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ISSUE 5.04
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CONTENTS
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Canadian HR Awards 2017: Winners revealed, p64
UPFRONT 02 Editorial
How L&D initiatives can adapt to today’s VUCA world
32 FEATURES
THE BEST NEW HR TECH
22 SPECIAL REPORT
RISING STARS 2017
The future of Canadian HR is in the capable hands of these 24 up-and-coming superstars
PEOPLE
GLOBAL HR LEADER Amadeus’ Sabine Hansen-Peck describes how the travel tech company is bringing innovation to HR
16
The HR Tech Summit’s Tech Den finalists reveal their innovations and discuss how HR can drive adoption
04 Head to head
Where do HR leaders feel they need additional development?
06 Statistics
A look at how companies are really using HR technology
08 News analysis
A Google employee’s inflammatory memo reveals the fault lines in D&I initiatives
10 Legal update
How toxic workplaces can harm a company’s bottom line
12 Technology update
Why AI should be embraced, not feared
34 FEATURES
THE UX IN HR TECHNOLOGY
The key tech principle of user experience, or UX, comes to HR platforms
38
14 Opinion
Balancing your company’s inherent gender
FEATURES 19 The strategic case for flexible work
Tips for fitting flexible work options into strategic business objectives
20 The true value of workplace restoration
How workplace restoration can resolve chronic employee conflicts
PEOPLE 63 Career path
From a summer recruiting job to running her own consultancy, Lori Sone-Cooper has always made engagement a priority FEATURES
LEADERSHIP IN A FLAT HIERARCHY Five unexpected challenges of the trend toward flat hierarchies – and how to solve them
64 Other life
Breaking a sweat with fitness instructor Beth Yarzab
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UPFRONT
EDITORIAL
Leading in a VUCA world
T
he world’s companies will spend a total of US$50 billion a year on developing leadership capabilities. Yet, for all that investment, ROI on any sort of L&D initiative – let alone leadership development – remains hazy at best. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, can organizations expect anything different when they invest in the same leadership development initiatives? It might be time to rethink the approach. Phillip Campbell, of leadership development company enigmaFIT, says what has served us well in the ‘steady state’ past has been a focus on enhancing crystallized intelligence. In a nutshell, this is defined as subject-matter expertise. In today’s VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world, however, this is not sufficient. Leadership programs should be aiming to bolster fluid intelligence, which is defined as the ability to adapt and solve new and novel problems. Campbell adds
Leadership programs should be aiming to bolster fluid intelligence, which is defined as the ability to adapt and solve new and novel problems
www.hrmonline.ca WINTER 2017 EDITORIAL
SALES & MARKETING
Editor Iain Hopkins
Senior Business Development Manager Sarah J. Fretz
Senior Writers Laura McQuillan Nicola Middlemiss Writers Libby Macdonald Joe Rosengarten Hannah Go Copy Editor Clare Alexander
CONTRIBUTORS Mairead Walsh Karlie Cremin
ART & PRODUCTION Design Manager Daniel Williams Designer Marla Morelos Production Manager Alicia Chin
National Account Manager Andrew Cowan Vice President, Sales John MacKenzie Associate Publisher Trevor Biggs Marketing and Communications Manager Melissa Christopoulos Project Coordinator Jessica Duce
CORPORATE President & CEO Tim Duce Office/Traffic Manager Marni Parker Events and Conference Manager Chris Davis
Advertising Coordinator Ella Dayandante
EDITORIAL INQUIRIES
iain.hopkins@keymedia.com
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES sarah.fretz@kmimedia.ca
that VUCA is actually a military term that describes being in a battle in conditions you’ve never fought in before. In short, one can’t rely on past experience, and thinking on the go is de rigueur – this is the very definition of fluid intelligence. Neuroscience has progressed in leaps and bounds in the past decade or so. The most effective L&D interventions recognize these developments and now aim to enhance both the crystallized and fluid intelligence of participants. There are other problems when it comes to our investment in future leaders. Stats from CEB indicate that only one in seven high performers actually has high potential. They also suggest that 30% of people in development programs shouldn’t be in them. Can you think of any other area of business in which a 30% investment write-off from day one would be accepted? Again, these are disturbing stats that indicate something is well and truly amiss in our identification of high potentials and how we develop those people.
Iain Hopkins, editor
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UPFRONT
HEAD TO HEAD
What education would help you most in your HR role? HR professionals are often charged with promoting learning opportunities, but where do they need an educational boost?
Kelly Davis
Freda Colbourne
Marni Johnson
Senior vice-president, human resources, loss prevention and customer service Town Shoes
Communications consultant Colbourne
Senior vice-president, HR and communications BlueShore Financial
“I am interested in two fields of study. The first concerns mental health: One in five Canadians suffers from some kind of mental disorder; with the right level of training and the ability to pick up on the signs, we could make a great deal of difference, especially in the cases where the illness is not declared. Also, as a business executive, I would like to study innovation strategy. Companies survive by being innovative, and it is a skill set that is often lacking. I would love to go back to school to learn how to apply innovative thinking to strategy design.”
“Anthropology, specifically ethnography (the study of how people live their lives), would provide great insight – and more importantly, foresight – into how we will work and live in the future. During this time of disruption, as technology advances pretty much everything we do, understanding how people of every generation live and connect is going to continue to evolve. As a communications strategist focusing on change management and restructurings, studying ethnography would allow me a more holistic view and a deeper understanding as to how we will integrate work, life and technology, and what that might look like in the future.”
“I would pursue advanced business intelligence and analytics to supplement my MBA. Understanding the business strategy and financials and the importance of ROI have contributed to my success in articulating the organization’s people needs using a common language with my CEO and CFO – namely, data and dollars. As the world continues to disrupt digitally, it’s even more important that decisions be data-driven. With the explosion of accessible employee, business and external data, HR needs expertise in knowing the questions to ask and in analyzing and drawing insights to identify trends and opportunities for improved business performance.”
EDUCATING EMPLOYEES The onus for upskilling clearly rests on the employee: Only one in four business owners who responded to Crowe Horath’s SME Directions survey last year said they are committed to investing in staff training. Meanwhile, a survey conducted by Training.com.au revealed that more than 40% of workers felt their qualifications and skills were a barrier between them and their ideal career. The survey also found that more than half of those with plans to return to study or acquire new skills in the next three years preferred a hybrid approach with online and offline components, while almost 30% were in favour of online-only courses.
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Financial education is not enough Manulife’s latest Health and Wealth research shows that close to 50%* of professional counsellors say it’s difficult for people to reveal money issues mainly due to shame and embarrassment. These emotional barriers prevent them from improving their financial situation, which can affect their health, recovery and productivity. As an industry, we need to address this financial stigma. If we don’t, employees won’t be able to take advantage of the education and resources available through their group plans.
Visit manulifehealthandwealth.ca to download our latest research on the Emotional Barriers to Financial Wellness and how the industry and employers can help clear the way. *Emotional Barriers to Financial Wellness – 2017 study conducted by Manulife / Homewood; 46% of counsellors feel it is very or somewhat difficult for clients to reveal money issues, mainly because of shame and embarrassment.
Manulife and the Block Design are trademarks of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company and are used by it, and by its affiliates under license. CS5857E 10/17
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UPFRONT
STATISTICS
Working the system
POINTING THE WAY TO THE CLOUD HR departments are increasingly migrating their tech systems to the cloud – a PwC survey confirms that roughly three-quarters of HR departments have moved at least one process to the cloud. The areas where companies said they’re most likely to move to cloud-based systems in the near future include talent review and succession, onboarding, HR analytics, and performance management.
The rapid evolution of HR systems and the tech behind them is only likely to accelerate HR SYSTEMS have moved away from the simple transition of paper-based admin processes to a more seamless electronic experience. In the modern world, tech plays an integral role in tackling the core challenges HR professionals face, such as driving employee engagement, keeping costs competitive and maintaining compliance. Increasingly, HR technology is also tackling learning,
76%
of organizations use cloud-based tech solutions; the remainder use on-site solutions
92%
of companies plan to make changes to their current HR tech
recruitment and performance management. A recent survey on HR technology by Ernst & Young revealed that greater numbers of organizations are embracing new technologies such as cloud-based SaaS systems (76%), selfservice portals (75%) and talent management platforms (79%). In the coming years, HR’s march toward tech solutions is only likely to become more pronounced.
50%
of companies expect to increase spending on HR technology in the next 12 months
WHY USE THE CLOUD? Software innovation, quick releases
70%
Depend less on IT
50%
Lower cost of ownership
44%
13%
of organizations still rely on paper-based talent management
Source: HR Technology Survey, Ernst & Young Global Limited Pulse Survey, 2016
NO CLEAR LEADER
SERVE YOURSELF
Organizations surveyed by EY demonstrated no single preference in terms of how their internal technological landscapes are configured.
Three out of four organizations use a portal that caters to both managers and employees, citing the promotion of employee/manager self-service as the chief reason for implementing the portal.
20%
use best functionalities in the market (best-of-breed technology)
25%
use one system for entire organization (business-wide enterprise technology)
REASON FOR NOT IMPLEMENTING
DO YOU USE A SELF-SERVICE PORTAL?
REASON FOR USING A PORTAL
6%
40% Readiness of the organization
30%
No, and we have no plans to develop a self-service portal
Promote employee/manager self-service
23% One-stop shop for access to all HR systems
20%
23% Cost reduction
Our primary processes don’t lend themselves to self-service
30% use custom/in-house
25% use one HR system
developed tools
(HR enterprise technology)
Source: HR Technology Survey, Ernst & Young Global Limited Pulse Survey, 2016
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40% Other
17% 19%
No, but we are working to develop a self-service portal
75%
Information sharing/knowledge management
Yes, we have a self-service portal for employees and managers
7% Other
Source: HR Technology Survey, Ernst & Young Global Limited Pulse Survey, 2016
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THE CLOUD: TODAY AND TOMORROW
Recruiting
Organizations using Saas/cloud today Organizations planning to move to Saas/cloud
Learning Performance management management
58%
50%
48%
Onboarding
40%
23%
24%
31%
Talent Compensation review and succession
Core HR
39%
37%
26%
35%
Time reporting
Benefits
Payroll
31%
30%
30%
15%
14%
32%
25%
27%
HR analytics
23%
34%
38%
Source: PwC, HR Technology Survey 2017
PRIMARY DELIVERY SYSTEM SETUP
GROWTH AREAS
For most HR functions, the majority of organizations (an average of around 56%) tend to rely on enterprise or bestof-breed technology as their primary delivery systems.
Companies plan to invest the lion’s share of their HR tech budget on performance management systems.
Manual/paper-based
7% 40%
20% 33%
Recruiting/staffing
21% 29%
21% 14%
Career development/ planning
Custom/in-house developed tool
21% 29%
21% 29%
Onboarding/joiner administration
7% 20% 27%
20% 27%
Succession planning and retention
Enterprise technology
7% 20% 27%
20%
Best-of-breed technology
Not applicable
7%
40%
36%
43%
13% 13%
40%
Workforce planning/ analytics
20%
21%
40% Payroll
27%
7%
Recruiting/staffing
Onboarding/joiner administration
Compensation and benefits 14%
Compensation and Performance management Learning management benefits (goal setting, assessment) and training
40%
No anticipated investments 12%
20%
33%
27%
20% 13%
10%
Performance management (goal-setting, assessment) 19% 10% Learning management and training
27%
13% 7% 27% Expat management
5%
7%
Career development/planning
7%
Succession planning and retention
7%
Workforce planning/analytics
Payroll
2% Expat management
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20% Source: HR Technology Survey, Ernst & Young Global Limited Pulse Survey, 2016
Source: HR Technology Survey, Ernst & Young Global Limited Pulse Survey, 2016
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UPFRONT
NEWS ANALYSIS
D&I initiatives: up to the task? Google might have algorithms down pat, but one issue remains harder to solve: gender inequality A FIRESTORM erupted in August after an internal memo from Google engineer James Damore went viral. The widely shared document criticized Google for its pro-diversity programs. Damore wrote: “Distribution of preferences and abilities of men and women differ in part due to biological causes, and these differences may explain why we don’t see equal representation of women in tech and leadership.” He added that women “prefer jobs in social and artistic areas,” while men “may like coding because it requires systemizing” and “have a higher drive for status.” Google’s leadership responded by slamming the statement. “Our job is to build great products for users that make a difference in their lives,” said CEO Sundar Pichai. “To suggest a group of our colleagues have traits that make them less biologically suited to that work is offensive and not OK.” In June, Google voluntarily released work-
overrepresented, especially in tech (80%) and leadership (75%) roles. The company also announced that Danielle Brown, the former chief diversity & inclusion officer at Intel, would become Google’s new vice-president of diversity. Brown released her own memo, saying, “Google has taken a strong stand on this issue by releasing its demographic data and creating a company-wide OKR [objectives and key results] on diversity & inclusion. Strong stands elicit strong reactions. Changing a culture is hard, and it’s often uncomfortable. But I firmly believe Google is doing the right thing.” Brown added that part of building an open, inclusive environment means fostering a culture in which “those with alternative views, including different political views, feel safe sharing their opinions, [but] that discourse needs to work alongside the principles of equal employment found in our Code of Conduct,
“Changing a culture is hard, and it’s often uncomfortable. But I firmly believe Google is doing the right thing” Danielle Brown, Google force demographic data as part of its efforts to create a more inclusive culture – a process that senior vice-president of corporate development and chief legal officer David Drummond describes as “slow but real.” The stats show that while the percentage of women at the company (31%) is increasing, men are still
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policies and anti-discrimination laws.” While many observers disagreed with Damore’s sentiments, others applauded him for calling out the fact that D&I initiatives can be less than effective. The reaction from Google (Damore was dismissed, which he claimed was for “perpetuating gender stereo-
types”) was also criticized; some cited it as the latest example of “politically correct authoritarianism creeping into every level of society.” Lance Hodgson, marketing manager at Mentorloop, who has himself been critical of D&I initiatives in the past, says many people are “disillusioned and frustrated” with them. “The discrepancy between the investment and attention to D&I and the tangible evidence of progress is frustrating,” he says, “mostly for the marginalized groups who are most impacted by the systemic discrimination, but also for many other people inside these organizations who would love to work in a more diverse workplace but continue to see initiatives fail.” Hodgson adds that although the assumption the Google employee made isn’t a correct one, his logic isn’t too far-fetched. “All of this investment, effort and time to little or no avail – there must be something more biological at play, right?” Gender stereotyping is one of the root causes of bias in the tech sector. With malefemale stereotypes deeply ingrained in even the most self-aware person, it doesn’t take
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D&I BY THE NUMBERS
96%
of companies have some form of D&I initiative in place
14%
of executives indicate that D&I investment would make a significant positive impact on their company’s performance
9%
of employers listed ‘retaining female talent’ as a HR priority for 2017
16%
said ‘ensuring equitable pay’ was an HR priority in 2017
1 in 3
much for these attitudes to snowball. Hodgson says small unconscious biases skew early representation at tech companies, which then compounds and results in the poor diversity statistics often seen at later-stage companies. He adds that, in his view, few companies intentionally set out to make their workplaces unappealing to women or families. However, women – like all humans – use mental shortcuts and contextual cues to make decisions and are often discouraged from applying
diversity initiatives are aimed at a subset of individuals, or what he describes as “special programs for special people.” While well intentioned, many of these programs exacerbate existing differences by further segregating the people who are different in an attempt to help them, instead of focusing on breaking down the systemic and artificial barriers to integration that created the problems in the first place. “Cross-departmental meetings are con ducted to align teams around common
“We need to evolve from providing sporadic and sometimes perfunctory D&I programs to addressing the entire funnel” Lance Hodgson, Mentorloop or interviewing at certain companies or for certain roles, as they feel the very real pressure of feeling like an outsider or ‘fraud’ in a male-dominated ecosystem. Companies might also head down a path that leads to the opposite desired outcome of D&I: exclusivity. Hodgson says too many
goals and communication, and yet diversity programs are created in a vacuum where communication between participants and non-participants is nil – and there is no common goal,” Hodgson says. “As has been proven time and time again, the way to overcome artificial differences – which these are –
HR professionals say their D&I strategy is aligned to their company’s business goals Source: Mercer, Global Talent Trends Study 2017
is to find commonalities and shared pursuits.” While Hodgson concedes that’s easier said than done, he suggests creating programs in which interaction is not just encouraged, but becomes a normal everyday practice. This then creates a truly sustainable, beneficial and diverse culture. “Current programs and initiatives do play a role; they serve as interim and helpful bandages while we work towards a more holistic approach,” he says. “As a sector and as a people, we need to evolve from providing sporadic and sometimes perfunctory D&I programs to addressing the entire funnel systematically – from education all the way through to upper management.” As Hodgson points out, countless studies have confirmed the fact that gender diversity – as well as ethnic diversity – results in better organizational outcomes. “There is a strategic fiscal responsibility, as well as a moral obligation, to solve the bottlenecks that inhibit diversity,” he says.
