HRD 2.02

HR OVERHAUL KIMBERLY-CLARK INSIGHTS SIEMENS STANDARD STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY

WWW.HRMONLINE.CA ISSUE 2.2 | $9.99

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM SPACE CHRIS HADFIELD ON BUILDING A TEAM

THE WHO’S WHO OF HR HRD2.2_OFC.indd 1

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COVER STORY / HOT LIST

CONTENTS

NEWS/ANALYSIS 4 | Workplace Health & Safety 8 | Appointments 10 | Legal Insight: Human Rights Tribunal damages on the rise 12 | HR Transformation at Kimberly-Clark

16

issue

2.2

COVER STORY HRD 2014 Hot List Who’s making waves and setting trends in the HR industry? These HR executives are at the forefront of best practice and strategic leadership.

FEATURES 36 | Canada Job Grant: What’s at stake?

Could Canadian HR directors’ favourite job training programs be wiped out as Ottawa hammers out details for its controversial Canada Job Grant program?

40 | Quebec charter concerns business community 18 | MARCHare 2014Quebec HR leaders expecting as the What fallout controversial charter makes international news?

62 | HR Lessons from space Setting goals, recovering from disaster and sweating the small stuff: Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield shares his leadership insights.

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CONTENTS / EDITOR’S LETTER

BEST IN SHOW The ongoing evolution of human resources director from transactional player to strategic professional is the tale HRD most loves to tell.

This chapter of that story focuses on our inaugural Hot List (pg.16) and the industry veterans who’ve come through their own career metamorphosis and taken flight.

I hope they inspire you.

Much less uplifting is the budgetary contraints weighing down so many HR professionals. While the demands placed on the departments they oversee increase, many are finding ways to put their limited resources to best use. Those facing the challenge of winning over the C-suite and the bean counters can learn a lot from Liz Gottung’s work at Kimberly-Clark (pg.12).

In another effort to bring you up to speed, HRD explores the possible ramifications attached to the federal government’s controversial Canada Job Grant (see page 36).

Certainly, government initiative, even in the proposal stage, can affect HR leaders. It’s a fact we delve into on page 40 as HRD examines the impact of Quebec’s charter of values and explains why some employers may struggle with the down-to-earth challenge of retaining workers if bill is enacted.

Much more lofty is astronaut Chris Hadfield’s lessons on how HR can learn from his own out-of-this-world experiences. So, check out page 62 before heading to our guide on training and executive education.

COPY & FEATURES EDITOR Vernon Clement Jones SENIOR WRITER Caitlin Nobes CONTRIBUTORS Lorenzo Lisi, Anna Sharratt, Mark Cardwell, Jolene Williams, Christopher Pigott, Vawn Himmelsbach, Liz Brown COPY EDITOR Siegfried Betterman

ART & PRODUCTION GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Marla Morelos, Joenel Salvador

SALES & MARKETING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Sarah J. Fretz NATIONAL ACCOUNTS MANAGER Andrew Cowan GENERAL MANAGER SALES John MacKenzie ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Trevor Biggs MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Claudine Ting PROJECT COORDINATOR Jessica Duce

CORPORATE PRESIDENT & CEO Tim Duce OFFICE/TRAFFIC MANAGER Marni Parker EVENTS AND CONFERENCE MANAGER Chris Davis

Editorial enquiries caitlin.nobes@kmimedia.ca tel: 416 644 8740 Ext: 234 Advertising enquiries sarah.fretz@kmimedia.ca tel: 416 644 8740 Ext: 241 Subscriptions tel: 416 644 8740 • fax: 416 203 8940 subscriptions@kmimedia.ca KMI Publishing 312 Adelaide Street West, Suite 800 Toronto, Ontario M5V 1R2 wealthprofessional.ca Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as IB magazine can accept no responsibility for loss.

Regards, Vernon Clement Jones Senior Editor

CONNECT

Contact the editorial team: vernon.jones@kmimedia.ca

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WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

SAFETY IN THE CANADIAN WORKPLACE

One of HR’s biggest concerns has to be worker safety, with a significant amount of time and budget focused on preventing accidents and injuries. But despite this focus, work-related deaths increased last decade and, in some parts of the country, workplace fatalities are more than four times the national average

Nearly one million are injured at work every year in Canada.

One worker in every 46 is injured severely enough to miss at least one day of work.

Young people and new hires are even more at risk. Among injured workers under the age of 25, more than 50% of incidents occurred in the first six months on the job. Almost 20% occurred in the first month.

Compensation payments to injured workers, after adjusting for inflation, have been on an upward trajectory.

In 2008, Canada’s workers compensation boards paid out

$7.67 billion

an average of $24,845 for each new compensated injury or fatality.

The total costs of occupational injuries to the Canadian economy are now estimated at more than

$19 billion

annually

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For more information on the full selection of our exceptional offerings, please contact:

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WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

Workplace fatalities per 100,000 workers

HEALTH AND SAFETY Canadian workplaces averaged three occupational fatalities a day, or five work-related deaths per workday (2008).

45%

Work-related deaths increase between 1993 and 2005.

The Territories (NT, NU, YT)

27.4 deaths

British Columbia

8.9

Newfoundland & Labrador

deaths

11.7 deaths

Alberta

Quebec

8.0 deaths

6.0

Manitoba

deaths

4.5

Prince Edward Island

deaths

1.5

deaths Saskatchewan

5.6 deaths

Ontario

6.5 deaths

New Brunswick

3.4 deaths

Nova Scotia

6.1

deaths

Canadawide, the workplace fatality rate is

6.8 deaths per 100,000 workers.

April 28 is Canada’s National Day of Mourning commemorating workers whose lives were lost or who were injured in workplaces across our country in the previous year.

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NEWS / APPOINTMENTS

HR on the move

Canadian HR executive Arun Bajaj is taking on one of the most senior positions in the automotive industry globally. Nissan Motor Company has appointed Bajaj as its corporate vice president in charge of Global Human Resources.

Arun Bajaj Bajaj started as general counsel at Nissan Canada Inc., between 2003-2006, and was responsible for establishing Nissan’s first legal department in Canada.

Most recently he was the division general manager of Global Talent Management, Asia & China HR, and Global Infiniti HR at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., responsible for the development and execution of Nissan’s global talent management strategies and processes. Before joining Nissan, Bajaj held various legal roles in Ford Motor Company of Canada.

Mary Lou Maher was appointed as chief diversity officer at KPMG. With 30 years of experience at the firm in a number of leadership roles, Mary Lou, Greater Toronto Mary Lou Maher Audit Business Unit co-leader, brings passion and dedication to KPMG’s diversity and inclusion strategy.

Over the years, she has been an ardent supporter of and advocate for the advancement of women and the LGBT community.

In February Wolseley Canada announced the appointment of Greg Smith to the position of Vice-President of the company’s human resources department. Smith is responsible for the overall engagement and performance management of Wolseley Canada employees. Greg Smith With over 20 years of HR expertise complemented by line leadership in multiple industries, Smith joins Wolseley from Porter Airlines where he was the VP, People & Culture.

Global professional services company Towers Watson shook up its executive compensation team with the announcement that John Hammond has been appointed executive compensation practice leader for Canada, succeeding Fiona John Hammond Macdonald, who retired from the company. Additionally, Ryan Resch was named executive compensation practice leader for Towers Watson’s Toronto office.

Hammond, who is based in Vancouver, joined Towers Watson in 2006 and most recently led the executive compensation practice in Western Canada.

He has been consulting to boards and senior management on executive and director compensation issues for the past 15 years. Hammond is an expert on corporate governance issues surrounding executive and director pay, and on emerging best practices with respect to pay and the pay-setting process.

Resch, who is based in Toronto, also joined Towers Watson in 2006. He has extensive experience in corporate governance issues surrounding executive and director compensation. He works with boards and senior management to identify Ryan Resch compensation philosophy and pay strategy, assess compensation competitiveness, and develop compensation and incentive plans.

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LEGAL INSIGHT / HUMAN RIGHTS DAMAGES

HR Risk: HUMAN RIGHTS

DAMAGES ON THE RISE

Canadian employers have historically avoided large damage claims for breaches of human rights legislation, but that state of affairs is changing, cautions Lorenzo Lisi. And any misstep can now cost big money Human resource professionals are a sophisticated lot. They understand the law, assess risk, and make decisions relative to employee accommodation and business realities. There is always risk of a claim or complaint, but generally (in the past), damage awards where there was a violation of human rights legislation were relatively low.

Recently, however, Canadian courts and tribunals have shown a willingness to increase damage awards for a breach of human rights legislation, resulting in significant damage awards.

Some would say we are moving towards the U.S. model of damages for human rights for claims of discrimination and harassment.

FAIR AND HAMILTON-WENTWORTH DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD The recent ruling by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario in Fair v. Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board serves as a strong reminder to employers that a failure to accommodate an ill or injured employee can be costly. In this case, it cost the school board $450,000.

Here, briefly, are the facts. Ms. Fair was formerly employed by the Hamilton-Wentworth School

Board as a supervisor of regulated substances. In 2001, she developed a generalized anxiety disorder resulting from a fear that she would make a mistake and face personal liability for a breach of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act. In 2001, and until 2004, Ms. Fair went off work on long-term disability. In 2004, the school board’s insurer determined that Ms. Fair was capable of returning to employment and, consequently, suspended her benefits. However, rather than returning her to work, the school board said that it did not have a suitable position to which she could return, and relied on evidence from an expert that it was unlikely Ms. Fair could return to a position that involved a similar level of liability. In July 2004, the school board terminated Ms. Fair’s employment.

After a lengthy hearing, the tribunal held that the school board failed to accommodate Ms. Fair’s employment to the point of undue hardship. In determining the appropriate remedy for this breach, the tribunal considered those payments, or damages, she would have been entitled to receive if she had continued to be employed.

The tribunal ordered damages of more than

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$450,000 for lost wages, retroactive pension adjustments, and out-of-pocket medical/dental expenses, as well as compensation for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect. A staggering result!

This “make whole” approach to remedy, while not new at law, was surprising, not only because of its application to a complaint under the Ontario Human Rights Code but also because of the lengthy passage of time between the discriminatory termination and the conclusion of the hearing.

What makes it even more surprising is that the tribunal acknowledged that much of the delay was as a result of its own process.

This decision signals real change in the willingness of a tribunal to view its remedial authority as an opportunity not only to award damages but to make the individual “whole” where there is a proven case of discrimination.

Given that a complaint alleging a failure to accommodate can take a very long time to get before a tribunal, or a court, employers need to be aware, be cautious and, most of all, assess the possibility of settlement early in the game, before legal costs and possible liability start to climb.

CITY OF CALGARY AND CUPE LOCAL 38 The importance of a proper investigation was highlighted in the 2013 decision in City of Calgary and Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 38, in which an arbitration panel (the “Panel”) awarded a unionized employee more than $800,000 in damages for a breach of the applicable collective agreement.

The employee, a unionized clerk for the City of Calgary, was sexually assaulted repeatedly by a senior foreman who fondled her while she was at her desk. She reported the assault to her manager, who arranged for an extension to her desk to make it more difficult for the employee to be approached from behind. The manager subsequently left on a one-week vacation and placed the foreman (the same foreman who had assaulted the employee) in charge.

The assault continued. The employee installed a spy camera at her desk, and surveillance footage showed a further assault on her. When the employee showed the images caught on camera to her manager’s director, he emailed corporate security to launch an investigation.

The city’s director, however, described the photos as “inconclusive.” In addition, the employee

(despite continued complaints of assault and other conduct) was treated with indifference and, it was found, inappropriately. For example: • After reporting the assault, the employee discovered what she thought to be rat poison on her keyboard. An investigation was commenced, but never concluded. The employee was moved to a different facility and was later rebuked by management and even “counselled” by the city.

• The city required the employee to attend a mandatory meeting with a psychiatrist and indicated it would receive a copy of the psychiatrist’s report. The employee refused.

Upon her return from a scheduled vacation, the city required her to provide a “fitness to return to work” certificate from her family doctor.

• Upon her return to work, the employee’s manager advised her that “any type of disrespectful workplace behavior will be dealt with in a disciplinary manner.” At the same time, her manager asked her to return certain door keys, which had been in the employee’s possession as part of her job.

The panel concluded that steps taken by the city to deal with the situation were not in line with the city’s complaint process and that they actually worsened the situation.

The foreman who assaulted the employee eventually pleaded guilty to a charge of assault and was incarcerated.

At issue at the arbitration hearing was not whether the assault had occurred, but the scope of the damages to be awarded against the city.

Instead of a mere award of damages for lost income, the Panel awarded the following: general damages, damages for lost and future income, damages for lost pension entitlements, and special damages for the cost of future counselling, totalling almost $870,000!

The conduct of certain city management in this case was certainly egregious and beyond the pale.

However, the award is extremely significant. It demonstrates that an arbitrator (in this case a panel) will not hesitate to award additional and “nontraditional” damages where the evidence supports such damages.

It also highlights the importance of a proper and appropriate investigation, and the obligation to address any complaint of harassment seriously.

Lorenzo Lisi is a partner and member of the litigation group and the labour and employment Team at Aird & Berlis LLP. llisi@airdberlis.com

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HR TRANSFORMATION / KIMBERLY-CLARK

REINVENTING

THE HR FUNCTION AT KIMBERLY-CLARK

Moving from a transactional function to being a strategic partner is one of HR’s biggest challenges.

Making the change has seen Kimberly-Clark’s stock price rise, employer branding improve and innovation increase.

Caitlin Nobes finds out how the firm did it

What do you do when your organization has declining market share, falling share prices and the kind of dead weight that comes part and parcel with stagnant employee turnover? That’s where global manufacturer Kimberly-Clark was a decade ago – ironically just a few years after being featured in Jim Collins’s Good to Great as a shining example of corporate success “We were great at one point; then we went down to good,” Kimberly-Clark CHRO Liz Gottung says.

“Then we slid to mediocre.”

Gottung initially turned down the role of CHRO – twice. Leading an organization whose HR was strictly transactional and stuck in the past held no appeal.

However, when the CEO told her he had a different vision for HR, she agreed to take on the task.

It wasn’t an easy transition, and it got off to a bumpy start when the first attempt at a global business plan – essentially a patchwork of ideas from leaders around the world – failed to make any substantial changes.

“We were having trouble with our innovation pipeline; we weren’t paying enough attention to our

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brands and, even though we talked about people being our greatest asset, we didn’t act like it, and it didn’t feel like it if you were in the company,” Gottung says.

“We were very North American–centric, specifically Wisconsin-centric. We called ourselves a global company but, really, we were a North American company that had locations in other parts of the world.”

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Kimberly-Clark had incredibly long tenure rates, was family-oriented, and had a “team culture,” which meant that, if your boss and teammates liked you, you would be supported and in some cases protected.

“We had a very hard time giving tough feedback and were obsessed with consensus,” Gottung says.

“It was a very risk-adverse culture that took a long time to make decisions and, when we made a decision, it usually didn’t stick.”

The company’s performance review process varied regionally and by function – and the results were suspiciously good. Less than half of one per cent of employees were marked as “unacceptable” or “needs improvement.” In any organization, that number is unlikely; for a company that was facing serious business failures, the figure was highly suspect. Out of the 100 global leaders, 78 received “exceptional” ratings.

“We looked at ourselves and said, ‘Could the reason for these business results be the people in this room?

Could it be the people at this table?’ At that point, we did an external assessment of our leaders,” Gottung says.

