HR Update Spring 2016

HR UPDATE ional camaraderie Your resource for profess and fresh insights.

RCE PROFESSIONALS THE HUMAN RESOU

ATION A CHAPTER PUBLIC ASSOCIATION OTTAW

HR

HR UPDATE

UPDATE

PREPARING YOUR KIDS FOR JOBS THAT DON’T EXIST YET STRATEGIES TO AVOID GETTING A HUMAN RIGHTS APPLICATION IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH YOGA

Your resource for professional camaraderie and fresh insights.

INTERVIEW WITH

Vandana Juneja Senior Regional Director of

Catalyst

AL

JOURN OTTAWA BUSINESS

VOLUME 19 • ISSUE

14 • MAY 2016

THE HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONALS ASSOCIATION OTTAWA CHAPTER PUBLICATION

HR

UPDATE

PREPARING YOUR KIDS FOR JOBS THAT DON’T EXIST YET STRATEGIES TO AVOID GETTING A HUMAN RIGHTS APPLICATION IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH YOGA

INTERVIEW WITH

Vandana Juneja Senior Regional Director of Catalyst

OTTAWA BUSINESS JOURNAL

VOLUME 19 • ISSUE 14 • MAY 2016

Contributors wanted!

For individuals interested in contributing, articles must be submitted via email to updatemagazine@ hrpaottawa.ca by no later than October 5, 2016.

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EVENT RECAP

Dine & Learn PHOTOS BY MARK HOLLERON

2016-2017 BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT KEVIN BARWIN PRESIDENT ELECT & MENTORSHIP MELISSA BELLOCCHI-HULL SECRETARY DAN PALAYEW TREASURER CHERYL BANKS COMMUNICATIONS ANGELA ZIMMER COMMUNITY RELATIONS & MARKETING SOLEY SOUCIE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & NETWORKING MERSIHA MESIC MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT MURIEL EARLE MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ERIN TAILLEFER CONTACT US HRPA OTTAWA CHAPTER, GENERAL INQUIRIES & ACCOUNTING PHONE: 613-224-6466 E-MAIL: infohr@hrpaottawa.ca WEBSITE: www.hrpa.ca/ HRPAChapterSites/Ottawa MEMBERSHIP CHANGES

Net Night

150 Bloor Street West, Suite 200, Toronto, ON, M5S 2X9 PHONE: 416-923-2324

PHOTOS BY MARK HOLLERON

TOLL-FREE: 1-800-387-1311 FAX: 416-923-7264 EMAIL: info@hrpa.ca WEBSITE: www.hrpa.ca Join the HRPA Ottawa Chapter Group on LinkedIn @OttawaHRPA CHAIR: ERIC VANDE VELDE EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: ELLA FORBES-CHILIBECK STEFAN SMITH MICHAEL PRICE JILLIAN CHEESEMAN PUBLICATION SUBMISSIONS: updatemagazine@hrpaottawa.ca CREATIVE DIRECTOR TANYA CONNOLLY-HOLMES GRAPHIC DESIGNERS REGAN VAN DUSEN CÉLINE HACHÉ-PAQUETTE SALES WENDY BAILY NIKKI DESLAURIER CARLO LOMBARD

2 HR UPDATE SPRING 2016

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05 Annual Business Meeting & Executive Dinner /25 /16 KEYNOTE DR. NICK BONTIS

OTTAWA CONFERENCE AND EVENT CENTRE, 200 COVENTRY ROAD, OTTAWA

2016-17 calendar of events MAY

25 2016 ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING & EXECUTIVE DINNER

KEYNOTE – DR. NICK BONTIS OTTAWA CONFERENCE AND EVENT CENTRE, 200 COVENTRY ROAD, OTTAWA SEPTEMBER

21 2016

HRPA OTTAWA CHAPTER KICKOFF

LAGO BAR AND GRILL, 1001 QUEEN ELIZABETH DRIVE, OTTAWA OCTOBER

Complimentary

Cross-Cultural Training for Businesses, HR, & People Managers Learn practical cultural competency building strategies Register for upcoming sessions: hireimmigrantsottawa.ca @HireImmOttawa

27 2016

HRPA OTTAWA LAW CONFERENCE

OTTAWA CONFERENCE AND EVENT CENTRE, 200 COVENTRY ROAD, OTTAWA

Wherever you need experienced employment and labour law professionals, we’re there.

Honoured as Employment Team of the Year at Chambers Canada Awards 2015, our dedicated team delivers tailored, effective and high-value services to our clients at a local, national and international level.

Law around the world nortonrosefulbright.com

Have you read a great book on human resources, business, leadership, or other related topic? We are seeking book reviews for our upcoming issues.

Contact us at updatemagazine@hrpaottawa.ca for more information.

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Ottawa Karen Jensen 613 780 8673

Toronto John Mastoras 416 216 3905

Montréal Marie-Hélène Jetté 514 847 4650

Québec Gilles Rancourt 418 640 5036

Calgary Bill Armstrong 403 267 8255

SPRING 2016 HR UPDATE 3

hrpaottawa on the go @OttawaHRPA

HRPA, Ottawa Chapter

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS CENTRE

Queen’s University and Kingston The perfect combination for professional development This summer, build your skills and learn how to adapt to a changing work environment, while enjoying the sights and sounds of historic Kingston and the Thousand Islands.

Why Queen’s IRC? Queen’s IRC programs provide experiential learning opportunities led by industry leaders with real-world experience. Our programs are based on over 75 years of experience and evidence-based best practices that bring results.

Why Kingston?

Kingston is North America’s freshwater sailing capital, with a vibrant downtown that’s rich with history and activities. Extend your visit by taking a few days before or after your program to explore!

Upcoming Kingston programs ■

Labour Arbritration Skills: May 29 – June 2, 2016

■

Mastering Fact-Finding and Investigation: July 12-15, 2016

■

Building Trust in the Workplace: July 21, 2016

For more information please contact us at: Toll-free: 1-888-858-7838 Email: irc@queensu.ca Web: irc.queensu.ca

irc.queensu.ca 4 HR UPDATE SPRING 2016

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“You manage things; you lead people.”

— REAR ADMIRAL GRACE MURRAY HOPPER

The Coming of Age of Human Resources as a Primary Profession O

ver the last few years, the HRPA has built an excellent foundation for the future of the Association through our highly engaged volunteers and staff; best in class member retention; new designations built on a comprehensive competency model; upgraded governance processes; and an Act that truly reflects today’s reality and establishes HRPA as the profession’s regulator in Ontario.

Building on all these developments, our new 5-year strategic plan focuses on the profession as a whole, in a rapidly changing world driven by globalization, demographics, technology, and the evolving expectations of the r​ole HR professionals should fill.

The greatest challenge our profession faces is the perception that “anyone can do HR.” Recent trends suggest that some organizations are increasingly seeking executives from outside the profession, with limited HR experience, to fill the role of their Chief Human Resources Officer. Yet, no one in their right mind would ask an accountant to build a bridge, or an engineer to do brain surgery. Like accounting, medicine, and engineering, we need to ensure that HR is seen as a true top-level profession. Organizations must understand the essential role that only validated HR professionals can bring, and the unique value that they add.

FOUR CORE AREAS OF FOCUS 1.

Reinforcing the HRPA as protector of the public and regulator of the HR profession by enhancing our role as a trusted partner of policymakers, and ensuring that we lead in thinking and practice in the regulatory arena. We must promote HRPA membership to HR professionals in Ontario to ensure that all HR practitioners are subject to our Rules of Professional Conduct and Code of Ethics.

2. Upgrading our governance

The original certification process was based on a narrow set of HR competencies, and did not take into consideration workplace and employment law upon which much of HR is based.

3.

4.

processes and how we deliver member value and our programs to support volunteers to advance the profession and those within it.

Promoting the principle that HR is a primary profession with a core global body of knowledge where membership in HRPA authenticates an individual as an accredited professional.

Building on our designations and competency framework to validate the capability and quantifiable value that our members bring to organizations.

