HRIA

CELEBRATING EXCELLENCE Human resources professionals across Alberta are accomplishing some amazing work in challenging workplace environments.

To recognize these exceptional HR leaders, the Human Resources Institute of Alberta hosted the 6th Annual Celebrating Excellence Awards during the HRIA Conference in Edmonton, Alberta on April 18, 2013.

These awards demonstrate the value and appreciation that HRIA and the HR community have for our fellow practitioners.

The many nominations received for a great selection of candidates reveals that hard work, commitment, innovation and community involvement continue to be very much appreciated within Alberta’s HR world.

The winners for 2013 were chosen after a rigorous evaluation process within HRIA and the awards committee, and represent some of the finest professionals in Alberta.

Congratulations to all those who were nominated and to this year’s winners!

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2013 HRIA Celebrating Excellence Awards – Winners

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oss Gilker, CHRP demonstrates exceptionally strong community leadership values and provides support to a wide range of not for profit agencies which improve the quality of life for many people facing challenging circumstances. Through his riding team, called CycleTherapy, Ross has contributed to the fundraising of many important charities including the Alberta Cancer Foundation, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Kidsport Alberta and the Association for Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured (ARBI). Based on Ross’s personal experience with stroke, the work with ARBI has very significant meaning for him. Seeing how far Ross has come on his own path to recovery is truly an inspiration. CycleTherapy came into being when Ross was recovering from a stroke himself and cycling was part of his rehabilitation. Ross is tireless, not only in his own volunteering efforts, but by motivating other members of CycleTherapy to assume community leadership roles as well.

COMMUNITY CHAMPION Ross Gilker CHRP

Ross is a true community leader and change agent ‘extraordinaire’!

RISING STAR Celia Kohler

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elia Kohler, CHRP Candidate - has been an asset for Clique Hotels & Resorts since she started with the company in March 2012. Not only did she take the initiative to bring all Acclaim Hotel processes and procedures in line with current Alberta HR Standards, Celia also implemented safe work practices, created the entire staff incentive program and wholly designed the employee satisfaction program. This program was so innovative that it’s now being implemented at other Clique properties. Celia was the key in bringing about policies regarding recruitment, selection, prevention of bullying, harassment, violence and equality. And to top it all off, Celia brought in new environmental responsibility policies as well, helping Acclaim Hotel acquire a fourth Green Key. Celia displays an extremely high work ethic and is a passionate and dedicated member of the Clique Hotels & Resorts team. With all she has accomplished so early in her HR career, the sky is the limit from here!

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labour disruption can be one of the most challenging times for a director of human resources. The NHL dispute was particularly unique in that the players were locked out but there were repercussions felt by employees across the organizations of the teams across North America.

While many teams chose to take traditional approaches to cut costs, the director of HR with the Edmonton Oilers, Tandy Kustiak, CHRP opted for a far more unique approach.

Tandy recruited companies willing to go into secondment partnerships, whereby the Oilers would keep the employees on the payroll, maintain their benefits and pay a portion of their salaries while the partner companies would pay the balance of the salaries. The program was an instant success, as dozens of employees headed off to new work sites.

Tandy’s dedication to this program has had an immeasurable impact on the culture within the Edmonton Oilers, and while this secondment project may be her crowning glory so far, you can’t help but think in the future she will have more innovative ideas that will have a profound impact on the culture of the company.

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STRATEGIC INNOVATOR Tandy Kustiak CHRP

2013 HRIA Celebrating Excellence Awards – Winners

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE Denise Grondin CHRP

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enise Grondin, CHRP director of human resources at Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) is a true example of an achiever.

In a very short time, Denise has planned and completed a reevaluation and strategic direction for the compensation plan. She is an inspiration as an innovator and executor of her vision.

Denise always seems to focus on innovative solutions to issues within the workplace. During a time of economic change, while other HR departments embarked on a restructuring campaign, Denise implemented the FIRST project that looked inside AIMCO and fostered growth and development from within. Her vision and persistence reduced the turnover by 21 per cent and the costs of recruitment was reduced by 78 per cent.

Denise’s excellence has been proven time and time again, her recommendations and policies introduced served as an inspiration to the people within AIMCO, now and will well into the future.

CONGRATULATIONS

TANDY!

We are thrilled you are being honoured as the Human Resources Institute of Alberta’s Innovator of the Year.

You took on an incredible challenge and conquered it with a solution that demonstrated drive, creativity and compassion. That is the Oilers Way. We are immensely proud of your leadership.

