyd of NB Power speaking at the CSE. Credit: Tim Fraser Photography

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