NEW DESIGNATIONS AND COMPETENCY FRAMEWORK As it relates to our designations and competency framework, the expectations of HR’s contributions to ensure the success of the organization have changed immensely since the Certified HR Professional (CHRP) designation was introduced almost 20 years ago.

For one thing, the HR role is so different from the entry-level administrator to the Senior Vice President and Chief Human

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Resources Officer, that a single certification process could not fulfill the range of needs.

It requires three separate, but associated designations with their own names and validation processes, from entry level (Certified HR Professional, CHRP) to professional level (Certified HR Leader, CHRL), to executive level (Certified HR Executive, CHRE).

The original certification process was based on a narrow set of HR competencies, and did not take into consideration workplace and employment law upon which much of HR is based. It did not include knowledge of business. It did not include enabling competencies – skills and abilities like critical thinking, project management, technologies, and analytics that are needed to ensure the certified practitioner can actually apply what they know in an everchanging profession.

Finally, the original certification assessment process consisted of a simple knowledge test. It did not assess the ability of the candidate to apply that knowledge.

Later, an experience requirement was added. The assessment processes for the new designations – in particular, the

Certified Human Resources Leader – are on par with the best of these professions.

Human Resources is having its coming of age as a primary profession. To that end, we will influence policymakers and stakeholders and substantiate HR as a primary profession.

HR professionals are the architects of the people-driven business strategies that add value to organizations and, as a result, lead to satisfied members.

On behalf of the HRPA Ottawa Chapter, thank you for your continued dedication in advancing our profession. I would also like to thank the provincial association for their contributions to this article.

Kevin

SPRING 2016 HR UPDATE 5

09 HRPA /21 Ottawa Chapter Kickoff /16 LAGO BAR AND GRILL, 1001 QUEEN ELIZABETH DRIVE, OTTAWA

HUMAN RIGHTS LAW TODAY:

Guidance for Individuals and Employers T

he Human Rights Tribunal and the Courts have broken new ground in recent months, both in terms of the reach of anti-discrimination laws, and the consequences for those who breach them. While the overwhelming majority of workplaces are both respectful and inclusive, there are unfortunately exceptions to this rule and sometimes, despite best efforts, issues may still arise.

The following three recent cases illustrate how human rights law may impact your workplace:

orientation, age, and disability.

Entitlement to Accommodation:

You have the right to reasonable accommodation at work. If, for example, you suffer an illness or injury, your employer is required to provide reasonable accommodation so that you may continue to perform work. A simple example of this could be the provision of an ergonomic chair to an office worker with a back injury.

Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policies: Find out if your employer has an

anti-harassment/discrimination policy in place, and inform yourself of the process that you would be required to engage, should it ever prove necessary. If your concern is regarding someone in a position of authority, or the person that administers the policy, find out whether an alternate mechanism exists such that your complaint may be made anonymously, or to another individual.

O.P.T. v. Presteve Foods Ltd. (2015 HRTO 675)

Due to the prolonged period over which the material events in this case occurred, and the inherent power imbalance between the parties, it is one of the more disturbing to have passed through the Human Rights Tribunal. Two sisters, M.P.T and O.P.T., came from Mexico to work at a fish processing plant. Shortly after commencing work, they were subject to unwanted sexual advances from the company’s owner, Mr. Pratas.

The sisters commenced a human rights application against both the company and Mr. Pratas. The allegations against Mr. Pratas were numerous and severe. This was further compounded by their occurrence under the constant threat of being sent back to Mexico.

In rendering its decision, the Tribunal accepted the sisters’ allegations and found Mr. Pratas and the company jointly and severally liable, ordering over $200,000 in damages – a new high watermark in the Tribunal’s jurisprudence, and a signal that damages awards at the Tribunal may be on the rise.

Partridge v. Botony Dental Corporation (2015 ONSC 343)

Ms. Partridge worked for Botony for 7 years, first as a Dental Hygienist, then as Office Manager, before being dismissed for cause on July 19, 2011. During the tenure of her employment, Ms. Partridge twice took maternity leave, the second of which ended in July 2011.

During her second maternity leave, Ms. Partridge received a text message from Botony’s owner to advise her that upon her return to work, she would no longer be the Office Manager, but would again be a Dental Hygienist. Moreover, Ms. Partridge was told that her working hours would now vary – conflicting with her childcare obligations, and she would be paid less.

Ms. Partridge refused to return to work on the modified terms, and was dismissed for cause. She subsequently brought a court action seeking damages for both wrongful dismissal and discrimination on the basis of family status, pursuant to the Human Rights 6 HR UPDATE SPRING 2016

GUIDANCE FOR EMPLOYERS Implement Clear Policies and Ensure Consistent Enforcement: If

your resources allow, implement a clear anti-harassment and discrimination policy that satisfies the requirements of the applicable human rights law, and is clearly communicated to everyone in your organization. Concomitant with this, institute a neutral internal process by which to investigate and respond to complaints brought pursuant to the policy.

Code. The Court accepted Ms. Partridge’s argument on both fronts, and ordered that Botony pay twelve months of salary, plus an additional $20,000 for its breach of the code.

Partridge should serve as a reminder not only of an employer’s obligations to individuals returning from maternity leave, but also of the increasing frequency with which human rights claims are being successfully litigated in the courts.

The Queen v. Pro Bono Law Ontario (2014 HRTO 1092)

Our final case illustrates that sometimes regardless of how careful a workplace may be, a human rights complaint may still arise.

In this case, the applicant had sought the assistance of Pro Bono Law Ontario. The Tribunal described the facts as follows: The applicant sought the services of the respondent to launch a civil suit for wages allegedly owed to him for his reign as Her Majesty the Queen. The applicant has apparently changed his legal name to Her Majesty (first name) the Queen (last name). Although he identified himself to the Tribunal by his previous legal name, he has submitted documentation to the Tribunal that appears to confirm his change of legal

name.

The applicant’s case was refused by Pro Bono Law Ontario on the grounds that there was no reasonable prospect of success.

Nevertheless, the applicant commenced a human rights proceeding claiming discrimination on the basis of disability.

The Tribunal held a summary hearing and determined that even if all of the applicant’s evidence was accepted, no sufficient nexus existed between the applicant’s claimed disability and the rejection of his request for legal assistance to constitute discrimination. Accordingly, the claim was dismissed.

The preceding three cases provide helpful guidance for individuals and employers alike.

GUIDANCE FOR INDIVIDUALS

Entitlement to an Inclusive Workplace: Regardless of the industry or the size of the company, you are entitled to fair treatment at work. The Human Rights Code protects employees in Ontario (with the exception of those in federally-regulated industries to which the Canadian Human Rights Act applies) from discrimination on the basis of prescribed characteristics, including sexual

Liability for Employees’ Actions: Cases

such as Presteve Foods should serve to remind employers that they may ultimately be found vicariously liable for the misconduct of an employee. Accordingly, it is necessary to treat all allegations of discrimination seriously and foster an environment where individuals, from the CEO down, are held to the same standard and treated equally.

Investigate Claims and use Rule 19A:

If, as a provincially-regulated business, you become the target of a dubious human rights claim at the Tribunal, do two things.

First, conduct a thorough and impartial investigation of the allegations to determine their veracity. Second, if the claim remains unfounded, consider using Rule 19A of the Tribunal’s procedures – which allows for a summary hearing on whether the claim has a ‘reasonable prospect of success.’ This approach may help your business achieve an expeditious resolution, rather than proceeding to a full hearing.

Paul Willetts is an Employment Lawyer and Founder of Vey Willetts LLP in Ottawa.

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Preparing Your Kids for Jobs that Don’t Exist Yet A

others in the process. Today’s students need to understand that the rules of work have changed, and that their skillsets will need to align with new expectations.

ccording to American scholar, Cathy Davidson, 65 percent of today’s kids may end up working in professions that have not even been invented yet. This begs the question: as a parent, how do you prepare your child for a career that does not yet exist?

