Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER May 29, 2017 10 EXECUTIVE SERIES/NEWS Available Risk-Free for 30 Days Order online: www.carswell.com Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 Has your workplace met all requirements under the new Bill 132? New Edition Pocket Ontario OH&S Act & Regulations 2017 – Consolidated Edition © 2017 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00243CP-A86353-CM Your peers rely on this best-selling pocket resource for invaluable guidance on workplace safety law. From preparing job hazard analyses and creating safety training programs to developing anti-harassment policies and performing violence risk assessments – the new 2017 edition of this best-selling resource will help your organization meet all your OHSA obligations, including the new requirements under Bill 132. To see what's new, go to www.carswell.com/pocket-ohs eBook available for web browser or download to your desktop, laptop, iPad or Android tablet.* Learn more at carswell.com/proview *eBook not available to trade bookstores, third-party distributors, academic institutions, and students. Order # 987844-65201 $23.95 Softcover approx. 1080 pages March 2017 978-0-7798-7844-4 Also available in French. Call for details. Also available Large format edition with tabs Order # 987846-65201 $23.95 Softcover approx. 780 pages March 2017 978-0-7798-7846-8 Also available Shipping and handling are extra. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes Picking the lock on the flexible organization During their very capable unpacking of Unlocking the Flexible Organization, a portion of Deloitte's 2017 Human Capital Report, Karen Pastakia and Amir Rahne- ma referred to a point that warrants more reflection than their time allowed: What is the difference between the traditional cross-functional team and the team-based network? Observing that we are now in an era of continual disruption where strategy is being rewritten at a pace never seen before, and rec- ognizing that structure follows strategy, Deloitte concludes the organizational structure of the future must be able to adapt at the same pace. ey propose, then, that the fu- ture lies with a structure of small, ever-shifting, semi-autonomous, multidisciplinary teams focused on specific outcomes or "files," that are given the authority to make decisions, access skill sets and adapt to market develop- ments as needed. But, isn't this just the cross-functional or matrix teams we have now? If you dig deeper, you find the heart of the distinction: Decision- making has been pushed down and out from traditional centres of authority, rendering those functional centres moot. In a traditional structure, mem- bers of a cross-functional team are "loaned" to work on a file. Since each member reports back up through functional hierarchy, this means the scope of the con- tribution of each team member is, to some extent, constrained by the functional strategy and not necessarily by the file. Further, permissions to deviate from the scope would need escalation back up and down one, if not several, hierarchies. e result is ponder- ous decision-making which, by the way, has worked — more or less — for thousands of years. But in a team-based, networked structure, individuals do not "be- long" to functions. e teams/ files/members are focused "out" to the customer, not "in" toward the function and are mission- and outcome-oriented, executing di- rectly toward the achievement of a portion of organizational strategy without an intermediary func- tional strategy. Team members do the same work as they do now, but are recruited for their skill sets by team leaders as needed. e reporting line stops at the edge of the team. If these individuals "be- long" to anything, it is the file the team is working on at that time or the team leader. Of course, many questions fall out of this. Without func- tions, who will provide special- ized strategic direction? What are the competencies of the new networked team leaders, and how can we upskill them? What does performance management look like when you're speaking to a contingent worker? e organization of the future is arriving today. For organizations most buffeted by "the swirl" of our times, and needing to get on with adapting and surviving, Deloitte's network of empowered teams would be a good place to start. Michael Clark is director, business development at Forrest & Company Limited. Forrest is an organizational transformation firm with 30 years ex- perience in developing organizational and leadership capability. Michael Clark Organizational Effectiveness ideally is kept in a drafts folder, with bullet points added to it, and then the message is sent out at the end of the day or week. "You can send one email to them that they will actually pay attention to, rather than 30 that they are barely going to look at and they are most likely going to be annoyed by," said Gratias. To manage the load, it's im- portant to have a dialogue with the team as to when a supervisor wants to be CCed, said Salopek. "Set up some parameters around copying and set the ground rules (so) there are no sur- prises because you have had the conversation," she said. "It would be incumbent upon organizations and HR departments to talk about the culture of email usage." People are simply operating on the assumption they should copy their manager all the time, said Gratias. "We need to combat that with open and honest com- munication training about the culture of email usage. Can we all agree that we are thankful to one another without ever replying all with the word thanks?" HR's role For HR departments, email train- ing can help to streamline and better manage employee time spent sifting through email. "e role that HR plays is basi- cally coaching our managers and coaching our employees on effec- tive communication: When and when not to copy on an email is part of effective communication," said Salopek. "(HR) can play a key role in coaching." If there's an expectation, there's a deliverable and that person on the other end who is being CCed needs to know what that deliver- able is and you would want to CC them, said Salopek. In constructing a communica- tion and training program around using the CC field, it's important to tell workers to use it when they have been asked specifically to copy someone on a chain of emails, said Gratias. "Use it when you want to follow up on someone's specific request that you do something, but they don't necessarily have an action item to perform in the email." When considering whether or not to CC someone into an email, clarity counts. "If I were an HR person giving out instructions I would say, 'Be intentional (and) understand why you are including certain people on emails, and if there is anoth- er, more appropriate method of communicating with that person — (instead of ) having them be copied on a back-and-forth chain of 20 emails — have them use the other method,'" said Gratias. Email training helps CCING < pg. 2

• Cover