HRD 6.03

WWW.HRMONLINE.CA ISSUE 6.03 | $12.95

CEOs ON LEADERSHIP The heads of six visionary companies talk diversity, culture, technology and more

WHERE DATA COLLECTION FAILS Have you been gathering the wrong data to support your initiatives?

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EASING THE FINANCIAL BURDEN Tips for promoting financial wellness among employees without crossing the line

A WELCOMING ATMOSPHERE How to design LGBTQ policies that create a truly inclusive culture

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ISSUE 6.03

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CONTENTS

@HRD_Canada facebook.com/HRDCanada

Canadian HR Awards 2018 Finalists, p44

UPFRONT 02 Editorial

What will HR’s next evolution be?

18

21 GLOBAL HR LEADER

L’Oréal’s Amber Kristof explains how the global company adapts its HR policies to fit a wide variety of local cultures

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06 Head to head

How well has HR responded to #MeToo?

THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF DATA COLLECTION

08 News analysis

Data analysis won’t yield valuable insight unless you’re collecting the right data from the start

Are companies’ LGBTQ-focused initiatives truly promoting an inclusive culture?

10 Technology update

How blockchain can benefit HR

12 Diversity and inclusion update

Despite recent progress, employees still feel a stigma around mental health issues

17 Opinion

CEOs ON LEADERSHIP

PEOPLE

The keys to inspiring loyalty in millennials and gen z

FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT

HRDC sat down with six leaders of some of the most innovative companies out there to discuss the traits every 21st-century leader must have

04 Statistics

Simple leadership hacks will allow you to get more done in less time

36 FEATURES

VIEW FROM ABOVE

How Cathay Pacific used design thinking to transform both the customer and employee experience

FEATURES 34 Diversify your talent pipeline How broadening your criteria for co-op student hires can help drive innovation

52 Five myths about purpose

Finding purpose at work means looking beyond some common misconceptions

PEOPLE 55 Career path

40

His childhood obsession with karate gave Brett Reed an understanding of people that he uses to this day

56 Other life

Venturing into the backcountry with Michael Charest

FEATURES

OVERCOMING FINANCIAL STRESS Advice for addressing employees’ financial well-being without overstepping boundaries

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UPFRONT

EDITORIAL

The evolution of HR

E

volve or die – that’s the motto every leader is living by in today’s uncertain

world. With the onslaught of new technologies, data analytics and business transformation, it’s more important than ever before for HR to take the lead in agility. And while Darwin probably didn’t have the evolution of strategic development in mind when he wrote On the Origin of Species, you can’t deny the similarities between human advancement and the evolution of the HR function.

Once upon a time, HR was little more than an administrative process – a role that was part of a larger body of internal management. Over the years, the function has transformed from what was essentially a personnel job to a department that sits at the very centre of the business structure. AI and automation have overhauled manual processes, giving HR room to grow into something much more creative and free-thinking. Organizations are now realizing that much of their net worth is tied up in the functionality of their HR departments and are taking active steps to future-proof their people for the encroaching tidal wave of new business practices.

AI and automation have overhauled manual processes, giving HR room to grow into something much more creative and free-thinking According to KPMG’s recent Evolution of HR report, 58% of global companies are shaking up their HR structures in order to realize further efficiencies, while 45% are looking to see more quality improvements. As company leaders invest more money and time in developing HR departments, HR leaders are having to become adept at speaking the language of these decision-makers.

This doesn’t always come so naturally for HR practitioners, who may be more used to quoting career progression schemes than cold, hard figures. However, if there’s one thing leaders of today agree with, it’s that people are the heart of any good organization. Surely it should follow that, as the champions of people, HR is the common denominator in all facets of a company?

Once HR has mastered the art of conversing in numbers, there’s no telling how the function will grow and evolve into yet another intrinsic aspect of business strategy. After all, HR has pretty much mastered every other facet of organizational development.