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UPFRONT
EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS Drug testing unlikely to expand with marijuana legalization When marijuana becomes legal across Canada, employers probably won’t have a greater ability to test workers for drugs or impairment, despite concerns of added workplace risks. “It’s going to be fairly restrictive for individuals who are not in safety-sensitive positions,” said Aird & Berlis employment lawyer Michael Horvat. Provinces have begun to announce their plans for purchase ages and regulatory regimes, but they have yet to set impairment levels – similar to blood alcohol levels – or outline how employers might be able to measure them.
Ontario to help small businesses with minimum wage hike
Small businesses and farmers will receive provincial support to help offset Ontario’s planned minimum wage hike to $15 an hour, but other employers will have to find a way to cover the cost. Despite major concerns from employers and business groups, the provincial government is pushing ahead with planned labour law changes that will also affect scheduling and union access to workplaces and introduce new personal leave entitlements. “The potential for unintended consequences is very real and very dramatic, and could, in fact, harm many of these [workers],” said Ontario Chamber of Commerce spokesman Karl Baldauf.
High-profile data breaches prompt security warning
Companies are being urged to ramp up their data risk mitigation efforts after recent high-profile hackings and thefts left international corporations red-faced.
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An employee of health insurance giant Bupa stole and allegedly tried to sell the data of more than 500,000 clients, while credit rating agency Equifax blamed a single employee for the recent hack that compromised more than 143 million users’ private information. Bradley Freedman, partner at Borden Ladner Gervais, recommends only giving employees access to the data they need and no more, as well as carrying out regular checks to ensure no data is being compromised.
Soldiers receive discipline threat over far-right ‘likes’
The Canadian Armed Forces is warning military personnel to tread carefully on social media after dozens of soldiers were revealed to be members of an anti-Islam movement’s private Facebook group. Col. Paul Fuller told CBC that military members need to be neutral on issues of public opinion, adding that those who broke those rules could face discipline or even expulsion. In the wake of neo-Nazi rallies in the US, Canadian lawyers have confirmed that employers may be able to terminate workers for cause for involvement in alt-right groups.
Canada’s crossborder jobs demand could sink NAFTA talks The future of NAFTA is up in the air as the US seeks to block Canada’s desire for greater cross-border worker mobility. Canadian negotiators want to add 60 more occupations – many in the tech sector – to the existing list of workers who can move across borders with a minimum of red tape. However, insiders say the US wants to ditch that chapter of the agreement altogether in favour of pushing President Donald Trump’s ‘Buy American’ agenda.
Toxic workplaces costly for employers Ensuring employees are happy and healthy is more important than ever
As rising numbers of Canadian workers are diagnosed with mental health concerns, leading employers are taking great strides to ensure their workplace wellness efforts cover not just physical health, but mental and emotional well-being, too. It’s a clever move, as employers are potentially liable for covering the financial cost of work-related stress, toxic environments and hurt feelings in the office. Starting next year, workers will be entitled to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board [WSIB] compensation for chronic or mental stress arising from their employment – and that could mean rising premiums for employers who fail to create a positive environment. “They can expect that they’re going to get more claims for mental health issues,” says Asha Rampersad of Bernardi Human Resource Law. “That’s because there’s a lot of information and discussion taking place that bullying and a toxic or stressful working environment and harassment in the workplace cause huge absenteeism rates [and] a cost in terms of dollars.” Employers can no longer afford to think of a positive work environment as a nice-to-have, she adds. “It really is becoming more and more expected. If you don’t treat your employees respectfully, and they face a disability of some sort as a result of that conduct,” you could be liable. Rampersad recommends that employers work to increase employee
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engagement, train managers on how to interact with staff and deliver constructive criticism and feedback, and become more knowledgeable themselves on best practices in performance management. One employer taking a novel approach to its employees’ mental wellness is the City of Vaughan, which has created a learning program that educates workers on mental
Q&A
Paula Pettit Employment and labour law associate MILLER THOMSON
“A stressful working environment causes huge absenteeism rates [and] a cost in terms of dollars” health, encourages empathy and transforms them into leaders, no matter what role they hold in the organization. As part of its wide learning & development curriculum – which includes more than 140 courses ranging from compliance and accident reporting to communication and negotiation skills – the city has developed a workplace wellness component that touches on all areas of staff well-being. As a result, employees are healthier, more engaged, and have the skills to help themselves and others cope in emergency and conflict situations, says Kathy Kestides, the City of Vaughan’s manager of learning and organizational development. “We’re not trying to create psychologists, by any means, but the mental health component is really elevating awareness, elevating people’s empathy,” she says. “It’s taking a very different approach to ‘somebody’s not well, somebody’s ill, somebody’s off today’ and really changing that lens to ‘how can I help, how can I be of assistance, and how can I better understand what the person’s needs are.’”
Years in the industry 23 Fast fact Before her legal career, Pettit worked in labour relations in the film and television industry, including as national director of industrial relations at the Canadian Media Production Association
How to de-stress accommodations for mental illness What evidence can an employer seek for a worker’s mental health accommodation request? Employers are entitled to seek sufficient information to substantiate not only that the employee has limitations and restrictions, but that the limitations and restrictions actually impact the employee’s ability to perform work functions. Employers generally do not have the right to know a person’s confidential medical information unless it clearly relates to the accommodation being sought. The challenge that seems to arise more frequently with mental health accommodation is that an employee might be reluctant for privacy reasons to provide the required reasonable and sufficient medical information. Despite the advances that have been made in destigmatizing mental health issues, some employees are genuinely concerned about providing medical information that might reveal a mental health condition. However, an employee’s privacy concerns do not trump an employer’s entitlement to access reasonable and sufficient medical information for legitimate purposes.
What accommodations might need to be considered? The accommodation analysis starts with determining the essential functions and duties of the job. Devising an effective accommodation for an employee with a mental health condition can require creative and collaborative thinking. Accommodations may be multi-faceted, involving changes to the way a job is done or structured, adjusted work schedules, swapping or eliminating marginal functions, colour-coding files, the use of a service animal, etc. Whatever the solution, once a reasonable accommodation is implemented, the employer should follow up with the employee on a regular basis to assess its continued appropriateness. If changes are made to the workplace, consider how the changes might impact the person’s accommodation and approach any potential changes in a manner that takes into account the employee’s mental health issues.
What does undue hardship really mean, and how can an employer know if they’ve reached that threshold? It is often said, but worth repeating, that undue hardship is a high threshold. The Ontario Human Rights Code prescribes three considerations for assessing undue hardship: the cost, outside sources of funding (if any), and health and safety requirements (if any). An employer who claims undue hardship as a defence for not accommodating an employee with a disability must be prepared to provide objective evidence based on the prescribed considerations to support the claim. Although there is no ‘bright line test’ for determining undue hardship, one certainty is that speculating about the potential cost of an accommodation or its impact on health and safety is not sufficient. Hard data is required to substantiate a claim of undue hardship.
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UPFRONT
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
What the rise of AI means for HR’s future Learning to harness powerful new technologies will help keep HR jobs safe in the age of automation
“AI can be leveraged to gain deeper insight on employees in your organization, to help identify people challenges before they become a problem – for example, surfacing trends in turnover rates or engagement levels that usually take months otherwise.” HR can then take those insights to their organization’s senior leaders – proving both the return on the tech investment and the essent-
“The underlying truth is that we either adapt to grow or slip towards obsolescence”
HR professionals are increasingly using artificial intelligence in their daily work – and that has some fearful that their jobs could someday be replaced altogether. But while human resources is frequently cited as one of the professions most at risk of being made redundant by AI, experts urge industry insiders to embrace the technology instead of trying to ignore or fend it off. “AI will not displace HR; however, HR that leverages AI will definitely displace HR that doesn’t,” says Marlina Kinnersley, co-founder and CEO of AI-based candidacy platform Fortay, who adds that “the same fears surfaced
NEWS BRIEFS
with the computer revolution. What AI fundamentally provides is a new and powerful set of tools that will enhance and dramatically improve work life and boost our productivity levels. The underlying truth is that we either adapt to grow or slip towards obsolescence.” Daneal Charney, director of talent at MaRS Venture Services in Toronto, says HR professionals who are only now preparing for AI’s rise are too late – the technology is already prevalent in recruiting and human capital management software, and there’s great potential to utilize it to enrich the full employee experience.
Canadian cities vie to host Amazon’s new HQ
Amazon’s search for a new North American headquarters – and the promise of 50,000 new jobs – has sparked a trans-Canadian bidding war to be the web giant’s new home. While Toronto or Vancouver seem the most likely choice if Amazon chooses to expand to Canada, Halifax, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton have also thrown their hats in the ring. However, tech industry insiders warn the company’s shift north – and its ability to pay sky-high wages – could draw the best tech talent away from local companies.
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iality of humans in operating it, she adds. “HR leaders need to be bold, early adopters of innovative platforms that can enhance the employee experience,” Charney says. “If they can outsource manual and repetitive activities to a machine, they can concentrate on work that requires skills of the future.” Roy Pereira, the mastermind behind Zoom.ai’s automated office assistant software, has little doubt some human positions will become automated, but he describes AI as a tool that can help professionals work smarter. “I think this is all very positive,” Pereira says, “because as humans, we’re doing some really crappy work sometimes at the office ... and for some positions, it’s going to be great to automate them, because it’s going to allow for those humans to actually perform at a higher level.”
Employees test out microchip implants Office swipe cards could someday be a thing of the past. Three Square Market, a US-based vending machine provider, is pioneering the use of microchips in its staff to allow them to open doors, log into computers, and buy lunch. More than 40 workers – or half the staff – at Three Square Market voluntarily had microchips implanted into their hands at a so-called ‘chip party.’ Experts say the move could inspire other companies, especially those in the tech sector, to follow suit – but they warn there could be privacy implications for workers.
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Q&A
Mike Morini CEO WORKFORCE SOFTWARE
Years in the tech industry 30 Fast fact Morini is a former NFL athlete who played for the Buffalo Bills as a free agent and in the USFL for the New Jersey Generals
Tired staff a wake-up call for HR’s manual scheduling Despite rapid tech changes, many employers still rely on traditional scheduling. Why is it time to change? Employee scheduling is a vehicle for achieving strategic initiatives, and that’s driving more employers to go digital and leave old-school scheduling tools behind. From enabling managers to create faster, more cost-effective schedules to improving customer service and reducing unplanned overtime, the right scheduling technology gives managers and executives the visibility they need to reach strategic goals. The tangible benefits are measurable, too. At WorkForce Software, one of our retail customers is saving $1.5 million a year in overtime alone. The other factor is legislation around work hours and mandatory rest periods between shifts. Digital scheduling technologies take the headache out of managing compliance with these laws and allow HR departments to quickly and easily produce documentation to demonstrate compliance when needed.
What are the downsides and dangers of a fatigued workforce? The biggest danger is putting employee safety at risk. For businesses that intersect with the public, as in the case of utilities and transportation, that risk expands. Fatigued drivers are three times as likely to be in an accident. The same goes for operating any kind of manufacturing equipment or providing medical care to patients. Fatigued employees are at greater risk for injuring themselves and those around them. While safety is the most critical, another factor is
Online job applications ‘too impersonal’
Recruiters are being urged to ‘humanize’ their hiring after more than half of candidates said technology makes the process isolating and impersonal. Paul Wolfe, SVP of HR at jobs site Indeed, recommends using tech “where it makes sense” – such as for scheduling and matching candidates to roles – and then using the time saved to build a relationship with candidates. “A positive candidate experience can set your role and your company apart,” Wolfe said, adding it also helps companies avoid negative reviews.
Benefits giant launches new AI ‘coach’
employee engagement. Overworked, overtired employees are not operating at their best. They’re less productive, more prone to making errors, and more likely to leave the company and seek employment elsewhere – all negative impacts that carry significant costs for employers. The right scheduling tools decrease fatigue risks while also increasing employee engagement and work-life balance.
How does smarter scheduling make a difference? Intelligent scheduling solutions provide data-based insights to help organizations make faster, smarter decisions. From comparing thousands of schedule combinations in seconds to issuing automatic alerts when an employee is at risk for fatigue, digital solutions serve up the information you need, when and where you need it. What’s most important is choosing a solution that aligns with your strategic goals. In manufacturing, simplifying callouts and automating overtime equalization are high priorities. For retail, scheduling to demand saves labour costs and improves the customer experience. In the nuclear energy and petrochemical sectors, being able to manage fatigue in compliance with industry regulations is essential. In all of these scenarios, you’ll also want to give employees the option of managing schedules and timeoff requests on the go via smartphones and tablets. It’s all about enabling your connected workforce with tools that will not only help you achieve strategic goals, but also keep your workforce happy and engaged.
Sun Life has debuted an industry-first interactive assistant to help clients better understand and use their benefits and pension plans. Known as Ella, the AI assistant offers insights and advice through sophisticated data analytics, including giving clients a heads-up that wellness account funds are about to expire or that a child is about to turn 21 and will no longer be covered by their parent’s benefits. Sun Life says Ella will become increasingly interactive and personalized over time as it gains more insights into each user.
US uncertainty drives tech talent to Canada
Canadian HR departments are making the most of immigration uncertainty in the United States by luring tech talent with Canada’s new streamlined visa process. President Trump vowed to reform the H-1B visa program that has helped the US tech industry to attract the world’s brightest individuals for many years. In response, the Canadian government implemented a new expedited visa program that enables companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers in shorter time frames.
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UPFRONT
OPINION
GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email editor@hrmonline.ca
Gender intelligence Creating the right culture externally requires getting the gender of your culture right internally, writes Bec Brideson IT’S NOT good enough that our current MO for resolving the gender problem is D&I support groups attended only by the marginalized. There’s a growing frustration surrounding this concept, as preaching to the converted won’t grow the church. My challenge, therefore, to any HR leader is to simply ask yourself two questions. First, is your culture overtly male or female? If you find yourself answering this question instinctually, great. If you find yourself wondering what that means, chances are a gender intelligence audit may be in order. In either case, keep reading. Now ask yourself: Does the gender of your internal culture match the gender of your external audience? If the answer is a big fat ‘no,’ then Houston, we have a problem. Somewhere in the decades of forward movement on equality, our confusion around ‘gender discrimination’ muddied the waters. Equality has been equated with sameness, and we have started to neglect the insight that comes from difference. We’re not making a moral judgment, but gaining insights into how to better meet the needs of all of our stakeholders. To understand our confusion, we must first grasp the heritage of business. Men built our business environment, while women traditionally stayed in the home. Thus, business has been set to the default of a male perspective – internally and organizationally, as well as in delivery to external audiences. Over the last century, society has made great strides: Women are out of the home, working their ‘two shifts’ – in the workplace
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and domestically. As a result, women have grown both their economic might and financial influence. Course-correction is needed – not one that disparages or destroys what men have proudly built, but one that includes the contributions, attributes and innovations that women bring to bear: the female lens. Thanks to society’s fostering of better diversity and inclusion, alongside the rise of the new global female economy, it is a golden opportunity for business waiting to be realized and leveraged.
intelligence is the ability to acknowledge that gender differences are powerful. This vision is smart, not discriminatory, and looking through both lenses leads to market growth and unseen opportunities. Being genderinsensitive, however, breeds a culture where an overt gender presides and shuts down the capabilities of the other. Two recent highprofile examples illuminate this causation. Google has been on a dedicated path to bias enlightenment through the implementation of worldwide D&I training since 2013. The swift handling over erroneous prejudices on female talent has signalled a devotion to creating a gender-equal environment and was supported top-down. While the culture and employees continue to be divided, Google is proving itself to be a brand that is committed to being better. Uber, on the other hand, was the exemplar of a fish rotting from its head – employees were given a message that sexism and harassment would be overlooked in the case of high performers. The recent instalment of a female leadership group brings a new hope. Uber serves as a cautionary tale on the
“True gender intelligence is the ability to acknowledge that gender differences are powerful. This vision is smart, not discriminatory” HR leaders, without question, have a big part to play in leading this charge. Having everyone in your business understand the powerful female economy is more important than ever. EY reports that by 2028, women will be responsible for 75% of household discretionary spending. It is essential to get gender intelligence right. If there are not enough female-lensed people in your business, then you risk missing valuable opportunities for growth. Female-lensed vision shouldn’t be confused with hiring more female staff or even invoking feminist ideology. The female lens is a second scope for us to see through to improve our stereoscopic vision of the world. True gender
hazards of not creating the right culture internally. Doing so means you will have the culture right externally – not just with women, but with other ignored segments, too. HR is responsible for ensuring the inside of your business matches the values, expectations and behaviours of those it hopes to attract – most likely, a powerful audience holding immeasurable discretionary power. And when it does, the business will be sure to thrive.
