11 minute read
Association Update
Left: CCA First Connect Networking Series at Big Rock, August 18, 2021. Above: CCA Connect Networking Series TradeSpace, March 2, 2022.
At the Calgary Construction Association, our mission is to help our members thrive now and into the future, and to be an advocate for the construction Industry. We do this through a broad variety of services including educational programming, scholarships, targeted and curated networking events, and government advocacy work in addition to our BuildWorks member portal.
As a memberonly funded organization, the companies that align with the CCA are the lifeblood of our 78yearold organization and without them, the Association simply would not exist. Member engagement is top priority and something that gets dedicated focus and resources. From new quarterly member onboarding breakfasts, “Welcome Wednesday” zoom calls, and dedicated membership engagement specialists that will move mountains to support CCA members.
Despite being one of the smallest association teams in the country, as a proportion of members, CCA has been able to upgrade in all areas of our services and in our attention to detail. This focus and alignment has been fundamental in allowing us to create and deliver a robust and consistent customer experience while also continually striving to bring more value to our members in traditional and new areas.
This small but mighty team is also engaged in continuous improvement, and we are committed to being the best in all the pillars that make up our value offering while never settling into a routine. We need to change and adapt just as our members are and as such are always listening to our members and applying the best learning to what is next.
In Jeff Henderson’s book – Know What You Are For – he uses a powerful analogy that we have really adopted in our approach.
Jeff is a former marketing executive for a very successful USbased fastfood chain, and he discusses how they worked with franchisees to help grow their businesses and profitability and how they learned about the importance of standing on the customers’ side of the counter rather the franchisee’s. View the organization through the customers’ eyes in order to see the best ways to improve.
This simple but effective perspective absolutely sums up the way we view our relationship with our members.
ADVOCACY
Advocacy is about more than just having influence with other authorities on matters that align with your interests. It is not just about long conversations, picking fights, and writing protest letters, and it takes more than a great network and contact list.
Advocacy is about delivering results and outcomes through earned influence around important issues on behalf of others that would not have happened without your involvement. • It is about partnering with other groups and individuals and bringing parties together to increase the effectiveness of what you are doing. Collaboration gets more
First in-person Meet the GC, March 16, 2022 and event sponsor.
done than solo work especially when you are always adding to your toolbox. • It is about knowing and understanding the audience on all sides of the matter. • It is about acknowledging when things are done right so that others do not only see you as a critic. Balance criticism with recognition to build credibility. • It is about showing respect to earn respect through the development of meaningful relationships so that the appropriate entities will engage with you. Some may be the decision maker; others may be the coach
or the subject matter expert All are needed if you want to get things done. • It is about continually learning and adapting through these relationships so you can present the most intelligent, balanced, and informed position possible. • It is about ensuring that you engage with parties from a perspective of seeking to understand their position. Then with that understanding work further with them to educate them as to your perspective. The pursuit of the common ground provides the best foundation for progress towards a
solution that is balanced and good for all – often even better than the direction it was headed before you got involved. • It is about challenging and being willing to be challenged back. • It is about standing up and defending others when a voice and legitimate pushback are required. • It is about being willing to take some risks and call out things on behalf of your stakeholders – these being our members.
We could go on, however advocacy is ultimately about being tireless in the pur
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suit of important outcomes and then, once realized, it is about giving credit to those who helped you get there, and consolidating what you learned during the process so you will be smarter next time. If at first, you do not succeed then you try again but, in the end, you hand the benefits back to the members on whose behalf you pursued it in the first place.
And then you ask them, “What can we do for you next?”
Over the last year, COVID may have prevented CCA from being able to host all the events and activities that we are known for but, if anything, it shone a spotlight on advocacy. Our municipal and provincial partners needed our help, our members needed each other’s help, and CCA was in a unique position to step up on both fronts. • Our COVID Leaders Forum group still meets every two weeks to stay on top of the pandemic and its ongoing impact on
the industry by sharing best practices and information for the benefit of all. • The Alberta Joint Industry Response Team (AJIRT) still meets regularly to share information across the member groups of
ACA, CEA, CAA, and ECA. • Through the Alberta Construction Association (ACA) we have continued to maintain visibility and influence over the progress on Prompt Payment Legislation and Bill 67 etc. • Along with the Canadian Construction
Association, we ensured that our industry’s needs were included as they sought to advocate for us at the federal level. • Our City of Calgary liaison meetings continue to bring the industry and City together in the pursuit of working better together. • Our participation in City of Calgary initiatives includes the Benefit Driven
Procurement Advisory Task Force, Business Advisory Committee, and Disaster
Mitigation Engagement Initiative around more resilient building materials.