Although it’s standard practice for many organizations, Kimberly-Clark had never done an external assessment of its executives before, and many were not supportive of the move; some threatened to quit. However, with the company in crisis, the CEO was open to the idea.

An outside consulting company determined that, of the 100 leaders, just five were exceptional. Gottung and the other executives decided to take ownership of that result and acknowledge that, for change to happen, it could not be something “the top told the middle to do to the bottom.”

In the past eight years, Kimberly-Clark has seen

about 65 per cent turnover of those top company leaders, with 35 new executives being brought in from outside the company. That’s 35 more than were hired externally in the 25 years prior.

TALENT STRATEGY ALIGNMENT In 2008, the company implemented a new global business plan – this time HR had a seat at the table and a hand in the planning. HR didn’t even have the credibility of being able to pay people correctly, so it was an uphill battle to try and get traction for HR strategy and innovation.

Gradually, Gottung got her message through and, as people talked about growth and innovation, she was able to bring it back to recruitment, retention and talent strategy. When Sales talked about hiring 300 people to boost sales in China, Gottung brought it back to the company’s high turnover rate in China, where there was a struggle to hire while competing against more recognizable brands such as Coca Cola and McDonald’s.

“Finally, the conversation about talent and people started to resonate with the business folks who were creating these massively aggressive business plans for market share growth, brand equity growth, revenue growth, profit growth, geographic expansion,” she says. “It was a small light bulb. It wasn’t a revelation, but that small light bulb gave us a little corner in which to creep in and say, ‘Maybe we should have a people strategy attached to this [business] strategy.’”

Gottung learned early to stay away from HR terms like “human capital strategy.” When talking to other business functions, she focused on tying the HR approach to the business objectives.

HR BRAGGING RIGHTS

60,000 employees

Operates in countries

21

Worldwide:

$21 billion in annual sales Canada:

$700 million in sales

Five billion-dollar brands, including Kleenex and Huggies

STRATEGY FROM SCRATCH Gottung and her team brought in a strategist from outside the HR function to lead the project and started talking to leaders from around the globe. In total, they talked to more than 400 people from around the world, across functions. They aimed to talk to top talent, despite not having a talent identification strategy at the time.

The feedback showed remarkable similarities in the problems people were facing across the board, in

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HR TRANSFORMATION / KIMBERLY-CLARK

“The key thing we did with this process – which I encourage you to do as well – is, for every key aspect, get a senior leader involved”

spite of a feeling among respondents that their issues were unique to their functions or regions. KimberlyClark did a gap analysis and looked for areas where the company could have the biggest impact in the shortest time period.

It also brought in a strategy consultant from the corporate strategy team who knew nothing about HR but knew how to put together a problem statement, do a root cause problem solving, create strategy, and then help improve structure and change management.

Best practices were introduced from top companies around the world, and Gottung’s team also adapted regional programs to be used globally. By engaging regional leaders in the process, the team helped achieve buy-in globally rather than create resistance by insisting that North American policies be used everywhere.

EXECUTIVE BUY-IN “The key thing we did with this process – which I encourage you to do as well – is, for every key aspect, get a senior leader involved. I don’t mean on the steering committee; I mean on the design team. [Get] a senior leader or a senior thought leader,” Gottung tells HR leaders. “For example, to redesign performance management, our CFO was on the design team. To recreate our compensation system, we took the guy that was most conflicted and most upset about our compensation system and asked him to be on the design team.”

Gottung also focused on getting away from HR words when talking to current and potential employees.

Instead of talking about “talent acquisitions” and

“onboarding,” Kimberly-Clark calls it simply “welcome.” “Career development” and “learning and development” became “dream” and “grow.” The other steps in their “People Philosophy” are win, celebrate, live well and give back.

TOUGH DECISIONS “We were reinventing the plane while we were flying it. We didn’t have a lot of time, because I knew the organization would run out of energy for this if we took too long,” Gottung says.

Her team introduced a new set of desired behaviours for the company and a new performance management system that was part of the infrastructure.

People hated the new performance management program, because they didn’t want to have the tough conversations. They didn’t want to have to rate anyone as “needs improvement” or have to put together a performance improvement plan, but Gottung’s team persevered.

The next challenge was building the HR team and strategy to support the big new ideas.

“I did not have the structure, the budget, the skill set, or the organizational credibility to pull it off. The wrong people were in the wrong place with the wrong skills. I didn’t ever use the word transformation until last year. It was more like taking a bomb, dropping it, and taking out the whole thing,” she says.

Some tough decisions had to be made in HR. Of Gottung’s 10 direct reports, nine were new in the last four years, and all 10 came from outside the company.

“It’s really sad, but what happened in the good-

TOP TIPS FOR TRANSFORMATION Know the business Transformation must serve specific business outcomes. If you focus on developing a world-class HR strategy without aligning to the business, the end result won’t meet company needs.

Speak the language “Talent acquisition,” “human capital,” “career pathing” – Gottung cut the HR jargon from the strategy to reflect the fact that it was about business outcomes, not HR outcomes.

Make tough decisions “I did not make my tough people-decisions early enough,” Gottung says. “I was very emotionally connected to my team. It was very difficult, but you have got to do it fast. We have to take our own medicine.”

Get execs involved Having executives on design teams meant that, when the full plan was rolled out, every exec felt a sense of ownership for at least part of the program.

Look for an outside perspective Sometimes the best talent for a role is from outside the main department. Gottung brought in experts from Corporate Strategy, IT, and other departments to help develop a new HR strategy.

Put your best talent on this “If you don’t put your absolute best folks on this stuff, you’ll be sorry,” Gottung says. Your team leaders might not appreciate your “borrowing” their top performers, but the better business results will win them over.

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to-great years is that the CEO diminished HR to the point where almost anyone who was any good left the function and got into a different function, like I did, or left the company,” Gottung says. “We had to build from almost nothing and bring in a lot of people from the outside. Which, of course, demoralizes all the people who are working with you. We’ve turned that around a lot now.”

A consumer marketing expert was brought into HR to build an employer brand – a brand that is now considered one of the best in the world – by approaching the issue as a marketing problem.

Gottung and her team developed brand promises, key messages, and recruiting materials that look and feel the same all over the world.

They also partnered closely with IT to improve the software and technology supporting HR’s core competencies.

“We were reinventing the plane while we were flying it. We didn’t have a lot of time, because I knew the organization would run out of energy for this if we took too long” - Liz Gottung Gottung got a three-year budget commitment. At the end of that time period, the executives said they wanted even more.

NOT BUYING IT

SEEING THE RESULTS

When the plan was introduced to the executives, they already had significant buy-in because each leader had been involved in at least one of the work streams.

Unfortunately for Gottung and her team, their new plan faced a whole new challenge when the economy crashed in 2008. No one was looking to put more money into HR when there was a company-wide cash generation initiative underway. The leadership team balked at the price tag of $24 million a year.

“They asked me,‘What could you do for 18, for 12, for eight?’” Gottung says. “The best thing I did was I said, ‘if you give me 10, I can do this and no more. We cannot and will not do more.’ We always overpromise and underdeliver – at least I did.”

Gottung jokes that she could retire happily after the CEO, at a forum last year, credited the people strategy as one of the top three reasons for the company’s record stock price. It comes back to her focus on the company’s end goals rather than on HR as an independent function.

“We’re setting a bar for our competitors in the business and HR. Our HR employees are in high demand in other companies, and HR is a destination function. We get applications from Engineering, IT, Finance,” she says. “But it’s not about world-class HR; it’s about the business. I didn’t take the job to reinvent HR; I took the job because I thought I could potentially have an impact on the business.”

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COVER STORY / HOT LIST

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Who’s moving and shaking Canadian HR? We’re showcasing this country’s high achievers as the industry faces growing challenges and success In 2014, HR directors have undeniably come into their own as integral members of executive leadership teams. Their contributions steer strategic development and decision-making across the corporate structure, with increasing impact on P&L, share prices, M&A and investment. In short, the role of HR director 2014 is remarkably different from the role of HR director 1994 or even HR director 2004. The changes haven’t come without challenges.

“For 10 years now, we have witnessed a polarization of the human resources function,” says Francine Tremblay, associate partner, Performance, Reward and Talent at Aon Hewitt. “At one end of the spectrum, we can see that the long-awaited strategic shift is here to stay. Changes in technology have indeed made it easier to access strategic data that have allowed CEOs and CFOs to get a better grasp of the risks involved in talent management.”

Also, the function has become structured in such a way as to strengthen its support of policy-makers and people managers, she adds. but here’s the rub.: “At the other end of the spectrum, we notice that these same changes have helped create a distance between the (HR) function itself and employees,” says Tremblay. “The computerization of administrative components and an online access to program information have, in fact, greatly reduced interpersonal relationships and human interaction. The challenge will be to re-humanize its relations with employees.”

This list of “hot” HR professionals showcases those who are successfully walking today’s line -- both connecting with CFOs but also the workers affected by those financial decisions.

These hot corporate leaders have spearheaded innovative results, embraced diversity, driven down costs while upping productivity, or navigated difficult change. Some have been recognized with accolades; others have not. All are delivering more.

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Mary-Alice Vuicic Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Vice-President, Human Resources and Public Affairs SHOPPERS DRUG MART WHY HOT? As one of the most dynamic retail pharmacy operations in Canada, Shoppers is a household name.

Recent times have also seen it foster an awardwinning culture of passion through a comprehensive employee engagement program. Viucic and her HR team took a leadership role in applying tactics and tools that measurably improved customer service and loyalty and increased profitability – an example of how HR can bring value and expertise to the table as a business partner.

Vuicic has extensive experience leading human resources and organizational development for top Canadian employers and brings that to bear on her current duties. Before joining Shoppers Drug Mart as Senior Vice-President, Human Resources and Organizational Development, in 2007, she was vice-president, People, at Wal-Mart Canada, leading the human resources function for the organization.

Vuicic has also HR executive and management positions at Chapters/Indigo and Wendy’s International Inc.

Steve Wuthmann Executive Vice-President, Human Resources TIM HORTONS WHY HOT? One of Canada’s best-loved brands – employing 2,021 corporate employees as well as 96,000 workers throughout a franchise empire – is set to add another 500 locations across the country. That girth increasingly requires a well-orchestrated HR plan, one that Wuthmann, who was appointed Executive Vice-President, Human Resources, of Tim Hortons in September 2013, will create.

He’s undeniably up to the task, say industry insiders.

Wuthmann brought more than three decades of human resources and operations experience to the company, including his time with Purolator Courier, Labatt Breweries of Canada and Canada Packers.

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Florent Francoeur Président-Directeur général ORDRE DES CONSEILLERS EN RESSOURCES HUMAINES AGRÉÉS WHY HOT? As the president and CEO of the Ordre de CHRA et CRIA du Québec since 1993, Francoeur has seen membership grow from 800 to over 11,000.

A frequent speaker on labour relations and people management, Francoeur is also a member of the administration for the Canadian Council of Human Resource Associations and represents Canada at the North American Human Resource Management Association. One recruiter in Quebec described Franceour to HRD as the “Pope of HR in Quebec.”

Lindsay Whillans Vice-President, Human Resources CANADA GOOSE WHY HOT? In 2013, clothing manufacturer Canada Goose expanded production with a new plant in Winnipeg, opened new research centres in northern Canada and opened a U.S. headquarters to handle consumer demand. The company also made it to the Profit 500 list, with a five-year growth (2007– 2012) of 538 per cent. With a change in corporate ownership, the Canadian icon will likely have to tweak its messaging to proudly Canadian workers.

Driving that message, Whillans describes herself as “a business-minded HR generalist leader who focuses on delivering results through customer focus and collaboration.” The company has more than 1,000 employees, and its products are sold in more than 50 countries around the world.

Kelly Smyth Learning and Development Lead CISCO CANADA WHY HOT? Gone are the days of showing up for a training session to simply check a box on an attendance sheet. Cisco, which topped Aon Hewitt’s best employers list in 2013, is focused on changing the conversation about the value and impact of workplace learning. In December 2014, the organization announced it would be investing up to $4 billion in research and development facilities in Ontario, potentially seeing 1,700 jobs created.

Smyth, who joined Cisco last year, is spearheading the company’s move to a blended strategic learning approach that includes experiential and collaborative learning as well as simulation and gaming.

The organization has tailored its leadership and high-potential programs to the individual, with critical input from business leaders. Cisco is also using technology such as collaborative applications to enable our national employee base to learn and share together. Virtual learning can be just as valuable as a classroom situation, with the benefit of less downtime, reduced travel, and the building of stronger relationships across its business.

Brigid Pelino Executive Vice-President, People and Culture WESTJET WHY HOT? WestJet consistently tops lists of most-engaged workforces and in 2013 was named most attractive employer for the second year running. Pelino stepped into the role of executive vice-president, People and Culture, in August last year, with some big shoes to fill. She brought with her experience from many of Canada’s most recognizable brands, including Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire, and General Electric.

“WestJet is a jewel in the Canadian business landscape,” Pelino says. “Their approach with employee ownership and empowerment is renowned, and I could not be more thrilled to become a ‘WestJetter’ and be part of the team.”

Pelino is also dedicated to gender equality, recently serving as the executive chair for Canada in the Women’s Foodservice Forum, an organization dedicated to the development of women leaders in the industry.

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Helena Gottschling Senior Vice-President, Leadership and Organizational Development ROYAL BANK OF CANADA WHY HOT? As senior vice-president, Leadership and Organizational Development, Gottschling is responsible for executive and high-potential talent management, including leadership development, succession planning, and organizational development. She has had to put that high-level succession planning into practice with the announcement that RBC’s long-time CEO Gord Nixon is stepping down this coming August. Nixon is the longest-tenured bank CEO in North America.

RBC’s succession planning relies on identifying and developing high-potential employees early, Gottschling told HRD. “Our talent review process is well ingrained across RBC. We place a lot of emphasis in identifying non-executive high-potential talent so that we really understand who our emerging leaders are. We understand that pipeline and where we have gaps and what we need to do to close those gaps.”

Gottschling says her time working in business functions outside HR made her a better HR leader and a better business partner.

“HR professionals really do need to deepen their understanding, their business and financial acumen, so they understand the programs we introduce, what drives employee behaviour, and that it’s relevant and aligned.”

John Paul Macdonald Corporate Vice-President, Human Resources and Public Affairs BOMBARDIER WHY HOT? With more than 70,000 employees worldwide, the Montreal-based company is one of the top train and plane manufacturers in the world. Despite global setbacks in the transportation industry, the organization has remained one of Canada’s top employers. It is also the only Canadian company to feature on Universum’s World’s Top 50 Most Attractive Employers list.

Macdonald brings his background in communications to the human resources role he has held at Bombardier for six years, leading the corporation’s talent management strategy.

Over the years, Macdonald has developed a particular expertise in financial communications, crisis communications, and conflict resolution in situations as varied as share offerings, mergers and acquisitions, aircraft crashes, a murder trial, and strike actions.

Daryl Refvik National Director, Human Resources BENNETT JONES WHY HOT? Under Refvik’s HR leadership, Bennett Jones has been named to Aon Hewitt’s Best 50 Employers in Canada for 12 consecutive years. Over the past nine years, Bennett Jones has been placed in the top 10 and has been named the third-best employer for the last two years.

Refvik began his career at Bennett Jones in 1985 as the supervisor of Corporate Services which, through his leadership this area, was developed into the leading corporate services group in Calgary. During this time, he taught a number of courses at the Southern Institute of Technology, Mount Royal College, and at the Alberta Legal Education Society.