The team at Human Resources Director Canada

www.hrmonline.ca FALL 2018 EDITORIAL

SALES & MARKETING

Managing Editor Emily Douglas

Business Development Director Sarah J. Fretz

Writers Libby MacDonald Joe Rosengarten Hannah Go

Director, Client Strategy Dane Taylor

Copy Editor Clare Alexander

CONTRIBUTORS Scott Stein

ART & PRODUCTION Designer Marla Morelos Production Manager Alicia Chin Advertising Coordinator Ella Dayandante

National Account Manager Andrew Cowan Vice President, Sales John MacKenzie Marketing and Communications Manager Melissa Christopoulos Project Coordinator Jessica Duce

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UPFRONT

STATISTICS

Loyalty must be earned

ARE MILLENNIALS LOSING FAITH? Between 2015 and 2017, millennials’ view of businesses’ ethics and motivations rose, but their attitudes changed sharply in 2018.

Deloitte’s most recent Millennial Survey uncovered a much higher level of cynicism among millennials in several key areas, including ethical behaviour, profit-based motivation and businesses’ consideration of their societal impact.

Companies looking for a longer commitment from younger workers need to evaluate how closely their values align Millennials have strong ideas about how companies should behave – and what they see has a pronounced influence on the length of time they’re willing to stay with their employers.

According to Deloitte, millennials must believe that staying put will result in material improvements to their circumstances or their individual development, and that these benefits would be superior to what would be gained by leaving.

44%

of millennials think business leaders are making a positive impact on the world

16%

describe their companies as “very diverse and completely reflecting the wider society”

Millennials’ loyalty is also driven by how closely their priorities match up with their perceived motivations of their organization.

A company that seems to be permanently preoccupied with profit, for instance, is unlikely to inspire loyalty in its workers: More than half of millennials who described their employers as prioritizing profit told Deloitte that they hoped to leave within two years.

69%

27%

of those working for diverse organizations are likely to stay for more than five years

of millennials working for non-diverse organizations say they’ll stay for five-plus years Source: 2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey

LOYALTY LEVELS LOW

EMPLOYERS OUT OF STEP

More than 40% of millennials anticipate leaving their employer within two years. Levels of loyalty among the next generation are even lower – more than 60% of gen z respondents told Deloitte they would leave within two years.

The prevailing perception among millennials is that organizations aren’t doing a good job of prioritizing the issues – such as improving society and protecting the environment – that are most important to this generation.

Millennials Gen z

61%

Generate jobs/provide employment Improve society – educate, inform, promote health and well-being Develop new products and services, generate new ideas, etc.

32% 19%

Improve/protect the environment

Generate profit

12% Expect to leave within two years

Expect to stay longer than five years Source: 2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey

4

14%

Improve skills of its employees

28%

39%

25%

Enhance employees’ livelihoods

43%

43%

25%

0%

10%

35%

My organization’s priorities

29% 26% 24%

15%

Produce and sell goods and services

What businesses should try to achieve

33%

21%

Drive efficiency – find quicker and better ways of doing things

36%

51% 33% 34%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Source: 2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey

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80

Millennials who say businesses focus on their own agendas rather than considering the wider society

75%

80

75%

70

64%

Millennials who say businesses behave in an ethical manner

59%

60 50 40 30 20

38%

33%

21%

2015

2016

2017

47% 47%

44% 39% 34% 2015

2016

2017

2018

80 70

65%

Millennials who say businesses have no ambition beyond wanting to make money

58% 52%

48% 45%

44% 37%

30 20

53%

50

20

2018

50 40

62% 57%

30

23%

70 60

60

40

80

Millennials who say business leaders are committed to helping improve society

70

2017

2016

62% 54%

50%

50 40

44%

48% 34%

30

30% 2015

60

20

2018 Agree

2016

2017

2018

Disagree

Source: 2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey

FLEXIBILITY DRIVES LOYALTY

WHAT WORKERS WANT Among the factors rated as ‘very important’ on young employees’ wish lists when choosing where to work, a positive workplace culture was at the top of millennials’ list and the second most important factor for gen z.

51%

Financial rewards/benefits Positive workplace culture

52% 44%

Flexibility (i.e. hours and location)

44%

Opportunities for continuous learning

25%

Well-being programs and incentives

Reputation for ethical behaviour

22%

Diversity and inclusion Opportunities to volunteer/make a difference in the community

12% 0%

10

20

63% 57%

50%

Expect to leave within two years

55%

Expect to stay more than five years

48%

35%

33% 33%

Millennials

27%

19% 19%

Flexible working practices correlate highly with loyalty among millennials. More than half of those who consider their workplace to be flexible say they’ll likely stay beyond the five-year mark.

