Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER August 7, 2017 6 NEWS Order # 987329-69557 $81 $68.85 Softcover November 2016 978-0-7798-7329-6 Shipping and handling are extra. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. * Offer valid until March 20, 2017. Discount cannot be combined with any other offer from Thomson Reuters. Offer not available to academic or trade bookstores. © 2017 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00242WN-A86270-CM Reduce risk and comply with the law when terminating employees New Edition The Law of Dismissal for Human Resources Professionals, Second Edition A Canadian HR Reporter Special Report Howard A. Levitt, B.A., LL.B. Get the clear-cut, easy-to-follow guidance you need to meet the demands and challenges of employee terminations and avoid liability. The Law of Dismissal for Human Resources Professionals, Second Edition tells you what you need to know about dismissing a non-unionized employee legally and fairly. All the information that's relevant is laid out clearly and comprehensively in one concise and portable book. Organized for easy use, this handy and useful resource allows you to: • Obtain practical tips and strategies from a leading Canadian employment lawyer • Get explanations of your rights and potential liabilities, along with informative charts and checklists • Learn from many examples of actual cases that illustrate each point and help you learn from others' mistakes • Keep up to date with recent developments in the law, including several Supreme Court of Canada decisions Save 15%* when ordering by quoting promo code 69557. Available risk-free for 30 days Order online: www.carswell.com | Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 In Toronto: 416-609-3800 "Millennials do see the writing on the wall for some occupations, particularly those that are a little more well-known as being sub- ject to risk of automation — like production or transportation," said Culbertson. "at sticks in people's minds." Aware of what's happened in manufacturing over the last 20- plus years — including job losses to automation — millennials are much more interested in white- collar gigs with more investment in training and education, he said. "e other factor at play is the difference in skill sets and edu- cation levels for millennials and boomers. If you think about the technological innovation that we've had in the past 15 or 20 years, that really drives a wedge between the skill sets and back- grounds for millennials and boomers, and we see that in job- seekers' preferences." Natural progression As automated technology in the labour market progresses, work- ers in many sectors will likely see portions of their job threatened by machines or software. But millen- nials are better situated to ride out the disruption, said Culbertson. While the rise of automation at the expense of human jobs contin- ues in several industries, Indeed's report should reduce the fears of the future being instilled by many experts, he said. "I wish that people would take a more balanced and nuanced approach to (automation). New jobs are always being created just as old jobs are being wiped out by automation — it's not always a de- structive force. is is an instance where people know which skills they need to acquire and which ways they can be a compliment to automation and not a victim to it." e shift in job preference is a natural one, according to Michelle Dagnino, a generational expert and senior engagement associate at Lura Consulting in Toronto. "Millennials are much less scared about losing their jobs than their parents were, in part because many more have a skill set that is more widespread," she said. "I don't think they're com- ing into a particular job having trained for that work and only that work. ey're expecting to have different jobs and to move from one place to another much more quickly." Not unlike working genera- tions before them, millennials are shying away from skills and roles that are easily replaceable, said Dagnino. "Millennials are responding to a changing workforce more so than the workplace is changing for millennials," she said. "Work is looking much more piecemeal with the way that technology in- vades every day of our work. It has shifted the expectations of when and how we do work, and the av- erage job no longer looks like a typical 9-to-5 job where we have a list of tasks to check off on our list. ere's never quite a sense of being done." Robot-beating roles HR is one of several careers that should withstand the advance of robotics, said Culbertson. Oth- ers include cybersecurity experts, data scientists, health-care profes- sionals and culinary roles. "Activities that will be hard to automate will always be those that involve managing and develop- ing people, and where decision- making and strategic planning or creative work are involved," he said. "Machines have the poten- tial to make the workplace more efficient by automating mechani- cal and routine processes, but hu- mans will always play a key role." Jobseeker interest in recruiter roles has risen by 14 per cent over the last year, said Culbertson. As data and analytics become more widespread in HR, professionals who combine soft skills with soft- ware expertise are best suited for success. "With all the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) that are coming quicker these days, a small aspect of many different occupa- tions are at risk to some software coming in and taking over some of those tasks," he said. "But HR, having a decision-making compo- nent and a human interaction and cognitive component, is relatively more safe than other occupations." Workplace environments are changing with the rise of the gig economy and independent con- tract work, according to Arash Samimi, a Toronto entrepreneur who helps Canadian newcomers and under-skilled workers find employment. As routine-oriented jobs in sec- tors such as manufacturing, trans- portation and retail are replaced by machines, the importance of soft skills rises, he said. "Softer skills development, and skills that we need to adapt to the changes in the economy, are the skills we need to learn," said Sa- mimi. "My advice would be to learn the skills that are required that will satisfy these changes in the land- scape of the economy — changes driven by these technologies." Rather than focus on niche skills, today's workers should spend time learning about leadership, cross- cultural competency, how to un- derstand data, new media literacy and design mindsets, he said. Advice for HR Employers need to rethink the skill sets required for specific jobs, and work to motivate and retain the employees they have already invested in, said Dagnino. "Employers need to think dif- ferently around whether they're bringing somebody in to do a par- ticular task associated with a par- ticular job, or whether they should be training to do the work of the organization as a whole," she said. "at's a real shift in terms of how employers think." HR recruiters should seek out employees with the ability to move fluidly between roles, said Dagnino. "ey have to hire people that are the right fit for the organiza- tion and believe in the mandate and the mission of the organiza- tion," she said. "Once you have that commit- ment, employers need to take a much broader lateral approach to training. What are the core skills that are required across any job? What are your five common traits across your job descriptions? What are the common key skill sets? And then start hiring people according to that." Organi z ational mindset s should change from short-term job matching to longer-term thinking, according to Samimi. "How can we assess people based on a skill, rather than their title?" he said. "A lot of this is around changing this mindset, which is a big thing." "ere used to be a lot more on- the-job training, whereas now in- dustry is looking for a whole pack- age," said Samimi. "Well, you can't find it. You need to invest in the employee. It's a process of learn- ing by doing, experiencing and refining." HR jobs 'relatively safe' from robots ROBOTS < pg. 1

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