Sincere congratulations from your friends and fans in the Oilers Family!

www.hria.ca | May | 2013 | 3

2013 HRIA Celebrating Excellence Awards – Winners

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE TEAM

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ervus Credit Union undertook the challenging task of converting its three banking systems into one unified banking platform. While the conversion primarily impacted operations, IT and accounting, the HR team played a key role in supporting the project team by forming an HR Task Force made up of senior managers from its functional areas, including Learning and Leadership Development, Change Management and Strategic Staffing. The HR Task Force was put into place to enable better integration of various HR functional areas and ensure a swift response to and support for different people aspects of the project. The HR Task Force’s mandate was also to bridge the gap between the conversion project and the organization when it came to addressing people impacts.

Due to the work of the task force, the organization experienced minimal unanticipated employee or member impacts. Executives were directly engaged in communication activities on-site in branches and departments to provide required sponsorship for resulting changes. Leadership was provided with learning opportunities for change management coaching throughout the many months leading up to conversion. Thanks in part to the work of the HR Task Force, the system conversion was recognized as the most successful conversion that Servus and its legacy organizations have ever undertaken.

Front row (seated): Henriette Smith, Judy Ruth, Jana Radziewicz, Beate Maslanko, Nancy Pasquill, Jordan Pedersen Second row (seated): Carolyn Lesyshen, Kayla May, Melissa Boe, Jacqueline Elias Third row: Nancy Lussier, Treena Richards CHRP, Alice Bourget CHRP, Brenda Huizinga CHRP, John Hearn CHRP, Lisa Karpuk, Dan Bruinooge (Chief People and Corporate Services Officer) CHRP, Tannis Tetreault, Sandra Mellor, Blair Bilyk CHRP, Kim Yip, Nadim Chin Last row: Danny Fournier, Andrew Lawman CHRP, Daniel Leclair, Jennifer Corsi, Duane Clark, Kaitlin Olsen CHRP, Monika Alder, Kirk Nielsen

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2013 HRIA Celebrating Excellence Awards – Winners

DISTINGUISHED CAREER Joan Morgotch CHRP

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oan Morgotch, CHRP has been with The Banff Centre for 31 years and will be retiring this spring. She has made diverse and invaluable contributions, in her career, Joan applied critical thinking to a wide range of situations and her energy and enthusiasm for her work engaged her audience and helped them buy into HR principles and practises that achieved retention. Joan relentlessly advocated for the importance of involving HR in matters that affected the functional areas. When Joan spoke, leaders listened as they respected her opinion and saw results when they followed her guidance. Her ideas and solutions always ensured the business values and needs of employees were considered along with the direction of the organization. Joan is a generous and skilled leader who takes any opportunity to empower individuals through information sharing, mentoring or networking.

Because of Joan, staff know they are valued, leadership exists that appreciates the value of having an HR perspective in making strategic decisions for the organization and an HR department has been created that will be able to carry forward the values she has embedded in every facet of the Banff Centre.

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2013 HRIA Celebrating Excellence Awards – Winners

FELLOWSHIP AWARD Eldon Emerson FCHRP

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ldon Emerson, FCHRP was the chair of the founding committee which collaborated over a number of years to develop key principles and operating terms to finally get independent groups to join under the then umbrella organization which led to the creation of HRIA. Eldon and the Board were not deterred by issues that arose because they knew the “CHRP” would become the recognized national brand for the HR profession and pushed ahead on developing the scope of what constituted professional practice of HR. Eldon was a strong advocate of recertification and the CHRP NOT being a permanent designation. He advocated PD as part of the raison d’etre of HRIA and that was reflected organizationally.

If not for Eldon’s leadership and other committed Board members, HRIA may not have launched when it did. Eldon holds certificate #1, the first Certified Human Resources Professional designated by HRIA in 1991 and was granted Lifetime Membership by the Board in 1993.

Eldon also served on the founding group that created the concept for a national HR body leading to the creation of the CCHRA. Eldon has been credited with leading innovative HR practices in the non-profit sector through his work in developing a shared services model for HR among six non-profit organizations in Edmonton. Eldon served as a founding board member for the HR Council of Not for Profit and chaired the Audit Committee, recently completing six years of service to this organization.

Currently, as the manager of the Muttart Foundation’s Human Resources Cluster Project, Eldon provides consultation, education and advisory services to help six Edmonton-based social service charities address their HR needs and issues. In addition, Eldon now gives his time to the Allan Gray Continuing Care Centre, where he serves as a current board director and as chair of the Long-Range Planning Committee.

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2013 HRIA Celebrating Excellence Awards – Winners

LEADER OF THE YEAR Fran Parolin

Best Workplaces 2013 Canada

Devon employees put their energy, integrity and hard work into action.