33%

31%

27%

17%

Gen z

30

40

50

60

70

Source: 2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey

There’s more flexibility – I have more options in terms of where and when I work

There has been no change in flexibility in terms of where and when I work

There is less flexibility – I have fewer options Source: 2018 Deloitte Millennial Survey

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6.03 A

UPFRONT

HEAD TO HEAD

Is HR doing enough in the post-#MeToo world?

The grassroots campaign changed attitudes around sexual harassment. How is HR responding to new expectations?

Anna Foat

Jessica Ciccozzi

Jane Watson

Director of digital transformation Sun Life

General manager, people and capability QinetiQ

Head of people and operations Actionable

“The biggest impact HR can have is not action – although training is important – but leadership around the culture. HR provides transparency around the strides the firm is making and also where things need to improve so that there’s a shared understanding grounded in authenticity.

It is misaligned organizational structures, a lack of oversight at the highest executive levels, and actions that employees believe aren’t adequately addressed that create problematic conditions where issues grow. HR is the heart and soul of the company’s culture.

If there isn’t alignment, leverage this position of authority to create positive and necessary change.”

“I’m acutely aware that employees don’t always feel comfortable stepping forward to raise workplace harassment concerns.

The #MeToo campaign provided us with a valuable platform to proactively discuss these issues more openly.

It’s easy to become complacent, but we have a duty of care to ensure we are always focused on reviewing our workplaces, training and frameworks.

This requires a continuous, long-term strategy that is driven both top-down and bottom-up, requiring open and honest discussions. It also requires all leaders to be engaged and communicating with their teams regularly on acceptable behaviours, even when problematic behaviours aren’t evident.”

“No, we’re not. The #MeToo movement, corroborated by current research, has shown that workplace sexual harassment continues to be a pervasive and underreported problem, often coinciding with other abusive and toxic behaviours.

There is no evidence that our current approach – policies, compliance training and after-the-fact investigations – has actually resulted in a significant reduction in workplace harassment.

We can’t solve this solely through better execution of these tactics. HR must move beyond basic legal compliance to embrace a holistic and evidence-based approach to addressing and preventing harassment, and foster organizational cultures in which people feel safe to speak up.”

A CULTURAL SHIFT The Lean In organization recently found that around half of the companies it surveyed have taken steps to address the #MeToo movement, including action against harassers, updated policies, and making employee guidance and training available. Lean In’s research also identified a new lack of comfort among male managers when it comes to such common workplace activities as mentoring, working alone or socializing with women – almost half of men now report feeling uncomfortable about the prospect of being involved in such activities.

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14/08/2018 4:53:42 AM

UPFRONT

NEWS ANALYSIS

Bringing Pride to work The whole world recently celebrated Gay Pride, giving employers the chance to showcase their commitment to the LGBTQ community. But how much of this is real and how much is just for show?

GAY PRIDE is a chance to celebrate the LGBTQ community across the globe, offering the opportunity for world-leading brands to showcase their diverse workforces. With roots that go back to the Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade on June 28, 1970, organized in memory of the Stonewall Riots in New York City, Gay Pride marches have become part and parcel of any inclusive society’s political agenda.

While summertime is synonymous with Pride celebrations, organizations need to recognize that promoting diversity in HR’s agenda should be a constant, ever-evolving process, not a week-long performance.

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates’ first-

jumping ship to a new role. But even in the face of these compelling statistics, LGBTQ employees are still not buying into the idea of coming out at work.

“I think it’s the experience of all LGBTQ people,” says Michael Bach, CEO of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion.