Refvik moved into his current role as national director, Human Resources, in June 2003. He leads a team of HR professionals that provides support to all of the Bennett Jones offices (Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Washington, Doha, Dubai and Beijing). He has built a strong reputation in the legal and HR communities as being a strong leader and effective HR professional.

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Elaine Roper Senior Vice-President, Human Resources TORONTO ORGANIZING COMMITTEE FOR PAN AMERICAN AND PARAPAN AMERICAN GAMES WHY HOT? Toronto is hosting the Pan American and the Parapan American Games next year, which are expected to create up to 26,000 jobs, bring 350,000 people to the region and require 20,000 volunteers.

Roper is the chief human resources officer accountable for developing, implementing and leading human resources strategies for the Toronto 2015 staff and volunteer corps through start-up, successful delivery of world-class games and eventual wind-down.

The games are the third-biggest international multisport event in the world, involving close to 7,000 athletes from across Latin America, South America, the Caribbean and North America.

Bree Ranieri Vice-President, Human Resources MOLSON COORS CANADA WHY HOT? Employees at Molson Coors are rewarded with tickets to major sporting and entertainment events around the country, and they get vouchers for one 12-bottle case of beer each week. Need we say more about Ranieri? The HR director is also in charge of other industry-lauded perks that aid retention, including subsidized home Internet access and auto insurance.

A few tough years of no employee bonuses inspired Molson Coors to get creative about retention, with a focus on using training and development as a retention tool, Ranieri tells HRD. The result was less than 5 per cent of the workforce left during that time. Retention remains the envy of many bottlers.

Stephen Cerrone Executive Vice-President, Human Resources , HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY WHY HOT? Cerrone took on the permanent role of executive vice-president, Human Resources, for Hudson’s Bay Company in January this year, as the Canadian institution continues its push to the top of the retail heap. Competition -- especially around customer service -- is getting steep, with the continuing entry of U.S. giants to the Canadian market.

Cerrone brings more than 30 years of experience to the company, with a strong track record of driving growth and business results through data-driven HR strategies. In his most recent role as EVP of Human Resources and Communications for Sara Lee Corporation, he led the HR strategy for more than 44,000 employees in 40 countries. Cerrone also served as EVP, Human Resources, Retail Financial Services, at JPMorgan/Bank One Corporation, and held prior executive positions at Bank One, Diageo/Burger King, and General Foods Worldwide.

HBC also owns Home Outfitters in Canada, and Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor in the U.S., with a total employee base of more than 30,000.

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Tiffany Monroe Vice-President, Human Resources, TARGET CANADA WHY HOT? Target entered the Canadian market last year after buying out a number of Zellers locations. The organization successfully defended a successor employer claim from one group of unionized Zellers employees, which hoped to maintain its collective agreement. Since then, Target has opened more than 120 stores across the country, hiring almost 30,000 people. Its expansion isn’t done yet, with the company adding more stores in Ontario throughout 2014.

Arielle Meloul-Wechsler Vice-President, Human Resources AIR CANADA WHY HOT? Air Canada is increasingly an anomaly, with all employees enrolled in the company pension plan, and the majority belong to defined benefit plans. It also maintains final salary pension plans.

That position comes with both challenges and bragging rights for Meloul-Wechsler, who took over as Vice-President of Human Resources in September 2013. She has been with the carrier since 1997 and has been in the employee relations function, as senior director of Human Resources, since 2011. In her new role, she has responsibility for all aspects of HR, with the exception of labour relations. Before moving into the employee relations role, she was assistant general counsel and director of legal services at Air Canada.

As one of Canada’s top employers, the airline claims 27,000 employees and nearly 35 million customers each year.

“We invest a great deal in the well-being of our employees, and we are thrilled to be recognized as a company that values its workforce through best practice programs and working conditions,” Meloul-Wechsler says.

“Our employees, in turn, take great pride in delivering the safest and best possible customer experience every day.”

Giullia Cirillo Corporate Vice-President, Human Resources BOMBARDIER RECREATIONAL PRODUCTS WHY HOT? Recreational vehicle and powersports engine manufacturer BRP split from Bombardier in 2003 and is considered a world leader in the design, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of motorized recreational vehicles and powersports engines. Built on a 70-year tradition and headquartered in the town of Valcourt, Que., BRP owns manufacturing facilities in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Finland and Austria, and has a total workforce of more than 6,800 people. The company saw record fiscal results in the final quarter of 2013, thanks to distribution in more than 100 countries.

Cirillo was appointed as corporate vice-president, Human Resources, in May 2011, bringing more than 20 years of experience in human resources management, environmental health and safety, talent management, and organizational development.

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Mark Carbonelli Vice-President, HR Services WALMART CANADA WHY HOT? Carbonelli describes himself as a “results-oriented leader” and “business strategist,” embodying the traits that are increasingly required in high-level HR. He joined Walmart in 2010, after cutting his VP teeth in some of Canada’s top retail companies, including Canadian Tire and Shoppers Drug Mart. Since Carbonelli joined the international retail giant, Walmart has increased from 325 stores to 389 stores in Canada and recently announced it expected to open another six stores in Canada this year, growth that will result in 7,500 jobs created in a range of industries. Increased competition as Target further pushes into the Canadian space will further challenge Carbonelli and Walmart’s ability to source and retain the best employees, increasing the need for a strong talent strategy.

Rayna Weatherald Director of Human Resources VANCOUVER MARRIOTT PINNACLE MARRIOTT HOTELS OF CANADA WHY HOT? For the ninth consecutive year, Marriott Hotels of Canada, a subsidiary of Marriott International, has been recognized by Aon Hewitt as one of Canada’s 50 Best Employers. Of all the companies recognized, Marriott Hotels of Canada ranked fourth and is the highest-ranked hotel Canadian company on the list. It’s no surprise that Weatherald has a lot to live up to. The company’s guiding principle is “taking great care of associates so the associates take great care of the guests, and the guests will return.”

As a leader of this HR-focused culture, Weatherald has helped drive results in all HR metrics and has been instrumental in the company’s engagement strategies. Weatherald has won the prestigious Human Resources Award of Excellence from Marriott International and has worked in both Canada and the U.S. for the company. She was recently selected to join an inaugural class in Marriott’s Emerging Leadership Program, a leadership development curriculum targeted at high-potential leaders within the organization.

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Paul Gardner Senior Vice-President, Human Resources SUNCOR ENERGY WHY HOT? One of the Financial Post’s 2013 ten best companies to work for, Suncor faces big recruitment challenges as the mining industry worldwide comes to terms with the increasing skills gap. Suncor is approaching the problem strategically, including partnerships with educational institutions and tuition subsidies for employees. The company added more than 1,000 new full-time positions last year.

Gardner, who has worked at Suncor since 2007, oversees the company’s culture and people strategies, and ensures that the proper programs are in place to support Suncor’s base business, long-term growth plans, and enterprise-level initiatives.

Included in those responsibilities are the development and implementation of integrated talent strategies, executive and employee total rewards, change management, employee learning and competence, organizational development, leadership development, labour relations, and human resources operations.

Michel Boucher Vice-President, Human Resources and Quality Systems, ROYAL CANADIAN MINT WHY HOT? The Royal Canadian Mint has grown considerably in the last few years, challenging its HR leaders to stay at the vanguard. As a diversified Crown corporation operating on a commercial basis, the Royal Canadian Mint maintains four business lines, each with distinct needs.

“The tremendous growth of the last six years has called on our HR service providers to be agile and proactive as they meet the emerging needs of business leaders striving to lead our industry and fulfill our vision ‘to be the best mint in the world,’” Boucher says. “We have had to listen carefully to our business leaders and align our program, offering to ensure we enable and sustain the growth of the mint. The key to our success has been to understand the business and focus on ‘what really matters.’”

Boucher joined the mint in 2011, bringing 18 years of experience in multi-plant environments and with substantial knowledge of labour relations, health and safety, and organizational development.

Janine Szczepanowski Vice-President, Leadership and Development ELLISDON

WHY HOT? For the 13th year, EllisDon appears on the Aon Hewitt’s list of Canada’s 50 Best Employers – this time second on the list. Szczepanowski is responsible for actively working to ensure that the culture of EllisDon is maintained and incorporated in everything the company endeavours to do.

She plays a key role in helping to develop current and future leaders, and has the overall responsibility for EllisDon’s HR practice.

Equipped with a non-traditional human resources background, she spent over 20 years on the “business” side before assuming her current role. With an extensive background in strategic and business planning, operations, people leadership, process and change management, Szczepanowski’s background and influencing skills have enabled her to be a strong business partner and leader.

Since joining the company almost nine years ago, she has significantly improved the company’s focus on employee development, risk management (from a people perspective), succession planning, career paths, and overall compensation structure.

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COVER STORY / HOT LIST

Sue Cummings Executive Vice-President, Human Resources TD BANK WHY HOT? The only financial institution to make it onto the Financial Post’s 10 best companies to work for, TD Bank Group offers employees flex work, volunteer opportunities and discounted banking services. Last year, TD hired 2,400 new employees.

Sue Cummings joined TD Bank Group in 2005 and is executive vice-president of Human Resources, TD Bank Group, overseeing a diverse portfolio of strategic HR activities for TD globally, including relationship management, global compensation, pensions and benefits, employment advisory, HR regulatory risk, and HR shared services.

TD is focused on building talent, a key accountability for TD executives and leaders at all levels. TD runs a pipeline program aligned to the executive program, focusing on building future leaders to meet TD’s business needs.

The bank was also recognized for its diversity in 2013, which is driven through recruitment initiatives, mentoring programs, and employee networks.

Mélanie Perreault Director, Human Resources Management and Development L’ORÉAL CANADA WHY HOT? Mélanie Perreault has been the head of HR for L’Oréal Canada since 2007. In that time, the company has been recognized numerous times for its employee-friendly culture and commitment to diversity. L’Oréal Canada has been recognized as one of the top 100 employers in Canada and one of the country’s most family friendly employers. It also ranks among the most attractive employers for young people and has been recognized as one of the world’s most ethical companies. “(We) continuously recruit dynamic talent for some of the most exciting careers in the beauty industry,” says L’Oréal Canada President and CEO Javier San Juan. “We encourage individuality and risk-taking, appreciate creativity and innovation, and offer an environment of ongoing learning, challenge and personal growth.”

Sooky Lee Vice-President, Human Resources ADP CANADA WHY HOT? With 1,800 associates around the country, ADP Canada is the leading provider of payroll, human resources management, benefits administration, time and labour management, occupational health and safety, and comprehensive outsourcing services.

The organization offers a range of training opportunities and has been named one of the best employers for learning and development. It also allows employees to change assignments every 12 to 18 months, as they explore their options and find the right career path – a big draw for Gen Y, a cohort that hates being bored or stuck in a repetitive role.

Lee is driving significant improvements in employee engagement and retention, through innovative career management, recognition, and communications initiatives. She is also a strong advocate for leader skills development and has made significant advances into building a leadership culture that is focused on breaking down silos and driving change.

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Dave McBride Vice-President, Human Resources XEROX CANADA INC. WHY HOT? The 100-yearold paper and printing company is an industry leader in sustainable practices, and has been recognized in Canada as a top employer and as a top employer for diversity. The company has a focus on continued employee education and provides generous tuition subsidies for job-related courses (to $5,000), financial bonuses for some course completion and subsidies for professional accreditation.

McBride, who was appointed to the role in January 2014, has worked at Xerox since 1982, with 18 years in human resources. He is responsible for strategy, policy and practices related to human resources management, employee relations, industrial relations, compensation and talent and culture.

Doug Burnett Vice-President Human Resources and Corporate Services SASKTEL WHY HOT? For the 14th consecutive year Sasktel was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. The Saskatchewan communications provider was also recognized for its diversity, opportunities for young people and sustainability initiatives.

A rarity in the Canadian communications industry, the company also rated highly in customer satisfaction – out doing its bigger competitors to be ranked the number one Full-Service Provider in Canada.

Burnett has spent 25 years with SaskTel, initially as corporate counsel and subsequently as his current role of Vice President.

Among the perks employees appreciate the most? Sasktel offers 40 per cent off its internet connections, as well as more common perks such as flexible work schedules, excellent training opportunities and extensive community involvement.

Nigel Perks Executive Vice-President of Human Resources BLACKBERRY (RIM) WHY HOT? BlackBerry has had a tough 2013, with the company taking huge losses after the launches of two smartphones flopped. By the end of the year, however, the company had rebounded, replenishing its cash reserves and inking a landmark outsourcing deal to limit its exposure to product writedowns.

Helping to guide the company through the last tumultuous year was Executive Vice President of Human Resources Nigel Perks. Prior to joining BlackBerry, Perks was the chief human resources officer for BT Global Services and a member of the executive committee of Logica.

Brian Hallamore Vice-President, Human Resources IMPERIAL OIL WHY HOT? One of Canada’s largest corporations, Imperial Oil is also the country’s largest petroleum refiner and one of the largest producers of crude oil and natural gas. That position can often lead to inertia. But the company’s HR team. Led by Hallamore, helped win the company a “Mining Employer of Choice” nod by offering employees a range of benefits designed to attract the best in an increasingly competitive global market. As the executive responsible for all human resources initiatives, Hallamore continues to oversee the implementation of industry-leading employee benefits, including flexible work and structured training opportunities, as well discounts on gas and home heating oil.

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Jon Beatty Director, Corporate Services ROCKY MOUNTAIN EQUIPMENT WHY HOT? Beatty is leading his company on a multi-year journey to move from minimal HR to a best-in-class HR shop. He’s taking big company HR practices into a network of equipment dealerships to reorganize the entire outfit more efficiently. Making HR a strategic driver of competitive advantage at his company, he is embarking on an ambitious and effective international recruiting strategy for hard-to-fill skilled trades roles.

Rocky Mountain Equipment is the largest independent dealer of Case IH and Case Construction equipment in Canada, and the second largest in the world. RME’s business employs nearly 1000 people directly, and serves tens of thousands more customers and their employees. Operating 38 dealerships across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba as well as customers radiating beyond those three provinces, RME’s goal is to bring professional, stable, and dependable equipment partnerships to its customers.

Susan Rauf Senior Vice-President, Human Resources CTV WHY HOT? CTV has been Canada’s most watched TV network for 12 years in a row, this year cementing its leading position with multiple awards at the Canadian Screen Awards for its TV dramas and news programming.

Rauf has been key to steering the broadcaster in today’s turbulent media market. She has worked at CTV since 1985, through a buyout from Bell Media and a number of rebrandings.

One of the challenges she currently faces is improving diversity across the company’s variety of channels and shows.

The network used to have a reputation as very establishment, she concedes, but has proactively improved representation both behind and in front of the camera.

“When you look at the employment equity reports, they look pretty good, they really do,” Rauf said. “But we still have a long way to go as far as continuing to attract the diverse community and showing in on air.”

Mark Porter Senior Vice-President, Human Resources SHAW COMMUNICATIONS WHY HOT? With its recent acquisition of Global Television, Shaw continues to increase its market share, build infrastructure, and expand its services. Porter is responsible for providing strategic direction and leadership on the development and implementation of all human resources practices and programs.

He has an extensive background in human resources, with expertise in organizational effectiveness, strategic and leadership development, and employee relations. Prior to joining Shaw, Porter held a number of senior-level HR leadership positions and most recently held the position of chief people officer with a global brewing company.