Bec Brideson is a pioneer and innovator in marketing to women, and author of Blind Spots: How to Uncover and Attract the Fastest Emerging Economy.
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PEOPLE
GLOBAL HR LEADER
Getting from A to B without a hitch With STEM skills at a premium globally, travel technology company Amadeus is using a combination of disruption and innovation to attract fresh talent. Iain Hopkins chats with the firm’s global head of HR, Sabine Hansen-Peck ANYONE WHO travels for work knows the sinking feeling of arriving at the airport, only to be met with a lengthy check-in queue. But there’s a good chance that waiting game could be coming to an end. In one of its more innovative market disruptions, global travel technology company Amadeus IT Group has trialled and implemented technology that allows travelers attending a major conference or event to check in at the event rather than having to tackle that task at the airport. “That’s good for airports that can have such a big flow of travellers coming in and lengthy delays for everyone,” says Sabine HansenPeck, senior vice-president of human resources at Amadeus. “For major events like the Olympic Games, it could be a game-changer.” HRDC recently sat down with HansenPeck to discuss the challenges of innovation, recruiting and engaging millennials in STEM roles, and the ups and downs of her own international career in HR.
I’ve been with Amadeus since November 2009, and it has been an amazing journey. I’m currently based in Madrid, but before that I worked in the US, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the UK, and now I’m in Spain, where Amadeus is headquartered. We’re a very international company with a presence in more than 100 countries and 132 nationalities, speaking over 60 languages in our workforce. This makes it a wonderful
“While you must have the right incentives in place, beyond that, a real differentiator is the culture. We are truly an international company, and that really excites people” company to work for, but it also reflects the global customers we’re dealing with.
HRDC: Can you outline your role at Amadeus?
HRDC: Amadeus is a technology company. How difficult is it to attract and retain talent with STEM skills?
Sabine Hansen-Peck: It’s a global role, and I’m responsible for the people and culture function across 15,000 employees. I’m also responsible for branding and communication.
SHP: I think every employer needs to do more because STEM is absolutely key for our industry, and for many other industries as well. As an employer, we do quite a lot of work
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and collaboration with universities around the world, including in Europe, the Middle East and Australia. We’re doing hackathons and also providing internships for students to gain some experience. Often those internships later result in permanent employment with us. We know, as a tech company, that talent is absolutely crucial for us, so we also try to provide attractive positions and experiences for employees. While we are a B2B company
and might not be as much of a household name as Google, once students understand the content of what they can work on, they usually don’t want to leave – as such, we have very low attrition. If an engineer can work on missioncritical technology – technology that powers an aircraft, which allows passengers to board an aircraft seamlessly – that’s very appealing. We are trying to develop software solutions so that any type of disruption at the airport or
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PROFILE Name: Sabine Hansen-Peck Company: Amadeus IT Group Title: Senior vice-president of HR HR experience: 22 years Previous roles: »»HR head, EMEA Consumer, Citibank »»Head, talent, leadership development and diversity, EMEA, Citigroup »»VP of HR, head division, Europe, Gate Gourmet International »»VP of HR, EMEA, Citigroup Private Bank, Switzerland »»VP of compensation and benefits, Citigroup US and Europe Consumer Bank Qualifications: MBA, international management, Thunderbird School of Global Management; master’s in industrial and organizational psychology, Catholic University of EichstattIngolstadt
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PEOPLE
GLOBAL HR LEADER with the airlines is minimized. For example, imagine you are flying from Sydney to Singapore and you have an onward flight to Paris, and that second flight is disrupted for whatever reason. With Amadeus technology, we can re-accommodate the passengers already on the flight to Singapore, so when you land you don’t need to stand in a queue for two hours in order to get rebooked and get your ticket. That can all happen because of the talent we have developing solutions. That’s pretty sexy stuff to work on, and with that we can attract talent.
HRDC: What’s the key to attracting millennials? SHP: When we ask people why they joined us and what they view as the biggest differentiator for us, they will cite Amadeus’ culture. So while you must have the right incentives in place, beyond that, a real differentiator is the culture.
crucial in order to avoid mistakes and disasters. We worked together with a captain who flew Airbuses, as well as a company involved in neuroscience and how we learn. We also wanted to build in elements of organizational behaviour and cultural aspects unique to Amadeus. We brought all of that together to create a pretty nifty game in regard to giving and receiving feedback, which simulates a scenario where you find yourself in the cockpit. We made it more interesting by adding in a cultural aspect, so there might be a Japanese captain and a female American co-pilot. The co-pilot notices the captain doesn’t use the most up-to-date procedures for takeoff. She is supposed to give him feedback. How do you do it effectively? With feedback, there’s always an element of facts, and also the relationship between two people – you must maintain the relationship,
“We literally make learning child’s play. I’ve not pushed it from a corporate perspective, but it’s available and ready for people to use” We are truly an international company, and that really excites people. If someone wants to join the company in Sydney but work in Nice for a couple of years, that’s absolutely possible. We have a very transparent system in regard to openings, so people can see worldwide what openings are available and then apply for them. We also try to be innovative in terms of what we offer – we provide learning, including elements of gamification, which has proven to be very appealing for millennials.
HRDC: How is Amadeus using gamification to engage employees, bridge cultural barriers and provide feedback? SHP: What we wanted to do is create a very open and collaborative work culture, and giving feedback in a positive way is a very important element of that culture. We came up with the idea of creating a game using various aircraft scenarios. In any aircraft, what happens in the cockpit and how people communicate is
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but you want to have facts presented in an accurate way. With this scenario, there are multiple-choice responses and four different flight options, which increase in complexity. You can also play different roles so you can play the game over and over again. Participants gain points along the way, as well as feedback and learning nuggets. Importantly, it’s in a totally safe environment. We literally make learning child’s play. I’ve not pushed it from a corporate perspective, but it’s available and ready for people to use. We had 6,000 people playing in the first week. We’re receiving feedback about it and will continue to develop it.
HRDC: In terms of your own career, you have extensive experience working in HR in financial services. How did that experience shape how you handle your current role? SHP: [Citigroup] was also a very international
HOW AMADEUS IS STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE The Internal Faculty program: Employees
1 develop and facilitate internal training
sessions to share their knowledge with peers; topics include everything from software development to foreign languages. This leverages the untapped skills of Amadeus’ people and reduces the cost of hiring external trainers. HR offers training and coaching to ensure highquality training and content. Leadership Link Ups: Quarterly Link Ups
2 provide the opportunity for managers to
spend time sharing challenges, celebrating wins and focusing on best practice while also offering the chance to learn from peers, mentor fellow managers, and gain insight into new ideas and perspectives. Each session focuses on a different topic (such as engagement or onboarding). Leaders are encouraged to take part in active discussions and contribute ideas toward improving and developing the topics. company, and that’s something that’s very appealing to me. That role also shaped my belief in always knowing who the customer is and being very customer-centric. For me today, our employees are our customers, and being available for them, designing the programs for them, I think is very important. The other thing is, I was very lucky being part of a company that put a lot of emphasis on best-practice HR tools and practices. A lot of what I learned there I can also apply at Amadeus.
HRDC: You’ve held jobs around the globe. What’s your top advice for HR professionals who are considering an overseas posting? SHP: I’d say do it – it’s the best thing anyone can do. It provides such a rich learning opportunity on a professional and personal level. I’d always recommend it. We’re practicing it in my team. A third of my direct reports have been in different roles in different locations globally, and we’ll continue doing that, because for me, it’s the best development you can get.
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FEATURES
FLEXIBLE WORK
The strategic case for flexible work Mairead Walsh outlines how to strategically use flexible working arrangements to benefit your business
increases, which has a positive impact on your organization’s bottom line. • Attracting and retaining a talented workforce: In order to continue to attract, retain and develop talent, businesses need to understand what drives their workforce. Modern workers are increasingly expecting more when it comes to balancing work and family life.
The future is flexible working WE ALL know that flexible working arrangements bring many positive benefits to an employee’s life: better work-life balance, greater job satisfaction, more autonomy, increased energy, creativity, motivation and morale. Flexible working gives employees greater ownership and control of their own time and working hours, enabling them to manage their responsibilities outside of work. This can, in turn, reduce stress and anxiety for employees who are struggling to balance their busy lives. In recent years, we have seen a huge increase in the use of flexible working due to improvements in communications and technology. Employees don’t necessarily need to be
can be used strategically and deliberately within the overall business purpose and objectives. Flexible working needs to have a clear, coordinated and widely understood goal behind it – otherwise, it won’t permeate the day-to-day business. This requires dedicating time and resources to come up with a coordinated cultural change process – a process that clearly defines your unique business rationale for greater flexibility in your organization’s working arrangements.
Expected outcomes Flexible working will not work for all roles, companies or activities; therefore, your strategy needs to be driven by the unique
Flexible working needs to have a clear, coordinated and widely understood goal behind it – otherwise, it won’t permeate the day-to-day business in their office every day of the working week. At the same time, organizations’ demand for flexible working has increased now that businesses are expected to meet customer needs 24/7. The global financial crisis also drastically changed the nature of work, reducing the number of full-time jobs and causing many organizations to rely on parttime and temporary staff, assigning them to flexible working schedules.
Building the strategic case In order for a business to achieve its unique goals, it’s essential to plan how flexibility
structure of your organization. If used properly, flexible working can lead to positive and profitable outcomes for your business, including: • Cost savings: Businesses that recognize the fact that work is a resource rather than a place you go are already realizing savings by adopting flexible working practices. • Increased productivity and performance: By creating an environment where employees have higher levels of satisfaction and motivation, productivity also
In order to attract and retain top talent, businesses need to be able to respond to employees’ demand for non-full-time working hours and/or flexible schedules that suit their chosen lifestyles and allow them to balance work and family life. Recent research from PwC, the London Business School and the University of Southern California reveals that the things that attracted potential employees in the past – high pay, bonus schemes and rapid promotion – aren’t key priorities for millennials today. Instead, this very significant portion of the workforce tends to value a sustainable work-life balance and flexibility over financial rewards. For employers, this indicates a shift in attitude that means workers might have greater loyalties to organizations that appreciate their personal commitments. Ultimately, flexible working arrangements need to fit into your organization’s strategic workforce plan. If you are introducing a flexible working strategy, you should make sure it receives the amount of time and thought associated with implementing any new strategy into the organization. Planning should include members of the management team from the top down. If management isn’t convinced that flexible working can benefit the bottom line and improve competitiveness, the strategy will not work. It is a fundamental principle of flexible working that the needs of the business must be met. Mairead Walsh is head of communications and marketing at Softworks. She has published numerous papers, articles and case studies on workforce management topics, which are available at softworks.com/whitepapers. Walsh can be contacted at mwalsh@softworks.com.
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LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT INSIGHT
WORKPLACE RESTORATION
The true value of workplace restoration Finding ways to successfully manage workplace conflict is crucial for any ambitious organization AVOIDING CONFLICT in the workforce is almost impossible. When you get large groups of people together in a stressful or pressurized environment, it’s likely that tensions will rise. Everyone has been brought up in a different way, had different life experiences, and worked in roles and organizations with varying requirements and workplace norms. Some conflict in the workforce may be a natural part of doing business, and employees should feel safe to air any problems or challenges they face without being seen as a troublemaker. However, organizations need to be wary of allowing a conflict to escalate, because there comes a point when such
way, even an informal leader, it can start to cause people to take sides and form alliances.” Grant gives the example of a conflict between two parole officers who couldn’t find a way to get along. The situation became so bad that the pair couldn’t even bear to be in the same room together. It was a conflict that started with the two main protagonists, but it ended up involving many more people in the department. “Unresolved conflict can start to breed negative behaviours, like malicious gossip, and can silence people so they don’t feel comfortable speaking up in meetings,” Grant says. “When workers don’t raise issues in a
“Unresolved conflict can start to breed negative behaviours, like malicious gossip, and can silence people so they don’t feel comfortable speaking up in meetings” Anne Grant, AEG Dispute Resolution Services differences hamper productivity and lower engagement. In those cases, implementing a workplace restoration strategy is often the most sensible option. “An unresolved conflict between two employees is likely to create an ongoing and underlying tension,” says Anne E. Grant of AEG Dispute Resolution Services. “If either of the two parties is seen as a leader in any
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timely fashion, other things go by the wayside, and really important information related to the work isn’t passed along because the communication channels are shut down.” Grant was once called in to mediate a group of security guards after communication within the department had completely broken down. After being reprimanded for displaying behaviours that were substandard,
two of the guards refused to speak to certain members of the group. For anyone working in a security role, the day-to-day sharing of information is paramount. “That type of communication problem leads to lower productivity, lower engagement and other things that negatively impact organizational performance,” Grant says. “My definition of a toxic work environment is when the dysfunctional behaviour starts to affect productivity or the service provided. It doesn’t matter what line of business the company is in, when people stop talking and sharing information, things are not done as efficiently, and we end up with a drop in performance.” While unionized workplaces are required to develop meaningful strategies to deal with complaints and grievances, there is a wide variation in how non-unionized workplaces
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Brought to you by
to find out what kind of environment they wanted to work in and what was preventing that from being a reality. The root cause of the problem, Grant discovered, was the tremendous amount of change in the department in recent years. “They had three managers in four years, had put in surveillance cameras without even notifying the management, and had changed the master schedule twice in three years, which is incredibly disruptive for a 24/7 operation,” she says. “They had huge problems with change not being well communicated and well managed. The department also had a core group of disruptive bully employees who were controlling the department and not being dealt with.” Grant cites theorist Bruce Tuckman’s model to explain how groups develop and perform. First groups form, then they storm (characterized by conflict and disagreement), then they norm, and only then can they perform. A company or department in a workplace restoration situation is, in most cases, perpetually storming. “Maybe roles aren’t clear, or there are employees ignoring standard operating procedures, or there aren’t any,” Grant says. “Maybe the dysfunctional behaviours of a few are shutting things down. Retention and recruitment are huge problems in these toxic workplaces because people talk, and no one deal with conflict and workplace restoration. “Some companies have set up employee councils, while others have mirrored the collective bargaining grievance procedure of unionized workforces and put in a resolution process whereby people are given the assistance to resolve differences or address problems as they arise,” Grant says. “I’ve also seen increased usage of the whistle-blower policy, where a member of staff raises an issue or makes a complaint anonymously.” The first step in resolving any workplace grievance is identifying and assessing the conflict, which is usually done through interviews, surveys and external workplace restoration consultants. Grant was recently called into an underperforming department of 200 workers. Her first move was to conduct interviews with 130 members of the department
wants to go there. Also, the good leaders leave, not the bad ones. Negative leaders stay.” Once a mediator has worked out the root cause of the conflict, the next step is to come up with a plan to rebuild trust and confidence – two key tenets of a workplace restoration plan. Rebuilding trust takes times and requires an entire team or organization to reset their norms and start afresh. In many cases, groups that are underperforming have gotten to a point where they don’t know which behaviours are acceptable. Once Grant has completed her surveys and interviews, she returns to the organization in question to conduct workshops and share her findings. Workers are often surprised by how much the mediator has learned about the workplace and its norms and behaviours. Grant then gets employees to talk about the type of workplace they want and why a creating respectful, inclusive workplace is so important. “The mediator then issues a report and often gives some recommendations to management to help them work through certain conflicts as they come up,” Grant says. “After six months, I return to do another survey to check on the progress and see how the organization is adapting. It’s not an investigation – it’s a workplace assessment, a cultural scan. They need to know they have a big part to play.”
