Canadian HR Reporter - Ontario

CANADIAN HR REPORTER MAY 2018 30 FEATURES Strange brews at Starbucks, Tim's T here's something strange brewing in our coffee. And it's highlighting a headache for HR professionals and senior management at large organizations that have staff spread across the country. Tim Hortons has taken a beat- ing in the public eye. e once un- touchable icon of all things Maple Leaf has plummeted in the eyes of Canadians. In 2017, a Leger sur- vey of the top brands and compa- nies in the nation ranked Timmies an impressive fourth. In 2018? Well, they're number 50 — ranked one spot behind Nestlé, which famously bought an aquifer in Ontario for bottled wa- ter out from under a municipality trying to secure a safe drinking water supply. When the Leger survey was conducted, the doughnut chain was in the news for all the wrong reasons, with the impression that greedy franchise owners were lashing out at their own loyal workforce in response to an increased minimum wage in Ontario. Just a couple of weeks ago, in the wake of the devastating bus crash in Saskatchewan that killed 16 and injured 13 others who were part of the Humboldt Broncos ju- nior hockey team, Tim Hortons found itself yet again in an unfl at- tering spotlight. A franchise owner outside Hali- fax created doughnuts with green- and-yellow sprinkles (the colours of the Broncos) and sold them as a tribute to the team. e proceeds? Well, they lined the pockets of the owner — a tone-deaf manager told a local newspaper that while the doughnuts were a gesture to the team, the proceeds would not be sent to Humboldt. Ouch. Forget that the owner had made a donation (amount un- known) to the team. e damage was done. Tim Hortons was run- ning its own "Humboldt Broncos Strong" doughnuts fundraiser in Saskatchewan that it planned to take national, but quickly had to backpedal, apologize and force the rogue franchise owner to do the right thing. "Of course, the restaurant will be donating 100 per cent of pro- ceeds from this doughnut to the Humboldt Broncos Hockey Club and we apologize for the misun- derstanding," said Chris Wake- fi eld, a regional marketing lead at Tim Hortons. Of course. Spotlight of idiots But you don't need a franchise scenario to fi nd yourself in hot water. Starbucks, which eschews the franchise model in favour of company-owned stores, stepped into the spotlight of idiots last month. A manager at a Philadel- phia location didn't like the fact two black men came in, asked to use the washroom and then sat down without ordering anything while waiting for a friend. e manager, apparently for- getting she works at Starbucks — where pretty much everybody hangs out for hours on end — asked them to leave. When they refused, she called police and had them arrested — which, of course, was caught on tape and posted to social media. Incredibly, the men were held for eight hours, ac- cording to their attorneys. Pros- ecutors, unsurprisingly, decided there was not enough evidence to charge them with a crime. A couple of days later, Star- bucks CEO Kevin Johnson fl ew 4,500 kilometres from Seattle to Philly to personally apologize to the men for the incident, which he called "reprehensible." e video, shot by customers, was "very hard to watch," he said in a statement. "Regretfully, our practices and training led to a bad outcome — the basis for the call to the Philadelphia police depart- ment was wrong." Coming soon on the menu for Starbucks employees is more training around unconscious bias as the company plans to "work with outside experts and com- munity leaders to understand and adopt best practices." Lessons for HR One of the biggest challenges for human resources professionals is ensuring not only that policies are in place, but that they are followed fairly and consistently. Every organization has micro- cultures within it. I always chafe at the notion of a common cor- porate culture, because trying to instill a uniform one is like nailing Jell-O to the wall. Talk to employ- ees at any company that has been awarded one of the myriad best employer awards out there and you'll fi nd more than a handful who are shocked and dismayed their employer is anywhere near the list. Why? Because we know that, for the most part, people don't leave companies, they leave their boss. And these supervisors, no matter how many training sessions you conduct or how well you've writ- ten policies, are not perfect. Some are well-intentioned, but fl awed. Some are outright jerks. And, yes, some can be bigoted assholes. What really matters is how the organization responds when facts come to light — and not just the ones that make headlines. Turn- ing a blind eye to a bad manager who "gets results" only provides a breeding ground for behaviour that could blossom into some- thing painful — including costly turnover and expensive construc- tive dismissal, psychological and sexual harassment lawsuits. Does this mean