In 2013, Shaw was selected by the Financial Post as one of the 10 best companies to work for. Among other benefits, Shaw offers its 12,500 employees alternative work arrangements, including flexible hours, telecommuting, reduced summer hours, and a shortened workweek option.

Jason Kenney Minister of Employment and Social Development FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF CANADA WHY HOT? Love it or hate it, wrangling through the Canada Jobs Grant deal and getting provincial support was a big win for Kenney this year.

As Canada’s longest-serving minister of Citizenship and Immigration, from 2008 to 2013, Kenney was described by the National Post as “perhaps Canada’s best immigration minister ever.” Last year, he was appointed minister of Employment and Social Development, with a mandate to ensure that Canadians are well prepared to participate fully in the labour market of the future.

Kenney has been voted the “best overall” and “hardest working” MP by his colleagues in Maclean’s annual survey of parliamentarians.

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Tim Grant Vice President Canada HR Operations SHELL CANADA LIMITED WHY HOT? As VP of Shell Canada’s HR Operations, Tim Grant helps lead a top Canadian employer. The Calgary-based oil and gas company - one of the largest in the country - was featured on the prestigious Canada’s Top 100 Employer list, compiled by Mediacorp Canada, in 2011. In 2013, Shell Canada was named one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People and Best Diversity Employers. Shell also ranked No. 9 on LinkdIn’s Most In-Demand Employers and was named one of Fortune’s Top 5 Most Admired Companies in Innovation last year. Shell’s FuellingChange™ programme has provided about $1-million in funding for 50 environmental projects across Canada ranging from building an industrial composting system to limit waste entering Alberta landfills to delivering water management and water shed educational programming in more than 20 schools in the Montmagny and Quebec areas. The company, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, employs more than 8,000 Canadians.

Agostino De Gasperis Vice-President of People LABATT BREWERIES OF CANADA WHY HOT? Labatt is one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers, and a trendsetter in company culture in and outside the industry. De Gasperis has been there since 2002, being promoted to VP of People in 2010. His background in finance and business has provided the requisite foundation, say industry analysts, for any HR professional hoping to steer one of the largest worker pools in Canadian manufacturing.

“Being in charge of the People function and being responsible for all our employees gives me the opportunity to do that, to make a positive impact on the lives of our employees and help them realize their full potential,” he told HRD. Labatt head office initiatives are winning attention for their progressive stance, including onsite amenities such as a nap room for employees needing a quick rest and a fitness facility and employee lounge stocked with video games, pool table, foosball and board games – not to mention the onsite bar.

Marva Bethune National Director, Human Resources GOWLING LAFLEUR HENDERSON LLP WHY HOT? A firm-wide spirit of community service that encourages staff to give back to their communities continues to garner the firm – as well as Bethune – industry praise.

Based in the Toronto office, Bethune is responsible for guiding and managing the human resources team nationally. She contributes to the firm’s overall strategy by enhancing and building human resources policies, programs and tools to attract, develop and retain non-fee earner talent to drive overall performance. One of Aon Hewitt’s 50 Best Employers in Canada for the fourth year in a row, Gowlings offers a range of perks outside of bonuses and credited for helping reshape retention efforts. They include an annual employee appreciation week, gym membership subsidies, staff kitchens and lounges and a “work perks” program that gives employees access to thousands of special deals at brand-name companies and local businesses.

Michael Webb Senior Vice-President, Human Resources AGRIUM, INC. WHY HOT? Agrium, a major supplier of agricultural products and services, has to find a way to juggle the demands of business with the needs of its more than 15,800 employees – and Michael Webb keeps those plates spinning.

Under Webb’s HR leadership, Agrium has been recognized as one of Canada’s top employers and one of the United States’ “most engaged workplaces.”

A world traveler, Webb held a number of HR leadership roles in Hong Kong, Singapore and India before joining Agrium. He also served as global head of HR for HSBC, working throughout the Middle East.

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Judy McCrie Executive Vice-President, Human Resources LOBLAW COMPANIES LIMITED WHY HOT? One of Canada’s most recognizable brands, Loblaw Companies is almost 100 years old, but still adapting and expanding to meet both employee and customer needs. With the announced acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart, the company takes on another big Canadian brand – along with more than 50,000 extra employees.

McCrie has been overseeing HR at Loblaw since early 2009.

Since 2011 the company has been recognized each year as Canada’s Best Diversity Employers, and as one of the best employers for young people.

“We strive to recruit the most-talented graduates from across the country and to support and nurture their development throughout their careers at Loblaw,” McCrie says. “We are committed to set each of them up for long-term success by providing them with a positive work environment and unique learning and growth opportunities.”

Jody Peck Vice- President, Human Resources PEPSICO CANADA WHY HOT? PepsiCo Canada was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for the first time in 2014 by Mediacorp Canada Inc. The company employs 10,000 Canadians and manufactures well-known brands such as Pepsi, Lay’s, Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade.

The company’s generous training programs, community involvement initiatives and diversity and inclusion measures helped it earn Peck a place on this list.

She has a passion for creating a highly engaged and inclusive work environment and has been at the company for more than 10 years. Prior to her current role, Peck held HR positions in the Frito Lay Canada, Frito Lay U.S., and P-QTG divisions of PepsiCo.

Josh Blair Executive VP, Human Resources and Chief Corporate Officer TELUS WHY HOT? When Josh Blair joined TELUS in 1995 as an engineer-intraining, the company had just made its first acquisition. Nearly two decades later he heads the HR functions of not only TELUS’s Canadian staff but also of the 15,000 International employees TELUS has.

Despite the high profile dispute with the Telecommunications Workers Union in 2005, workforce relations have thrived under Blair’s HR leadership – a team engagement score of 80 per cent is the highest in Canada and in the top 1 per cent globally according to Aon-Hewitt figures. And Blair’s work continues to be full-on – this year alone TELUS has acquired Quebec-based Enode, B.C. based MedAccess Inc and been listed as one of Canada’s top 100 employers.

Paul Boniferro National Leader, Practices and People MCCARTHY TÉTRAULT LLP WHY HOT? One of only two law firms on the Canada’s Top 100 Employers list, McCarthy Tétrault was also recognized this year for its diversity program, specifically for improving gender diversity at senior levels.

“With the support of our CEO, we continue to work hard to develop and implement programs, practices, policies and initiatives that are among the very best offered by employers in Canada,” Boniferro says. “We still have work to do, but as a leading law firm, we believe this hard work is never done.”

Boniferro joined the firm in 1996 and is still a practising labour and employment lawyer. As National Leader, Practices and People, his responsibilities include overseeing all practice groups, business planning, recruiting, talent management/ development, professional development and training, partnership admissions, compensation and all personnel matters.

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COVER STORY / HOT LIST

Kimberly Madigan Vice-President, Human Resources CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY COMPANY / CN WHY HOT? Madigan has carried the banner for diversity in hiring and in developing talent and skills at Canadian National Railway, even during the tough years of the recession and, indeed, subsequently.

“Diversity is not at all on hold in a recession,” says Madigan. “We think of diversity in two sections: hiring and developing talent. We’re developing talent.”

Madigan was appointed Vice-President, Human Resources in January 2010. In her role as VP she is responsible for managing the Human Resources, Labor Relations and Medical service groups across the company. Prior to that, she had been Vice-President, People, since June 2009.

Madigan joined CN in 1999 as Vice-President, Human Resources, U.S. Operations, quickly moving up the ladder named Vice-President, Labour Relations, North America, in July 2002, drawing from her extensive background in transportation labour negotiations and mediation.

Greg Rooney Senior Vice-President, Human Resources AECON WHY HOT? Aecon has been instrumental in building some of Canada’s most famous landmarks, from the CN Tower to the Vancouver Sky Train.

And Greg Rooney has been instrumental in building Aecon’s workforce.

Rooney joined the Aecon in 2007. During his time at the company, Rooney has led many of Aecon’s labour relations initiatives. He’s also been instrumental in aligning the company’s human resources management with health and safety and environmental operations.

Manuel N. Sousa ExSenior Vice-President, Global Human Resources, OPENTEXT CORPORATION WHY HOT? Canada’s largest software company was recognized on the Top 100 Employers list for the first time in 2013, a coup for Sousa who joined OpenText in 2012 as Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources. He is responsible for shaping and driving OpenText’s talent and organization management strategies.

Sousa describes himself as a “resultsoriented global business leader” who is “adept at leveraging both strategic and operational human resource capabilities to effectively drive profitable business results in stable, growth, and turnaround environments.”

Janette Batten Director, Human Resources 3M CANADA WHY HOT? Janette Batten says she loves working for 3m “because it is a company driven to solve the unsolvable by approaching Canadians’ problems with such unique curiosity, it’s no wonder the average person interacts with over 100 of our products every day.”

As 3M’s director of human resources, Batten creates strategies to develop employee talent and attract and retain top engineers, scientists, marketers and business grads. Batten was also a driving force behind 3M’s participation in Canada’s Hire a Veteran program, which offers priority hiring opportunities to Canadian military veterans.

Alexis Corbett Chief Human Resources Officer BANK OF CANADA WHY HOT? In February of this year, Corbett was appointed Chief of the Human Resources Department at the Bank of Canada. With the appointment comes the responsibility for innovating quality HR services for the employees and pensioners of an institution that has been around since 1935.

Born in Chilliwack, B.C., Corbett has a MBA from the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario.

Her passion for HR was cultivated at the University of Toronto, where she graduated the Advanced Program in Human Resources Management from the Rotman School of Management, and has held her Certified Human Resources Professional designation since July, 2001.

Her 15 years with Canada Post Corporation in various HR roles groomed Corbett to eventually move on to the Bank of Canada, and her current position that she holds.

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HOT PRODUCTS

HOT PRODUCTS HR directors are bombarded with services and product offers that promise more than is ever delivered, but some key exceptions are increasingly getting the job done in new and efficient ways. Here – from HRD and courtesy industry feedback – are a list of four hot products designed to deliver every bit of what they promise SCOREUP WHY HOT? At a time when house prices won’t stop increasing and affordability is rapidly disappearing, HR is focused on finding ways to support workers in meeting their own financial goals.

As employees become more settled and satisfied, they have more energy and CEO Patricia Giankis discretionary effort to offer their organization. Research shows that 60 per cent of employees say financial problems are their biggest cause of stress. Scoreup supports HR in developing a more practical benefits package, which is relevant to employees and supports them in making better financial decisions so they can be more relaxed and focused at work.

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KRONOS WHY HOT? With a founder credited for putting the first microprocessor in a time clock, Kronos continues to raise its profile in the expanding workforce management space as both hardware and software provider.

The Kronos InTouch® builds on that reputation at the same time it continues to attract the eyeballs of HR directors focused on streamlining employee time management and tracking.

With a 7” touchscreen, the time clock is providing a growing number of businesses with a simple, intuitive system, with an optional biometric identifier for increased accuracy. The system also allows HR to deploy biometric technology to identify and validate an employee’s true identity.

It also supports all major badge formats, including a new smart card reader, allowing HR to tweak the system to fit specific needs.

Kronos

HALOGEN SOFTWARE WHY HOT? While HR directors may have left the arduous task of employee reviews behind, their managers haven’t.

Technology is easing that burden, though, at the same time it lifts productivity and overall satisfaction with the process.

HR is increasingly turning to Halogen eAppraisal to provide that technical assistance, with time-saving features that naturally encourage talent management best practices.

The program also allows for the kind of active online coaching tips, feedback and recognition relied on by Canadian business.

More specifically, eAppraisal convert emails into feedback entries and shares feedback anytime, anywhere using mobile phones and tablets. Managers are also using it to accurately record employee performance feedback year round, including accomplishments, performance gaps, and critical incident reports.

CERIDIAN DAYFORCE HCM WHY HOT? The Ceridian name speaks for itself in 52 countries as a leader in human capital management. A large part of that messaging centres on the company’s ever-evolving Dayforce platform. That application for managing and processing payroll, taxes, benefits and more remains a gold standard for the industry.

More specifically, Dayforce HCM aligns the needs and interests of employees, managers and administrators to deliver better bottom-line performance. For managers, it offers real-time access to reports and embedded analytics, along with facilitating employee self-service with minimal administrative supervision.

For execs, the program allows for rapid-fire access to data across in a secure, compliant environment.

HR directors are also relying on Dayforce HCM as a planning tool to calculate labour budgets in hours and cost, using key performance indicators tailored to their businesses. It streamlines the process, replacing multiple, complex spreadsheets with one extensible budgeting tool.

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FEATURE / FEDERAL JOBS GRANT

THE CANADA JOB GRANT:

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Canadian HR directors are casting a protective eye over their favourite training programs, afraid they could be wiped out as Ottawa and the provinces finalize details for the controversial Canada Job Grant program. Anna Sharratt reports Talk to Rob Trampuh and you quickly realize he’s one satisfied guy. The owner of Timber Peak Construction in Smithers, B.C., he’s built his home construction firm into a major commercial player, one behind a growing number of large-scale projects.

His secret? Skilled employees who become Red Seal-certified (an interprovincial standard of excellence in the skilled trades) through a training program with B.C.’s Industry Training Authority (ITA). As an employer/provincial partnership, it provides skills training to apprentices so that they can earn more, rise up through the ranks of their companies and allow the firms that employ them to win better-skilled employees—improving their bottom lines.

The program, which boasts many successes with its apprenticeships, gives Trampuh’s workers the ability to take a project to the next level. “These apprentices are the lifeline of our team and business,” says Trampuh, who’s been a part of the program for the past five years. “We started off as Timber Peak Homes. Now we’re building an arena in the town of Smithers.

“For myself and the company, the system does work.”

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LABOUR MARKET AGREEMENTS SET TO EXPIRE Trampuh echoes many employers in B.C. as well as those in other parts of Canada. They have benefited from provincial labour-market agreements (LMAs) that have made apprenticeship programs such as his a reality. But as the LMAs expire, the federal government has steamrolled ahead with the Canada Job Grant and many worry that the programs they’ve enjoyed could change.

The Grant, announced in last year’s federal budget, and approved in principle by all provinces, excluding Quebec, promises to fund the training of 130,000 Canadians each year. The goal is straightforward: to fill available labour market openings, according to Ottawa’s Economic Action Plan. The plan is the result of negotiations with the provinces and is designed to allay their fears and those of some of Canada’s largest employers. It still faces the hurdle of further one-on-one negotiations between the feds and each provincial government.

“With the Canada Job Grant, our government is committed to fixing the skills mismatch in Canada where we have too many Canadians without jobs and too many jobs without Canadians,” Jason Kenney, minister of employment and social development and minister for multiculturalism, told attendees of the Polytechnics Canada Student Applied Research Showcase this past November.

But the proposal hasn’t been met with open arms.

Many HR directors are quietly asking, why mess with success? Industry analysts have been more vocal.

“The evidence shows that the programs funded through the Labour Market Agreements have been fairly successful – a recent provincial report showed that 87 per cent of clients in 2011-12 were employed at the end of their training, compared to 44 per cent going in,” says Noah Zon, senior policy associate for intergovernmental affairs with The Mowat Centre, a public policy think-tank in Toronto.

“The surprising part of the story is that right until they announced the Canada Job Grant, the federal government was quite happy with the arrangement where they had shifted responsibility for design and delivery of programs to provinces and territories,” he says.

Zon believes that the Grant could endanger provincial training programs. “These successful

programs are definitely at risk if the federal government moves forward with their plans to cut 60 per cent of the funding from the Labour Market Agreements. Many of these programs are delivered by small non-profits who will face significant difficulties in the absence of this funding.”