ABOUT QUEEN’S IRC Changing demographics, new technologies and a globally competitive market are transforming the work we do and the way we do it. How do you keep up with the skills and tools needed to manage and thrive in this evolving business environment? Queen’s University Industrial Relations Centre [IRC], a professional development unit within the Faculty of Arts & Science, delivers programs in labour relations, human resources and organizational development, based on more than 75 years of experience and research. Our programs are led by industry leaders and designed for busy practitioners who want to directly apply their knowledge to their work environment. Human resources: Learn how to build and engage teams in multi-disciplinary environments, manage change, and transform key HR data into business strategy. Labour relations: Develop the skills to effectively handle disputes and negotiations, build trust, and manage unionized environments. Organizational development: Diagnose organizational challenges, explore design issues and develop robust solutions. Choose from two- to five-day open enrolment programs delivered across Canada or customized on-site training solutions that address your organization’s specific needs. We also offer certificate programs in advanced human resources, organizational development, labour relations and advanced labour relations for professionals who want to continue to develop their skills and contribute to their organization’s success. Why Queen’s IRC? • Opportunities to network with high-level colleagues from across the country • Coaching from internationally renowned facilitators with real-world experience • Experiential programming to test theories and ideas • Skills and strategies that directly apply to work environments • Mentoring beyond classroom sessions Learn more: www.irc.queensu.ca
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FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT
The future of the HR profession is in the safe hands of these young professionals, who are busy shaping the future of the industry HRD CANADA’S first Rising Stars list in 2016 was met with such a positive response from the industry that a follow-up was inevitable – and this year, the response has been just as enthusiastic. HRDC received nearly 100 nominees across a wide range of industries, from financial services to media. The 24 young professionals on this year’s list have each worked on impressive projects and can demonstrate both quantitative and qualitative results from initiatives they have played a key role in creating and driving. From negotiating industrial awards to downsizing workforces and ensuring business sustainability after natural disasters, the men and women profiled on the following pages have already added to the standing of HR as a profession, despite having less than 10 years of experience in the field. There’s plenty of research out there that suggests younger workers have no desire to take on management or leadership roles – but those on this list buck that trend with ambition, knowledge and skills that position them as future leaders. It’s up to today’s HR leaders to recognize their talent and provide suitable roadmaps for their future careers.
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RISING STARS INDEX NAME
COMPANY
PAGE
Albinowski, Marta
Movati Athletic
28
Bartlett, Andrea
AR3 Capital Partners
27
Beltramelli , Ludivine
KBS Canada
28
Boga, Jabeen
Ashton College
32
Brown, Starleeta
Glen Corporation/Centennial College
26
Cerilli, Angela
IRC Building Sciences Group
30
Chiappetta, Milena
NRS Media Canada
27
Diker, Mark
Penguin Basements
26
Dunphy, Emily
Wolseley Canada
24
Egan, Izzie
BLANKSLATE Partners
26
Elliott, Elise
Colliers International
23
Fenton, Kayla
Fasken Martineau DuMoulin
31
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17/11/2017 10:29:02 PM
CHRISTINA JUNEJA HR consultant Business Development Bank of Canada
Named Rising Star of the Year at the 2017 Canadian HR Awards, Christina Juneja has a long list of accomplishments under her belt, even though she’s still at the beginning of her career in this field. After completing her HR studies, Juneja was given the opportunity to join BDC’s Ontario HR team for a four-month development assignment, followed by a permanent position as HR advisor for the Ontario region. Within two years, she was promoted to the HR consultant role, where she supports a number of head office initiatives, working closely with managers and executives to implement their people strategies. She has also developed a number of internal initiatives to support employee engagement at all levels, such as organizing an intensive job shadowing stint for new leaders and conducting a workshop on BDC’s benefits for employees with families. Outside of work, Juneja volunteers her time to support job seekers within vulnerable populations through Welcome Talent Canada.
ELISE ELLIOTT NAME
COMPANY
PAGE
Gerow, Lauren
Bond Brand Loyalty
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Guzzo, Valerie
Regional Municipality of Peel
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Jani, Keyur
St. Joseph's Health Centre, Toronto
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Juneja, Christina
Business Development Bank of Canada
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McBeath, Margaret
Amec Foster Wheeler Nuclear Canada
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Mesheau, Alanna
Sawridge Management Corporation
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Millar, Kelly
Hydro Ottawa
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Normand, Marie Josée
Solertia Consulting Group
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Sei, Victor
Vancouver Film School
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Trasolini, Diana
Paladin Security Group
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Wong, Janice
QuadReal Property Group
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Yang, Yunyi
NRT Technology Corp.
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Senior people services advisor Colliers International
Elise Elliott started her HR career in recruitment and eventually realized that being an HR generalist was her career path of choice. In her current role as senior people services advisor at commercial real estate firm Colliers International, Elliott directly supports two HR managers and an HR director, and is responsible for all aspects of employee relations, implementing various key HR programs and supporting the business with talent management initiatives across Canada and the US. In 2016, she received the Colliers Service Excellence Award, which recognizes employees who consistently deliver top-quality service. When Colliers launched its Women’s Mentorship Program in 2016, Elliott played a critical role in implementing key tasks and deliverables, including producing mentorship partnerships and managing the communication strategy and training sessions. During the first year, she took increased ownership of the program by coordinating with program stakeholders and overseeing deadlines, key milestones and all quality control elements for communications and branding, garnering positive feedback for her work.
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7/11/2017 8:22:37 AM
FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT EMILY DUNPHY HRMS program coordinator Wolseley Canada
Emily Dunphy began her HR journey in the unionized rail industry in England, where she facilitated the rigorous and lengthy recruitment process for train drivers and conductors. Dunphy also managed to roll out an applicant tracking system that helped improve the efficiency of the recruitment process. Upon her return to Canada, Dunphy joined plumbing and HVAC distributor Wolseley Canada as an HR advisor. She started by assisting in the setup of a new HR support centre, serving as a first line of contact for all HR queries across Canada. To better understand employees’ key concerns, Dunphy developed the analytics and reporting metrics needed to better pinpoint areas for improvement. These tasks paved the way for her current role as HRMS program coordinator for the company’s Workday implementation project. Dunphy is keen to continue her career path in the technological side of HR, having identified the need to stay ahead of disruption in HR and the business as a whole.
MARGARET MCBEATH Assistant program manager Amec Foster Wheeler Nuclear Canada
MARIE JOSÉE NORMAND Principal HR consultant Solertia Consulting Group
Marie Josée Normand got a glimpse of HR work at a young age when she spent her summer and school breaks working for a well-known payroll provider, assisting in the small and medium business services department. She eventually decided to study for a bachelor’s degree in HR management, and while completing her internship, Normand began thinking about pursuing a consulting career to help SMEs with their HR needs and challenges. After completing her master’s in HR management, Normand joined Solertia Consulting Group in 2010. Her biggest project to date has been expanding Solertia’s HR analytics and compensation services. She has conducted training sessions for Solertia clients, SME owners and managers, HR professionals, and students, and has participated in mentoring sessions recognized by the HR Order of Quebec as continuing education. Normand was promoted to principal HR consultant in 2015 and leads a team of five professionals. Since late 2016, she has been serving as interim manager for the compensation and organizational performance service line.
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Margaret McBeath developed a strong interest in organizational psychology and HR while working on her bachelor’s degree in psychology. Through her university’s co-op education program, she managed to launch her career in HR at Amec Foster Wheeler. After she graduated in 2011, McBeath was offered a permanent role with the company’s HR team, starting out on recruitment and employee L&D. Currently, McBeath leads all recruitment work at Amec Foster Wheeler and continues to design training programs for managers and employees, covering topics such as performance management and workplace mental health. McBeath has also pursued graduatelevel studies and is currently completing her PhD in the field of public health and health systems, with a specialization in work and health. Her research examines schoolto-work transitions and how variables such as skill acquisitions, learning environments and outcomes, and overall mental health contribute to success in the labour market.
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7/11/2017 8:22:47 AM
ALANNA MESHEAU Senior HR manager Sawridge Management Corporation
Since joining Sawridge in 2015, Alanna Mesheau has thoroughly proven her dedication to the hospitality company and the people it serves. In the immediate aftermath of the Fort McMurray wildfire, Mesheau remained on site, constantly communicating with the staff and managers in two properties to ensure the safety and well-being of all employees and guests. In the following weeks, Mesheau tapped into the limited resources available in the city to fully staff two hotels within a short period of time. Her efforts helped the businesses sustain its operations, which in turn helped house first responders and returning community members. Mesheau continues to extend strong HR support for various properties and ensures continuous engagement by facilitating biannual employee surveys and yearly appraisals. As a result of her efforts, her property’s employee opinion survey participation rate increased from 89% to 97%, and scores also increased from 3.58 to 3.76 out of a possible 4.
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7/11/2017 8:22:59 AM
FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT IZZIE EGAN Founder and CEO BLANKSLATE Partners
As founder of HR consultancy BLANKSLATE Partners, Izzie Egan has had the opportunity not only to scale high-growth organizations, but also to expand her skill set outside HR and recruiting into corporate employment, talent development and business strategy. Having worked as an agent and in client-side positions ranging from boutique placement firms to large-scale IT recruitment companies, as well as running complex HR teams
at billion-dollar businesses such as Lululemon, Egan has a strong understanding of employer and employee needs. Since founding BSP two and a half years ago, she has been building fast-paced, high-yield management teams, paying particular attention to each company’s strategic needs. Egan says her main purpose in HR is to make a difference in people’s lives by connecting businesses with the right people at the right time and connecting potential employees with their dream jobs, fulfilling their professional and personal goals. As such, she’s highly valued by countless HR teams around the country.
DIANA TRASOLINI Senior director, people and culture Paladin Security Group
Diana Trasolini has worked for Paladin Security Group since 2010, starting as the HR coordinator and quickly moving into her current role as senior director of people and culture, where she oversees all HR functions for the entire company in both Canada and the US. In this role, Trasolini is responsible for working with key stakeholders to plan and implement strategies in areas such as talent management, succession planning, performance management and ongoing training in order to ensure the alignment of HR strategies with the overarching strategies of the organization. Outside of her responsibilities at Paladin, Trasolini participates every year in the BCHRMA mentorship program, where she mentors an up-and-coming HR professional over a ninemonth period.
STARLEETA BROWN HR educator/HR specialist Centennial College/Centennial College Alumni Association/Glen Corporation
Now a three-time alumna of Centennial College, Starleeta Brown continues to serve as a peer mentor, leadership member and a part-time ESL teacher’s assistant at the institution, in addition to working as an HR administrative assistant for property management company Glen Corporation. When Brown started working for Glen Corporation, her manager immediately recognized her gift with people and encouraged her to pursue education in HR. Brown continued working for the company while in school, recognizing the need to keep a balance between theory and practical application. As Brown transitioned from her studies in HR management to the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education [TLHE] program, she was asked to develop a blended HR management course under the TLHE program at Centennial College, which eventually led her to launch a workshop entitled The Art of Professional Networking. The workshop was eventually incorporated into Centennial College’s Leadership Program and is used to coach graduates on how to market their skills for employment.
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MARK DIKER Director of HR Penguin Basements
Mark Diker leads people and culture strategy at renovation contractor Penguin Basements. In just 12 months, the company has grown from three to 100 employees and is looking to double in size in the next two years. To support the rapid growth, Diker has established a number of HR processes and procedures, including an onboarding and initial training program, organizational structure plans, compensation bands, and day-to-day processes. He is currently focused on creating a framework for growth that will ensure that the company retains its culture and core values. Next on Diker’s agenda is the creation of an employer brand that will help Penguin Basements showcase its stories and partner with post-secondary schools as part of a concentrated effort to expand recruitment, bring in top talent and begin succession planning.
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7/11/2017 8:23:05 AM
ANDREA BARTLETT Director of performance and culture AR3 Capital Partners
Since becoming director of performance and culture at AR3 Capital Partners, Andrea Bartlett has overseen and managed change across the entire business as a member of the senior leadership team. The firm has incorporated two separate entities in eight months, for which Bartlett successfully managed the staff restructuring, ranging from entry-level employees to C-suite executives. A strong advocate for the development of the next generation of the workforce, Bartlett formulated a plan for the company’s first summer student program, which led to the hiring and successful term completion of six students across five departments. This initiative has also resulted in a full-time, year-round paid student co-op program, which allows the organization to continuously develop and provide hands-on work experience for college and university students. Prior to her work at A3 Capital Partners, Bartlett served as president of the Ryerson Students’ Union, where she implemented HRM and POS systems to reduce overhead costs and streamline services, resolved more than 30 labour disputes, and participated in collective bargaining negotiations, mediation and conflict resolution.
MILENA CHIAPPETTA HR advisor NRS Media Canada
Milena Chiappetta joined NRS Media in April 2015 as HR coordinator and was promoted to the role of HR advisor less than a year later. Over the past 18 months, Chiappetta’s key contributions have included supporting and coaching management across NRS Media’s global districts, from North America to EMEA and Australia, which involved developing performance improvement plans and advising on employee relations issues. Chiappetta also led the implementation of the company’s first HRIS from the initial project planning stage to its rollout. She continues to work with BambooHR to implement custom features that help optimize workflows and processes for all departments globally. Her leadership in this initiative led to a 100% adoption rate by employees and managers across all offices. In recognition of her continued dedication and business contributions, Chiappetta was nominated for a Global Finance & Administration Award and received the North American Recognition Award at NRS Media’s 2017 North American conference.
KELLY MILLAR HR assistant Hydro Ottawa
Kelly Millar joined Hydro Ottawa in 2013; since then, she has taken on a number of projects that have demonstrated her initiative and ambition. In 2015, Millar coordinated an information architecture review of Hydro Ottawa’s intranet. After determining what needed to be done, she prepared a plan of action, purchased the required software, and delivered the findings and recommendations directly to the CHRO. Millar’s recommendations were quickly approved and implemented, resulting in higher employee satisfaction. In the same year, Millar coordinated a cross-divisional process re-engineering and automation project, which aimed to improve efficiencies for internal and external clients. In 2016, Millar was assigned a major HR project to stretch her ability to learn and execute strategies under a tight schedule, including the implementation of a module within a new HRIS system lined up for a company-wide rollout. Millar demonstrated a thorough understanding of the business process transformation involved and led HR stakeholders and colleagues through the process.
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7/11/2017 8:23:15 AM
FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT VALERIE GUZZO HR associate Regional Municipality of Peel
Valerie Guzzo has steadily climbed up the HR career ladder with her work at the Regional Municipality of Peel, where she now oversees a large portfolio of clients, some of which are unionized. Since assuming her current role, Guzzo has been involved in a number of high-level challenges, including taking part in a significant reorganization that impacted six teams and affected 40 employees, participating in collective bargaining, providing training for the management team on the new collective agreement, and acting as lead for a serious employee relations matter that required extensive consultation with internal and external parties. Guzzo also serves as the resident expert and provides related training on the topic of family status accommodation. Prior to becoming an HR associate at the municipality, Guzzo worked on a large project in talent acquisition that involved bringing employment offer letters in line to ensure the required information was included – a significant undertaking, considering that the Region of Peel has approximately 5,000 employees.
MARTA ALBINOWSKI HR business partner Movati Athletic
Marta Albinowski joined Movati Athletic in 2014 as HR coordinator, initially tasked with supporting the recruitment and HR administrative processes for one of Movati’s two clubs in Ottawa. In 2015 and 2016, the company successfully opened two new clubs, for which Albinowski was also responsible for staff recruitment. Shortly after that, her scope was extended to include HR support for Movati’s largest and busiest club. With the expansion came a transition of Albinowski’s role from recruitment and administration to full HR support, including employee relations and coaching and advice for the leadership team. Testimonials from her colleagues confirm that Albinowski is a trusted advisor to Movati’s staff, managers and leadership team – a difficult balance to get right. Constantly seeking to expand her HR knowledge, Albinowski is currently enrolled in the MBA HR leadership program at the University of Fredericton’s Sandermoen School of Business.
LAUREN GEROW People and values program manager Bond Brand Loyalty
In the past 12 to 18 months, Lauren Gerow has been focused on redesigning and implementing programs such as flexible vacation and introducing modern pay practices to support the growth strategy of customer loyalty specialist Bond Brand Loyalty. As people and values program manager, Gerow’s focus
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LUDIVINE BELTRAMELLI Talent senior manager KBS Canada
Ludivine Beltramelli joined marketing firm KBS a year ago; after just six months, she was promoted to senior manager for talent, in recognition of her efforts as a brand ambassador and her focus and impact on talent acquisition and retention for KBS’ Toronto and Montreal offices. In the short time she has been with KBS, Beltramelli has successfully re-established its LinkedIn page, supported the hiring of many new team members across both offices, introduced a welcome kit and guide, implemented a new hire orientation, re-enforced HR processes and procedures, finalized and distributed HR handbooks, and ensured continuous implementation of employee satisfaction surveys. Beltramelli believes her work in HR is about establishing presence, as her motto shows: “You can pretend to care, but you can’t pretend to show up.”
is on developing programs that enhance the employee experience while remaining aligned to overall business objectives. In addition, Gerow has been selected to lead a culture transformation initiative in order to create a client-centric environment within the company. She has also become a go-to person for critical projects such as HRIS implementation and change management planning, and possesses project management skills in everything from onboarding and event planning to operations and technology. Outside the company, Gerow serves as a volunteer engagement director for the HRPA Peel Chapter.
