Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER JANUARY 2018 10 FEATURES Alberta aiming to re-establish sense of HR community C hartered Profession- als in Human Resources (CPHR) Alberta has had a very successful year, accord- ing to CEO Peter Dugandzic in Calgary. "The focus of our business plan was to provide exceptional customer service but, at the same time, raise the value proposition for our members with respect to the membership fees they pay an- nually. So, by and large, our focus has been to execute the business plan deliverables to the net ben- efi t of our members, certainly the profession and the broader HR community." For one, CPHR Alberta was re- structured, which included hiring a full-time professional develop- ment specialist and creating part- nerships with the Canadian Pay- roll Association and the Canadian Pension & Benefi ts Institute. " ere's no sense in reinventing the wheel — we might as well take advantage of what's out there now and partner with like-minded agencies," he says. e association has also created a 24-hour on-demand platform to host videos and webinars for personal learning, and enhanced chapter autonomy this year by providing more independence to local chapters to organize their own events, says Dugandzic. On the self-regulation front, the association met with more than 40 government offi cials in con- nection with its application, and then updated and resubmitted the application, along with participat- ing in a number of regulatory re- views, he says. "We're looking to hear back in quarter two of 2018 in more sub- stantive terms in terms of where we are on the application. We are hoping that in 2018, we get ap- proved for self-regulation." Next year, CPHR Alberta's main focus will be on raising the profi le of the brand and designa- tion, and the business community itself with respect to "What is the designation?" he says. "(So, it's about) the value of the designa- tion, the value HR professionals bring to business, and the role HR professionals play." Membership is down, sitting at under 6,000 this year, says Du- gandzic, citing the downturn in the economy and the association's inability to meet members' needs in the past. But CPHR Alberta is looking to re-establish a strong sense of community with the HR profession across the province. "I think we lost some of that through the amalgamation of the regional chapters," he says. "Now that we're gaining some credibility and trust back from the member- ship, the whole sense of commu- nity needs to be repositioned." Peter Dugandzic CEO, CPHR Alberta Saskatchewan launches major marketing campaign H aving offi cially become Chartered Profession- als in Human Resources (CPHR) Saskatchewan in April 2017, the association launched a major marketing campaign this past October. "We're still… hoping to achieve self-regulation at some point, so we did a marketing campaign targeted at business and govern- ment… and on HR moving busi- ness forward," says Nicole Norton Scott, executive director of CPHR Saskatchewan. e ads on TV, radio and in print — with the TV commercials featuring the CEOs of Connexus Credit Union and Federated Co- operatives Limited — talked about the importance of the CPHR des- ignation and self-regulation. "Any marketing we can do on the profession and designation is very important… it builds aware- ness of the HR profession," she says, adding the ads were created by the same agency that worked on the national rebranding cam- paign for CPHR. "It's very exciting for Saskatch- ewan because we have never done this," says Norton Scott. "It feels good when you see your brand in the public, so that's the fi rst time we've done this, and we've had a really good response." As for self-regulation, CPHR Saskatchewan is continuing to push forward despite the chal- lenge of dealing with a changing government, as Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall recently an- nounced he is resigning, she says. "We are still working with the government and our stakeholders to achieve (self-regulation)." CPHR Saskatchewan is also encouraging members to write letters to their MLAs to promote the work of the association. e 1,350-member association is also partnering with CPHR British Columbia & Yukon to off er an on-demand learning platform that the B.C. association created, says Norton Scott, and the Sas- katchewan group will also join other CPHR provinces in off ering an HR toolkit from omson Re- uters (publisher of Canadian HR Reporter), to help members with tasks such as job descriptions, of- fer letters or interview questions. And in the new year, the asso- ciation will be launching an online continuing professional develop- ment tool for the CPHR designa- tion, as CPHR Saskatchewan has still been using a paper process, she says. "Online is all good if it works, so it has to work effi ciently and be better than paper, so to speak. It costs money to put these things online and we didn't have the in- frastructure, but now we're work- ing on that." Nicole Norton Scott executive director CPHR Saskatchewan Manitoba continues path towards self-regulation C hartered Profession- als in Human Resources (CPHR) Manitoba is hoping to follow in the steps of Ontario and Quebec on the path towards self-regulation. "We made our offi cial submis- sion to the province of Manitoba to get legislated to regulate the profession in Manitoba," says CEO Ron Gauthier. "We just started the ball rolling." e association will work to- wards satisfying any conditions necessary to see it move forward in the provincial legislature in 2018. "It's huge," he says. "Really, it signifi es the growth of the HR as- sociations across Canada. Nation- ally, all of the provinces have made it a top priority." "Everyone's at diff erent stages in terms of where they are in working on their submissions, but it really changes the profession to become a true professional busi- ness association." Self-regulation will turn CPHR Manitoba's focus towards pro- tecting the public and developing members, says Gauthier. "It becomes a dual role, whereas right now we are focused on de- veloping our members, creating better credentialing for them, and making them more professional, which essentially makes work- places better." e journey towards self-reg- ulation status follows a rebrand in alignment with the national HR body, which worked to refo- cus the eff orts of the Manitoba association. CPHR Manitoba has worked hard to implement diff erent path routes to becoming a CPHR, in- cluding a non-degree route and senior-level option, he says. e organization has also ac- credited six of the nine post- secondary HR programs that conform to 80 per cent of the competency framework within the province — a big step, says Gauthier. CPHR Manitoba's membership total grew slightly in 2017, and now rests at 1,464. e growth came via younger members, in- cluding CPHR candidates and students, he says. In 2018, the organization will attempt to reconnect with the 3,500 self-declared human re- sources professionals reportedly working in the province, to make them aware of changes to the pro- fession as well as salary benefi ts associated with a proper designa- tion, says Gauthier. And, going forward, the target audience of the association's ef- forts will include senior business leaders as well as potential CPHRs — both students and non-mem- ber HR practitioners. Ron Gauthier CEO, CPHR Manitoba Ontario focuses on research, finding new CEO T he Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) in Ontario saw signifi cant changes and progress over the past year. It marked its 75th Annual Con- ference & Trade Show in January, and also hosted a CHRO Confer- ence with more than 60 leaders gathering for a day of thought leadership that included HR infl u- encer Dave Ulrich and panels dis- cussing the role of the CHRO in relation to the CEO and the board. The association, which has about 24,000 members, also launched new tools, such as DNA 360, a strategic organizational self-assessment tool for HR lead- ers, and implemented computer- based testing by the Offi ce of the Registrar to ensure greater secu- rity and convenience during the testing process. HRPA also released several white papers, including: research on gaps in education and employ- ability in Ontario high schools; a government submission on Bill 148, the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act; the impacts of medical marijuana in the workplace; the impacts of artifi cial intelligence on HR professionals; and a policy analysis of upcoming changes to workplace violence and harass- ment, as well as maternity and parental leave. e association also published a study with Deloitte, e Intelli- gence Revolution, and presented research and recommendations to provincial MPs. 2017 saw the departure of CEO Bill Greenhalgh, who resigned af- ter more than a decade at the as- sociation. Gary Monk, vice-pres- ident of fi nance and IT, was subse- quently named interim CEO. " ere comes a time for ev- erything," said Greenhalgh in September. "I've been with the association coming up to 12 years and I'd never intended to stay that long. Seven years after I thought I would leave, it's time to leave." An executive search process for a new CEO is well underway, ac- cording to the HRPA, and Karen Stone has also been welcomed as board chair. Looking ahead to 2018, the association's annual confer- ence starts Jan. 31 and will focus on the theme " e Intelligence Revolution." Gary Monk Interim CEO, HRPA

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