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ran Parolin with Devon Canada Human Resources is a learning and organization development Specialist. In addition to being an outstanding leader in volunteer role, she is a leader within her profession stemming from roles as a business leader and team lead, university associate, curriculum consultant and educator within her 27 years of her career. Her outstanding leadership style and her contributions to the organizations she has worked in are well respected.

The foundation of her beliefs and work ethic whether personally or professionally is empowering people through a transparent approach. Within her career she has been an inspiration by creating a clear vision and empowering others to take the initiative to succeed.

She provides possibilities, encourages, and never asks for more than she was willing to give of herself. Fran acts as both a mentor and a role model and is an individual who inspires by example. She says what she means, which allow others to trust her, motivate them to give her everything they have to give, and keeps people interested in their work. Through her openness she invites feedback because of her willingness for her own growth of learning.

Congratulations to Devon employee Fran Parolin, recipient of the Human Resources Institute of Alberta’s Leader of the Year Award.

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Those who achieve the CHRP designation are at the leading edge of the HR profession in Canada. HRIA is proud to recognize the 241 new CHRP designates of 2012, congratulations to all for this achievement of excellence in HR! CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW CHRP DESIGNATES OF 2012 Aaron Merkosky, CHRP Agatha Starczyk, CHRP Alycia Ho, CHRP Amanda Graham, CHRP Amanda Northcott, CHRP Amber Huniak, CHRP Amber Lienhardt, CHRP Ameera Bhatti, CHRP Amy (Eungyung) Lee, CHRP Andrea Brown, CHRP Aneela Ali, CHRP Anette Ceraficki, CHRP Angelica Yao, CHRP Angie Perras, CHRP Anjum Amin, CHRP Anli Bao, CHRP Anveshna Malik, CHRP Ashley Bacon, CHRP Ashley Petryshen, CHRP Ashley Trevelyan, CHRP Aundrea Sebjanic, CHRP Aura Popescu, CHRP Bernice Chan, CHRP Bess Leung, CHRP Blaise Lakusta, CHRP Brady Bajnok, CHRP Brianne Welch, CHRP Brittany Butterwick, CHRP Bryan Mosley, CHRP Caitlin Peacock, CHRP Calvin Chan, CHRP Carilene Agard, CHRP Carmen Pollock, CHRP Carolina Rojas, CHRP Carrie Manitopyes, CHRP Catherine Heggerud, CHRP Celia Stephanie Phaneuf, CHRP Charleen Pomerleau, CHRP Christina Baron, CHRP Christine Deagle, CHRP Christine Niemi, CHRP Christopher Burrows, CHRP Christopher Lui, CHRP Christopher Sopal, CHRP Christpetra (Petra) Okeke, CHRP Christy MacDonald, CHRP Cindy Go, CHRP Colleen Morgan, CHRP Connie Shieh, CHRP Corina Stevens, CHRP Cortney Peters, CHRP Crista Bobowski, CHRP Dana Boyko, CHRP Daniel Haberstock, CHRP Danielle Hook, CHRP Danielle Schramm, CHRP Danita Haysom, CHRP Darren Brown, CHRP David Whyte, CHRP Dean Bowles, CHRP Deanna Davies, CHRP Debbie Manovich, CHRP Dennis Gilson, CHRP Diane Little, CHRP

Dipti Sharma, CHRP Dmetri Berko, CHRP Edward Mowbrey, CHRP Edward Darrell Neuman, CHRP Elissa Hope Malone, CHRP Eri Fujio, CHRP Eric Fishleigh, CHRP Eric P. Thomas, CHRP Erika Federau, CHRP Evangeline Maurice, CHRP Evelyn Vendiola, CHRP Faye Johnson, CHRP Fiona Wong, CHRP Francois Fournier, CHRP Gillian Muhl, CHRP Gisele Wright, CHRP Heather Kennedy-Plant, CHRP Hemal Desai, CHRP Holly Underhill, CHRP Honorata Krzysiak, CHRP Ida On, CHRP Inderpreet Budesha, CHRP Jaclyn Bock, CHRP Jacqueline Vargas, CHRP Jane Osanife, CHRP Janelle Armstrong, CHRP Janet Warner, CHRP Jaylene MacDonald, CHRP Jeannie Hong, CHRP Jennie Vo, CHRP Jennifer Callicott, CHRP Jennifer Clarke, CHRP Jennifer Devolder, CHRP Jennifer Matthews, CHRP Jenny Beaudoin-Pigeon, CHRP Jenny Chia, CHRP Jessica Coulter, CHRP Jessica Rodrigues, CHRP Jessica Truong, CHRP Jessie Jones, CHRP Jill Mitchell, CHRP Jocelyn Doucette, CHRP Jodi Drozda-Murphy, CHRP Jodie Murray, CHRP Jody Jones, CHRP Joshua Emmerich, CHRP Joyce Wan, CHRP Julia Stabler, CHRP K. Lynn MacKinnon, CHRP Kaitlin Olsen, CHRP Karen Anderson, CHRP Kathryn Morgan, CHRP Katrina Gilroy, CHRP Kelly Mac Vicar, CHRP Kelly Waterhouse, CHRP Kerri Logan, CHRP Khristine Lavery, CHRP Krista Pearson, CHRP Krista Westly, CHRP Kristopher Bonnett, CHRP Lana Meaney, CHRP Lana Workman, CHRP Lanna Hojski, CHRP Laura French Meyers, CHRP

