Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER JANUARY 2018 12 FEATURES National payroll association continues lobbying efforts W ith the electronic de- livery of T4s set to debut this year, the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) will be switching gears in terms of its advocacy focus. e CPA is currently working with the federal government to set up a real-time payroll information sharing solution for employment insurance (EI) administration, according to president Patrick Culhane. e goal is to eventually elimi- nate the use of the record of em- ployment (ROE), as well as negate the need for requests for employer information, he says. " at is the big project we have going forward." Another focus is an additional reconciliation remittance for large employers with the Canada Rev- enue Agency (CRA) to deal with the complexities and sophistica- tion of payroll and benefi t calcu- lations, he says. " at's another successful piece of advocacy for us." A further successful lobby sur- rounded EI changes, which re- duced the waiting period from two weeks to one. e CPA en- sured ROE deadlines did not change, and also pushed to estab- lish a transitional period around waiting periods for short-term disability plans in an eff ort to save employers money, says Culhane. e CPA continues to provide education and advocacy on pay- roll programs for its membership base of 19,500 organizations, rep- resenting 43,000 payroll staff ers across the country. In December, it unveiled a new website in an eff ort to expand its outreach beyond the traditional member base, says Culhane. "We've got a totally new look and feel," he says. "It's a change in focus. Basically, we're going to be using the website, not solely as a member service, but also as more of an outreach for prospective members… e revamp is crucial to us and it's been in the works for over two years." Meanwhile, employment stan- dard revisions in both Alberta and Ontario have driven a record 5,300 payroll practitioners to reg- ister for year-end seminars hosted by the CPA, says Culhane. "Our responsibility is to assess the implications of (the changes)." Member census results indicate 97 per cent of members view the CPA as service-oriented, 95 per cent are satisfi ed with services received, and 92 per cent would recommend the organization to a colleague or friend, he says. Each of these key indicators im- proved by a full percentage point since 2014, says Culhane. "We're really, really pleased with that." Patrick Culhane president and CEO, CPA Volunteers continue to drive Strategic Capability Network S uanne Nielsen's fi rst year as president of the Strategic Capability Network (SCN) has been eye-opening. "What I've learned is how very special our volunteers are," she says. " e actually run the organi- zation on behalf of our members. The president's role is actually quite small in comparison." e 762-member association sees HR professionals gathering each month to hear from experts on a variety of relevant subjects. SCN was founded nearly 40 years ago and has chapters in To- ronto, Calgary, Ottawa, London and Waterloo, Ont. Also the chief talent offi cer and corporate secretary at Forest- ers Financial in Toronto, Nielsen took on the role of SCN president in April. "I'm really proud and humbled to be leading this orga- nization at this time, as we look forward to providing more value for our members," she says. One of Nielsen's fi rst decisions as president was to embark on a listening tour, consisting of mem- ber surveys and focus groups dis- cussing societal values and future possibilities. e tour is nearing its conclusion and feedback is be- ing summarized. Two members have been added to the leadership team to help re- fresh strategy: Rogers' Lara Root and RSA's Mark Edgar, who is also taking on the role of program- ming chair. SCN's driving principles con- tinue to be thought leadership and community, says Nielsen. "What I've really learned is that one is not more important than the other," she says. "Our mem- bers want thought leadership that is not just about HR and business, but really about business issues that have to do with people." Monthly events give HR prac- titioners the opportunity to grow their networks while seeking real- time advice from their peers on is- sues they are dealing with in their respective workplaces. e focus of SCN sessions in 2018 will include challenges as- sociated with the gig economy, the changing world of work, and adapting to new employee expec- tations, says Nielsen. "Many aspects of our offer- ing will continue, and we will be reshaping them so they can add even more value." Suanne Nielsen president, SCNetwork Changing of the guard at SHRM as Jackson exits A fter guiding the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) to record growth over the past 12 years, president and CEO Henry (Hank) Jackson retired in 2017. In December, former board member Johnny Taylor Jr. became the organization's new CEO. Under Jackson, SHRM's mem- bership swelled to 289,000. He also launched SHRM Certifi ca- tion in 2015 — including the SHRM-CP (Certifi ed Profession- al) and SHRM-SCP (Senior Certi- fi ed Professional) credentials held by 106,000 HR practitioners. SHRM-certifi ed professionals report greater career satisfaction, higher salaries and more promo- tions, says Jackson. "It is why we continue to invest in this program and stress the im- portance of recertifi cation to keep up with the dramatically changing demands of our work." "Our society is thriving," he says. "(SHRM) continues to in- fl uence the agenda for the global practice of HR. It advocates to make the new workplace work. It develops HR experts to lead wherever they are in their career. And, as a thought leader for the profession, it brings together the best people and practices of HR." "I am pleased to have been a part of this remarkable journey." SHRM has members in 165 countries, representing 70,000 organizations — of which 571 are in the United States. e organi- zation's current membership total is over 290,000. A 2017 highlight included SHRM's annual conference, held in New Orleans with 15,500 HR leaders attending — the second- largest attendance in event history. This year, the organization will host its annual conference in Chicago, in conjunction with the World Federation of People Man- agement Associations (WFPMA) World Congress. Additionally, regulation chang- es by the U.S. government contin- ue to aff ect the work of HR prac- titioners, including alterations to visa and immigration policies. Potential reform to the U.S. tax and health-care systems could profoundly aff ect the workplace, says Jackson. "We are on the verge of some- thing big and important. It's HR's time — our time — to lead the fu- ture of business and work." Hank Jackson outgoing CEO, SHRM Marijuana a hot topic for Newfoundland & Labrador W ith the advent of legal marijuana in 2018, Newfoundland and Labrador — with its heavy reli- ance on the petroleum industry — will have to look carefully at new regulations for HR depart- ments, according to the president of the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) New- foundland & Labrador. "For a lot of our members, there is going to be a lot of work coming down in terms of what companies are doing to develop policies and protections, particularly given the Newfoundland economy, (with) a lot of oil and gas and safety-sen- sitive environments," says Neil Coombs in St. John's. "That's certainly a big thing we are seeing with our member- ship and with a number of other organizations." But will most HR depart- ments be ready when marijuana becomes legal on July 1? ere's going to be some work to do, says Coombs. "Obviously, it's a bigger prior- ity for some than others: People who are in a heavily safety-sensi- tive environment," he says. "A lot of it is a moving target because there are a lot of unanswered questions at this point." Also in 2018, the association is looking for "stronger engagement with students in the province," says Coombs. "We're driving to get those stu- dents engaged, working with the university on the accreditation of their business program for the CPHR designation." The first step for the New- foundland and Labrador asso- ciation was to establish student chapters in the local university and colleges, he says. Self-regulation is the long- term goal for the HR industry group, made up of about 150 members, says Coombs. "We're striving to get the pro- cess started; we're a little behind, but I think (it's about) just setting the foundation for self-regulation in talks with the province." But the small number of mem- bers who are part of the associa- tion is a challenge, he says. "We continue to struggle with mem- bership numbers a little bit." Hopefully, the CPHR branding eff ort was a good fi rst step in show- ing the provincial government and HR professionals they are a "voice for HR" in Newfoundland and Labrador, and they continue to focus on "elevating HR within the province," says Coombs. "The launch of the national brand was very successful for us provincially; it certainly helped with the members in terms of brand recognition." Neil Coombs, president CPHR Newfoundland & Labrador

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