By failing to answer this question, your child risks being left behind. Jeffrey Selingo (The Chronicle of Higher Education) states that students are at risk of being “illprepared for the creative forces that will define the global economy in the future.”

We are already aware of several changes that are reshaping our economy: the rise of technology, the aging of the population, and environmental and climate concerns, for example. Organizations are trying to change to accommodate these shifts, and unemployment is rising because of these shifts.

Unfortunately, the education system is not quick enough to respond to these changes. Karl Fisch (Huffington Post) summarizes the problem as follows: “We are currently preparing students for jobs

that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” As a parent who is aware of this change and uncertainty, one must help prepare their child for a bright future by helping them make three changes: Forget About Jobs and Careers – Look for Challenges to Solve Today’s jobs and careers are on a collision course with a new world order. While the jobs, careers, and approaches we take might change, the challenges that we are trying to solve will remain. In fact, as our perspective evolves, new challenges to tackle will emerge as well. Of course, the jobs and careers that address these challenges might look completely different in the future.

Accordingly, there needs to be a shift from focusing on jobs and careers and instead focus on the challenges they want to solve.

New Expectations for a New World: Welcome to the 21st Century Workplace New challenges will require new tactics and strategies. 21st century organizations

are building 21st century workplaces, and will require the skills to fill this new reality.

The Institute for the Future, as part of a decade-long Future of Work project, has identified ten skills needed for the jobs of the future. These include: Virtual collaboration: ability to work productively, drive engagement, and demonstrate presence as a member of a virtual team.

Trans-disciplinarity: ability to understand concepts across multiple disciplines.

New-media literacy: ability to critically assess and develop content that uses new media forms, and to leverage these media for persuasive communication.

Know Thyself: Leverage Self-awareness In order to make an impact in the workplace, employees of the future need to cultivate their self-awareness. Thankfully, self-awareness can be developed.

Psychometrics, guided self-reflection, and the gathering and leveraging of feedback from peers can all help develop a self-aware and grounded future leader. The process of reflecting on values, strengths, personalities and interests will build career anchors that help ground, focus and accelerate students during their career trajectory. Through this increased self-awareness, students will be better able to weather changes in their environment, align themselves with causes they care about, and understand how they can make meaningful contributions to the workplace.

Preparing your kids for work that does not exist yet may seem like a daunting task at first, but by helping to make these three shifts, you are setting students up for successful careers.

Design mindset: ability to represent and develop tasks and work processes for desired outcomes.

Jean-Philippe Michel, B.A., M.Sc., is Founder and Career Development Specialist at SparkPath, where he helps high school students discover Companies of the future will need selftheir true potential. He may be contacted via starters who can learn continuously and lead email at jp@mysparkpath.com.

When workplace conflict arises, trust Andrew to help.

WORKPLACE MEDIATIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS must be conducted with expertise and a patient, sensitive approach. Professional neutral parties only succeed by showing fairness and earning trust.

Andrew Tremayne is an arbitrator, mediator and independent investigator now practicing in the Province of Ontario. He brings years of experience in workplace law and a full spectrum of alternative dispute resolution techniques to every case.

Working with Andrew means you can expect an engaged, professional third party to assist you.

To learn more about Andrew and his services, and to check his availability, visit AndrewTremayne.com

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10/28/14 9:56 AM7 SPRING 2016 HR UPDATE

“People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.”

— JOHN MAXWELL

Checking a Box – Or Providing Meaningful Accommodations?

A

s an HR professional, do you do your best every day to accommodate individuals with invisible disabilities and conditions at your workplace? Are there ever times when you find yourself out of your depth?

As a life coach for brilliant people who are struggling under the surface, I spend my days working with individuals with invisible disabilities and conditions including: attention deficit hyperactive disorder, learning disabilities, Asperger syndrome, autism, obsessive compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression.

My clients are also some of the most interesting and brightest people I know. But even for the most seasoned HR professional, it can be difficult to know exactly how to provide the right accommodations for these individuals at work.

During my time as the CEO of the

ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVE DISORDER

LEARNING DISABILITIES

Learning Disabilities Association of Canada (LDAC) and over the last 25 years of my life, I’ve worked to learn and re-learn what individuals with invisible conditions really need.

One of the most profound learning experiences came when I was working with LDAC on a Supreme Court case that lasted over 15 years. It began when a boy in British Columbia was struggling in school. He had been provided with accommodations, but his parents and interveners in the case argued that he didn’t have “meaningful access” to what he really needed. This phrase became the winning argument and caused a significant shift in the justice system.

The Moore family, supported by LDAC and thousands of others, won the first-ever Canadian case in history for an individual with a learning disability.* So – what can we learn from this?

ASPERGER SYNDROME

AUTISM

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER

If you are unsure if the accommodations that you are providing are the right ones, here are my tips:

MAKE ZERO ASSUMPTIONS. Let’s turn our attention to individuals with ADHD. There are two predominate ways that this condition appears – hyper or ‘dreamy,’ and within these categories are other sub-categories. For some individuals with ADHD, technology works – time management applications, mind-mapping software, and scheduling devices can be very useful. For others, these are a nightmare.

If, for example, you can’t find your phone, then your app telling you where you need to be is not very helpful, so whiteboards and a vibrating watch work much better. Talk to your employee to find out what will work best for them.

BIPOLAR DISORDER

ANXIETY

DEPRESSION

BE PREPARED FOR TRIAL AND ERROR. You have ordered the software, had the workspace modified, and found your employee a quiet place to work. Your work is just beginning. It may take multiple efforts trying out various forms of accommodations to make this employee feel truly supported with meaningful accommodations. Be patient and be prepared to go back to the drawing board. A lot.

GET CURIOUS. The best coaches are

the curious ones, so model coach behaviour by asking a lot of questions and digging deep.

For example: “Where have you had success in your life? What made it work? How can we replicate this success at work?” Let’s say you find out that your employee leads outdoor expeditions through unknown terrain and can always see the route ahead because their gut and intuition helps them to see the big picture. What have you learned? Should this employee be doing administrative tasks with tight deadlines, or should their talents be used for longer term strategic planning? I’ve worked with top project managers who have left great jobs because their abilities in big picture thinking weren’t recognized.

MATCH SKILLS TO JOB EXPECTATIONS. Is it really worth

losing a brilliant strategist because they have dyslexia, for example, and are completely overwhelmed by the amount of ‘Word work’ they need to complete? Is there not a way to pare down the project reports, emails, and written summaries they are expected to produce? In the long run, the strategic aspects they bring to the company will far exceed the extra effort and investment.

FOCUS ON THE IDEAS, NOT THE CLOCK. Many brilliant people

can’t command their genius for an 8:30 PM meeting – they might hit their stride at 5:05 p.m. The ebb and flow on when they shine can differ day to day and person to person. Some days are great days – others, not so much. We shouldn’t expect everyone to operate like a drone. Instead, cultivate a workplace where ideas and vision are rewarded – not the adherence to the almighty ticker on the wall.

Remember, in a workplace with 100 people, up to 30 of your employees are dealing with something that is not obvious to the eye. Don’t just check the box on accommodations – work with your employees and help them to bring out their brilliance so they can shine. *More information on this case is available at www.ldac-acta.ca.

Judy Mouland is Principal of Judy Mouland Coaching.

Visit her website at www. judymouland.com.

8 HR UPDATE SPRING 2016

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@OttawaHRPA

Contributors wanted!

For individuals interested in contributing, articles must be submitted via email to updatemagazine@ hrpaottawa.ca by no later than October 5, 2016.

Specifications:

Headshots

Article Format 3 Articles must be sent in either .doc or. docx format

Word Count

+

3 Please ensure your article is no greater in length than 800 words

+

3 JPEG format & 300 DPI, CMYK 3 Measuring no smaller than 2” x 3” 3 No cropping of the head area

Transitioning staff out of your organization?

From the Mentoring Corner HRPA

Ottawa recently expanded its Mentoring Program, which included a partnership with MentorCity. These program changes offer greater flexibility, including the ability for Mentors and Mentees to find their own match through online self-matching.