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7/11/2017 8:23:35 AM
ANGELA CERILLI HR manager IRC Building Sciences Group
When she became the first official HR representative for building engineer IRC Building Sciences Group last year, Angela Cerilli knew instantly that gaining buy-in from managers would be her biggest
challenge. Within the past 12 months, she has successfully proven herself to the entire team. To promote health and wellness, Cerilli launched a nationwide corporate gym membership subsidy program in February 2017 to not only help staff stay healthy but also to build camaraderie, encouraging employees to train together and fostering relationships and accountability. Cerilli also
managed to add vision care to the company’s group benefits plan and is soon planning to launch a group retirement saving plan with matching employer contribution. To ensure that HR remains attuned to employees’ needs, Cerilli conducted an employee survey on different program ideas; the gesture was commended as a sign of her commitment to constant communication.
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7/11/2017 8:23:41 AM
FEATURES
SPECIAL REPORT KAYLA FENTON HR advisor Fasken Martineau DuMoulin
Since joining the team at law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin in 2016, Kayla Fenton has become a leader in culture and employee relations. She serves as the first point of contact for employees on all issues, and she skillfully connects with each employee to guide them toward their full potential. In addition to focusing on initiatives that address teamwork, job satisfaction and employee retention, Fenton works closely with each department to cultivate a culture of collaboration, optimism and resilience. For teams struggling to achieve their goals, Fenton takes time to walk them through their issues, encouraging problem-solving through better communication. She is quick to assess feedback from staff and translate it to recommended actions for management on how to streamline and enhance processes. In addition to managing internal HR processes, Fenton also serves as primary recruiter for support staff at the firm’s Vancouver office. She works closely with lawyers and management to ensure that job descriptions accurately reflect the needs of the company, and ably communicates expectations and benefits to candidates selected to join Fasken.
KEYUR JANI Corporate learning and organizational development St. Joseph’s Health Centre, Toronto
After a successful stint at Deloitte India as an HR business partner working directly with the head of HR, Keyur Jani decided to test his HR capabilities in the global market, moving to Toronto in April 2016 as a permanent resident. He joined Deloitte Canada as a learning manager, becoming the first person from Deloitte India’s talent team to move to a different country within the organization. Currently, Jani is part of the corporate learning and organizational development team of St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto, where he leads the new employee orientation program, education funds and recognition initiatives. His innovative entrepreneurial skills led Jani to co-found a nonprofit HR knowledge community called More Than HR Global [MTHRG]. One of the largest HR knowledge communities in India, MTHRG has been providing learning and networking opportunities to more than 10,000 members at no cost for more than a decade. Jani has since initiated the MTHRG movement in Toronto by organizing Indo-Canadian HR professionals, thus forging new connections and creating a new community.
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VICTOR SEI HR generalist Vancouver Film School
In 2013, Victor Sei decided to shift from the tech industry to HR, starting out as a payroll administrator and HR assistant before becoming an HR generalist in 2015. Over the past 12 to 18 months, Sei has achieved several milestones for the Vancouver Film School and his own career. He led the shift toward a self-inputting payroll system, which involved individually training each department’s employees and corresponding managers on how the new system worked. Thanks to the new system, departments have been able to reduce the amount of time spent on payroll entries. Sei also provides recruitment and staffing support for several departments and deftly handles all employee relations issues within these teams. In response to a mandate from leadership for HR to become more locally and nationally involved in the industry and to promote talent-sharing, Sei has established a key partnership for the school with a high-level game studio. His efforts have not only helped to enhance the talent pipeline, but have also boosted the overall perception of HR within the Vancouver Film School.
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17/11/2017 10:28:49 PM
JANICE WONG HR manager QuadReal Property Group
Before the inception of QuadReal Property Group, Janice Wong was serving as contractual consultant for commercial real estate firm Bentall Kennedy. During her short stint there, she managed to learn the business of real estate and connect with seasoned leaders while leading recruitment efforts and employee relations for more than 200 people. After QuadReal was launched by Bentall Kennedy and three other industry players, Wong was hired on a permanent basis to lead the new company’s HR function. Over the last eight months, she has spearheaded the onboarding for more than 150 people, including facilitating training and development, creating the necessary HR systems and processes, and assisting in the building of the QuadReal brand.
YUNYI YANG HR generalist NRT Technology Corp.
Over the past year, Yunyi Yang has successfully delivered a number of HR solutions to support the business development needs of payment processing firm NRT Technology. To ensure competitive compensation levels, she developed a market-based compensation structure, which entailed thorough market research, job analysis and evaluations, and the creation of job families and salary guidelines. She also led the benefit renewal project for the US and Canada, studying employee feedback, working with the HR manager to select the best benefit provider and ensuring integration of the new plans. Yang was also the subject-matter expert in the implementation of NRT Technology’s new HRIS benefit module. She worked with the vendor to set up the plans in the system, performed user acceptance testing and created training videos, leading to a successful rollout of the module and system. Fully embracing and leveraging the strategic role of HR, Yang was actively involved in an M&A process for the rapidly growing tech company and worked with management to ensure a smooth transition by conducting HR due diligence for procedures including the separation of redundant staff, onboarding of acquired employees, new employee orientation, and integration of HRIS and benefits.
JABEEN BOGA Senior Human Resources Manager and HR Instructor Ashton College
In her undergraduate degree, Jabeen Boga studied business and found her way to Human Resources through a co-op job. Upon completion of her coop term, she specialized in Human Resources and graduating from SFU with honours, she was offered a position at KPMG that soon increased dramatically in responsibility following a team downsizing. Boga’s role soon grew to encompass a wide array of HR functions for KPMG’s five offices across Western Canada and placed her within the national team responsible for the implementation of a full HRIS system. Boga subsequently joined Symcor as an HR business partner and was responsible for increasing engagement through effective employee relations and performance management by implementing 360 reviews, engagement surveys and other tools. She then moved to TD Bank, where she served as a regional HR manager for Western Canada and was responsible for major initiatives such as implementation of job analysis and improvement of retention and transferability of employees, which led to a 20% increase in retention. Over the past 5 years, Boga has continued to build her competencies and has progressively made her way to a Senior Human Resources Manager role. In addition to this, she is part of the Ashton Faculty sharing her expertise on subjects such as total rewards, employee and labour relations, and organizational development. She also sits on the CPHR BC and Yukon Advisory Council and leads a Roundtable on Career Advancement.
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17/11/2017 10:28:43 PM
FEATURES
HR TECH
The best new HR tech HRDC chats with the finalists of the HR Tech Summit’s Tech Den to find out more about the latest innovations disrupting HR in Canada AS RAPIDLY evolving technology changes the way HR works, it’s more important than ever for professionals in the field to stay ahead of trends and embrace new tools like artificial intelligence. This year’s inaugural HR Tech Summit in Toronto drew 550 HR industry insiders to connect with and learn more about the latest technology that can enhance their businesses’ people operations, from smarter, more efficient recruitment systems to ways to manage human capital through clever analytics. The summit’s Tech Den competition, won by Zoom.ai, celebrated excellence in HR startups and entrepreneurship in Canada, offering finalists a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pitch their solutions to judges, investors and hundreds of HR professionals. The finalists spoke to HRDC about the success they’ve experienced by competing in the Tech Den.
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WINNER: ROY PEREIRA Founder, Zoom.ai
MATTHEW THOMAS Co-founder and CEO, Paddle HR
HRDC: How are you disrupting the HR technology space?
HRDC: How are you disrupting the HR technology space?
Roy Pereira: Zoom.ai is an automated assistant that delivers robust cost-saving capabilities and sophisticated multi-platform integrations. Not only does Zoom help HR professionals organize, schedule and keep track of their day-to-day lives, but it also aids in increasing their productivity and efficiency in the office.
Matthew Thomas: Paddle HR specializes in internal career mobility for companies with 1,000 or more employees. Our AI platform is powered by the career histories and skill profiles of more than 180 million people in North America – we analyze all that data for patterns in how people move from job to job, and then recommend the best internal candidates to recruiters and internal jobs to employees. We also push new opportunities when the time is right – before employees are at risk of leaving.
HRDC: What’s the secret behind your Tech Den win? RP: Zoom.ai took home the prize because we built technology that resonates with employees. Our technology is a massive shift from the old ways of working into a newer, better way. We’ve never had a better time than now to transform, powered by the growth of cloud applications and exponential technology leveraging AI, machine learning and natural language processing. The fact that technology can promise a more human workday is the innovation many of us have been waiting for.
HRDC: Should HR technology-related disruption be feared or embraced? RP: Completely embraced. Millennials and Generation Z have grown up in a technologyinfluenced world – and they expect their workplaces to be a continuation of that. We all want to work better, smarter and faster. Disruption-cultured teams are ready to adapt ways of working to hit ever-growing objectives. They are your biggest champions, and with the freedom to create, decide and adapt, they will thrive.
HRDC: What’s your long-term plan? MT: Paddle HR is working on going beyond internal mobility matching to help employees understand the career paths that are possible at their current company. Our database allows us to look [at] natural cross-functional career switches and highlight stretch roles at the right time in people’s careers. Our career pathing solution will go live to customers in early 2018.
HRDC: How did taking part in the Tech Den help your business? MT: Being a part of the Tech Den was a great experience for me and my team. We had the opportunity to meet HR leaders and innovators throughout the conference, understanding the challenges related to keeping good talent and the strategies companies are using to mitigate regrettable attrition.
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7/11/2017 8:25:36 AM
CHRIS BUTTENHAM Founder and CEO, Obie.ai
JAMES LA BRASH Founding managing director, InFlight Corporation
SERGEY KALNISH Founder and CEO, SmartHire
HRDC: What’s your unique value proposition or advantage within HR?
HRDC: What’s your unique value proposition or advantage within HR?
HRDC: How are you disrupting the HR technology space?
Chris Buttenham: Our unique spin on solving knowledge and learning management problems is to embed our solution within workspaces where teams already spend their time. Constant shoulder-tapping and frequently asked questions have been plaguing HR departments for years, and until now the only answer was to hire additional help or adopt a less-than-ideal LMS or wiki. With Obie, teams can ask questions inside a familiar interface and gain back their time.
James La Brash: InFlight transforms the legacy content from any web-based HR system into a responsive user interface on desktop, tablet and mobile. Our platform provides complete control over the user experience without changing the back-end system, business logic or data security model. This means InFlight customers deploy exceptional candidate and employee self-service experiences in weeks, not years – without disrupting business operations and at a fraction of the cost.
Sergey Kalnish: SmartHire is a data-driven recruitment platform that uses gamification and crowdsourcing to drastically improve the accuracy, speed and efficiency of the recruiting process. SmartHire is the first peer-to-peer recruitment platform focused on full-time jobs. We are building a new marketplace for qualified professionals to earn money while helping companies and candidates get matched.
HRDC: What’s your long-term plan? CB: We want to be the de facto solution for knowledge management across all organizations. We intend to be able to leverage data across teams and industries in order to drive more value and insights to our customers – for example, predictive analysis on your employee onboarding process to ensure new hires automatically have everything they need throughout their employee journey.
HRDC: How can HR convince the C-suite to invest in HR technology? CB: This is definitely a problem. The inconvenient truth is that HR has to work a little harder to push things across the finish line. Once we accept this, we need to better quantify the problems we are solving together. In other words, we should ask ourselves: What is the cost of not adopting this technology? If it’s a great enough opportunity, no stakeholder can turn that down.
HRDC: How can HR convince the C-suite to invest in HR technology? JLB: Ultimately you need to make a compelling business case. Return on investment can be generated in several ways, but you need to demonstrate a significant business impact over the status quo. In addition to the direct benefits of deploying InFlight, HR leaders and C-level executives realize the opportunity to reallocate millions in budget and resources from infrastructure upgrades to other strategic projects and initiatives. It’s a powerful message to ask prospects what they could do with an extra $10 million (or more) in savings returned to their organization’s budget.
HRDC: What’s your long-term plan? SK: The long-term vision is to continue using quality data to train our proprietary algorithm so that we can accurately predict the quality of hire that a company makes on our platform.
HRDC: Should HR technology-related disruption be feared or embraced? SK: Disruption is inevitable, so there is very little long-term value that comes from resisting or fearing it.
HRD: How did taking part in the Tech Den help your business? SK: I signed up for the Tech Den because the timing was perfect for us as an early-stage HR tech company, and we had a very positive experience.
HRDC: How did taking part in the Tech Den help your business? JLB: We made connections with several HR change leaders and innovative organizations, who are our ideal customers.
Due to overwhelming industry demand, the HR Tech Summit will return to Toronto on June 26 and 27, 2018.
www.hrmonline.ca
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7/11/2017 8:25:44 AM
FEATURES
SECTOR FOCUS: USER EXPERIENCE
Examining the UX in HR technology User experience and design thinking are hot topics in the tech world, but is HR ready to embrace the latest trends? TECHNOLOGY HAS changed almost every aspect of daily life at such a swift rate that consumer expectations are almost unrecognizable from 15 or even 10 years ago. Expectations around the way we work, shop and interact have all been transformed by tech-
to blend seamlessly with our everyday lives. User experience should be intuitive, but can the same rules apply to HR technology? According to Adam Rogers, chief technology officer of Ultimate Software, the answer is a resounding yes.
“At the heart of great user experience is simplifying people’s lives. The biggest accomplishment is solving a problem before users even realize there’s a problem, and that’s something that today’s HCM solutions are delivering” Adam Rogers, Ultimate Software nology, but it doesn’t end there. Modern consumers now expect the technology that drives all of these changes to itself keep up with the evolving and increasingly digital environment in which we live. As consumers, we expect our technology
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“Leading human capital management [HCM] solutions resemble consumer technology with intuitive, easy-to-use interfaces, and the explosion of mobile availability means users can now access their critical HCM data anytime, anywhere,” Rogers says.
“Work isn’t confined to the office anymore, and neither is HCM. At the heart of great user experience is simplifying people’s lives. The biggest accomplishment is solving a problem before users even realize there’s a problem, and that’s something that today’s HCM solutions are delivering.” Committing to a well thought-out research plan is a crucial first step in the life cycle of a user-friendly HR tech solution. Rogers and his team at Ultimate Software spend a lot of time storyboarding and working with user researchers in order to improve and validate the user experience. The team relies on ethnographers, usability engineers and usability researchers – roles that are entirely focused on studying users and figuring out what they want, even if they can’t verbalize it themselves. “Part of this innovation comes from watching how people navigate the software, keeping track of how many steps it takes to accomplish a goal or watching for a redundancy that the customer hasn’t identified yet,” Rogers says. “Many features and functionalities of enterprise software are personalized and user-dependent, so it’s important to be aware of the flow of the software and how that affects the user. By building instrumentation directly into the architecture of our software, we have visibility into usage patterns that drive usability refinements.” ‘Design thinking’ is a popular buzzword at the moment, but at its core it has a meaning that is pretty straightforward: putting the customer first. It’s an approach that aims to engender empathy for users and incorporates constant testing and re-testing along the way, with an emphasis on iteration and prototyping, Rogers explains. “The customer-centric approach enables developers to find unique pain points and brainstorm solutions that may not be obvious from a traditional software-design strategy – accelerating the rate of innovation and increasing value for users,” he says. “At Ultimate, we call it ‘service design thinking,’
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THE EVOLUTION OF HR SYSTEMS Benefits and compensation
Hiring/ recruiting
E-learning/ talent management
Performance/ cloud HRMS
Maturity of cloud vendors
MARKET GROWTH – ADOPTION
Cloud-based HRMS and talent/workforce management
Intergrated talent management
Learning management Recruiting/ sourcing Applicant tracking
Performance management Succession management
Real-time engagement
Social recognition
New recruitment and candidate tools
Analytics tools
Culture and team productivity Work-life balance/ wellness Mobile, anytime learning
Benefits administration
Complete app-based self-service
Compensation 2000
PROGRESSION OVER TIME
HR process automation
Next-gen feedback performance
Network recruiting
Workforce management
Human resource information systems [HRIS]
The new world of HR apps
Integrated talent management
2016
Cloud-based systems of management
Apps that make work-life better
Source: Bersin by Deloitte, 2016
and it’s more than just our framework for software engineering. It’s also the foundation of our service-based culture that nurtures agile decision-making and reinforces our business model of always putting people first.” The goal of service design thinking is equally easy to understand: Develop an experience that’s simple, intuitive and pleasurable for customers. Even if the back end of an application or cloud-based tool is incredibly complex, the user should have no idea that’s the case. Modern users expect to be able to easily navigate new software straight out of the box. By focusing on the user during every stage of development, and observing their behaviour and drawing conclusions
about their experience and what they want, Rogers believes that service design thinking helps deliver the types of HR tech solutions that modern users both want and expect. “The process relies on a constant feedback loop and intimate understanding of the user,” Rogers says. “This ongoing, two-way communication between developer and user is essential to everyone’s success, and it’s a key component of Ultimate’s lifelong partnerships with customers.” By focusing so closely on user experience, software engineers are able to avoid the biases that naturally occur when something is – either consciously or subconsciously – designed with the developer’s experience in
mind. One of Rogers’ favourite illustrations of this is to imagine a group of engineers who have been given the task of developing the most comfortable chair possible. “Now, remove the word ‘chair’ and tell another group of people to find the most comfortable way to keep someone off the ground,” Rogers says. “They’re likely to look at the problem from a different angle and develop a solution that’s much more innovative.” Historically, HR technology solutions have tended to fall into one of two categories, explains David Mennie, VP of product marketing and strategy for Saba Software. Systems have either been easy to administer but not focused on the user experience, or
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Ad 2 H
FEATURES
SECTOR FOCUS: USER EXPERIENCE THE ROLE OF TECH IN PEOPLE MANAGEMENT Automated talent management
Integrated talent management
Engagement/fit/ culture/analytics
Empowerment/ performance/ leadership
People management
Talent management • Integrated processes and systems • Talent as core to HR and business agenda
Focus on: • Culture • Engagement • Environment
• Leadership • Empowerment • Fit
Automate
Integrate
Engage
Empower
1990s–2000s
2004–2012
2012–2015
2016 and beyond Source: Bersin by Deloitte, 2016
“We do have to be very careful in how we apply these technologies ... because we don’t want to automate the human” David Mennie, Saba Software they are completely user-friendly but lack the required depth of functionality or administrative capability required. However, things are starting to change. “Striking a balance between consumer-grade usability and something that is really easy to administer is a trend we are starting to see in the HR tech space,” Mennie says. Mennie believes emerging technologies that are currently changing the way companies conduct their business have the potential to be used in HR software. Applications like conversational voice interfaces and chatbots give users the ability to interact with software in ways that don’t require a mouse,
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keyboard or other traditional action related to a device. Voice interface software allows users to have what appear to be normal conversations about tasks and projects with their laptop or cell phone. The implementation of cutting-edge solutions will enable HR leaders to interact with technology like never before, and the way that work happens will also be impacted. Mennie believes the traditional concept of the flow of work will become more integrated into new technologies, which will become trusted advisors to workers rather than systems they are forced to use in order to draw singular pieces of information.