He argues that only those employers with significant financial and organizational heft may benefit, and that federal funding will go towards training programs that these large organizations would have had the ability to fund themselves anyway.

CONFUSION AROUND DETAILS Even with an agreement in principle, some at provincial and corporate levels worry the devil may be lurking in the details of fine print.

Indeed, some fear that the vulnerable groups currently benefitting from LMA-funded programs such as new immigrants, aboriginal Canadians and women will see their funding cut. Still, others feel that the federal government’s proposal could fix holes in the provincial system.

The grant, in its current incarnation, would see each job funded with $5,000 from the federal government, with the employer and province each throwing in $5,000 in funding as well. At the same time, Ottawa would withdraw $300 million of $500 million earmarked for the Labour Market Agreements across the country, a sum now used to fund job trainings programs for immigrants, the disabled, aboriginals, youth and older workers. In Ontario alone, the cut to funding would be $116 million over three years.

Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on your point of view—and which province you organization operates. In Ontario, some see the current system as inadequate and in need of a shakeup. “Although the Ontario provincial training program works, it does not work well in that it falls short in delivering to the very people who need it,” says Marina Butler, president of Employment Professionals Canada Inc., a Fort Erie, Ont.-based recruitment firm.

Butler says that in Ontario employers and job seekers don’t always connect due to confusing criteria established by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, which determines what skills employers should request in their applications

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FEATURE / FEDERAL JOBS GRANT

“The biggest concern from ITA’s perspective is that it’s very important the funding carry on. It’s very hands-on funding – it’s making sure rubber hits the road.”

-Gary Herman – and job seekers should possess. “One job seeker was told that even though he had all of the practical experience in electrical maintenance he did not have the certification (which is why he was looking into an education program) and was told that he could be placed in training for long-haul driving and receive an AZ Licence – something he had no interest in. That is where the program falls down presently,” she says.

Another issue is that the government uses Employment Insurance information to track the unemployed. As a result, it misses those who have exhausted EI, who are often over 45, says Butler. “Currently, there are not any programs of relevance that assist these workers and tie them into employers. This is a huge problem that needs to be addressed,” she says.

Butler feels the Canada Job Grant will create more structure and offer more programs seeking a greater variety of skills.

But she says the new program will means less funding. “The downside is that the province stands to lose $116 million in the process which makes it difficult in providing adequate services to displaced workers.”

At the other end of the country, Susan Liu Woronko, manager of career services, says she’s not too worried about cuts to funding of DIVERSEcity, the registered non-profit agency she works at which offers a wide range of services and programs to new immigrants in Surrey, B.C. The program provides career counselling, skills training and job placement to employees in a number of B.C. organizations and is funded under Labour Market Development agreements, which are transfers of $1.5 billion per year intended for training programs for those

Canadians on Employment Insurance.

She says the program, which pairs small businesses with job trainers and employees who are new to Canada, has undergone some changes in the past few years – such as a one-size fits all approach to skills training rather than a more-specialized approach -- but she’s cautiously optimistic things will stay the same thing should the Grant come into effect in April, as currently planned. “We know our success and I want to see that success expanded,” says LiuWoronko. “We’ll just wait and see.”

Gary Herman, CEO of the ITA in Richmond, B.C.,

FEDERAL FUNDING: BEFORE (annually): $500M Training for low-skilled workers (those ineligible for EI) $1.95B Training for EI recipients

a provincial crown agency that coordinates British Columbia’s skilled trades system, says he too wants to carry on the achievements his organization has accomplished. Funded via LMAs, ITA works with service providers, who in turn partner with employers like Trampuh to provide skills and jobs training to women, aboriginal and new immigrants in the province.

Herman says since 2008/09, over 2,100 women have been served through these programs and an additional 440 are expected to be served in 2013/14.

He says there’s been a 25 per cent increase in women in trades over a six-year period. “The success rate is very high,” he says.

The ITA’s jobs skills program serving aboriginals

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has had similar results. Herman says that although aboriginal people represent only 4.5 per cent of B.C.’s population, they now account for 9 per cent of all apprentices in ITA’s program. “It’s that funding that gives them the extra leg up. That’s why it’s so vital to the system,” he says.

For Herman, it’s not hard to see the results of the LMA funds: employees become skilled and get promoted; employers get better-skilled employees who are a boon to their business; and the province has a better-educated and skilled workforce, which means it can take a big step forward from a

BEFORE AND AFTER… FULL IMPLEMENT OF CANADA JOB GRANT AFTER (2018 full implementation, annually): $300M Job Grant (employer directed) $1.95B Training for EI recipients $200M Critical employment services productivity and economic standpoint. It’s to everyone’s benefit to come up with a positive solution,” he says.

PERFECT STORM BREWING Herman points out another reason why maintaining current levels of LMA funding is critical: B.C.’s skilled labour shortage – one that many provinces face – is set to worsen. The province is on the cusp of a boom in activity -- a combination of increased activity in LNG and the mining and ship-building sectors as well as a resurgence in the softwood lumber market.

“There’s a need for skilled labour,” says Herman.

He says at the same time, baby boomers are retiring and engaged in succession planning, resulting in the

need for highly-skilled staff. Plus, the economy is still trying to get a stable footing. And, there’s a construction boom on. Major infrastructure projects have been on the rise, with more set to be announced.

“We have $83 billion in major projects in construction,” says Herman. “And we anticipate one million new job openings by 2020. All of these things are coming together.”

He feels these forces could create a perfect storm – especially if the Canada Job Grant results in less funding or changes to skills training in the province.

With more projects, more jobs and increased demand for skilled labour, fewer jobs training funds could be very detrimental to the economic health of the province.

Herman wants ITA’s success stories to continue.

“The biggest concern from ITA’s perspective is that it’s very important the funding carry on. It’s very hands-on funding – it’s making sure rubber hits the road.”

GOVERNMENT MOVING TOO FAST While some like Herman worry about changes to skills training, others are concerned about the rapidfire pace at which the initiative has been rolled out.

Minister Kenney has repeatedly said that he plans on pushing the grant through. That has brought heated words from the premiers, particularly in Quebec, Ontario and B.C. Experts question the lightning-speed of the program’s rollout, especially given the successes in skills training the provinces are reporting.

“They would be better to slow down,” says Mowat Centre’s Zon. “It sounds as if the provinces and territories are prepared to find a way to make the Canada Job Grant work in their portfolio of programs.

What they are reportedly asking for - some flexibility in which pot the funding comes from, and an evaluation of this never-tested program after two years - is eminently reasonable.”

Zon feels the current dialogue, which at press time had become more conciliatory, continue, with the government and the provinces working towards a compromise.

Herman agrees. “We need to work together to come up with the right result,” he says.

But employers like Trampuh, though hopeful, are less optimistic. “Any time the federal government gets involved, it sort of pushes everything back,” he says.

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NEWS / INSIGHT

QUEBEC CHARTER SENDS CHILLS THROUGH BUSINESS COMMUNITY Quebec’s proposed charter of values has made international news. Even if it doesn’t pass, the headlines could make it harder for employers to attract qualified candidates. Mark Cardwell investigates HR concerns and the long-term ramifications

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As a big-business owner with manufacturing facilities in both urban and rural regions of Quebec, Martin Beaulieu knows all about the challenges of finding qualified staff in la belle province.

“We’re already in a situation where it’s difficult to attract people with post-secondary education,” said Beaulieu, president and chief executive officer of Ouellet Canada (www.ouellet.com), North America’s leading manufacturer of baseboard heaters and other high-performance electrical heating products. “It just took us six months to find and hire an engineer who had no experience.”

That’s why he’s dead set against Bill 60, Quebec’s proposed charter of values which, among other things, would prohibit public-sector employees from wearing crosses, skullcaps, head scarves and other overt religious symbols in the workplace.

“It’s not positive news from many perspectives, including human resources,” Beaulieu told HRD, from his company’s main, 240-employee plant in L’Islet, an hour’s drive northeast of Quebec City. “More people are leaving Quebec’s workforce today than are entering it. So anything that would make it harder for us to attract and retain qualified people is unwise, unwanted and unwelcome.”

Those sentiments have resonated loudly within Quebec’s business community since September 10, when the charter was officially proposed. Confused over how far the governing Parti Québécois government intends to go in its application of Bill 60, which aims to reaffirm state values such as religious neutrality and the equality between men and women. Business owners are also worried that the divisive debates and public demonstrations for and against the controversial legislation will scare off potential investors and workers, and make many highly skilled Quebec residents – especially visible minorities – eager to leave.

“A society that is judged closed and intolerant towards individual liberties will fail to attract the talent and investment it needs to grow and prosper,” said Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, Quebec’s leading

“Perception is very important, and the perception of the charter here and elsewhere is very negative” private economic development organization.

According to Leblanc, Quebec businesses stand to be the biggest losers in the event the bill is passed into law – which appears certain if the PQ is returned to power with a majority government. “[We have] more to win by demonstrating [our] openness to cultural diversity and individual freedoms in order to attract skilled workers and investments,” said Leblanc. “The availability of qualified workers in sufficient numbers is the most important economic challenge businesses will face in the coming decades.

The business community is intent on doing everything possible to help integrate immigrants to the workplace and attract foreign talent.”

The main problem with Bill 60, Leblanc added, is that it “stigmatizes workers who wear religious symbols [and] who are often immigrants. The integration of immigrants is an issue concentrated in [Montreal], where over 87 per cent of recent immigrants to Quebec live. [Bill 60] is in direct opposition to what the city’s business community wants.”

Claude Montmarquette agrees. And the eminent Montreal economist fears that, regardless of if or when the bill becomes law, much of the damage has already been done to the reputation and image of both Montreal and Quebec – across Canada and around the world.

“Perception is very important, and the perception of the charter here and elsewhere is very negative,” said Montmarquette, a professor emeritus at l’Université de Montréal and the president of the Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations, a Montreal economics think tank.

For Montmarquette, the incertitude over the

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NEWS / INSIGHT

RELIGION IN QUEBEC 85% Christian 3% Jewish 3% Muslim 21% of Montreal residents are immigrants 12% of Quebec residents are immigrants

proposed charter – together with worries over when, where and how its eventual provisions would be enforced – are already driving HR managers to distraction at many public institutions across Quebec, especially those in the fields of health care and teaching on the island of Montreal.

“If the bill becomes law, many highly educated staff members who will be affected will have a decision to take: whether to stay or to leave Quebec,” said Montmarquette.

He also noted that the negative news coverage about Bill 60 outside Quebec, together with the many acerbic comments made on social networks, is also encouraging other jurisdictions to woo Quebec workers and undermining recruitment efforts abroad.

“Some people are already trying to take advantage of the debate [in Quebec],” said Montmarquette, referring to a recruitment ad placed in a McGill University newspaper last fall by the Lakeridge Health regional hospital in Oshawa, Ontario. (The ad featured a young woman in a head scarf with the tag line “We don’t care what’s on your head. We care what’s in it.”)

“And many qualified people who want to come here might think twice. That could have very negative consequences in a tight job market.”

“If the bill becomes law, many highly educated staff members who will be affected will have a decision to take: whether to stay or to leave Quebec” And Quebec’s job market is indeed tightening.

According to a recent Service Canada analysis of the labour market in Quebec for the period 2012–16, the number of jobs is expected to increase by only 0.7 per cent a year during the forecast period – the lowest annual increase in more than a decade. “This drop in the level of employment growth,” reads the study “can be explained primarily by the aging workforce.”

With regard to migration to Quebec, the study finds

that net migration (international and interprovincial immigrants minus emigrants) “exerts a major influence on demography and the evolution of the labour pool, especially for high-demand occupations.”

The pre-charter study noted that, in terms of net migration, the numbers in 2010 were “the highest ever and remaining almost as high in 2011. Given that public policies promote high levels of immigration, and given the continuing health of the labour market, immigration should continue to contribute significantly to the growth of the labour pool over the next few years.”

Most businesses that were contacted regarding this story refused to comment on the charter’s potential impact on their efforts to retain and recruit employees. (Elynn Wareham, manager of External Communications HR for RBC, for example, wrote in an email: “Bill 60 is still a project and not a law [and] we normally do not comment on, or answer, questions that are hypothetical in nature.”). However, those that did comment were adamant that nothing good would come of the charter.

“Anything and everything I’ve heard among business people about the charter has been negative,” said Joyce Hammock, publisher and editor of Montreal-based Canadian Sailings magazine (www.canadiansailings.ca) and a former sales manager of the Montreal Gazette. “A lot of them are in a real conundrum. I’ve heard that some are even now steering away from hiring visible minorities to avoid any problems down the road. What a shame for such a great city.”

Though his two Quebec plants are far from Montreal (one is in rural L’Islet, the other in Sherbrooke), Beaulieu also sees the charter as bad for business. “I’ve read that immigrants are ten times more likely to start a business than a Quebec resident who is born and raised here,” he said. “In other words, immigrants bring wealth and ideas, and they generate jobs and fill vacant positions. From a supply-anddemand perspective, the total offering of people in our workforce is just going to get smaller. So we need people from different cultures to come here and to stay here. Whatever we do to discourage them from doing that is detrimental to our economy and to our way of life.”

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HEALTH AND SAFETY / WORKPLACE INVESTIGATIONS

WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS HR can do all the risk assessments in the world, but sometimes accidents still happen. From the first call to the ongoing investigation and the fallout, HRD investigates what HR directors can do before, during and after a workplace accident to ensure the best outcome for their organization

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Even the most safetyconscious company will have to manage an accident at some point, but there are steps HR leaders can take before, during and after an incident to protect employees and their organizations.

BEFORE There is a lot of preparation that HR directors can do now to ensure a smooth process if a serious accident does happen later.

Top of the list is ensuring that every site has a specific emergency preparation plan that is easy to find and follow, says occupational health-and-safety law expert Karen Fields. It should include instructions on how to assist an injured worker, who should call 911, who could contact the family, and who is to contact HR. For the HRD, there are some numbers to add to your contact list so that you have them on hand. One is a grief counsellor local to each site. In the event the incident is serious and employees will need support, it’s better to have contact information on hand rather than have to find an appropriate professional on short notice. »» REGULAR REMINDERS Training is a necessary part of making sure the plan you have is implemented effectively. Employees should be reminded regularly and retrained in the process.

“We’ve seen many times that, no matter how much you train, when something awful happens, all of that training sometimes doesn’t kick in as easily as you think it will,” says Field, who is a partner at CC Partners LLP. “The emergency plan should be easy to access so people can find it if they need a copy, and easy to follow, like a step-by-step program.” »» KNOWLEDGE IS POWER All shift supervisors should be trained in what to do if the Ministry of Labour shows up following an accident. For critical accidents and fatalities, ministry investigators will usually be onsite within a few hours,

“You can’t think of all things and predict what’s going to happen.”

- Liz Scott, owner of Organizational Solutions so ensure that supervisors know their rights and obligations.

Ensure that supervisors understand what a “caution” is. When the Ministry of Labour reads supervisors their “rights,” they do have the right to remain silent, and they should do so until they’ve spoken with counsel.

If the emergency plan has been followed, then HR can help advise supervisors and contact counsel as needed. »» VALUES FOCUS One of the best steps an HR director can take is to embrace values-based safety, rather than relying on the mandatory minimum requirements for the province or industry, says Organizational Solutions owner Liz Scott. She consults on workplace health and safety issues, and was previously director of risk at two major North American manufacturers.