Participants are also able to enter into shorter or longer Mentoring Agreements, based on their goals.

Members can join the program by contacting the Mentoring Committee. They will then be sent a link to the MentorCity site, where they will be invited to create a profile. Once a partnership has been formed, the Mentor and Mentee will be able to arrange meetings in the best format for them – face-to-face, email, phone, or videocalling.

Clariti Group offers outplacement services to employers and individuals, including on-site support during day of termination, as well as affordable, customized, one-on-one career transition coaching programs.

The MentorCity platform offers a variety of resources to facilitate successful mentoring relationships, and discussion boards for participants to share their experiences and ideas.

Participants in the program can also earn Certified Professional Development (CDP) hours towards recertification.

If you are interested in joining as a Mentor or Mentee, or would like more information on the Mentoring Program, send us an email to ottawamentoring@hrpa. ca. We look forward to hearing from you!

Awesome coaches. Seven Ottawa locations.

Support also available Canada-wide.

www.claritigroup.ca 613.656.2010 info@claritigroup.ca

MacKenzie Smith is a member of HRPA Ottawa Mentoring Committee.

— SPONSORED CONTENT —

Harnessing the power of future generations Hydro Ottawa’s efforts on wooing new talent

I

f your business is anything like Hydro Ottawa’s, you’re experiencing first-hand the monumental shift sparked by the retirement of the baby boomers and the influx of the millennial generation.

At Hydro Ottawa, about a quarter of its almost 700 employees are under the age of 35. At the other end of the spectrum, over 40 per cent of its workforce is set to retire within

the next 10 years.

If your organization requires talented individuals with trades, technical or engineering credentials, you know the demand for talent in Canada is high. What are you doing to stand out as a destination employer and get on the radar of jobseekers?

Hydro Ottawa realized that in order to ensure its readiness for the future, it needed to invest in the next generation.

In 2015, Hydro Ottawa hired 62 students in its summer and coop programs - growing its workforce by almost nine per cent. While

it was a great way to provide opportunities to young workers and cover staff vacations, Hydro Ottawa also took advantage of the opportunity to understand what young people want, in an employer, and a career.

Students are asked for feedback about their experience and are provided with their own collaboration space on the Intranet to connect with one another during their time with the company.

Since 2012, Hydro Ottawa has run a Student Apprentice Program. This provides students with an opportunity to

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collaborate in putting forward ideas that could add value to the organization and drive continuous improvement – while providing them with a direct forum to senior executives including President and CEO Bryce Conrad.

“Students bring excitement, passion and a desire to make a difference,” Conrad said. “Every year I look forward to students joining our workforce because we benefit from their innovative ideas, unique perspectives and enthusiasm for a sustainable future.”

Hydro Ottawa has been named one of Canada’s Top

Employers for Young People three years in a row. Its efforts to engage the next generation of workers also includes partnering with Algonquin College on a two-year Powerline Technician Diploma Program and providing age-appropriate electricity safety and conservation educational materials and sessions for primary school students.

If your organization is challenged by a retiring workforce and wants to attract new talent, consider how you can make a positive impression that will bring the next generation of workers to your door.

SPRING 2016 HR UPDATE 9

The HRPA Ottawa Chapter Website is now offering

COMPLIMENTARY advertising opportunities!

Post and view HR related complimentary events and volunteer positions in the Ottawa area.

http://www.hrpa.ca/HRPAChapterSites/Ottawa

COVER STORY

INTERVIEW WITH VANDANA JUNEJA

Unpacking Unconscious Bias D

iversity in the workplace is an admirable goal, but there are elements of bias that pose a challenge in implementation. That was the topic of Vandana Juneja’s keynote speech at Hire Immigrants Ottawa’s Annual Employer Summit, where she discussed the impact of unconscious bias in management positions.

Ms. Juneja is the Senior Regional Director for Central Canada at Catalyst, a company that helps organizations understand how unconscious bias manifests, and how to best maintain an inclusive workplace. HR Update caught up with her to learn more about her role and unpack unconscious bias.

and situations that are influenced by our background, cultural environment, and personal experiences. We are hardwired to treat some individuals more favourably than we treat others. Certain scenarios can activate unconscious attitudes and beliefs. For example, biases may be more prevalent when multi-tasking or working under pressure.

HOW DOES IT IMPACT THE WORKPLACE?

Let’s take the concept of ‘otherness.’ Research demonstrates that otherness is about being different or having characteristics that set you apart from the dominant group or groups in a given context. In many organizations, COULD YOU TELL US A characteristics of the dominant group (that has LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT decision-making power and influence) become CATALYST AND YOUR ROLE? normative – the default. Mark Zuckerberg is Catalyst is the global expert on accelerating described simply as a CEO. But Ursula Burns progress through workplace inclusion. is described as a female CEO – or a female With over 800 supporting organizations African-American CEO. Those who experience around the world, we work with a broad ‘otherness’ are positioned at lower levels in range of organizations in every sector to organizations, they have less senior-level create change and drive impact. As a Senior mentors, and ultimately, not surprisingly, they Director at Catalyst, I manage relationships downsize their aspirations. Bias can have a with our supporter companies in very real impact with respect to talent Canada, coaching them to create management. more inclusive environments.

Acknowledgement of bias is one thing; taking intentional, WHY IS INCLUSION practical action to address it IMPORTANT TO YOU? through inclusive leadership is even I’m passionate about equality and more important. Inclusive leaders creating a more inclusive world. I help employees to experience those was born and raised in Hamilton, important concepts of uniqueness and Ontario and come from an belongingness – being recognized CEO immigrant family myself. My for their differences, commonalities, parents came to Canada in the and uniqueness helps all employees 1960s, having grown up in India to experience inclusion, reach their full and worked towards their postpotential, and thrive. A more inclusive graduate education in the UK. The workplace results in improved team success of immigrants in Canada citizenship (going above and beyond), is made possible in part by and greater innovation (creative ideas belonging to an inclusive society. on new products/processes/services).

I think it is important to share Those are benefits that any organization this message with others and can get behind. help individuals, organizations, FEMALE CEO and communities think about WHAT CAN EMPLOYEES how to create a more inclusive DO ABOUT UNCONSCIOUS world.

BIAS? One of the most important things we can WHAT DOES all do in addressing bias is to intentionally UNCONSCIOUS BIAS become more inclusive in the way in MEAN? which we act and interact with the Bias is a prejudice in favour of, or world around us. You can take some against, an individual or group, very practical steps to demonstrate compared with another – usually these inclusive leadership behaviours. in a way that is considered to be For example, 1) Start with You: Engage AFRICANunfair. Biases can be conscious in critical self-reflection. Hold yourself AMERICAN (explicit), or unconscious accountable for recognizing biases CEO (implicit). Unconscious biases and pushing back against your own are social stereotypes about groups that biases before asking others to do the individuals form outside their own conscious same. Share your own stories of vulnerability, awareness. Triggered by our brain, we make learning, and growth. Be the first to uncover quick judgments and assessments of people and role model those behaviours to others. 2) 10 HR UPDATE SPRING 2016

Learn More: Ask questions to understand the root causes of biases. What forms of bias are occurring? What forms of covering are occurring? How do they affect you, your colleagues and teams, your workplace, and your business? 3) Take Risks on Others: Give others – particularly those who are different from you – a chance. Be open to learning from them as much as they can expect to learn from you. Intentionally mentor individuals who are not like you. When you see others engaging in biased behaviours, politely call out their misstep and suggesting constructive alternate ways of thinking.

WHAT LED YOU TO GET INVOLVED WITH RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT UNCONSCIOUS BIAS?

Bias is a prejudice in favour of, or against, an individual or group, compared with another – usually in a way that is considered to be unfair. Biases can be conscious (explicit), or unconscious (implicit).

Unconscious biases are social stereotypes about groups that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness.

Passion for equality. While there is much progress in creating more diverse and inclusive workplaces, women and diverse groups continue to be underrepresented at the top levels in Canadian business.