“However, we do have to be very careful in how we apply these technologies, specifically to HR, because we don’t want to automate the human,” he says. “The whole point of HR is the human interaction. Anything we can do to bring important issues to the front and centre for workers and teams will definitely help to boost efficiency. These technologies have the potential to make conversations richer or more meaningful, which is a really awesome application of some of these new tools.” Rogers envisions a future where service design thinking supports all aspects of HR and HCM technology. As the technology continues to evolve, Rogers believes contacting the services department will become a last resort. “Software designers will aspire to prevent users from needing to take that step,” he says. “Ideally, services departments will be able to focus primarily on providing strategic partnership to customers, bringing increasingly valuable information to the executive table and communicating these insights in the simplest and most intuitive ways.”
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7/11/2017 8:18:30 AM
FEATURES
ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN
Flat chance: leadership in a flat hierarchy Flatter hierarchies are all the rage, but they do have downsides. Karlie Cremin outlines what it takes for leaders to succeed in a flatter corporate world I CAN actually remember the first time I heard the idea of a holacratic organization discussed. It was at an HR conference in the US. A gentleman was giving a talk about this new structure, where there are open job specifications, sometimes no job titles and perfectly dispersed power within a highly productive workforce. The entire room did three things in unison: confirmed what holacratic means, gasped and then laughed with abandon. Years later, it seems everyone is going flat.
communicate well and had a fairly easy flow among themselves. I started to think maybe they didn’t actually need to change that much at all. Then I asked, “So if that forecast doesn’t work out, whose job is on the line?” The room immediately fell silent, and no one would make eye contact. I felt compelled to follow up with, “So who is driving here? Who is deciding and communicating the strategy? Mitigating the risk?” It became apparent that no one was. And therein lies one of the main dangers
Without a title and power, most people feel no obligation to lead when things get tough. Subsequently, businesses can start to list From Google to Adobe to 3M to LinkedIn, everyone has a version of this new structure. Even organizations that have not actively chosen this structure seem to have had a flat (or at least flatter) structure forced upon them. And so many businesses we see are struggling with the realities of what it means to have a flat hierarchy and how you actively lead in it. I was visiting an organization recently to scope out a change management project. I was struck by how much each team member I met knew about the operations of the business and was willing to talk to me about the organization generally. The team seemed to
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of a flat hierarchy. Without a title and power, most people feel no obligation to lead when things get tough. Subsequently, businesses can start to list, even while giving the impression of moving forward. There are, of course, many challenges to this model; however, I will discuss what I see as the five key ones here. 1 Communication channels
Without clear structure around roles and reporting lines, communication can become confused. If there is not a chain of command as such, how do you make sure everyone has access to the information they need when
they need it? How do you prevent poor decisions from being made because available information was not distributed? It can also be a challenge to identify who should be told what. Organizations often either freeze and communicate nothing, or communicate everything and lose the meaning in the volume. Clearly, leaders must take charge of the communication and prioritization of information. 2 Matching a skill set to a task
In traditional hierarchies, allocating tasks is relatively easy – a person’s job title will generally give you a pretty good idea of their degree of control and skill. In flatter hierarchies, there tends to be much greater variation in proficiency between individuals who appear similar, which can be very dangerous in task allocation. Leaders in this environment must have a clear skills inventory of the organization and the resources within it, and be able to dynamically identify the best mix of resources to deliver a task to the highest quality with the lowest input. 3 The legal context
The legislative environment has not kept
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WHY GO FLAT? There are many reasons a company might opt for a flatter hierarchy, including: • A more agile business: Without the burden of traditional bureaucracy, organizations are free to make decisions swiftly. • Empowered employees: Employees are able to make a meaningful contribution to the business every day and are empowered to make decisions. This should result in a more engaged workforce. • Lower cost: This model significantly reduces overheads by dedicating less money to management staff. However, not all businesses are suited to this model. It is essential that any change to a business structure is properly planned and scenario-tested. Failing to plan really is planning to fail.
Even in an organization with an extremely flat hierarchy, there is still a need for individuals and teams to be held responsible and accountable pace with the changes that have occurred in this domain. Legally, the law holds certain individuals within an organization as more responsible than others for the conduct of the organization, whether they directly participate or not. A flat hierarchy does not excuse a director, for example, from their obligations. Organizations, and the leaders within them, need to fully understand this context and ensure that they are taking ownership of what they are legally responsible for. 4 Roles versus responsibilities
Even in an organization with an extremely flat hierarchy, there is still a need for individuals and teams to be held responsible and accountable for outcomes. Leaders in these organizations need to hold people to account for performance, to delegate responsibility fairly and equitably, and to set the tone for the behaviour that is acceptable within the organization.
• Be skilled communicators, adept at prioritizing and disseminating information • Fully understand their team and interact with them as peers while still maintaining power
5 Distribution of power
The goal of many of these structures appears to be to establish a democratic culture where the team works together toward a shared vision in harmony. The reality is that this is not always how teams work. We often see teams where situational leaders have emerged as a result of a flatter hierarchy – and we frequently see extremely negative behaviour in teams as a result. This is not necessarily because the situational leader is trying to lead the team astray – it’s simply that the power has been dispersed to a party who is not responsible for the outcome. Power ultimately should rest with the individual or team that is responsible. And this dispersion must be explicit – if not by an organization chart, then by other means. With this view, flat hierarchies require leaders to focus on developing new and different areas of skill. Leaders need to:
• Be dynamic and able to make decisions quickly based on consistent logic • Be knowledgeable about the legal context of their actions – they need to know what they are responsible for and the consequences for getting it wrong • Lead with purpose and charisma – there’s a lot more choice in who we follow now, and leaders, quite simply, need to be worth following Flat hierarchies are becoming the norm, and we need to equip our leaders to flourish in this brave new world. Karlie Cremin is a principal and founder of DLPA, which customizes programs for organizations to strategically develop their workforces to help the organization thrive into the future.
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7/11/2017 8:00:34 AM
4 ANNUAL CANADIAN HR AWARDS TH
A record number of nominations flooded in for this year’s Canadian HR Awards. Here, HRDC reveals all the winners across 20 categories
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY
HR’S CHAMPIONS celebrated a triumphant year at the fourth annual Canadian HR Awards, which honours the industry’s best and brightest stars. More than 600 guests, including a who’s who of professionals from across HR and the business community, toasted success at a glitzy gala at the magnificent Liberty Grand ballroom in Toronto, hosted by renowned TV personality Ben Mulroney. Twenty awards recognized high-flying HR professionals, teams and organizations for their outstanding achievements and for raising the bar for the profession across Canada and farther afield. Some of the winners were making their first appearance on stage, while others were returning champions, rewarded again for their consistent HR leadership. Prizes were awarded to industry insiders who pioneered bold and dynamic strategies to enable their organizations’ growth, from recruiting and engaging exceptional staff to embracing new technology in order to work smarter. Industry leaders were lauded for their work across HR’s many specialties, including an emphasis on diversity & inclusion and workplace culture – two priority areas for forward-thinking organizations wanting to attract and retain the best talent in their fields. For HR professionals, two categories in particular stood out: the Lifetime Achievement Award, which acknowledges a trailblazer who has shaped culture, talent and business strategy, and the Rising Star of the Year Award, which recognizes the industry’s need to adapt for the future. “The entries were of an incredibly high calibre, which really speaks to Canada’s leadership in human resources,” said Jessica Duce, who organized the Canadian HR Awards on behalf of Key Media, publisher of HRD Canada. “It’s humbling to see the incredible innovation that’s happening across the industry. I hope everyone is proud of what they have achieved and is inspired by the success of their peers.” The glamorous event came at a time of rapid evolution in the industry – HR professionals are frequently charged with helping their businesses streamline their operations or expand into new areas, all while supporting a changing workforce typified by shifting demographics and workers’ desire for more flexibility. Industry professionals are finding themselves regularly confronted by new challenges, including technological disruption and organizational change, as they work to futureproof their businesses. In 2017, evolving expectations from both employees and leaders have placed new demands on HR’s time and required those in the industry to continually develop their skills while also keeping a close eye on the changing world of work. This year’s Canadian HR Awards honoured those who have demonstrated excellence in their field as they helped their colleagues, staff and organizations adapt and thrive. www.mortgagebrokernews.ca www.hrmonline.ca www.australasianlawyer.com.au 41
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THE GLOBOFORCE AWARD FOR
BEST REWARD & RECOGNITION STRATEGY WINNER
HR SPECIALISTS know there’s no one best way to reward employees for a job well done, and it’s even harder amid shifting workforce demographics – millennials seek much different forms of recognition than generations past. O2E Brands is at the forefront of dreaming up innovative yet relevant strategies to say thanks to staff.
O2E Brands
FINALISTS BlackBerry FCT IndustryBuilt Online Business Systems
“To be recognized for recognizing our employees is pretty amazing” SHELBY ROGERS
Points International
O2E Brands
The Minto Group
O2E Brands’ culture centres on happy, passionate people and celebrating their achievements every single day. “We’re all about people – that’s the O2E Brands catchphrase – so it’s about recognizing good work and empowering people to do the best they can,” says people generalist Shelby Rogers. “We’ve really been working hard over the last few years, and it’s amazing to get recognized.” Whether it’s a simple “thank you” or a dramatic gesture, the value of rewards and recognition can’t be overstated, says Sylvain Bergeron, country manager for award sponsor Globoforce. “We definitely think you can never say ‘thank you’ enough to colleagues and employees; in doing so, it has a true impact on the company as a whole.”
Sylvain Bergeron
Shelby Rogers
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Globoforce, pioneer of the WorkHuman® movement, helps make work more human for millions of people and organizations worldwide. Its cloud-based social recognition software helps build award-winning cultures where employees feel more appreciated and socially connected at work – driving a sense of belonging and inspiring the entire organization to reach its full potential and achieve business success. Founded in 1999, the company is headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, and Dublin, Ireland. For more details, visit globoforce.com
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7/11/2017 8:13:02 AM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE HRD CANADA MAGAZINE READERS’ CHOICE AWARD FOR
BEST INDUSTRY SERVICE PROVIDER WINNER
HR PROFESSIONALS are always on the lookout for tools to help
Ultimate Software
streamline their many responsibilities. Ultimate Software’s cloudbased human capital management solutions cut the time HR spends on administrative tasks so they can focus on pursuing their organization’s strategic goals and building culture. Cecile Alper-Leroux, Ultimate Software’s vice-president of human
FINALISTS ADP Morneau Shepell
“It’s something that we believe in so firmly, and to have that be validated is a phenomenal feeling”
Workday WorkTango
CECILE ALPER-LEROUX Ultimate Software
Cecile Alper-Leroux Andrew Cowan Wat Tyler
capital management innovation, says this award reinforces why using technology to put people first is a vital component of HR. “The HR Awards are about celebrating people who care for other people, and as an organization that was founded on the principles of caring for people and taking care of them, there’s no better award really.” Iain Hopkins, editor of HRD Canada magazine, says Ultimate Software is among “the best of the best” in providing a critical resource to enable the work of HR professionals, adding that “a fantastic service provider can make an HR team and the services it provides look amazing.” PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Human Resources Director Canada concentrates on the real issues and challenges facing HR professionals and the industry, with in-depth features and analysis of what really matters. HRDC features high-level case studies, international and local profiles, and interviews with HR directors and industry leaders from around the globe. HRDC has positioned itself as the magazine of choice for the country’s most influential HR decision-makers. For more details, visit hrmonline.ca
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7/11/2017 8:13:13 AM
THE AWARD FOR
EXCELLENCE IN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION WINNER
A DIVERSE workforce makes an organization more appealing to
Miller Thomson
FINALISTS Amec Foster Wheeler Nuclear Canada City of Vancouver Colliers International Hostelling International – Canada Pacific Mountain Region KLF Media Matrix Search Group
both prospective talent and customers – and it can only happen through HR’s dedication to specialist programs that help ensure success for women, visible minorities, persons with disabilities, indigenous populations and LGBTQ employees.
“We’ve spent a lot of time this year making sure that we have a diversity and inclusivity focus through all of the things we do, and we bring that lens to every decision we’re making”
Parq Vancouver
KENT DAVIDSON
TD Bank Group – Campus
Miller Thomson
Vancouver Airport Authority
Tim Morton
Leading law firm Miller Thomson is a pioneer of diversity & inclusion, thanks to its Indigenous Law Student Internship Program, plus a national Inclusion and Diversity Committee and national director of talent and inclusion, as well as learning programs to generate staff awareness, dialogue and action. “If we’re going to be an organization that understands our community, that understands the world, we can only do that if we have a diverse workforce and people who understand different cultures and different backgrounds, so we think diversity & inclusion is a really important element of our future success,” says Miller Thomson chair Kent Davidson. Award sponsor Prompta Consulting Group agrees. “We are the first consulting company within Canada to be certified diverse,” says managing partner Tim Morton. “Our mantra is all about being your whole self at work and not checking yourself at the door. People don’t want to shy away from showing who they really are.”
Kent Davidson
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7/11/2017 8:13:20 AM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE AWARD FOR
BEST HR COMMUNICATION STRATEGY WINNER
IN THIS age of major organizational change, effective HR communi-
McDonald’s Canada
cation strategies are the key to keeping leaders and employees looped in to your vision – but crafting the right message isn’t always straightforward. McDonald’s Canada’s HR team tapped into the expertise of their communications counterparts to design a customized, mobilefriendly platform for the company’s 90,000 staff members to stay
FINALISTS CAA Club Group [CCG] Corus Entertainment
“We’re so excited and so proud that we can represent our crew every single day”
Enercon Canada Horizon North Logistics Indigo Books & Music IndustryBuilt Manulife
MICHELLE DRODGE
Tangerine
McDonald’s Canada
Tata Consultancy Services
updated on schedules, announcements and exciting company news, from new menu items to employee competitions. McDonald’s Canada’s online community manager, Michelle Drodge, says the platform brings the HR team’s motto – ‘inform, engage and inspire’ – to life. “We want to make sure we do that every single day and make sure we are doing the best we can for our crew, making sure they know that they’re valued and that we adore them.” The strategy was outstanding in a competitive field, says Talene Palvetzian, corporate manager of leadership development at award sponsor Ontario Public Service. “We appreciate the value of spreading a strong message,” she says. “McDonald’s has an incredible HR communication strategy that will help spread the word about what they do and change the world.”