“One of the most important things when you’re looking at prevention of injury, whenever there’s an injury, [is to] show a personal interest and ask a manager, ‘What are you doing to prevent this next time?’

What’s the root cause? Scott asks. “How do we make sure everyone is accountable for their actions and for the individual standing next to them? Fatalities, on the most part, [were] because the individual cut corners, but the longer answer is that the system allowed them to do that.”

Create a culture in which everyone, from the visiting executive to the junior colleague, says, “Where are your safety goggles?” and you will help build the value of safety into an organization’s everyday operations.

Scott also suggests analyzing company data to see where accidents have happened in the past and to see

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HEALTH AND SAFETY / WORKPLACE INVESTIGATIONS

what contributes to the accidents. Addressing the main causes of accidents – whether it’s fatigue-related or it’s because employees are ignoring policy – will help prevent repeated problems.

DURING One thing to ensure is that you, or the appropriate person on your team, will be contacted immediately when an accident does happen. If a serious accident has occurred, the HR leadership team and counsel need to know as soon as possible, if only to assess the situation and measure appropriate response. »» SUPPORTING THE INJURED EMPLOYEE “The top priority should be dealing with the injured worker and the family notification,” Field says.

While it’s not always a mitigating factor, judges will sometimes take into consideration what actions an organization took to support injured workers.

Even if employees are seriously injured, talk to them and their families about their eventual return to work. It may be that that return does not eventuate, but if employees think they’re never returning, it will affect their recovery and likelihood of getting back to work.

“If, when a person leaves work, they have in their head that they’re coming back, then they often do,” Scott says. “Make sure they get prompt and appropriate care and feel that they are a valued member of the team and that you want them back.” »» KNOW YOUR OBLIGATIONS Different types of accidents have different reporting requirements. Depending on the size of your organization, there may be a specific person to handle the reporting aspect, but it could fall to the HR director to inform the Ministry of Labour.

Know the difference between a fatality, a critical injury, and a non-critical injury, which are defined under the regulations; and be aware of the different reporting obligations.

For critical injuries or fatalities, the ministry must be contacted by phone immediately by the employer or a representative of the employer. Other accidents must be reported within 48 hours. These deadlines are not negotiable, and missing one could result in a fine for your organization.

Be prepared for the ministry’s arrival. Have someone knowledgeable onsite to walk with the inspector to assist in the investigation. »» ASSESS WITNESS WELLBEING The Ministry of Labour will need to speak with employees who witnessed an accident, but HR will have to assess whether those employees are capable of working safely after the incident.

Have a plan in place for where employees can wait, what support can be called in for them, and how they will be helped through the investigation process. »» DOCUMENT EVERYTHING “You should do your own investigation, as well, so you have all the information in place if you have to defend a charge. You don’t want to rely just on ministry information,” Fields says. She has seen too many organizations try to start their investigation after the Ministry of Labour has laid charges, which can take up to a year after the event.

For the investigation to be a privileged document to which the ministry does not have access, it needs to have either a solicitor-client privilege or a litigation privilege attached. You get that privilege only by contacting counsel.

“Get counsel involved right away, and they can take you through the right steps,” Fields says. “Any

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investigation you do on your own without counsel is not privileged, so it can be seized by the Ministry of Labour.”

AFTER No HR action is going to undo what happened, but there are steps you can take to mitigate damages and reduce the risk of a repeat incident. »» HEARING IT OUT The Ministry of Labour has up to a year to lay charges, and Field has seen HR leaders get complacent if they think the visit went well.

She says that HR “needs to understand it could still be coming, so you need to preserve all the witness statements and pictures and other documentation.”

Sometimes, in-house counsel might be sufficient, but Field suggests getting input from an experienced occupational health and safety defence lawyer who will be able to navigate the complicated process.

“You wouldn’t have a real estate lawyer take on your family-law case.” »» TAKE ACTION “When someone does an accident investigation, it’s essential that whatever the investigation finds is acted on,” Scott says. “It’s partly due diligence, but you also don’t want someone to get hurt again.”

Train workers in what happened, change any process or policy that contributed to the incident,

and assess whether you need to invest in new safety equipment.

In some cases, taking this kind of action can be a mitigating factor in sentencing.

Some of the biggest damages are the result of ignoring Ministry of Labour orders, so make sure all your supervisors comply with the orders given, on the day, or later as part of the investigation. »» CULTURED RESPONSE It’s never too late to introduce a culture of safety, Scott says. When a serious accident happens, it can be the catalyst for introducing new company values that focus on employee health and well-being.

“Organizations really need to not only have procedures and policies in place, collecting dust, but to see safety as a living and breathing thing,” Scott says. “When we go out and do audits, the most frequent feedback we get from supervisors is ‘If someone would tell me what to do, I would do it.’”

Ask the people on the ground for feedback about what risks most affect them – the person working on the assembly line likely knows better than the line manager.

Until HR professionals perfect their psychic skills, accidents will happen. How HR leaders prepare their organizations, manage a crisis, and react to investigation outcomes will determine whether their company and employees have the best outcomes possible.

NAVIGATING THE HEALTH-CARE SYSTEM We constantly hear and witness a lot about what’s wrong with our health-care system.

But we rarely hear about all the improvements that are being made. There are health-care service providers who are forging ahead with positive changes, such as patient navigation, that are improving patient care.

What exactly is patient navigation, and how does it help your employees?

The American Medical Association defines it as connecting employees to a provider who gives them access to information that enhances their ability to make appropriate health-care choices and/or receive medical care with a sense of confidence about risks,

benefits and responsibilities. Unfortunately, this definition doesn’t capture another very important aspect: how the providers offer this service.

We have investigated over 250 service providers in Canada. What the few – the handful of “best-in-class” providers who do offer patient navigation services – have in common is that they

family members, allowing them to cope better (emotionally, psychologically and physically) »are » highly used and valued by employees and family members »help » individuals when looking for and wanting help »increase » compliance with treatment plans »demonstrate » impact.

»are » medically based »are » provided by doctors, nurses or registered health professionals »help » reduce diagnostic, surgical and treatment wait times »offer » emotional support for employees and

This very important checklist differentiates health-care service providers who are really good, sort of good, and not good at all.

For more information, please contact us at www.sosresource.ca

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HEALTH AND SAFETY / SCHEDULING BEST PRACTICE

PUTTING HEALTH AND WELLNESS ON THE SCHEDULE Scheduling is an often overlooked tool for improving health and safety as well as employee engagement. From meeting legal requirements to ensuring employees have enough downtime in the week, the right automated system can ease HR’s burden The right schedule can mean more alert employees, more productive teams, and fewer workplace accidents, but it’s hard for HR to balance the sometimes competing needs of the business and employees – all while ensuring that it’s meeting its legal and contractual obligations.

It’s easy to see the task as simply putting bodies in the right places; however, scheduling can be much more important than that.

“Scheduling is definitely an issue, and that’s one thing that we’re trying to instil in employers – that a schedule isn’t just a random organization of shifts; it’s actually more significant in its outcomes for things like safety, employee health, mistakes,” said Alert@ Work consultant Carolyn Schur.

For the last 20 years, She has been working with organizations to reduce injuries, errors, absenteeism, and health-care costs associated with shiftwork, fatigue and stress.

Poor scheduling – such as too much overtime, too many shifts in a row, or too many work hours in a day – can make employees fatigued and more likely to make mistakes. What’s more, scheduling is an often overlooked area of employee work-life balance. Schur says many employers forget that they’re scheduling people’s lives.

As more HR functions are automated, some of the common mistakes, such as randomly assigning shifts or accidentally giving one individual too many night shifts in a row, can be corrected. However, many organizations don’t make the most of the opportunities that software can offer.

“From a management perspective, there’s every good reason to be using a software program,” Schur said. “The problem that we encounter with software programs is that most people take their existing schedule rotation and schedule design, and just plug it into the software program.”

Software makes it easier to assign shifts and pay everyone accurately, but if an organization’s schedule design was bad to start with, that deficit will be reflected in the results.

“Even though you have the ability to more easily meet best practices, very few people are doing that,” Schur said.

That failure is one of the challenges Kronos presales manager Charis Sie faces as she works with employers who are implementing the Kronos workforce management suite, a software system designed to control labour costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity.

“A lot of the time, organizations simply want to

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move their automated processes into a new system, and that’s exactly what we try to prevent,” she said.

“Technology is a tool to help orgs complete their core competencies, but they still need the right processes.”

Sie and her colleagues work with employers to rethink their scheduling processes from end to end, and the data they have from other clients allow them to bring best practices to the table, based on what they’ve seen in other organizations and industries.

“It’s a very challenging task and – to consider all the rules needed, such as overtime, how many hours in a day, too many days in a row, skills and certification – it’s a lot of variables to keep in mind; and managing all that, while still trying to be effective as a business, is difficult,” Sie told HRD. “Understanding these, Kronos can give our customers the insight and the tools to automate those rules and implement sound processes.”

Managers can have access to which employees haven’t worked too many hours or too many days in a row and which employees have the skills or certification needed for a specific shift, and can make sure they have the right people in the right place.

“That means being able to level your schedule, and the soft benefits are seen in morale, in being able to be more productive, [and in having] better work-life balance in terms of getting the proper rest when they need to,” Sie explained. “That really helps and fosters a work-life balance.”

Staples Canada recently added Kronos’ workforce management software to its tool kit and will deploy it across Canada this year. As business process manager Joe Sherratt told HRD, not only would doing so free up managers’ time, it would also help reduce costs and improve health and safety.

“We are looking forward to being able to better manage the cost of a schedule using real-time wage rates, improving labour management through the productivity monitor, and being able to better distribute labour from store to store based on actual store-specific volume drivers,” Sherratt said. “In the next phase, we will be able to identify associates’ skills and certifications when building a schedule. In the future, we will be able to use this information to ensure we have certain skills covered on the schedule, for example health and safety certification.”

The organization would also use that information to identify gaps in its training, enabling Staples to be proactive in providing training to fill those gaps.

The Canadian health-care industry faces some of

the biggest scheduling challenges in the country, and it’s used to tracking ROI on government funding. From reducing overtime costs by levelling the schedule to reducing patient wait times by having the right skills onsite at the right times, Kronos’ health-care clients lowered costs and improved results, including the creation of a more engaged and productive team.

Other industries can see similar results.

“Retail clients’ metric is around customer service.

They’re telling us they can reduce their labour costs but still maintain or increase a certain level of customer service,” Sie observed.

By the end of 2014, Staples employees would have easy access to their accrual balances for vacation as well as sick and personal days, giving them, according to Sherratt, more control in managing their leave and time owed.

“This transparency helps to promote better worklife balance by encouraging associates to actively manage their own accruals and to take advantage of opportunities to rest,” Sherratt said.

The retailer has seen increased employee demand for external access – in order to view schedules, book time off, and review timecards – and has heard from its associates that introducing access this year will be a competitive advantage for hiring and retention.

“Retention is a key metric for us,” Sherratt said.

“There are many studies to demonstrate a correlation between good training and high engagement.

Advanced scheduling will enable us to more quickly respond to skills gaps, ensuring associates are given proper cross-training before scheduling them to work in a particular area or function.”

One key step to a successful transition is making sure that HR and Operations work as partners, because it’s when they do that an organization gets the most from scheduling software.

“Often organizations don’t have the expertise, but they know they want to get to a certain point, which is a better work environment and more productive employees,” Sie noted. “If we can get people to see it’s a joint task, they are going to be more productive on the whole.”

While Operations focuses on specific core competencies, HR leaders have the opportunity to leverage the use of technology into a tool for employee morale, engagement and productivity.

In the next issue of HRD, the final article in our series looks at empowering your managers with analytical insight.

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LEGAL INSIGHT / LESSONS FROM ZELLERS

A LESSON IN LETTING GO

Large-scale terminations are incredibly difficult to manage, so when a company like Zellers manages it without any major lawsuits or media scandals, it’s time for HR leaders to pay attention. Lawyer Meghan Ferguson outlines the termination best practices of Zellers.

As the economy and job market change, layoffs in Canada are becoming more common, but Zellers’ closure affected a record-breaking 25,000 employees.

As director of Legal Services and Associate Relations at Zellers, Meghan Ferguson worked closely with the human resources team to ensure a smooth process.

COMMUNICATION The management team at Zellers was very clear at every stage in order to ensure that employees understood what was happening, when it would happen, and how it would affect their roles; so employees were never left wondering what was going to happen with their jobs.

“The mistake a lot of organizations make is they leave employees worried about what’s going to happen next,” Ferguson says. “When employees are left with uncertainty, we see stress leave and sick leave go up, because employees don’t know what’s coming next and they’re left with a sick kind of feeling. We also

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often see out-of-character behaviour.” Outbursts in the workplace, employee theft, and absenteeism can all increase when employees are scared about their future.

“If you don’t know, at least tell them you don’t know – open up the lines of communication,” Ferguson says.

“If you tell them what’s happening, or that you don’t know yet, but when you [do, they] will know – that helps ease some of that uncertainty.”

Overall, information was passed down from senior management to direct reports so that employees heard the news from supervisors they knew and trusted.

Senior management at Zellers also held town hall meetings around the country, giving employees the chance to ask questions and hear first-hand from the president of Zellers what was going on.

TAKING THE TIME Zellers had ample time, after signing the deal with Target, before there was any requirement to start closing stores; and the retailer put the time to good use – reviewing the laws in each province, the collective agreements for each store, and the demographics of employees.

“That allowed everything to be structured accordingly and tailored to that individual,” Ferguson says. “I think a lot of organizations do have the time, but they wait and say, ‘We’re closing today,’ rather than taking the time to meet with employees, tell them what’s going to happen, present them with their packages, and give them an adjustment period before you close up shop.”

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED “The biggest lesson is that you can plan everything, but something will always go a different way. You try to plan everything, but something will creep up,” Ferguson says.

For Zellers, the surprise was the sudden turnaround in the sale of Pharmacy. A process that was supposed to take six months was happening within one month.

The unanticipated change was managed by the HR team by making quick decisions about what needed to happen and being forthright with the employees about what was being done.

“You don’t know what’s going to go wrong, but you do your best to plan for the different scenarios and try to troubleshoot and strategically plan for the worst case scenario,” Ferguson says. “If something happens that’s not according to plan, then you really rely on your team.”

“The biggest lesson is that you can plan everything, but something will always go a different way. You try to plan everything, but something will creep up” - Meghan Ferguson HR THAT CARES Ferguson describes it as “fascinating” that Zellers hasn’t seen class action like Nortel and others. While one union in B.C. filed for successive employer recognition, the retailers ultimately succeeded in arguing they were not the successive employer. Other than that, the organizations saw little litigation.

“It really goes into starting the planning early, and making sure you look at all the risks and potential liability, and look at ways to address it,” she said. “One of the other things that was key to the whole process was how much the HR team cared about the employees.”

The team worked to tailor packages to employees who needed special consideration, and worked with other major retailers in Canada to support Zellers employees in finding jobs at other companies.

LEGAL PARTNERSHIP Sometimes HR and legal have a love-hate relationship, but when it comes to planning and managing mass terminations, HR had better make counsel its best friend. Ferguson worked closely with the whole HR team to the point that they’re still friends a year after the last store closed.

“As soon as something happened, I was on the phone with the head of HR at Zellers, and we would be talking it through and talking about how we would go in a different direction and modify the change,” she said. “You really have to be partners. HR saw me as part of their team because we were really trying to work towards the same goals.”