Leah Mawer, CHRP Leanna Kielau Craig, CHRP Leanne Randall, CHRP Linda McKeith, CHRP Linda Nguyen, CHRP Lindsay Hann, CHRP Lindsay Jacobsen, CHRP Lisa Shane, CHRP Lora-Lea Pitzel, CHRP Lori Kalwa, CHRP M. Grace VanderVelde, CHRP Majeda Fyith, CHRP Manveer Pnaich, CHRP Maria Bondarenko, CHRP Marianne Meijer, CHRP Marie Espina, CHRP Maris Bourdin, CHRP Marivic .L Cariaga, CHRP Mark Dyck, CHRP Marlane (Laini) Torgerson, CHRP Maya S. Kambeitz, CHRP Melissa Bellrose, CHRP Michael Downey, CHRP Michael MacLeod, CHRP Michele Rondot, CHRP Michelle Carlson, CHRP Michelle Kinzel, CHRP Michelle Shay, CHRP Michelle Unchulenko, CHRP Monique Goodwin, CHRP Mrinalini Jha, CHRP Nada Ladhani, CHRP Nasheena Chagani, CHRP Natasha Weisner, CHRP Nazia Viceer, CHRP Neil Palesh, CHRP Nicole Giler, CHRP Nicole Pasche, CHRP Nicole Quinn, CHRP Nicole West, CHRP Nikki Malcolm, CHRP Nina Benvenuto, CHRP Noorin Mitha, CHRP Pamela Nicol, CHRP Patrick Duffy, CHRP Paul Conway, CHRP Paul Dhanjal, CHRP Paul Rees, CHRP Paul van Steenbergen, CHRP Pinky Aulakh, CHRP Rajiv Sharma, CHRP Ran Tai, CHRP Reid Simonton, CHRP Rena Toor, CHRP Rhae Hansen, CHRP Rob Kilarski, CHRP Robin Lummerding, CHRP Robyn Wong, CHRP Rodney Miller, CHRP Ruby van den Hoff, CHRP Ryan Dimitriou, CHRP Ryan Harrison, CHRP Ryan Milligan, CHRP Sabine Dinnert, CHRP

HUMAN RESOURCES INSTITUTE OF ALBERTA

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Sabrina Khan, CHRP Sakulya Chandraratne, CHRP Sandhya Sharma, CHRP Sandy Metz, CHRP Sarah Boechler, CHRP Serena Staples, CHRP Shahenda Abou-Aly, CHRP Shalzah Visram, CHRP Shama Joynt, CHRP Sharon Colebrook, CHRP Shayantani Sarkar, CHRP Shujun (Sabrina) Zhang, CHRP Srimanti Nayak, CHRP Stacey Van Den Bussche, CHRP Staci Johnson, CHRP Stephanie Mongrain, CHRP Steve Peddie, CHRP Steven Ostopowich, CHRP Sujata Tadeparti, CHRP Sutton Bowers, CHRP Tabitha Bazely, CHRP Tammy Arseneau, CHRP Tammy Irving, CHRP Tanis Gee, CHRP Tegwen Jones, CHRP Teri Lawrence, CHRP Thomas Zabel, CHRP Thy Nguyen, CHRP Tiana Hanssen, CHRP Tiffany Keating, CHRP Tracey Nelson, CHRP Tracy Cook, CHRP Tracy Danis, CHRP Troy Davies, CHRP Tyler Jameson, CHRP Tynan Wong, CHRP Vanessa Lancaster, CHRP Vanessa Newby, CHRP Vanessa Pfunder, CHRP Veronica Thai, CHRP Victoria Hennessy, CHRP Vladislav Slavov, CHRP Wendy Allsopp, CHRP Wilhelmina Ashun-Codjiw, CHRP Wilma Li, CHRP Wing Chee Norraine Chan, CHRP Zaheen Mohammed, CHRP Zhiying Qi, CHRP Zoe Walton, CHRP

For details on what the CHRP designation can bring to your career or organziation visit

www.CHRPAlberta.ca