Vancouver Airport Authority
Amelie Villeneuve
Talene Palvetzian
Michelle Drodge
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7/11/2017 8:13:28 AM
THE XREF AWARD FOR
MOST INNOVATIVE USE OF HR TECHNOLOGY WINNER JYSK
FINALISTS City of Burlington City of Windsor Coastal Community Credit Union Indigo Books & Music The Co-operators Group Traction on Demand
WITH ADMINISTRATIVE tasks and strategic priorities competing for HR’s time, shrewd industry professionals are maximizing their use of smart technology. JYSK is ahead of the curve in that regard, thanks to its HR transformation project, which automated transactional but time-intensive tasks while providing an enhanced service to users. JYSK’s director of HR, Matthew Burns, says the transformation project was a major undertaking, but one that will continue to pay dividends in efficiency for many years to come.
“There were a lot of great nominees for this award, so for us to be recognized was truly remarkable” MATTHEW BURNS
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Xref is an online workflow tool that automates the candidate referencing process via an easy to use, mobile-ready, fully reportable cloud-based platform. Xref addresses one of the biggest challenges in the recruitment and onboarding process by collecting reference feedback online, saving time and money for employers. It also protects companies from breaches in privacy, discrimination and potential reference fraud. Xref frees up substantial amounts of time that recruiters can utilize to strategically source talent, rather than chase and contact references. The process is proven to collect significantly more reference data than traditional phone-based methods, reduce the risk of reference fraud and strengthen governance around referencing. Since its launch in 2009, Xref has been providing candidate-referencing solutions to HR consultants, recruiters and employers alike. For more details, visit xref.com
JYSK
“HR has been much maligned in the area of innovation, so for us to be able to look at innovation first and foremost is key,” he says. “It allows our HR people to spend their time where it’s most valuable – with their colleagues and our customers, and not behind spreadsheets and computer screens.” He urges all HR teams to embrace technology to streamline their roles before they’re left behind – a call echoed by John Dawson, North American regional manager at award sponsor XRef. “HR as a function has been behind the times,” Dawson says. “Technology helps make the lives of HR profesMatthew sionals much easier.”
Burns
John Dawson
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7/11/2017 8:13:39 AM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE ULTIMATE SOFTWARE AWARD FOR
BEST WORKPLACE CULTURE WINNER
AS COMPANIES increasingly prioritize culture to help achieve their
MD Financial Management
business outcomes, Kathy Labrecque’s extraordinary vision for engaging MD Financial Management’s employees stands out, thanks to its emphasis on recognizing outstanding achievement and giving workers a voice. “We’re always working on making sure that we have the best employee experience humanly possible,” says Labrecque, the firm’s VP
FINALISTS Actionable.co Empire Communities Lotek Wireless
“Culture’s everything. For us, it’s all about the employee experience. We’ve focused on that for 10 years – that’s all we’ve thought about”
Scalar Decisions Uberflip WilsonHCG
KATHY LABRECQUE MD Financial Management PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Ultimate Software’s cloud-based UltiPro helps simplify and improve work experiences for everyone. With UltiPro, you can deliver personalized recruiting and onboarding experiences, guide employees through important benefits choices, simplify complex payroll computations, efficiently manage time and attendance, support continuous performance management and development, and build proactive succession plans for the future. Most importantly, UltiPro’s solutions are supported by powerful business intelligence and reporting to help drive smarter, people-focused business results. Perfect for businesses with Canada-based locations and/or employees, UltiPro’s solutions comply with HR legislation governed by the Canada Labour Code and Provincial/Territorial Employment Standards Acts. For more details, visit ultimatesoftware.com
of human resources. “We are top quartile from an employee engagement perspective, and we work on it every single day.” Award sponsor Ultimate Software is also a leader in designing a culture that engages and motivates its international team. “Our culture was built on putting people first and is based on three pillars: culture, service and products,” says Cecile Alper-Leroux, Ultimate Software’s VP of human capital management innovation. “Without culture, you have nothing. If employees are first, they provide the service, and the products follow.”
The MD Financial Management team
Cecile Alper-Leroux
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7/11/2017 8:13:47 AM
THE TALENTEGG AWARD FOR
BEST EMPLOYER BRANDING WINNER Mattamy Homes
FINALISTS City of Mississauga Douglas College Royal Bank of Canada Sparkrock TD Bank Group – Campus
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
THE KEY to enticing the best talent – and holding onto them – is a strong employer brand. Mattamy Homes takes a unique approach to doing business, and the company knows the importance of showcasing why working there is just as special. Teamwork, drive, commitment and innovation are central to Mattamy’s vision, and its branding ensures employees, customers and prospective talent all know what the company stands for.
“We really view this as our employee brand, not our employer brand, so it’s by them, for them, and it’s just been an incredible privilege to help them develop it” BRENT CAREY Mattamy Homes
hatching student & grad careers
TalentEgg has been a go-to career resource for students and new graduates since its inception in 2008, and nine years later, we are committed to the continued innovation of campus recruitment. We focus on meaningful, career-launching internships, co-op positions and entry-level jobs, and provide free career resources created specifically for students and recent grads. We have an average of 250,000 visitors to our site each month, thousands of jobs and event listings, and have worked with several hundred employers over the years, including the City of Toronto, Apple, IBM, CFLA, Xerox, P&G, Labatt, BMO, Rogers, Bell and TJX. As the most popular online resource for students and grads looking for meaningful, careerlaunching opportunities, there’s no better place to share your recruitment message and job opportunities to reach top Gen Y and Z talent. For more details, visit talentegg.ca
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“Employer branding is about the ability to help share our story – both externally, to attract the right type of people that we want to help join Mattamy, and internally, for a sense of engagement and pride amongst our employees,” says VP of communications Brent Carey. “Employee branding is becoming one of the most effective ways to tell their stories,” says Mary Barroll, president of award sponsor TalentEgg. “It’s telling the story of the employer by the employee. It allows them to express the company’s value proposition.”
The Mattamy Homes team
Mary Barroll
7/11/2017 8:13:56 AM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE BEYOND BOARDROOMS AWARD FOR
BEST EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY WINNER
ENSURING EMPLOYEES realize the purpose behind their work is
Niagara Casinos
crucial to keeping them motivated, loyal and productive. Niagara Casinos’ 4,000 employees are excited to learn, grow and make a difference, thanks to their HR team’s commitment to engagement. “Employee engagement, for us, is so important,” says Jules Bartley, manager of communication, events and recognition at Niagara Casinos. “Our company has been around for 20 years, and we have a
FINALISTS AstraZeneca Canada Cisco Systems Canada DIALOG
“We have employees that have been there for a week and some that have been there for 20 years ... to engage those employees is so important”
Empire Communities Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Indigo Books & Music
JULES BARTLEY Niagara Casinos
very diverse population. It’s a massive, massive accomplishment, and it is such an honour.” Bartley and team go above and beyond to ensure each employee knows their work matters, a dedication that’s shared by award sponsor Beyond Boardrooms. “Employee engagement is what we represent,” says CEO Rick Patrick. “The intent behind our programs is to provide incentives to create engagement and improve performance.” PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Rick Patrick Jules Bartley
Beyond Boardrooms introduces My Rewards Unlimited [MRU], a professionally managed employee recognition & rewards program designed to meet the needs of businesses of any size or structure. The program is an online points-based recognition program that works to create positive culture within an organization. It is interactive, engaging and promotes incentive and employee engagement, which leads to higher morale and increased productivity. For more details, visit beyondboardrooms.com
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THE ADP CANADA AWARD FOR
CANADIAN HR RISING STAR OF THE YEAR WINNER Christina Juneja
Business Development Bank of Canada
FINALISTS Diana Trasolini Paladin Security Group
DESPITE HAVING been in the industry for just a few years, Christina Juneja, HR consultant at Business Development Bank of Canada, stands out for her dedication and achievements. Having begun her career in administrative support on BDC’s financing side, Juneja is the type of business-minded HR professional organizations are vying to attract.
“I know the finalists were such a great category of people, so to have this opportunity so early on in my career is incredible”
Elise Elliott Colliers International
Emily Dunphy Wolseley Canada
Izzie Egan BLANKSLATE Partners
CHRISTINA JUNEJA
Jabeen Boga
Business Development Bank of Canada
Ashton College
Margaret McBeath Amec Foster Wheeler Nuclear Canada
Marie Josée Normand Solertia Consulting Group
Starleeta Brown Centennial College Alumni Association, Centennial College and Glen Corporation
“What’s important to me is to see beyond the transactional day-to-day stuff – it’s going beyond and seeing that these are people who spend more time at work than they do at home, so making it something valuable for them,” Juneja says. Award sponsor ADP knows the value of attracting, developing and empowering talented employees like Juneja. “It’s great to nurture and promote talent,” says David Heather, ADP’s VP of HR. “For ADP, we couldn’t be more proud to recognize the HR Rising Star of the Year.” PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
David Heather Christina Juneja
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ADP, one of the world’s largest providers of business outsourcing and human capital management solutions, serves more than 620,000 businesses of all types and sizes in more than 125 countries. ADP invests more than US$750 million per year in technology to ensure that we continue to lead the market with our intuitive and secure solutions. We help businesses of all sizes – small, big, national or global – to increase productivity, improve employee engagement, and meet regulatory and legislative requirements using our solutions for human resources, payroll, talent management, tax and benefits administration. For more details, visit adp.ca
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7/11/2017 8:14:15 AM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE VENNGO AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR
FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL & MENTAL WELLNESS WINNER CAA Club Group [CCG]
FINALISTS BlackBerry Fibernetics PointClickCare Sklar Wilton & Associates [SW&A] Sun Life Financial Traction on Demand Vancouver Airport Authority
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
TOP HR professionals know that investing in your workforce’s financial, physical and mental wellness is more important today than ever before. At CAA Club Group, that means designing programs that engage employees in their own health and well-being, including corporate fitness challenges, an on-site wellness consultant and mindfulness initiatives, as well as a focus on financial literacy and an outstanding safety strategy. “Though we feel like a big company, we are a family-run organization, and we feel like we’re family,” says Tony Tsai, CAA Club Group’s
“Our main mission is always to keep our members safe, and to also make their day better. For us, the only way to do that is to make sure our employees’ days are better” TONY TSAI CAA Club Group
Venngo provides world-class group discount programs with a focus on financial and physical well-being. Our programs integrate seamlessly to support other elements of total compensation, including medical/dental benefits, EAP and employee wellness programs. More than 350 health and wellness partnerships provide a broad selection of opportunities for employees to affordably pursue active, healthy lifestyles, while discounted fitness memberships increase participation rates in wellness initiatives. We also help everyone cope better with everyday financial pressures by providing discounts on more than 1,200 other products and services. Reducing financial stress and improving physical fitness decreases stress-related costs to the business, such as absenteeism, presenteeism, medical/benefits costs, drug plan fees and disability costs. For more details, visit venngo.com
director of corporate communications, “so we want our employees to feel they’re always taken care of and that they’re part of our family.” For award sponsor Venngo, helping organizations keep their teams healthy is front of mind every day. “We provide benefits to HR departments that help HR executives with custom programs that specialize in the financial well-being of employees,” says president John Moore. “We also offer cost savings for mental and health wellness, such as gym memberships.”
The CAA Club Group team
John Moore www.hrmonline.ca www.australasianlawyer.com.au
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THE SENECA AWARD FOR
BEST LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY WINNER ADP Canada
FINALISTS Best Buy Canada CCO (formerly Cancer Care Ontario) City of Vancouver Hydro-Québec/Ellicom Ellisdon Corporation Hydro Ottawa
ENSURING EMPLOYEES are gaining the right skills and know-
ledge – through a method where they learn best – requires dedication from talented HR professionals. ADP Canada has excelled in ensuring its learning & development programs directly benefit its business, with a focus on talent management, leadership and igniting the potential of its people.
“It’s incumbent on HR to invest in its people ... and that’s what we do at ADP” DAVID HEATHER ADP Canada
Sienna Senior Living Tolko Industries
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
“It’s a great recognition of all the work that the team does driving talent for ADP,” says David Heather, VP of HR at ADP. “Talent is at the heart of every great organization. If you can combine talent and technology, organizations can be tremendously successful.” It’s a passion shared by Seneca College, which sponsored the award. “This is what we do,” says Maria Sairoglou, chair of Seneca’s School of Leadership and Human Resources. “Our entire organization is focused on learning and development of our students and our employees. Every single person who walks in [our] doors, we want to develop into highly skilled, highly employable graduates.”
The ADP Canada team Seneca College – with campuses in Toronto, York Region and Peterborough – offers degrees, diplomas, certificates and graduate programs renowned for their quality and respected by employers. It is one of the largest comprehensive colleges in Canada, offering nearly 300 full-time, part-time and online programs. By combining the highest academic standards with work-integrated and applied learning, expert teaching faculty, and the latest technology, Seneca ensures graduates are career-ready. For more details, visit senecacollege.ca
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7/11/2017 8:14:29 AM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO AWARD FOR
NEXT GENERATION EMPLOYMENT INNOVATION OF THE YEAR WINNER Hydro Ottawa
FINALISTS Bell Canada BlueCat Colliers International RBC Wealth Management Ultimate Software
WITH A major chunk of Canada’s workforce poised to retire within
the next decade, organizations know their future lies with young generations. That’s why Hydro Ottawa is proactively bolstering its trades and technical employee base with apprentices, diversifying its talent through a bold diversity & inclusion plan, and supporting local programs for youth and women. A key initiative for the employer is partnering with educational institutions whose students are making
“There’s so much opportunity in partnerships. The academic institutions are just craving opportunities to partner” CINDY NEWELL Hydro Ottawa
critical decisions about their future careers. “We thoroughly believe that our future is the next generation, and our programs are designed with that in mind,” says Cindy Newell, Hydro Ottawa’s acting director of organizational development. Award sponsor University of Waterloo sees the immense value in investing in young workers. “It’s extremely important for us to be on the cutting edge,” says University of Waterloo’s executive director of co-op education, Ross Johnston. “We work very closely with HR departments and their campus recruitment teams.” PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Ross Johnston
Cindy Newell
Discover what University of Waterloo students can do for your talent needs. Canada’s most innovative university offers work-ready co-op, graduating students and alumni from more than 120 accredited programs who can adapt to your unique business needs and make a strong contribution to your organization’s success. We’re grooming the next generation of the workforce and invite you to become a part of it. For more details, visit uwaterloo.ca/hire
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THE IVEY BUSINESS SCHOOL AWARD FOR
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE HR INDUSTRY WINNER Zabeen Hirji
Royal Bank of Canada This is the highest honour and most coveted award at the Canadian HR Awards. This award recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the industry as a whole through visionary people management strategies and leadership. This award acknowledges an HR professional with an established history of distinguished service to the profession and who has exhibited leadership and provided inspiration to others in the sector, while putting the interests of the industry at the top of their priorities.
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
ACROSS CANADA’S HR profession, one name stands out in terms
of dedication to employees and as a pioneer of diversity & inclusion. Zabeen Hirji, who recently retired from RBC after spending the past 10 years as the bank’s global chief human resources officer, names many highlights from her career in HR. Those include leading RBC’s project to define its ‘collective ambition’ by articulating its purpose and modernizing its values – important work that resonates not only with employees, but also with the bank’s customers and communities.
“It’s a great way for me to cap my 40-year career at RBC and 20 years in human resources. In many ways, it’s a way for me to also recognize my team, people that I work with now and worked with before, who are really a part of the award” ZABEEN HIRJI Royal Bank of Canada
Ivey Business School at Western University offers a range of executive education programs from its three campuses in London, Toronto and Hong Kong. With 67 years of experience in executive education, Ivey’s custom and open enrolment programs take a learn-by-doing approach. Our interactive learning experience will have an immediate impact on the way you think, act and lead across an entire enterprise. Built around each participant’s needs, experiences and aspirations, our approach to executive education is fed by real-world knowledge and best practices from around the world. Being part of Ivey means you share the Ivey Experience with over 35,000 alumni located in more than 80 countries. For more details, visit ivey.uwo.ca/executive
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“What we’re certainly seeing more and more [is] that at the end of the day, it’s our people who serve our customers,” Hirji says. “Our people are our brand; our people are what make the difference. While a lot of companies have been saying, ‘Our people are our biggest asset’ for a long time, I think we’re at a place today where everyone really believes that and is taking steps to really look to see what they can do to build better employee experiences, to build environments where we’re able to attract the best and then bring the best out of them.” Canadian businesses today are investing a huge amount in attracting, retaining and engaging talent, and Ivey Executive Education’s executive director Mark Healy says the champions of people within organizations are worth celebrating. “You can argue there is no more important function in a business,” he says, “so to have an awards night that recognizes the HR industry is extremely important.”