While there’s unlikely to be a layoff on the scale of Zellers any time soon, employers across Canada can learn a lot from the retailer’s approach to handling widespread change. Communication, preparation and consideration will go a long way to preventing employee uncertainty and potential lawsuits.

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HEALTH AND BENEFITS / SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

CARING FOR EMPLOYEES WITH CANCER Two in five employees will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. What can HRDs do to help them recover and return to work faster?

Look around your workplace and count the number of people. Now look again and imagine that for every five employees, two will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes.

Cancer rates in Canada are high. According to the World Cancer Research Fund International, we have the twelfth highest incidence rate in the world. Last year, an estimated 75,000 Canadians lost their fight with cancer and, on average, 200 new cases are diagnosed every day.

Our primary health services are doing a credible job in terms of prevention and treatment. But cancer support services – the supplementary care that helps patients deal with the trauma, provides education, and guides lifestyle adjustments – are, by and large, a luxury few can afford.

Given the prevalence of cancer in our communities, it’s not surprising that a 2013 nationwide survey by Ipsos Reid found that the

majority of full-time workers believe it’s the responsibility of employers to provide cancer support benefits.

In the same survey, two out of every five respondents reported having no access to cancer support services.

When you look at the cost of cancer in monetary figures, employers taking responsibility for cancer support services makes sense. A 2005 study by RiskAnalytica projected that over the next 30 years, cancer will cost the Canadian economy $199 billion in corporate profits, $250 billion in taxation revenues, and $543 billion in wage-based productivity.

Employers have a choice: They can watch employees carry the burden of cancer without the much-needed support, all the while letting company profits and productivity slip. Or they can heed the call of their workers and provide benefits

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that will positively affect their workers’ health and their own bottom lines.

CAREpath is one cancer support service provider that can be accessed through employment benefits. The privately owned company is unique in that its staff are experienced doctors and nurses.

They shadow the primary care patients receive from family doctors, oncologists and radiologists, to ensure the best treatment is applied, and in a timely fashion. And importantly, they also provide the emotional, educational and psychosocial support that is too often unavailable.

Non-medical support is a valuable component of treatment. While cancer undoubtedly hits hard at physical well-being, patients and survivors often talk about the emotional toll of the disease.

Take, for example, breast cancer survivor Cheryl Lindsay. At a 2008 Toronto benefits conference, Cheryl’s cancer journey tracked the emotional rollercoaster through shock, denial, grief, anxiety, worry and depression, all the while putting on a brave face for her loved ones.

CAREpath’s director of Medical Research, Dr. William Hryniuk, says one of the aims of CAREpath’s cancer navigation program is to minimize the stress, fear and anxiety from the moment of diagnosis. “[CAREpath offers] psychosocial support, intensive education, and expert counselling,” he says. “It results in CAREpath clients being empowered to regain control over their cancer journey and get the best treatment possible. “[It] reduces their feelings of helplessness,” says Hryniuk, “and the accompanying fear of being overwhelmed by the disease.”

This view is supported by the patients themselves. In 2013, CAREpath surveyed 118 patients who completed its program during a sixmonth period that year. Of particular note, 89 per cent of respondents said CAREpath helped them deal with stressful emotions and anxiety either “a fair amount” or “a lot.” A further 83 per cent agreed the program helped them cope with depression or a depressed mood.

Similar success was evident in the perceived physical effects, with 81 per cent of respondents saying CAREpath’s treatment helped them deal more effectively with pain.

The survey may have captured matters of opinion, but an American study published in the journal Cancer supports the patients’ experiences.

A randomized clinical trial of 227 women treated for breast cancer investigated the importance of support services.

During the trial, some patients received supplementary treatment that was psychologistled and included strategies to reduce stress, improve mood, alter health behaviours, and help stick to cancer treatment and care.

After a median 11-years followup, this group had a lower rate of mortality and faster rate of recovery than the group that did not receive the support care.

CAREpath’s cancer navigation program mirrors some of the support strategies in the clinical breast cancer trial. Dr. Hryniuk says the study indicates CAREpath’s services “might also result in increased cancer survival.”

He points out it would be difficult to prove this increase in survival without further studies, but turns attention back to the patients’ experience when undergoing treatment. “We have strong evidence that the quality of our clients’ treatment experience is greatly enhanced [through CAREpath], and we would argue this should not be discounted as a significant outcome.”

Essentially – according to science, patients and cancer support providers – cancer patients undergoing CAREpath’s program are more likely to be emotionally, mentally and physically better off.

From an employer’s point of view, the advantages of offering cancer support benefits are self-evident. In direct terms, optimizing employees’ recovery translates into greater productivity, and profitability, for the company.

And indirectly, quality benefits attract talent.

They help retain employees by demonstrating that the company is not only responsible, but responding to the workers’ needs and offering meaningful services.

This isn’t just mild speculation. It’s supported by the Ipsos Reid survey in which nearly threequarters of respondents said benefits that included cancer support services encouraged employee retention. This incentive was more commonly felt in workers aged 35 and above.

There’s the feel-good factor, too. Should employees need to use such services, then the employers can take heart knowing they opened the door for cancer patients to access such a lifechanging service.

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TALENT ACQUISITION / E-RECRUITMENT

Deep mining for

TALENT

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Five years ago e-recruitment meant applying for a job online, either through an online job board or a jobs page on a company’s website. Few could have predicted just how broad and diverse e-recruitment has now become. Yet the old saying “The more things change…” is relevant here. The concept – applying for a job online – remains the same, but the mode in which people are doing so is no longer just via their laptops or desktops.

Social and mobile recruiting are now the buzzwords. Tools like LinkedIn have revolutionized how jobseekers look for jobs and employers build their talent pools; and as the tools have become more sophisticated, so too have the processes used by employers to find the best talent.

SMARTER SOURCING

Seventy-nine per cent of working professionals around the world are thought to be passive candidates.

Reaching and engaging with them is vital for employers. Is e-recruitment the way to tap into this vast talent pool?

“Leading employers globally are setting up sourcing teams to do deep mining of potential employees, and there’s more long-term sourcing and recruitment, particularly for critical roles and key leadership roles,” says Matt Chaplin, talent consultant, Hay Group.

Sourcing teams can now use platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter to keep tabs on people. An individual may not be ready to move now to a particular role, but HR and hiring managers can stay in touch and “keep them warm” for when the time is right for both parties to have the conversation about potentially joining the company.

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TALENT ACQUISITION / E-RECRUITMENT

SOCIAL RECRUITING ESSENTIALS Ensure the candidate has a positive experience in the digital world. A bad experience with any organization – whether it’s a customer service experience or a recruitment experience – can be broadcast very quickly to a huge audience. It’s critical for any organization to have a clear, transparent recruitment process, and that if psychometric assessments are being used the experience is equally reflective of that particular organization. Keep people informed and use tools that are appropriate for candidates at that particular stage of the recruitment process.

1

Use assessment as early as possible. This enables recruiters to screen in and screen out candidates against predefined criteria, so it allows recruitment teams to be more efficient and effective in their roles, and to allocate their time to the better-fit candidates.

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For further information on what sets the Best Companies for Leadership apart from the rest, visit haygroup.com

Employers are also increasingly using LinkedIn as a means of reaching passive candidates (those who might not be actively looking for a job but might have the best skills suited to the role) and enhancing their employer brand.

“We are constantly educating employers on how to leverage LinkedIn; not just for recruiting but also on how to actively use the platform to build a strong talent brand – a key to attracting good talent,” says LinkedIn’s Adam Gregory, senior manager, staffing and agency solutions, APAC. The rise of LinkedIn has not been without controversy. The recruitment industry has been experiencing a seismic shift. In the past, a recruitment agency’s greatest strength was their unique database full of résumés and contact details. However, in recent years, online social networks such as LinkedIn have democratised those databases by empowering professionals to build and manage their professional brands online. At first glance this may seem like bad news for recruitment agencies, but that is not necessarily the case.

“It’s like anything in life or your professional career:

you see a threat but you turn it into an opportunity,” says Chaplin. “The smart recruiters have certainly embraced LinkedIn as a tool for their business to be more effective at their job. Certainly I think if you’re a recruiter you ignore LinkedIn at your own peril.”

Reps from LinkedIn have consistently denied that their platform is a threat to recruiters; in fact, quite the opposite, they claim it allows talent to be located and engaged with more quickly and cost-effectively than before. Recruitment professionals, both internal or from agencies, can leverage LinkedIn data, tools and insights to find, engage and recommend top talent more effectively.

“Agencies can spend less time updating their database and more time providing their clients with strategic input on activities like employer branding, succession planning and talent pipelining,” suggests Gregory.

That’s not to say all roads lead to the digital world.

Chaplin notes LinkedIn has a limitation too: it advertises itself as a professional networking site, but he believes it’s yet to crack the blue-collar market and also some of the baby boomer generation who are still in the workforce. And purely from a psychometric assessment viewpoint, there’s still a lot to be said for eyeballing the candidate and asking them questions face-to-face. “LinkedIn is a tool you can use to find and source candidates; psych assessment is a tool you can use to provide further insights and more information, potential gaps that need to be developed in a candidate. There is still a huge benefit in a wellstructured behavioural interview to ensure you’re getting the best candidates into the role,” he says.

GLOBAL TALENT POOLS The workplace is increasingly global and workers are willing to move overseas if opportunities arise. How can employers make the best use of their e-recruitment strategies to tap into global talent pools?

Chaplin suggests first asking why your organization should tap into global talent pools. Hay Group’s research into the ‘Best Companies for Leadership’ highlights that the top 20 on this list place a greater emphasis on innovation than all other companies.

This leads to greater opportunities for talent, both internal and external; therefore leading organisa-tions need to think global with everything they do, from their operations strategy right through to how they source, develop and nurture talent.

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“That’s where online tools are effective and useful to find candidates for those critical roles,” he says.

“Also, understanding that objective assessment tools become even more important if you’re looking for global candidates, because you’re now broadening the scope from which you’re searching for a particular candidate.”

Cross-border recruitment requires roles to be clearly defined from a competency or capability perspective, and the recruitment and assessment process must tap into or measure those capabilities or competencies multiple times so that objective overview is achieved.

SMARTER DATA USAGE Finally, recruiters and HR need to get smarter about using the data they obtain about their employees at the recruitment stage and from psychometric assessments.

“We’re all hearing the buzz now about ‘big data’, but it can be used beyond just recruitment,” Chaplin says. “You can use the data from the assessment process to feed other sources: strategic workforce planning, succession planning, talent pipelines, HiPo programs, leadership development.”

Modern assessments now have the capability and scientific rigour behind them to be able to use data from a single source, from multiple applications and multiple outputs. In business today that is extremely powerful. “If you can harness that data you’re going to be able to more effectively and efficiently resource your organization with people with the right capabilities and skills to do those roles effectively,” Chaplin concludes.

SOCIAL SOURCING & SCREENING: TOP TIPS Actively observe passive seekers through search functions

Placing information on your personal LinkedIn page relating to the people you are seeking to hire (job descriptions, etc) will mean you will start to appear in searches by individuals looking for that kind of position.

Keep an eye on who views your profile, and take note of their own profile. If they don’t apply, they may be a passive jobseeker – meaning they might make the leap if you make the right offer.

Foster connections

Connectivity is a hallmark of social media. Hospitality giant Hyatt is one company that has developed social media pages specifically for candidates. This includes a website and blog for college recruiting, and Facebook and Twitter accounts targeting jobseekers.

Get mobile

Mobile accessibility is important, and making sure candidates can apply directly from their mobiles (ideally without having to download an app) is crucial. This way they can apply for that job they found while sitting on the 6am train. In addition, tech company Intel unveiled an internal tablet app that identifies and aggregates key candidate information, streamlining the process for its recruiters.

Tweets for the passives

Stay engaged with passive candidates through Twitter. Try setting up your own profile on Twitter if you don’t already have one, and be on the lookout for the types of individuals you’d like to hire. For example, if you are hiring for a tech company, have a look at the people who engage with Wired Magazine or New Scientist. Check out their own profiles and follow them. If they follow you back, you’ll have a direct contact for when a position comes up.

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GLOBAL BEST PRACTICE / DIVERSITY AT SIEMENS

Siemens:

STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY In the first in a series, HRD presents global best practice insights from some of the world’s leading companies As a multinational player with operations in over 190 countries around the world, it’s no surprise that engineering/electronics giant Siemens has made diversity and inclusion a key focus area. Global chief diversity officer Denice Kronau has introduced a number of initiatives to ensure Siemens stays ahead of the pack. Having previously worked as CFO of the company’s health care diagnostics entity and CEO of Siemens shared services in the US, Kronau brings a ‘numbers mindset’ to the diversity and inclusion equation. She sat down with HRD to share her global best practice tips.

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HRD: Siemens is a large global entity. How do you handle diversity across such a broad spectrum – for example, do you have initiatives to tackle specific diversity areas in each nation or do you have blanket initiatives across the globe?

Denice Kronau: The first thing I’d do is substitute

“or” for “and.” We have global diversity principles and local initiatives – because diversity is ultimately local. It’s important to know what is relevant in the local market. For example, in Germany there are many discussions around gender and women in

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the workforce. A lot of that is driven by the fact many women working today are first-generation workers.

Their mothers didn’t work, their grandmothers didn’t work. So you face the usual things when you are a pioneer, when you’re the first to do something. That discussion is always relevant in the U.S. but not as topical as, say, LGBTI is right now, as well as veterans’ issues. In South Africa we’re looking at the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment issue; that’s a legislative response to Apartheid. And if I visit China or Turkey, one of the prevalent topics is the generational issue. In Turkey, in particular, we have such a young workforce.

Globally, diversity for us is diversity of thinking, diversity of mindset, diversity of experience. And we also care about the relevant local dimensions of inherent diversity, which is being a woman, being a certain age, potentially being a person with disability; whatever it is that makes you diverse from an obvious physical standpoint.

We’re presenting things in a way that nobody feels excluded. It doesn’t matter what the majority group is, whether it’s all men or all women or all American.

If you’re one or two in the minority, you’re a little hesitant to speak up. So I always tell people my actual job is to ensure every voice is heard.

SAYING IT WITH NUMBERS Canada is falling behind other countries when it comes to putting women on corporate boards. Women represent just 11 per cent of board members on companies listed on the S&P/TSX composite index, which represents large publicly traded Canadian companies.

This has dropped from 13 per cent in 2011.

Women have much larger representations on the boards of foreign companies listed on many major worldwide stock markets.

Scandinavian countries average 25 per cent representation of women on boards.

‘‘I’ve noticed the new generation coming in, Millennials, are gender blind’’

Among the TSX-composite-listed companies, 42 per cent have no women on the boards of directors, while 28 per cent had just one female board member.

According to GMI Ratings, Canada ranked 9th among major industrialized nations for female board membership in 2011. That’s down from 6th place in 2009.

HRD: That’s the inclusion element?

DK: That’s right. We do business in so many coun-

tries, so by definition we have diversity in our company. What we have to be able to do is consciously address the inclusion piece.

HRD: So having diversity does not necessarily equate to being inclusive?

DK: No, it doesn’t. I think this is part of a natural evolution. As an example, in the U.S. a lot of diversity topics started with equal opportunity employment.

Then as a natural by-product of that came chief diversity officers. Then it evolved into diversity and inclusion – because if you think about it, diversity isn’t actually the topic; the topic is whether you are inclusive. In Australia, if you’re talking about diversity and numbers – number of women on boards, whatever it is – that’s where everyone starts.