there's no point in eff orts to improve culture? Of course not. But rooting out the rotten apples is just as important as having the right training and policies in place. Or, to stick with our Tim Hor- tons and Starbucks theme, it only takes a few sour drops to curdle the cream. NOT TAKING IT LYING DOWN WATERLOO, ONT. — A univer- sity professor turned the tables on one of his students recently when faced with harsh criticism online. e exchange happened on Reddit after the University of Waterloo student said his teacher was overrated. He said computer science prof Dave Tompkins over- explained obvious things, made bad or inappropriate jokes, and was "legit addicted" to soft drinks. Tompkins responded, saying he also thought he was overrated, ad- mitting some of his lectures "suck," and that he drinks too much Coke Zero, though he defended his jokes and teaching methods. "All I can do is try to get better," he said. "Constructive criticism helps, and there was some of that in your post, so thanks." DID NOT SEE THAT COMING CUPERTINO, CALIF. — Apple's new US$5-billion headquarters opened with much fanfare in April 2017 in Cupertino, Calif., with the circular design of one build- ing earning it the nickname "the spaceship." But the glass walls are proving a problem for some, as re- vealed in 911 recordings. "We had an individual who ran into a glass wall pane and they hit their head. ey have a small cut on their head and they are bleeding, slightly dis- oriented," said one caller, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "I walked into a glass door on the fi rst fl oor of Apple Park when I was try- ing to go outside, which was very silly," said another. When Albert Salvador, Cupertino's building offi cial, visited the round cafete- ria building last year, he worried people would walk into the glass walls because they couldn't distin- guish them from the equally clear automatic doors. "When you clean the windows, you can't even tell some of them are there." Califor- nia's Code of Regulations requires companies to protect "against the hazard of walking through glass by barriers or conspicuous durable markings," but that code is meant more for construction workers than offi ce employees. WORK OUT OR WALK OUT STOCKHOLM — Workouts are popular at some fi rms in Sweden in a bid to improve productiv- ity, according to the Daily Mail. Employees at sportswear retailer Bjorn Borg, for example, leave their desks every Friday for a week- ly workout at a nearby gym — and it's mandatory. "If you don't want to exercise or be a part of the com- pany culture, you have to go," said CEO Henrik Bunge. A 2014 study from the University of Stockholm found exercising during the work- day made employees healthier and more concentrated, while reduc- ing absences. " ere's this idea that you'll be healthy, strong and happy if you get a lot of exercise, if you spend a lot of time in nature," said Carl Cederstrom, economics re- searcher at Stockholm University. EYE-CATCHING EYE ROLL BEIJING — A journalist's eye roll during a news conference spread quickly on Chinese social media recently before censors inter- vened, according to Reuters. It was during China's annual parliament session, and Zhang Huijun was asking a long question about state asset management. Her query was apparently all too much for Liang Xiangyi, a reporter from fi nancial news outlet Yicai, as she looked Huijun up and down and then dramatically rolled her eyes and turned away — all on live TV. Huijun works for American Mul- timedia Television USA, based in Los Angeles. e incident was seen by millions and soon inspired GIFs and parodies across social media. Xiangyi was said to have been pulled temporarily from her work, while most of the online posts were removed. WORKING OUT TO SEE IF YOU'LL WORK OUT LONDON, ONT. — Applying for a job as an IT business analyst at Goodlife Fitness in London, Ont., Roberta Cliff ord was surprised she was expected to do a workout. "I nearly choked… ere's no way you're going to get someone's best in an interview when they know they have to work out with a senior member of the company, a total stranger, right after," said Cliff ord, according to CBC News. Good- life has asked jobseekers to do a 20-min- ute workout for the past 15 years, and nobody has complained until now, according to Sarah Moore, Good- life's director of talent acquisition. "Where some companies might take a candidate out for coff ee... we use the workout as an opportunity to introduce our potential candidates to our core busi- ness of fi tness and to have a conver- sation outside of the formal inter- view process." Credit: Tetiana Rostopira (Shutterstock) Vol. 31 No. 5 – May 2018 PUBLISHED BY Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ©Copyright 2018 by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. CANADIAN HR REPORTER is published 12 times a year. 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