As a female visible minority in Canada, I have grown up with experiences of being an ‘other’ all around me –– we can all have the experience of being an ‘other’ in environments where we are not like the standard, normative group.

I’m also a former practicing lawyer, and have worked as a research associate for the Pay Equity Task Force in Ottawa. I have witnessed disparity between men, women, and diverse groups entering firms at equal levels and advancing to top echelons at different rates. Conducting research on pay equity with a team of individuals from different backgrounds helped me to observe the way in which a group of individuals coming together can create change on important issues – this inspired me to do more, and these experiences also influenced my decision to shift gears and work with Catalyst. I want to see fewer women, girls, and diverse groups experiencing being an ‘other’ – it’s important to me to help create and be part of a more inclusive world.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE IN THIS AREA? I think there’s an appetite for change and greater inclusion in the current business climate – both in Canada and globally.

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Catalyst supporters in Sydney and Melbourne, and found a similar strong momentum for change in Australia. The need for greater inclusion is not a gender issue; it’s a global talent issue. I’m encouraged by the momentum I am seeing and will continue to connect, engage, and inspire leaders to create change and drive impact.

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“If you don’t like something, change it.

Burnout – A Call for Dialogue and Innovation

L

ike 60% of Canadians, Sophie’s* work was the main cause of her stress. Sophie was determined to use all of her talents to the best of her ability.

After all, she worked very hard to get to where she was.

Sophie wanted to succeed at her career. She wanted her employer to know how passionate and enthusiastic she was about the job and her responsibilities.

The employer was all too keen to see Sophie take on more roles and responsibilities for essentially the same pay.

As the business environment was sluggish, Sophie’s employer didn’t take on as many interns and stopped hiring additional staff. There’s a normal turnover rate in all organizations, and so those who retired or left for other work weren’t replaced. It wasn’t long before each department was feeling the strain of being short staffed. Those, like Sophie, who continued to work at the company, wanted to see the business pull through the recession. The more Sophie gave to the company, the more she was exhibiting symptoms of burnout.

Burnouts occur when employees consistently stretch their stress levels and don’t give themselves time to recover.

They take on more and more responsibilities with the same or fewer resources to carry them out.

Their world shrinks away from friends and family and non-work activities to only include work. To an outsider, the person experiencing a burnout may seem to be on top of their game and the rising star of the company. To the person experiencing the burnout, it is often not obvious that they are increasingly unable to cope with stress, long hours, more responsibility, and greater challenges or problems to solve.

Employers tend to favour these scenarios because it appears that Sophie is an extremely productive employee. And in fact, she is. For employers, this means they don’t require additional employees, and they can reduce short-term costs. However, employers neglect to see the medium and long-term costs of establishing an environment in which burnouts occur. Highly productive and engaged employees like Sophie will crash. They will reach a point where their mental and physical health can no longer

If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” — MAYA ANGELOU

and productivity, employers can start a new conversation with employees surrounding burnout and stress.

Encouraging the conversation will help engage employees, bring to light different perspectives and solutions, and will empower colleagues to offer solutions on how the company can (re)align itself to make full use of everyone’s talents and abilities. Here are some topics that can help facilitate the conversations: •

How can the workplace reinforce healthy habits and behaviours?

•

How can leaders encourage ideas and dialogue with all employees to identify sticky points before they become catastrophes?

• How can leaders trust employees to approach them when stress loads are becoming problematic?

• Are employees regularly informed of existing HR policies? Do employees understand these policies?

• What are some of the major stresses in the workplace?

What causes them? How can processes be adjusted to smooth out workflow and workload?

• Which talents, skills, and abilities are being underutilized, and how can the workplace change to make better use of employees’ totality of skills?

• What are some opportunities for individual and team leadership? How should decision-making be decentralized to optimize results, while reducing stress?

• What innovations can maintain high engagement and productivity while maintaining healthy stress levels?

People experiencing burnout often suffer from depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and exhaustion. cope with the high levels of stress. People experiencing burnout often suffer from depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and exhaustion. They become extremely cynical and can poison workplace morale – they feel inadequate and have lowered immune responses. These symptoms combine to hamstring the former top-performer’s ability to produce and create. They crash.

Knowing that there is a strong relationship between employee well-being

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Creating a culture of care in which employees understand that their well-being is at the centre of the organization’s concerns requires ongoing discussions and reviews of processes, workflows, and practices.

The questions above are to guide an ongoing conversation, not a quick chat.

By creating and maintaining the dialogue, employers can tackle many sticky issues: costs of employee turnovers and employee burnout, fostering a positive workplace culture, and addressing lagging productivity. *Fictitious name http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11008-x/2011002/article/ 11562-eng.htm#a4 Renée Gendron is CEO of Vitae Dynamics Inc. in Ottawa.

JANET SPENCE, CPM, THE CANADIAN PAYROLL ASSOCIATION

Manager, Compliance Services & Programs

Insights into the best practices of the World’s Most Admired Companies and Best Companies for Leadership

‘Special’ Employee Payments Need Special Treatment by Payroll and HR: From Severance to Bonuses, Special Payroll Seminar Shows You How to Handle Unique Employee Situations Q: What’s so special about special payments?

A: Payroll is rarely straightforward; practitioners who administer payroll are consistently responsible not only for managing employee pay, but also special payments that fall outside the norm of the payroll cycle. When it comes to special payments, every organization is unique. Special payments cover a host of payment exceptions including employee bonuses, severance pay, workers’ compensation topups, death and retirement benefits, to name a few. Also included are payments that cover employees when they’re away from the office for planned or un-planned absences like vacation, sickness and parental leave.

Q: Why should employers, payroll and HR practitioners care about special payments?

A: The volume and complexity of special payments is significant, and with that comes the potential risk of errors. In fact, the CRA’s annual list of commonly requested adjustments consistently finds that certain special payments such as bonuses, commissions and directors’ fees rank near the top of the list for requested adjustments as a result of incorrect reporting by the employer.

The administration of special payments within an organization depends on numerous factors including federal and provincial legislation, collective agreements, employer policies and employee behavior and circumstances.

Successfully navigating these challenges requires cooperation and knowledge-sharing between management, human resources and payroll. It also requires training.

WWW.PAYROLL.CA SPRING 2016 HR UPDATE 11

10 HRPA /27 Ottawa Law Conference /16 OTTAWA CONFERENCE AND EVENT CENTRE, 200 COVENTRY ROAD, OTTAWA

FIRST, PAY ATTENTION TO PEOPLE. Ask questions. Become infinitely curious about people. If necessary, start your sentences silently in your head with “I’m really curious about…” or “I’d love to know more about…”

LISTEN TO WORDS AND TONE. Stephen Covey, the 7 Habits author, famously said: “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” Start listening to understand.

LEAD THE TEAM, BUT ENGAGE INDIVIDUALS. Pay attention to each person and adapt your leadership style to each team member.

Consider each member of your team, individually. Ask yourself: How quickly do they respond to a question? Are they methodical and contemplative, or do they jump in with answers? If they’re methodical, slow yourself down to engage more. If they’re responsive, could you speed up and feel more urgency?

Do they focus more on goals and deadlines or how others will react or feel? If they’re goal-driven, can you focus on goals and less on the process of getting to the goal? If they’re peopledriven, do you ask them to share concerns about people before you dive in to your goal?

Does a change of plans excite or frustrate them? If they prefer predictable structure, are you able to keep the pace, while avoiding last minute changes?

Are they matter-of-fact or are they storytellers? Storytellers may need you to slow down before getting down to business. work, it’s not unusual to hear just as many A tough exercise that could mean answer with: looking at the world differently.

“I hate the constant change; never In a workshop, we asked leaders to knowing what comes next; a new challenge think about their best ways to motivate every day.” people, and then consider how these Imagine these folks applying the Golden might be demotivating to others. One Rule as they work together. Challenges will exceptional, outgoing and socially driven erupt because they view the world differently leader couldn’t imagine how her example and have different motivations.