What I’ve seen in the three years I’ve been in this role is if that’s the starting point, you are then able to leapfrog to the inclusion discussion, compared to the 10 years it may have taken to get into the diversity issue.

HRD: Gender diversity and inclusion remains a hot topic, but there remain concerns that the current debate is still not flitering down. How do you think this issue can remain relevant and repositioned for a new generation of workers?

DK: Firstly, I’ve noticed the new generation coming in, Millennials, are gender blind. They don’t understand what all the noise is about: “Of course there are women in my classes, of course

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GLOBAL BEST PRACTICE / DIVERSITY AT SIEMENS

‘‘How do you get included in something?

You have to get a hand extended to you from someone who is already in the room. It isn’t about breaking the door down; someone opens the door for you’’ Denice Kronau they are capable, and frankly we need them to get stuff done, so why are we talking about this?” Will they retain that? Did the Silent Generation retain their perspectives from when they were 20 to when they were 60? Or did they change as they got older?

Secondly, what I think people are leaving out of the discussion is whenever you have a minority, whatever that minority is, you must get the majority interested in their success. It’s not about making that minority “better,” whatever that means, so they can become the majority. One of my favourite things to do when I’m looking for support – say for a women who’s said, “I’m trying to do things but it’s just not working” – is I go and find senior leaders who have daughters who are just about to go into the workforce.

These parents hear the stories at home about how hard it is for their daughter, and they end up being great coaches in the workplace. They can also learn about the challenges their own daughter is facing or might face in the future. Some of our women’s networks have men in them too, for that very reason.

It’s about saying, “Actually, this makes me a better leader or manager, and I’m a little bit self-motivated because I’ve got a daughter in a similar circumstance.

I want her to have a great job.” This makes it a fresh topic again.

How do you get included in something? You have to get a hand extended to you from someone who is already in the room. It isn’t about breaking the door down; someone opens the door for you.

HRD: Where do you see the diversity space heading next? Perhaps a focus on some more neglected aspects, eg. disability?

DK: I see people with disability as always being a

topical issue. We have a program at one of our U.S. headquarters called “Life at Siemens,” targeting kids at high school. They come in on internship – they all have special needs, whether it’s being slightly autistic or in a wheelchair – but whatever it is, they are absolutely able to be employed. They come in with their teacher and they learn life skills for working in a company. Then many have been hired by us, or they’ve gone on to jobs in other companies. They may not have had this opportunity if they’d stayed in school and did not get exposure to a work environment.

Anytime someone can productively work, it’s great for society as a whole. It also changes the mindset of the people they work with; they can say, “I know this person at work who has Down syndrome, and look what they can do.”

HRD: Can you outline the Siemens Diversity Charter?

DK: About three years ago we set up a tool on our intranet where employees could go to a map of the world and click, “I believe in Siemens” principles of diversity, diversity of experience and expertise, with no silos, no prejudice, and that we give an equal opportunity to everyone. When you click, you are effectively signing the charter. We keep score about which country has the highest percentage of employees who have signed this charter. We’ve had over 15,000 employees worldwide sign this.

HRD: What other initiatives does Siemens have in place?

DK: We have a Facebook page called Diversity at Siemens. On International Women’s Day we encouraged people to post a story about women who

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inspired them, and I then responded to that story – it was like an online chat. We had hundreds of employees posting.

Diversity needs to mean something at your desk; you need to know that you are being included, that your voice is being heard, in a way that is relevant and meaningful to you at your desk – this was a way to get that engagement.

We also have 120 employee networks, varying from ethnically based groups, to women, to people with disability, and so on. We don’t overengineer this or put too many rules or regulations around them, but these networks typically get together and decide what their purpose is. Usually they’re about professional development and topics relevant to that group, mentoring and coaching other people like themselves, and recruitment. And then CSR. What we find is people who join these types of groups are very interested in giving back to the community. Siemens as a whole is also doing this, but these groups are great multipliers of that.

engagement, number of women in certain positions, age groups, etc. – the traditional measures of a diversity scorecard. From there I know we need more networks, more time on communication, or I can see when we did this we saw a spike in engagement over here.

Again, that’s correlation not causality, but that’s almost more important for me; it isn’t something like measuring productivity of widgets on a production line: “they used to do 10 and now they do 12.” It’s not as clean as that. When sceptics hear those numbers – “we have 40 per cent more of this or that” – they will immediately dismiss it. So I don’t give them that option to disregard the analysis. Instead you say, “There’s probably several correlations that are significant; however, it’s significant enough that it’s worth thinking about.”

Being a numbers person, I also then outline the story the numbers tell in a credible way. We can sniff when a number doesn’t seem right, so I’m always mindful of this.

HRD: How do you track the success of your initiatives – what metrics/analytics do you look at to prove ROI?

HRD: What’s the significance of ‘Five different fingers, one strong hand’?

DK: Number one, there’s no question within the

started out with the slogan “Diversity means business.”

We then moved to “All diversity is local,” to remind people it happens at your desk – and it’s everybody’s job, not just HR’s. Then last year we held a competition and asked all Siemens employees for their slogan for diversity. One of our service engineers in India came up with “Five different fingers, one strong hand.”

He explained that if you look at your hand each finger is different and that’s what makes your hand strong. If you had five thumbs you wouldn’t be able to do much. Also, extend your hand: it’s about someone opening the door for you and pulling you into the room, not you trying to push your way in. It’s been such a powerful metaphor for us as to why everyone counts.

Siemens family this is the right thing to do and we need to do it.

You can look at it in different ways. For example, you can talk about it in terms of 17 per cent of college graduates today are white males. So we have to increase the intake from a wider pool – we can’t recruit from the 17 per cent of people because we won’t get all 17 per cent of them anyway. You can tie numbers into cost of recruiting and all sorts of other things. I can also talk about 10 people in a team but you don’t get the best from two of them, so you’re only operating at 80 per cent capacity.

We’re engineers, so that data is maybe correlated but not causal. That’s a little tricky on the ROI. I can show numbers that show correlation, but there are other variables, other dimensions in play at the time.

We do keep a detailed scorecard, which we don’t share publicly, but we have about 50 KPIs which I track and change to ensure the efforts we’re putting in are getting a positive return. These are employee

DK: When I started in this role three years ago, we

DID YOU KNOW? Women make up 50.4 per cent of the population of Canada, 50.7 per cent of the workforce, and, in recent years, 62 per cent of university graduates. But in 2012, 35.9 per cent of public companies did not have any women acting as senior officers.

Moreover, according to research

by Mercer, despite growing interest in workforce diversity, only 26 per cent of those companies have a clearly defined strategy to attract and retain women long enough to reach senior leadership positions.

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LEADERSHIP / CHRIS HADFIELD

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM SPACE Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield captivated the world during his time in space. HRD finds out what he can teach HR leaders.

When people talk about high-level leadership, they’re not usually referring to the International Space Station. Then again they’re not Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who’s taking lessons about leadership learned from within that habitable satellite and sharing them with human resources professionals looking to lead a new generation of workers here on earth.

all the major peaks in the world.

“That’s the kind of person that we try to select, with that huge underpinning of competence, and then train over the years to get the right attitude and sense of purpose and sense of teamwork that will allow this disparate group of people with different languages, religions and cultures to do something as complex as leave the planet,” Hadfield says.

BUILDING A TEAM

LONG-TERM GOALS

In its last astronaut selection, the Canadian Space Agency had 5,000 applicants and chose two. With the kind of skills required for the space station, it’s no surprise the hiring process is so competitive. After all, from dealing with medical problems to fixing a broken toilet, resident astronauts will need to solve the problem themselves.

“It was an interesting challenge of building what I saw as an enormous pyramid of knowledge. When the pyramid comes to a point – when you have to do something and there is very little time – it relies on an enormous underpinning of understanding and capability,” Hadfield says. “As the leader, I have this much time available; this is the raw material I have.

We need to start gathering the competence amongst ourselves. Choosing the right people is really key.”

One of the astronauts onboard with Hadfield was Tom Marshburn, who has an engineering degree and is a medical doctor who worked for a number of years in emergency medicine. He also plays classical guitar, speaks fluent Russian, walked from Canada to Mexican on the Pacific Coast Trail alone at 19, and has climbed

Hadfield wanted to be an astronaut from the moment he watched the first men land on the moon, and many of his life decisions were made with that goal in mind.

“The greatest gift you can give somebody is a belief in a purpose in themselves, and help give them guidance,” Hadfield says. “But the important thing is to never let that finish line be your personal measure of success.”

As Hadfield told a Toronto HR conference, his original goal was to walk on the moon. Judging by that specific goal, he’s failed; but when he looks at what he’s accomplished, it’s clear he’s had many successes along the way.

Hadfield also emphasized the importance of longterm thinking in reducing conflict and the noise of the day-to-day challenges.

“It’s really important in anybody’s business to look beyond the current squabbles and think about the long term,” he says. “The same countries that went to war 50 years ago work together to go to space. That’s the difference a common goal can make. If you can just remind people of the common purpose and the

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reason you’re doing what you’re doing, it’s amazing, the cumulative effect.”

RECOVERING FROM DISASTER In 2003, seven astronauts died when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry.

“We killed these people in 2003 because of a lack of competence and poor management,” Hadfield says. “We made the wrong decisions, and we killed them.”

On takeoff, a piece of foam about the size of a briefcase broke off an external tank and hit the left wing, leaving a large hole. Every expert in NASA looked at the video repeatedly in the days that followed, including Hadfield. But no one spoke up.

“It took a lot of guts to launch another shuttle after that. How did we convince ourselves that we could do it safely? How did we convince the world that we could be trusted again?”

NASA made more than 500 changes to its space shuttles and its processes before it launched again.

Since then, NASA has safely flown the shuttle another 30 times. Hadfield says leaders needed to take responsibility for accidents, learn from them, and speak up when they see a problem.

“Don’t take things for granted [and] don’t accept other people’s platitudes, because any of us could have changed the course of history.”

SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF On Hadfield’s first shuttle flight, he and his crew had the important task of attaching a docking module to the Russian space station Mir so that subsequent shuttles would have a permanent place to dock. The module had to hit a target the size of a coffee cup, within a two-minute window, and at the exact right speed.

On approach, the shuttle’s two laser sensors started giving disparate measurements, so Hadfield used his thumb as a reference point to estimate the distance and used a stopwatch to tell his crew when to fire the thrusters. The shuttle hit the centre of the target at the right speed, with three seconds to spare.

“I didn’t invent that in real time. We reverted to that in the simulator many times, so even though it was not expected to have both our lasers fail, it was something that was within our scope of preparation,” Hadfield says. “It was purely the result of visualizing failure and sweating the small stuff. Sweat the small stuff, because that’s where your life is and that’s where success is going to lie.”

“Sweat the small stuff, because that’s where your life is and that’s where success is going to lie” PREPARATION, DELEGATION AND ANTICIPATION Four days before Hadfield and his team were due to return home, one of the station’s two ammonia units started leaking, which was bad news because the station is cooled by ammonia. It would need to be fixed on a spacewalk, which usually took a week to plan and practise. Instead, the team woke up the next morning to a note from Houston saying they would be going outside the very next day.

“That should have been impossible to ask us to do something like that on one day’s notice, but we had built this enormous platform of capability,” Hadfield says.

An advantage for the crew was that one of the junior astronauts had been assigned responsibility for the airlock early on. Hadfield made a concerted effort to delegate tasks as much as possible, saying it’s a good measure to judge the competency of your team.

“It’s a common lesson but a worthwhile one to ask yourself how well you’re doing. How much are you keeping to yourself, and how much actual responsibility have you given to the lowest level of your organization?”

Hadfield says.

The crew spent a busy Friday and Saturday replacing the malfunctioning unit and managed to get home on time.

“We saved the day, but not due to heroics or luck.

We saved the day due to an enormous amount of preparation and anticipation, visualization of disaster, and having sweated the small stuff for years before.”

Hadfield’s rendition of “Is Somebody Singing,” which he co-wrote with Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies, ended his talk, but not before he told HR leaders to be conscious of how they affect their teams and employees.

“Never forget the role you play in inspiring other people,” he says. “You will inspire other people, sometimes badly and sometimes well. You’ll always unconsciously affect people’s behaviour, so just think about the effect you have.”

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THE LIGHTER SIDE

JO B TITLES

THAT BARELY EXISTED FIVE YEARS AGO

If you needed any more convincing that the world of work is constantly evolving, look no further than LinkedIn’s 10 jobs that barely existed five years ago.

Examining over 259 million profiles, LinkedIn found the top 10 jobs that have grown the most in the last five years: Cloud services specialist 2008: 195 2013: 3,314 Growth: 17x UI/UX designer 2008: 159 2013: 3,509 Growth: 22x Social media intern 2008: 25 2013: 4,350 Growth: 174x Android developer 2008: 53 2013: 10,554 Growth: 199x Zumba instructor 2008: 16 2013: 6,331 Growth: 396x Beachbody coach 2008: 1 2013: 3,360 Growth: 3,360x

WILL YOUR JOB BE TAKEN BY A ROBOT? A report from last year, The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs to Computerization?, has been doing the rounds lately in the media. The Economist broke down which jobs are likely to be lost to computerization in the next two decades, and the probabilities are: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Telemarketers: 99% Accountants and auditors: 94% Retail salesperson: 92% Technical writers: 89% Real estate sales agents: 86% Word processors and typists: 81% Machinists: 65% Commercial pilots: 55% Economists: 43% Health technologists: 40% Actors: 37% Firefighters: 17% Editors: 6% Chemical engineers: 2% Clergy 0.8% Athletic trainers: 0.7% Dentists: 0.4% Recreational therapists: 0.3%

BOOZY BONUSES A Chinese employer from the Zhejiang Province surprised his workers at the end of last year by announcing they would receive bonuses based on how much they were able to drink.

“Men were given 500 yuan for a shot of liquor, 200 yuan for a glass of red wine and 100 yuan for a beer. Women were given twice as much money for consuming the same amounts,” an employee told the Global Times, upset by the fact that bonuses would be based on alcohol tolerance, which he deemed as unfair and unhealthy.

OUT-THERE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Getting imaginative with interview questions can be tough, but some organizations seem to have no trouble. Glassdoor examined thousands of interview questions shared by job candidates over the last year, bringing you the top 25 oddball interview questions.

Have you got answers for them all?

• “If you could throw a parade of any calibre through the Zappos office, what type of parade would it be?” – The Zappos Family • “How lucky are you and why?” – Airbnb • “If you were a pizza deliveryman, how would you benefit from scissors?” – Apple • “If you could sing one song on American Idol, what would it be?” – Red Frog Events • “Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer?” – Dell • “If you were on an island and could only bring three things, what would you bring?” – Yahoo • “If you were a box of cereal, what would you be and why?” – Bed Bath & Beyond

• • • • • • • • • • •

“Do you believe in Big Foot?” – Norwegian Cruise Line “Why is a tennis ball fuzzy?” – Xerox “What is your least favourite thing about humanity?” – ZocDoc “How would you use Yelp to find the number of businesses in the US?” – Factual “How honest are you?” – Allied Telesis “How many square feet of pizza is eaten in the US each year?”

– Goldman Sachs “Can you instruct someone how to make an origami ‘cootie catcher’ with just words?” – LivingSocial “If you were 80 years old, what would you tell your children?”

– McKinsey & Company “You’re a new addition to the crayon box, what colour would you be and why?” – Urban Outfitters “How does the internet work?” – Akamai “If there was a movie produced about your life, who would play you and why?” – SinglePlatform

64 | APRIL 2014

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