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NEW DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
October 18, 2021 was a very important day for Calgary with the election of a new mayor along with a new, and very different, city council. Calgary faces incredible challenges and inspiring opportunities in the years ahead and CCA will be there to coauthor the next chapter in Calgary’s history on behalf of our industry and our members.
As Calgary stands at the threshold of our next chapter with a new mayor and city council in place, the prospect of a major downtown strategy including an Events Centre, Arts Commons, and Green Line LRT, combined with aspirations of economic diversification and a longawaited postpandemic recovery, we at CCA could not be more inspired.
While there are many challenges within this diverse list, there are even more opportunities and, with such a broad range of issues to contend with, there is no doubt that we will have our hands full.
We believe that our industry and our members need to have a greater voice in the
many decisions and policies that will shape our future and we also have a significant contribution to make to the thought process. Therefore, we grew our team so that we can build off the legacy work that we have done with the City of Calgary and our other partners in our great city and be ready to step it up a notch to engage in the next leg of the journey.
Frano Cavar joined us in the role of Director of Government Relations and will be responsible for the development of a robust advocacy and government relations strategy on behalf of the CCA membership.
As a former chief of staff to a Calgary city councillor, Frano has a sound awareness of local and citywide municipal affairs and a grasp of current social and political issues. In this role, he developed skills in policy and political analysis and provided advice accordingly. A natural collaborator, he understands the importance of relationship building with industry, stakeholders within the City of Calgary, partner organizations, and the public.
EDUCATION
Our education program underwent changes in late 2021. The education webpage was updated to make it easier to navigate and find courses and dates. Additionally, you will see suggested content based on the course you are viewing.
We’ve updated our Gold Seal page to make it easier for you to find information, with direct links to the Canadian Construction Association Gold Seal page, exam dates, and credit calculator. For more information about Gold Seal Certification, please feel free to contact Lena Hogarth at lenahogarth@cgyca.com. In May, Gold Seal released an updated version of its mandatory Gold Seal Construction Industry Ethics course. There is no longer a twopart course, and it is available both in a virtual instructorled format and in an elearning format, which are each worth three credits.
A new monthly Education Bulletin was launched in September 2021! Information about courses, upcoming education, and educational articles are included in the Bulletin.
Despite not being able to host any inperson education for the past two years, CCA has 210 virtual courses and one inperson session scheduled for the 2022 year to date with continuous calendar updates. The 2022 education calendar includes several new
courses.
NEW EDUCATION COURSES
• Managing Construction Series: – Project Delivery Methods “Know Your
Responsibilities” – Be Afraid of Supplementaries to CCDC
Contracts – CCDC 5A & 5B: Construction Man
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agement “Keys to Success” – Proposal Pursuit “Strategies for Success” – Managing CCDC Contracts to Minimize Conflict • Project Accounting & Cost Control • Construction Business Management • Construction Estimating • Site Leadership • Closeout of a Construction Project • Negotiation & Conflict Management • Subcontractors Guide to Lean • Bluebeam Hyperlinks/Drawing Management
The first quarter of 2022 has seen 74 students taking virtual classes with 585 virtual student hours being logged.
EVENTS
This year is shaping up to be a year full of inperson events! March 2 marked our first inperson event of 2022, the longawaited sold out CCA Connect Networking Series hosted at TradeSpace. We welcomed over 100 smiling faces for an evening of mingling. CCA Connect is a casual evening event cohosted by the Calgary Construction Association and our members for our members. We are excited to be hosting the CCA Connect Networking Series throughout the year at different member venues, such as FalkBuilt.
The virtual version of Meet the GC was launched in 2020. CCA was excited to finally be able to turn this virtual event into an inperson Meet the GC. The first one was hosted at Haworth on March 16, which also sold out in record time! Meet the GC is a dedicated event to support meaningful connections between our general contractor members and our trade contractors, manufacturer & suppliers, and industry service providers. This series is focused on networking and connections of value for all parties that attend. This series will also be ongoing throughout the year.
We look forward to seeing you at upcoming 2022 events! If there are any events that you think CCA should consider hosting, we would love to hear from you. Please reach out to Lena Hogarth at lenahogarth@cgyca.com. n