– recognizing people publicly for good Picture an amiable, outgoing and work – would de-motivate anyone. “chatty” leader applying the Golden Rule.

A couple of her colleagues in the Rather than motivating and inspiring workshop, with prompting, shared that them, their approach may be frustrating or they feel embarrassed and singled out annoying. Instead, we need to pick up on unnecessarily by public recognition; they each other’s cues and adapt to one another. would much rather be recognized quietly While you may recognize this as one of one-to-one. the keys for Emotional Intelligence, it’s also quite contrary to the Golden Rule. It DITCH THE GOLDEN means knowing your own behaviour type, RULE TO IMPROVE OUR preferences, motivations, and stressors, WORKPLACES. and then figuring out other peoples’ types Tailoring how we interact with others and adapting, even slightly, to work well boosts our relationships. Imagine together. the impact in workplaces, volunteer A theory first developed by a fascinating activities, and at home if we all did this. and brilliant man named William Moulton While saying the Golden Rule is wrong Marston got us identifying and talking about seems counterintuitive, we propose human behaviour types. Many assessment counterintuitive leadership thinking will tools are based on his work. Some are quite change our workplaces for the better. amazing, including the one we now use in our firm – Everything DiSC. However, Patrick O’Reilly is a Certified even before using an assessment tool, you Executive Coach and President (or your client) can start building better of Padraig Coaching & relationships by ditching the Golden Rule.

Consulting Inc.

What’s Wrong with the Golden Rule?

T

he Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” or something comparable exists in almost every culture on Earth. But following this rule in workplaces makes things much more difficult for everyone – leaders, colleagues, and teams – and that means we’re underperforming.

I recently gave a TEDx talk and shared how as a leader, my perfectionist tendencies and deadline driven goals fueled me to get to the goal (do it right and on time!) so we can get to the next one. It may be obvious why applying the Golden Rule to my teams and colleagues wasn’t always helpful.

But, what if you (or a leader who is your client) are not a “Type-A” leader, but prefer a team approach or tend to seek consensus? Or maybe you are the detail-oriented person who wishes everyone would let you develop helpful processes and procedures?

Some of those characteristics are things we appreciate in the workplace, but good traits can become bad if applied too strongly or if they frustrate others. Helping your clients understand that some people see the world differently than they do can be challenging.

For example, when I ask new clients what they love about their work, many answer by saying: “I love the constant change; never knowing what comes next; a new challenge every day.”

But when I ask what they hate about their 12 HR UPDATE SPRING 2016

Improving Productivity Through Yoga

O

rganizations are increasingly recognizing the benefits of yoga as a way to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of their employees.

A 15-minute yoga session offered to employees can re-energize the body in ways few exercises can. Employees feel relaxed and ready to tackle their tasks with renewed enthusiasm. Some major companies have incorporated yoga into their workplaces as a way to derive the benefits of this ancient art.

HOW YOGA BENEFITS THE BODY AND MIND Sitting for prolonged periods of time in a corporate setting can take its toll on the health and productivity of employees.

Remaining stationary in one position can throw the body out of balance, resulting in pain in different areas such as the back, shoulders, hips, and knees. Yoga is an excellent tool to assist in the process of bringing the body into a more balanced state by relaxing and calming some of the overworked areas of the body, while strengthening and activating some of the weaker parts. Simple breathing exercises in yoga have a similar effect on an overworked mind, allowing it to relax by focusing on each inhalation and exhalation. Just 15 minutes of yoga can have a tremendous effect on both body and mind. It can relieve neck and back strain, contribute to better posture and flexibility, and reduce work related injuries caused by repetitive motion.

In-house workplace yoga classes are a

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convenient way for employees to allocate time during their day to improve their physical and mental health. Employers are discovering that this corporate benefit is a cost-effective way to promote a more positive work environment where employees can interact with colleagues in a casual and rewarding setting. Such interactions promote teamwork and improve self-esteem and morale, thereby increasing employees’ ability to cope with workplace stresses.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND YOGA Studies at the Boston University School of Medicine have demonstrated a link between yoga and increased Gammaaminobutyric acid (GABA) levels in the brain. GABA is a chemical messenger produced in the brain capable of neutralizing any extra adrenaline, and is thought to control stress and anxiety when neurons are overexcited. This increased level of GABA in the body resulting from yoga is believed to induce relaxation, reduce stress, and increase alertness.

WHAT YOU NEED TO START How does an employer integrate in-house yoga classes into the workplace? The following are some suggested steps: Determine the desired setting for your organization – for example, whether you have a dedicated space such as a boardroom, or wish to have your employees remain at their workstation.

Establish an appropriate schedule for your company which can range from 15

minutes during a morning or afternoon coffee break, to a 30 minute session at lunch or outside work hours.

Find a suitable yoga instructor for your work environment. When choosing a yoga instructor, look for accredited certification and certain critical attributes which include: A PASSION FOR YOGA – someone who regards yoga as a way to improve mind and body; and who is able to convey that feeling to others; EXPERIENCE – a seasoned instructor who is able to teach yoga in a safe and effective manner; KNOWLEDGEABLE – someone who can adapt variations in yoga postures for people with injuries or physical limitations; PERSONALITY AND ENTHUSIASM – an instructor who can readily connect with your employees and command their attention; SENSIBILITY – someone who can adapt his/her teaching style based on the age and level of proficiency of the employees; and TEMPERAMENT – someone who can create a relaxed and peaceful environment so as to maximize the overall experience.

Work with the yoga instructor to design an in-house yoga class program that aligns with your organization’s needs.

Communicate to all employees about this new corporate benefit and encourage participation.

Advancing the Professional Practice of Compensation, Benefits and Total Rewards Vist www.ottawarewards.org/education-and-certification to learn about upcoming events, educational opportunities, and certification courses.

General information: info@ottawarewards.org Membership questions: membership@ottawarewards.org

Jonny Belinko is a yoga teacher based in Toronto. He may be reached via email at jonnybelinko@gmail.com.

Ottawa Regional Rewards Association

www.ottawarewards.org

YOUR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS

Conference Board Webinars Are the Solution.

Our webinars are a cost-effective way to stay on top of emerging issues and best practices.

We provide: • individual prices and group rates for all live sessions • access to the recording you can share with your entire organization Check out our webinar calendar. Go to cbocwebinars.ca for a complete listing.

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SPRING 2016 HR UPDATE 13

ottawa

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keeping you connected

social @OTTAWAHRPA

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your business in focus

Only HR professionals with a CHRP, CHRL or CHRE designation have a deep understanding of how businesses work and are trained to be high-impact leaders.

Let a Certified Human Resources Professional, Leader or Executive show you how their achievements set them apart.

PUT YOUR BUSINESS IN FOCUS hrpa.ca/infocus

14 HR UPDATE SPRING 2016

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To learn more about our newly expanded mentorship program, please visit:

hrpaottawa.ca Strategies to Avoid Getting a Human Rights Application, and How to Respond if You Do

P

rovincially regulated employers operating in Ontario must comply with the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Knowing your obligations under the Code, and implementing best practices for ensuring compliance, can help to prevent human rights complaints. Knowing how to respond and understanding the process will assist you if you do receive an application.

EMPLOYERS’ CODE OBLIGATIONS The purpose of the Code is the provision of equal rights and opportunities to all, without discrimination, based on prohibited grounds: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Race Ancestry Place of origin Colour Ethnic origin Citizenship Creed Sex Sexual orientation Gender identity Gender expression Age Record of offences Marital status Family status Disability

The Code’s protection of equal treatment with respect to employment extends to every facet of the employment relationship, from recruitment and screening to promotion, discipline, and dismissal.

If a workplace policy or decision has the effect of treating a group of employees or an individual employee differently on the basis of a Code ground, the Code will be violated, regardless of the intent.

AVOIDING A CODE VIOLATION Employers should take the following steps to ensure compliance with the Code in the workplace: • Consider human rights obligations at every stage of the employment relationship; • Create an internal policy regarding human rights which includes an internal complaint process; • Ensure that internal practices and procedures comply with the Code; • Generate awareness of human rights in the workplace; and • Foster an inclusive and respectful workplace.

