FEATURES
COVER STORY: HOT LIST 2017 KERI FRASER
LINDA SPEEDY
Senior director of people services, North America
CHRO KPMG CANADA
COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL
Keri Fraser lists two items from the past 12 months as her proudest achievements in her entire career: her team winning the Best Employee Engagement Strategy Award at the 2016 Canadian HR Awards, and her company achieving Aon’s Best Employer Gold Level Status in Canada, the culmination of six years of hard work. Fraser has been with Colliers International since 2009, first leading the Canadian HR team before being promoted in 2015 to oversee people services for all of North America. In June 2015, the company went public and has been experiencing rapid growth since. Fraser and her team continue to support this growth by providing a strong base to ensure the successful integration of acquisitions. Fraser expects retention and recruitment – specifically employer branding – to be her top priorities for 2017.
LEAH JAIKARAN Head of creative resources (HR)
In the past year, KPMG shifted to a new model for the CHRO position by assigning an HR professional to permanently undertake the role, as opposed to reserving it for developmental rotation for a high-potential client service partner. This decision followed the stellar performance of KPMG’s HR team under the stewardship of Linda Speedy, who has 20 years of experience at KPMG, leading HR initiatives and partnering with practices across the country. Last year was one of challenge and learning opportunities for Speedy as she witnessed major leadership changes at KPMG and helped facilitate these transitions by staying the course on the company’s people agenda and working closely with the new leadership team to craft a new people experience plan.
LORI SONE-COOPER Vice-president of HR HOMEQUITY BANK
SPIN VFX
In 2016, Leah Jaikaran led film and TV visual effects company Spin VFX to its first win for HR Team of the Year at the Canadian HR Awards, just one year after she joined the company as head of HR. Within the same period, she and her team implemented the first Reel and Resume workshop, which involved opening Spin VFX’s studio to job-seekers and conducting practical training on how to build the best reel and resume. The workshop helped the company attract top talent, cultivate relationships with job-seekers and promote its brand among artists in the industry. Another major project Jaikaran took on in 2016 was defining and implementing a comprehensive employee experience strategy, which includes a personalized and thorough onboarding process, formalized and frequent performance reviews, and accessible wellness initiatives. In 2017, Jaikaran and her team are looking to roll out Spin’s first HRIS, conduct leadership training sessions and enhance relationships with local schools to strengthen the company’s internship program.
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For Lori Sone-Cooper, 2016 was a challenging yet fulfilling year: HomEquity Bank experienced rapid growth and underwent significant business changes, recruited plenty of new staff, and still managed to keep positive employee engagement scores all around. HomEquity was a Gold Level winner of Aon’s Best Small and Medium Employers for 2017, and was also included in the Profit 500 list of FastestGrowing Companies. As HomEquity enters a new phase of expansion, Sone-Cooper expects the company to cross the 200-employee threshold in 2017, and she plans to shift HR’s top priority from recruitment to improving operational efficiency in the coming year. However, she won’t be forgetting one HR fundamental: “Engaged and happy employees help shape our client experience,” she says.
www.hrmonline.ca
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15/03/2017 9:58:14 AM