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7/11/2017 8:14:44 AM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Zabeen Hirji
Mark Healy
www.hrmonline.ca www.australasianlawyer.com.au
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THE AWARD FOR
EXTERNAL HR CONSULTANCY OF THE YEAR WINNER
IT’S NOT just the HR professionals within organizations who are
Clear HR Consulting
FINALISTS Athena Training and Consulting BLANKSLATE Partners e2r epitome.HR MaxPeople Peak Performance Human Resources Corp. Predictive Success Corporation The Leadership Agency Vertical Bridge Corporate Consulting XNL HR
Klaudia Williams Cissy Pau
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proving their value – external consultants play a hugely important role in helping companies large and small manage their people to achieve their strategic business objectives. Finalists in 2016, Cissy Pau and her team at Clear HR Consulting were winners this year, thanks to their innovative employer branding work.
“We have such amazing clients, and we have done some amazing things – helping them improve their people practices, helping them manage their people better and be better employers” CISSY PAU Clear HR Consulting
It’s been a year of “happy clients, great testimonials and great referrals,” Pau says. “We’ve been working with the difficulties that a lot of our clients are dealing with right now – finding skills labour and attracting and retaining skilled staff, and trying to build their employer brands.” Those success stories speak to the quality offerings of external consultants, says Nita Chhinzer, associate professor of HR Nita Chhinzer management at the University of Guelph, the award’s sponsor. “It’s important to recognize [consultants] because they demonstrate the value HR adds not only to the companies they belong to, but the kind of problems they can solve for other companies.”
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7/11/2017 8:15:03 AM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE HR TECH AWARD FOR
HR TEAM OF THE YEAR, FEWER THAN 500 EMPLOYEES IN CANADA WINNER Pelmorex Media
FINALISTS ACL Enercon Canada Fairmont Winnipeg KLF Media KUBRA Nexonia/Tallie Vancouver Film School The Clorox Company of Canada
Andrew Cowan
Kelly Cresencia
GREAT HR has no one-size-fits-all solution, and at Pelmorex
Media – home of The Weather Network – VP of people and culture Anna Petosa is focused on personalization to ensure a great experience for every employee. Petosa says her team takes the time to understand the needs of each business unit and its staff, and create bespoke HR solutions for them.
“To have external recognition means a lot for the team. It’s an impressive list of finalists, and to be recognized among that group is amazing” ANNA PETOSA Pelmorex Media
Petosa names moving “towards a culture of performance, recognition and results,” with an emphasis on talent acquisition and employee experience, as her team’s greatest achievement this year. “Our engagement scores are through the roof,” she says. Key Media’s national sales manager for events and conferences, Andrew Cowan, applauded Pelmorex’s bold HR vision, which outclasses organizations many times its size. “When you consider that small and medium enterprises in Canada are responsible for over 95% of new jobs created in the past decade,” Cowan says, “this award is important for recognizing a leader in human resources for Lisa Pike Canadian SMEs.”
Anna Petosa
Yvonne Odonkor Shakila Kumaramohan
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THE FELDMAN DAXON PARTNERS AWARD FOR
BEST TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY WINNER LoyaltyOne
FINALISTS AV Gauge & Fixture Beedie Development Group Canterbury Foundation PointClickCare
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
FINDING THE best talent is only part of the equation for HR.
Helping those employees develop and grow, and retaining them, can be an even bigger challenge. At LoyaltyOne, it’s an integral part of talent development manager Ray Lam’s work. “What we’re trying to do is build up the talent pool and retain and develop our associates,” Lam says. “It’s the most important asset we have in our organization. The HR team puts a lot of work into it.”
“What we’re trying to do is build up the talent pool and retain and develop our associates. It’s the most important asset we have in our organization” RAY LAM LoyaltyOne
Feldman Daxon Partners is Canada’s longest-standing national provider of career transition, executive search and coaching/ leadership development services. Since our inception in 1991, we have been at the forefront of innovation in human resources consulting by integrating these three services. We have earned a reputation for delivering high-quality services that have positively influenced the human capital at many of Canada’s prominent organizations. Our history of helping organizations recruit and retain their key employees, and helping individuals rebrand themselves through career transitions, has given us a unique understanding of all aspects of the human capital cycle and an unparallelled network of business contacts and decision-makers. We pride ourselves in designing best-in-class methods of delivering customized, one-on-one services. For more details, visit feldmandaxon.com
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The consumer rewards company is dedicated to its associates’ success, helping them develop skills to achieve their career goals, which has led to its extraordinarily high retention rates. Corey Daxon, president of award sponsor Feldman Daxon Partners, recognizes the value of HR’s investment in excellent talent management. “What’s happening in HR makes such a positive impact on where organizations are going, and it’s really such an exciting focus for helping to make businesses better,” he says. “Businesses are paying much more attention to talent strategy these days. It’s an honour to be involved with this award for sure.”
Erika Martin Ray Lam
Evelyne Wright
Corey Daxon
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7/11/2017 8:15:22 AM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE MAXSYS STAFFING & CONSULTING AWARD FOR
MOST EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT STRATEGY WINNER J&M Group
FINALISTS BlueCat Business Development Bank of Canada [BDC]
EVEN IN 2017, the back and forth of the hiring process remains a
drag on recruiters’ time. Tech consulting firm J&M Group built its own AI-based recruiting system to ease the workloads of its hiring team so they can focus on finding the best talent. “We actually developed an AI model to do the best recruitment strategy, so this way we can get the right talent from the market very quickly compared to other companies,” says J&M Group’s Jatinder
LoyaltyOne
“It’s a great honour. The good thing is, we were competing with our clients, and we won it. So it’s a great achievement for us”
Talent Matters
JATINDER BANWAIT
CAA Club Group [CCG] Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Jazz Aviation
Tata Consultancy Services TeraGo Ubisoft Toronto
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
MaxSys Staffing & Consulting is a national staffing and consulting leader with operations in 12 cities across Canada. Since 1993, we have been providing quality contract and temporary help services to the private and public sector. We offer all the experience, quality and professionalism that you have come to expect from a national firm. The winner of numerous business awards, MaxSys has been recognized as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies and has more than 2,500 deployed consultants and employees across Canada. For more details, visit maxsys.ca
J&M Group
Banwait. After seeing the platform’s success in its own recruiting, J&M is looking to pitch it to banks looking to streamline their own candidate systems. That ingenuity was commended by award sponsor MaxSys Staffing & Consulting. “When you find something that works, something that is outside the box, it is really special,” says MaxSys vice-president Richard Bond. “It’s so important to recognize those who develop these strategies every day.”
Phanishayi Kidambi Raghavan
Javid Mytheen Jatinder Banwait
Richard Bond
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THE AIRD & BERLIS LLP AWARD FOR
CANADIAN HR CHAMPION (CEO) OF THE YEAR WINNER
BUSINESS LEADERS across Canada are increasingly recognizing
Karim Mamdani
Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
FINALISTS Carol Leaman Axonify
HR’s skill and importance in driving business strategy. At the forefront of championing HR’s work is Karim Mamdani, president and CEO of Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences. “I can’t say enough about the ability to engage people and bring them into your process,” Mamdani says. “One of the things that I’m particularly proud of is that our engagement scores have gone way up.
“I don’t think you could do anything in any business – especially in a high-touch business like this one – without the strength of people”
David Pilz IndustryBuilt
Laurie Schultz ACL
Randy Frisch Uberflip
KARIM MAMDANI
Rick Watkin
Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
KUBRA
Robert Gialloreto Consumer Protection BC
People are feeling so much confidence in the leadership that the organization has been able to demonstrate, and they’re really releasing that creativity that they have innately. It’s just brilliant.” Steven Zakem, managing partner at award sponsor Aird & Berlis, says HR professionals deserve recognition for their outstanding work. “They’re the lifeblood of organizations in terms of implementing necessary policies and creating work environments where people can thrive.”
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Steven Zakem CMYK UNCOATED
Aird & Berlis LLP, located in the heart of Toronto’s Bay Street business district, comprises a diverse group of more than 150 of Canada’s most talented lawyers. The firm provides a wide range of legal services for banking, corporate/commercial, corporate finance, energy, environmental, insolvency and restructuring, litigation, municipal and land-use planning, real estate, and tax. For more details, visit airdberlis.com
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Karim Mamdani
www.hrmonline.ca www.australasianlawyer.com.au
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7/11/2017 8:15:43 AM
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE ACCOMPASS AWARD FOR
HR TEAM OF THE YEAR, 500 EMPLOYEES OR MORE IN CANADA WINNER
FOR MANY organizations, bolstering diversity and employee wellness are currently top of mind. Both are key priorities for Ipsos Canada, which launched both a diversity initiative and a health and wellness program in the past year. Ipsos Canada’s VP of HR, Caren HealyJones, says that despite the moving landscape of HR, it’s an exciting time to be in the industry. “In the past, we’ve been undervalued, but I think our value is definitely
Ipsos Limited Partnership
FINALISTS Bank of Canada BCLC
“I’m beyond words. With all the companies that are so much bigger than ours, this is wonderful”
Coastal Community Credit Union Corus Entertainment DIALOG Ingram Micro Canada
CAREN HEALYJONES
Jazz Aviation
Ipsos Canada
Michael Garron Hospital | Toronto East Health Network
starting to be recognized,” she says. “Things are changing very quickly.” Enabling employees to be their best selves is central to any company’s success, says Sarah Beech, president of award sponsor Accompass. “At the backbone of all great organizations are people. If you don’t have people who are highly engaged and really on board, your business can’t possibly thrive.”
Nando’s Canada Niagara Casinos Ubisoft Toronto
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Caren HealyJones Sarah Beech
Accompass began in 1997 when a small group of like-minded professionals came together. From the beginning, we strived to take a more hands-on, personal, proactive approach to our clients and their businesses. In 2002, we began advising on investment and retirement programs; in 2007, we launched our compensation and incentives practice. Today, we address the full range of strategic, financial and regulatory issues surrounding our clients’ programs. For more details, visit accompass.com
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THE KPMG IN CANADA AWARD FOR
CANADIAN HR LEADER OF THE YEAR WINNER Cheryl Stargratt Tangerine
FINALISTS Kathy Enros, ACL Gordana Terkalas, Aecon Group Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Air Canada Alexis Corbett, Bank of Canada Ben Bazinet, Horizon North Logistics Anna Crane, Lumenix Jerry Gratton, O2E Brands Krista-Lee Walters, The Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators Jennifer Vantuil, Platinum Investments Tanya Wick, Tolko Industries Yee Makowich, Cossette
Communication/Vision 7 International
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
KPMG in Canada has offices in 33 locations across the country. The firm’s more than 700 partners and 5,600 employees provide crucial services to many of the country’s public and private businesses, nonprofits and publicsector organizations. KPMG provides audit, tax and advisory services. We work closely with our clients, helping them to mitigate risks and grasp opportunities. For more details, visit kpmg.com
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ACROSS CANADA, exceptional HR leaders are driving outstanding
results for their organizations by shifting their teams’ focus away from the administrative to the strategic. At the head of the pack is Tangerine’s chief people and operations officer, Cheryl Stargratt, who has led the bank’s cultural transformation with an emphasis on providing an employee experience that’s as outstanding as Tangerine’s customer experience. She believes HR leaders have “a real positive role to play”
“Be bold, be there for others, and be there for yourself. Don’t be afraid to stand up, stand in your truth and have a voice” CHERYL STARGRATT Tangerine
in the lives of employees and in businesses and communities. “We’ve made a big difference in the business and contributing to the transformation that we’ve been going through, and staying true to our culture and our DNA,” Stargratt says. “We’re developing purposeful leaders who come to work every day to do their best.” Soula Courlas, partner and national leader of people and change at award sponsor KPMG, says HR leaders across the country have continually raised the bar. “As I was watching the roll call of company names for every award, I was glad to see there was an interesting representation of every industry and sector,” she says. “It isn’t dominated by the largest Cheryl Soula companies; it’s all Stargratt Courlas organizations.”
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7/11/2017 8:16:06 AM
PEOPLE
CAREER PATH
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT Engagement and culture are the central tenets of Lori Sone-Cooper’s HR philosophy
1980s
Sone-Cooper began to shape her outlook on HR early on, thanks to the influence of her father and her work at his Shoppers Drug Mart franchise “People were central to him, and that is significant to my overall philosophy in HR today. I was a part-timer, but I managed others on shifts and provided direction to the staff. It was a lot of responsibility for a teenager”
LAYS THE FOUNDATIONS
1989
FINDS HR
1991
SPREADS HER WINGS Sone-Cooper’s first HR role, a maternity leave contract position, came with a level of freedom that she used to effect changes with great success “When I was hired, I was told to make the role my own; I was told not to be afraid to come in and change things. I grew in the role and introduced innovations that were ultimately rolled out to management nationally and then internationally”
A summer job recruiting university students – many older than her – provided the catalyst for Sone-Cooper to find her future career “I already knew I enjoyed leading and providing direction to others; when I started recruiting, I thought, ‘This is right up my alley.’ One of the owners [who had just finished her master’s in industrial relations] told me I was a natural for HR and needed to look into pursuing it”
1995
SWITCHES UMBRELLAS
1997
GOES OUT ON HER OWN Realizing that she was yearning to get back to many of the elements of generalist HR, Sone-Cooper made the decision to set up her own shop “My boss said, ‘I want first dibs on your time.’ I built something very successful; I had major clients in diverse industries. It was clear to me early on that I wasn’t really selling my business – I was selling myself. I constantly added new tools to my toolbox, broadening and strengthening my portfolio”
2010
JOINS A LONGTIME CLIENT After another stint on her own, Sone-Cooper joined the staff of longstanding client CHIP Home Income Plan (now HomEquity Bank), where she had overseen the HR portfolio as the business moved through numerous corporate changes “I rode the wave with them. One day the president came in, shut my door and said, ‘What has kept you here; why have you stayed?’ I answered, ‘Our story, the evolution of the business and people.’ He asked me to leave my business and join full-time. I haven’t looked back”
When Sone-Cooper caught sight of a fullpage newspaper ad, she had no idea it would end up changing her path “Twenty vacancies were listed – none in HR. I called the VP of HR and said, ‘I want to work for you,’ and he took the time to meet with me. Four months later, he invited me to join his team on a year contract. Ten months in, he asked if I would like to manage the training and development portfolio”
1999
SPECIALIZES IN STARTUPS Sone-Cooper was enticed to return to an in-house position at Telus by the startup vibe of its expansion in the eastern provinces. After a couple years there, she moved to another startup in the tech sector
“I was passionate about startups. There was so much change; we were growing so quickly. It gave me a taste of why I had gone out on my own in the first place”
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PEOPLE
OTHER LIFE
TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email editor@hrmonline.ca
Ya rz ab is cu rre nt ly nt h tra in in g fo r he r se ve ha lf- m arath on
LEADER OF THE PACK When she’s not whipping new moms’ careers into shape, Beth Yarzab is most likely working them into a sweat
IT WAS the transition to motherhood that provided Toronto-based career strategist Beth Yarzab with the impetus to rediscover her passion for teaching fitness classes. Yarzab had taught step aerobics and other classes at university and kept her certification current even once she was working in the corporate sector. That came in handy 10 years ago when pregnancy blessed her with, in addition to beautiful twin girls, more than 100 extra pounds. “As I struggled with early motherhood,” she says, “the fitness was a life-saver. I could get out of my head, could feel competent; I could lose the baby weight. I would
2:13
Yarzab’s best half-marathon result so far
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push the strollers so my kids would sleep. The move back into teaching fitness was organic.” Her popular stroller fitness classes were held in a park; participants “just showed up with the tots in tow,” and often attendees found the exercise secondary to meeting other moms. “They share and help each other,” Yarzab says. “It’s more than just an exercise class.” The networking aspect led to the other component of Yarzab’s enterprise: assisting new moms through career transitions. “Often they want to reinvent themselves – their priorities on work and life might have changed.”
15
Largest number of classes Yarzab has taught in one week
11
Number of instructors she has working for her
www.hrmonline.ca
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Ad 1 HRD 5.04 XMAS OBC-trim.qxp_Layout 1 2017-10-31 1:22 PM Page 1
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