In addition, employers should respond to accommodation requests in a timely manner, keeping in mind that during the accommodation process: • The employer is required to take all reasonable measures to accommodate, to the point of undue hardship; and • The employer and employee (and the union, if applicable) should work together to develop appropriate

Ottawa’s Go-to Training Provider for over 30 Years accommodation measures.

Accommodation may involve making changes to an employee’s duties or hours of work, to the distribution of duties amongst employees, or to the workplace itself.

IF YOU RECEIVE A COMPLAINT As a named respondent, the employer must respond to the application by the deadline set out in the application (within 35 days of the date the application was sent by the Tribunal).

The employer should involve experienced legal counsel as the application is received.

In order to facilitate the preparation of the response, the employer should: • • •

•

Gather all relevant information and documentation, including the complete employee file; Identify, and possibly interview, potential witnesses; Provide a timeline and outline of the employer’s version of events as well as specific responses to the allegations made by the applicant; and Consider all preliminary and jurisdictional issues that should be raised.

Employers who wish to prepare their own response should review the Respondent’s Guide that is sent with the application and provide their draft response to legal counsel for review.

NEXT STEPS Once the Tribunal receives the response and any further reply from the applicant, it will

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provide further directions. The Tribunal may direct the parties as to the process to address any preliminary issues raised by the parties or by the Tribunal. If the parties agree to a mediation, a mediation date will be set. If the parties do not agree to mediate, or if the mediation is not successful, then the Tribunal will set a hearing date. Prior to the hearing date, both parties must: •

•

Exchange copies of all arguably relevant documents within 21 days of receiving instructions from the Tribunal; and Provide witness statements and all documents on which they intend to rely at least 45 days prior to the hearing.

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AT THE HEARING Any remaining or new preliminary matters will be addressed at the outset of the hearing.

Each party will call its witnesses to provide evidence. The opposing party will have an opportunity to cross-examine each witness.

Both parties may make legal arguments.

Depending on the issues and the number of witnesses, the hearing may take several days.

The Tribunal’s decision will be provided in writing after the hearing. [i] Although the process for federallyregulated employers is different, the recommendations as to how to avoid a violation apply equally.

Forms and Guides are available at http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/hrto/ forms-filing/ Kecia Podetz is a Partner with Emond Harnden LLP in Ottawa.

Contact Sophie for more info: Tel: 613-234-2020, ext. 21 Email: sgouedard@pmctraining.com

www.pmctraining.com SPRING 2016 HR UPDATE 15

Contributors wanted!

For individuals interested in contributing, articles must be submitted via email to updatemagazine@ hrpaottawa.ca by no later than October 5, 2016.

Specifications: Article Format 3 Articles must be sent in either .doc or. docx format

Headshots

+

Word Count

3 Please ensure your article is no greater in length than 800 words

+

3 JPEG format & 300 DPI, CMYK 3 Measuring no smaller than 2” x 3” 3 No cropping of the head area

Identifying and Retaining the Best Supply Chain Workforce

I

n the past decade, the supply chain management field has undergone rapid change and growth. Technology and globalization have changed both the skillset and toolkit required to be an effective supply chain professional. Those pursuing supply chain careers need to understand not only their organization’s supply chain, but also those of their customers, vendors, and suppliers. Few business functions require this vast range of expertise, and employers are making significant investments in training to adapt.

All of this growth has resulted in a substantial talent gap. Some sources estimate that up to five percent of currently open supply chain positions are unfilled due to a shortage of suitable candidates. Frequently, this focuses conversations on educating students and recent graduates about the job market, encouraging them to pursue supply chain careers, or creating better college and graduate level programs to support this career path. There is one angle that is often ignored – hiring and retention.

It is important that human resources professionals use specific strategies to find and retain qualified individuals, a process that has become increasingly challenging.

Here are a few actionable steps that organizations can implement to attract fresh talent today, and keep employees engaged tomorrow, and into the future.

ATTRACTING THE MOST QUALIFIED TALENT Focus on the individual’s career path.

Organizations should define and articulate the career opportunities available across the business. Opportunities for career advancement in supply chain are vast, and 16 HR UPDATE SPRING 2016

provide an atmosphere for ongoing and consistent learning. Candidates will be engaged more easily if they can envision their career trajectory.

Prioritize recruiting. In many organizations, recruiting of, and networking with, prospective employees, is simply not a priority until the business need arises. If companies make searching for employees an ongoing process, however, it will be easier to access a pool of potential talent when a need arises. To attract millennials, make it easy for entry-level candidates to find your organization online, and engage with potential recruits by initiating a dialogue via social-media channels.

Hire smart. Look for candidates who have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to their personal and professional development.

Individuals who have industry certifications or standing memberships with associations are often going to yield ambitious and dedicated employees.

Hiring exceptional talent is only a part of the HR labyrinth. Keeping them engaged is an equally important path through the maze.

RETAINING THE BEST EMPLOYEES Emphasize training and learning opportunities. In order to maintain success into the future, organizations need to innovate. Without ongoing education and training opportunities for your workforce, your employees become stagnant and so does your business. Encouraging employees to develop professionally, and making it easy to do so, builds employee loyalty while strengthening your workforce.

Highlight mentorship instead of managers. Whether through an official

program or informal support, mentorship is key to retaining talent and encouraging individual and professional growth.

Mentorship programs create a platform for collaboration and understanding between employees at different levels and career stages. This sharing of the existing corporate knowledge base engages both the mentor and the mentored.

Embrace diversity. Diversity is healthy for companies. It brings people of varying points of view and backgrounds together, and expands the organization’s knowledge base. By taking the time to review retention programs, companies can improve on the existing (or non-existing) approaches to diversity. All organizations should have programs in place to foster and develop a diverse employee base.

Supply chain management is an exciting field and opportunities are abundant for those who desire a career in the sector. To ensure the profession continues to progress, however, the talent gap must shrink, and organizations need to be more proactive about communicating the benefits of supply chain careers.

Human Resources professionals should be creative about where they source talent, and create an environment where they will want to grow with the enterprise. The result will be a skilled, stable, and motivated workforce, as well as improved business operations.

Tim Frank is President of the APICS Ottawa Chapter. APICS is the premier professional association for supply chain and operations management. For more information, visit www.apicsottawa.org.

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“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

— ANDY WARHOL

Designation Committee Update

HELEN LANCTOT,

B.A., LL.B., B.C.L.

Lawyer and workplace investigator with Margaret Michaels HRC.

I

t has been a year of changes on the Designation Committee! We started the year with the usual CKE information session in September that provided tips and tricks on how to prepare for the CKE. However, with the new designations and certification framework, the session was expanded to incorporate the differences between the CKE 1 and CKE 2, as well as information on designation changes.

As many of you are aware, there are now three core HR professional designations that HRPA Ottawa members can work towards.

These include the CHRP for members at the entry level; CHRL for members at the professional level, and CHRE for members at the executive level. At last count, there were 113 CHRP, 12 CHRL, and 3 CHRE members who wrote and passed the November 2015 exam in the Ottawa Chapter – congratulations!

Obtaining your HR designation is no easy task – all members must first successfully pass nine HRPA approved Human Resources courses. These courses cover a wide range of HR topics to ensure each member has a solid foundation of knowledge. Once completed, candidates are eligible to write the CKE 1 and/or CKE 2. From there, a member will be required to meet educational and experience requirements depending on the desired designation. This process can take a lot of time and dedication – but the end result is the achievement of a recognized and respected level of qualification in the field.

Since we have now completed the first year of the gradual implementation of the new certification framework, we decided to interview a recent CHRP recipient to hear a first-hand perspective on earning an HR designation. The following is our interview with Caitlin Traynor, Office & HR Manager at Soloway Wright LLP who talked about her journey towards obtaining the CHRP designation.

CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF? I am a graduate of the Algonquin College post-graduate Human Resources Management program. I have worked in retail management for more than 5 years and recently took over as the Office & HR Manager at Solway Wright LLP. I wrote my exam in June 2015 and received my results in August of the same year.

I currently have my CHRP designation, and am working towards the CHRL.

HOW DID YOU KNOW YOU WANTED A CAREER IN HUMAN RESOURCES, AND WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO PURSUE AN HRPA DESIGNATION?

I am conducting interviews as part of a workplace investigation. How can I assess credibility? Does eye contact offer any clues?

I previously worked as a Retail Store Manager and my favourite parts of my role were directly linked to Human Resources.

I loved implementing Employment Standards policies, recruiting new employees, and training and development.

When I researched how I could apply these to a career, the HRPA website came up immediately. As I researched further, I knew that obtaining my designation would be great for rounding out my experience with pertinent education.

WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE GOING THROUGH THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS? My greatest challenge was balancing what was required of me to obtain my designation with the needs of my family. I soon realized that scheduled study sessions with other CHRP candidates were incredibly helpful for reviewing the necessary material. The certification process is not one to be taken lightly and has definitely required a lot of my time and attention – but once I had a system in place to ensure I had the time to go through the process, it was manageable and definitely worth it!

HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR DESIGNATION MOVING YOU FORWARD IN YOUR CAREER? I see my designation helping my career progress in two ways. First of all, I know that through HRPA volunteering, professional development credits, and work experience, I will learn and develop as my experience does. Second, as an HRPA member, I have created a network of colleagues that have been incredibly helpful in helping me foster

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my career and its trajectory. At various Chapter events, we all discuss our roles, successes, and opportunities. I am confident that as my experience and network grows, my career will also.

WHAT PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO FUTURE HR PROFESSIONALS THINKING OF PURSUING THEIR HRPA DESIGNATION? I would strongly advise setting up a study plan and sticking to it. This, along with finding study buddies was what helped me pass my exam. There is a lot of material to know, so it is important to ensure you give each section the time it requires. I also found the HRwrx prep materials very helpful.

The practice exams are timed, you can take the tests multiple times, and it was a great resource to help me get used to the types of questions that would be asked.

Even though this past year has been full of changes to the HR designations, more are still expected to come. To stay informed of the certification framework implementation and how it impacts your obtainment of the CHRP, CHRL, or CHRE, continue to review the HRPA website and attend the information sessions. Any specific questions can also be directed to the HRPA Ottawa Chapter Designation Committee members.

We look forward to seeing where the new HR designations will take the HR profession in the years to come!

The Designation Committee consists of the following individuals: Sharron Caves-Fortin, Melissa Lanigan, Karley Bureau, and Liz Glover.

The eyes have it, in terms of revealing our true thoughts and nature, according to psychological research. Eye contact is one of our most essential, even primal, means of communication. We use it to invite interaction, provide or seek feedback, and stay in sync with our conversational partner, among other things.

People who seek eye contact while speaking are seen as more believable and earnest. We tend to feel more comfortable disclosing personal or embarrassing information when we are not making eye contact; for example, when we are adjacent to one another, rather than face-to-face.

In general, we make more eye contact with those we see as cooperators than those we identify as competitors. We look more intently at someone we are trying to persuade or influence. A direct gaze may signal interest and attention; it may also indicate threat. Conversely, an averted gaze may signal appeasement. Extroverts tend to look more and longer at their questioners than do introverts. Women tend to look more at their conversational partner than do men.

The appropriateness of eye contact varies by culture. The observations above apply to western culture. Elsewhere, direct or prolonged eye contact may be considered rude, depending on the relationship or relative status of the parties. Women may be socialized to avoid eye contact with men. Take the time to inform yourself of your interviewee’s cultural context.

You may find it useful to keep these ideas in mind when choosing where to sit in relation to your interviewee, when to make eye contact, and when to lower your own gaze to give your interviewee some psychological ‘space’. Take note of how you and your interviewee exchange eye contact.

Helen Lanctot, B.A., LL.B., B.C.L., is a bilingual lawyer who conducts workplace investigations involving discrimination, harassment and other forms of interpersonal conflict. Ms. Lanctot can be reached at Margaret Michaels HRC, an Ottawa based human resources consultancy specializing in workplace investigations.

Contact Helen at (613) 608-3954 or Helen@margaretmichaels.com and visit our website: margaretmichaels.com.

SPRING 2016 HR UPDATE 17

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Employers Entitled to Dismiss Probationary Employees without Notice or Reasons

T

he Divisional Court of Ontario has recently confirmed that an employer may terminate a probationary employee during the probation period, provided it acts in good faith in determining the employee’s suitability and ability to fulfill the requirements of the job.

In Nagribianko v. Select Wine Merchants Ltd., the employee had entered into an employment agreement with the employer that provided for a probationary period of six months. The employer terminated the employee’s employment within the six month probation period because it had concluded that the employee was “unsuitable for regular employment.” Shortly thereafter, the employee commenced an action against the employer seeking damages for wrongful dismissal.

The evidence at trial was that the employer’s employee handbook – which was incorporated by reference into the employment contract, provided that the employer could terminate an employee’s employment during the probationary period upon providing written notice or payment in lieu under the Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA).

The trial judge accepted the employee’s argument that, at the time the employment agreement was signed, he did not receive a copy of the employer’s employee handbook.

Further, the judge held that that the meaning

of probation was not clear on the face of the contract and relied on the employee’s subjective understanding of the term probation. In determining damages in lieu of notice, the judge found that the employer had induced the employee to come work for the employer. The employee was ultimately awarded damages based on a notice period of four months.

On appeal by the employer, the Divisional Court held that the trial judge had erred in law in failing to recognize that the employment of a probationary employee is different in nature from that of a non-probationary employee.

Rather, when interpreting a contract, the Court held that: “[…] the question the Court should ask is what reasonable persons in the same circumstances as the parties would have understood the contract to mean. The subjective intent of the parties is irrelevant.”

A reasonable person in the same circumstances as the employee, the Court stated, would have understood the term “probation” to mean a period of tentative employment during which the employer may determine the employee’s suitability. In this case, the employee’s subjective belief was that the employer would find him to be a suitable employee but, as the Court noted, “[…] a reasonable person in those circumstances would also have understood that that might

not happen.”

The Court held that the standard for dismissal from probationary employment is suitability, which includes considerations of the employee’s character, ability to work with others, and ability to meet the employer’s present and future standards.

The Court held that, where the employment of a probationary employee has been terminated for unsuitability, the employer’s judgment and discretion in the matter cannot be questioned. All that is required is that the employer show that it acted fairly in determining the probationary employee was suitable and that he/she was given a fair opportunity to demonstrate his/ her ability.

In the absence of bad faith, an employer is entitled to dismiss a probationary employee without notice and without giving reasons, provided they have an ESA-compliant termination clause and the employee’s probation period is three months or less.

Where the probationary period is longer than three months, notice of termination must be provided, but will still be very limited where an ESA-compliant termination provision is in place.

Also worth noting is the fact that the Court held that the trial judge erred in law in failing to enforce the clear terms of the contract, which made reference to a probation period

of six months. It was not necessary for the employee to refer to the employee handbook to know that his employment was subject to a six month probationary period.

Finally, regarding the allegation of inducement, the Court held that, “[…] probationary employment, on its face and by its nature, is inconsistent with any inducement or promise of long-term employment.”

A key takeaway from this case is that an employer may terminate employment in good faith during the probationary period, provided its ability to do so is expressly worded in an employment contract signed by the employee, and the employer has provided a fair opportunity for the employee to demonstrate his/her suitability and ability to do the job.

Moreover, the case suggests a probationary period may assist employers in defending against claims for inducement.

As with non-probationary employment terminations, in order to limit their notice pay obligations to the statutory minimums, employers must ensure they have in place enforceable employment contracts which include an ESA-compliant termination provision.

Alanna Twohey is an Associate at Bird Richard, a management-side labour and employment law firm in Ottawa.

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SPRING 2016 HR UPDATE 19

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