“Personally, mine was affected by time. I came out privately in 1986, but coming out at work wasn’t really an option. I was, admittedly, 16, and working was just slinging hamburgers somewhere, but even when I got into the professional workforce, no one was out. It simply wasn’t an option. As LGBTQ people, we look for a symbol of some kind that says, ‘This is a safe place where you’re not going to

“Putting up a rainbow flag is one thing, but making sure [your office is] a safe space is a whole other matter entirely” Michael Bach, Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion ever global analysis of LGBTQ workplace allies found that more than half of organizations need to do more to support LGBTQ issues. Workers who believe their employers are supportive of a diverse agenda are 13% more likely to stay with them rather than

8

be discriminated against.’”

One demographic that seems to slip under the radar again and again is the transgender community. Out & Equal Workplace Advocates found that more than a quarter of trans employees said they have been fired

or denied promotion due specifically to their gender identity, putting transgender workers at a greater risk of unemployment.

“The power of leadership-ally behaviour is hugely powerful and reassuring to trans individuals,” says Janine Chidlow, managing director of global PR firm Resource Solutions.

“Organizations need to make sure from the outset that their workplace is a safe space where people can be who they are. For trans individuals, their own sense of who they are does not necessarily match the sex that society assigns to them when they are born.

Collecting employees’ gender identity on HR forms and employee surveys must be done in an inclusive way. Allowing employees to describe their gender in their own words demonstrates an understanding that gender is not just female and male. Every transition is different, so the framework should be flexible to an individual’s needs to help eliminate confusion or mismanagement.”

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LGBTQ INDIVIDUALS IN THE WORKPLACE

45%

of LGBTQ employees hide their identity at work

More than 50%

of organizations need to do more to support LGBTQ issues

20%

of LGBTQ employees believe their manager doesn’t care about diversity Source: Out & Equal Workplace Advocates

There’s also a trend toward favouring cisgendered employees, and those who are gay or bisexual, says Colin Druhan, executive director of Pride at Work Canada, which marginalizes the rest of the community.

“Gender identity and gender expression are areas woefully under-represented,”

a masculine and feminine spirit, and is used primarily among people who are indigenous to North America, such as Native Americans, Aboriginals, Inuit, Metis and people of the First Nations. Before the arrival of Europeans, two-spirit people were revered for being gifted, and there were reports of warfaring

“The power of leadership-ally behaviour is hugely powerful and reassuring to trans individuals” Janine Chidlow, Resource Solutions he says. “Senior leadership roles taken by LGBTQ employees mainly show gay or bisexual leaders, but there are very few trans executives. Then there’s a lack of awareness of two-spirit identities.”

‘Two-spirit’ refers to a person who has both

women marrying women and men marrying other men.

While it might be more difficult to cater to these lesser-known variations of the LGBTQ community, it’s HR’s role to learn how to do so and to educate employees.

“Some employers are better at it than others,” Bach says. “Organizations that are on the Corporate Equality Index or Stonewall UK’s list – these are probably doing a better job than most. But the reality is, an employer at the top of the house can claim to be inclusive and supportive, but it may not filter down to all sectors of the company.”

For all the bells and whistles sounding at the top of the chain, an employee in a far-flung branch might still experience homophobia from an ignorant manager. Bach says it’s less about glorifying your commitment to LGBTQ employees to the outside world and more about making your internal workplace dynamic as supportive and transparent as possible. After all, an inclusivity agenda without any backing will almost certainly fall apart.

“That’s where the disconnect is,” Bach says. “Employers need to spend more time on education around what LGBTQ inclusion looks like in a very practical sense.

Putting up a rainbow flag is one thing, but making sure it’s a safe space is a whole other matter entirely.”

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UPFRONT

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE NEWS BRIEFS HR startup founder identifies most important HR tech trend According to David Green, founder of Zandel and former global director of people analytics at IBM, the future of HR tech lies in people analytics. “In Deloitte’s 2018 Global Human Capital Trends report, it was joint number one,” Green said. “It’s been lingering around seventh or eighth for the past few years, but what we’ve started to see is a real move from interest to adoption. This has been driven by a number of things: increased employee expectations around personalization, business needs and industrial transformation.”

Automation to impact half of Canadian jobs in the next 10 years

A recent report from RBC estimates that 50% of Canadian jobs will be disrupted by automation in the next 10 years. RBC predicts that with 4 million Canadian youth entering the workforce over the next decade, and the shift from a jobs economy to a skills economy, young people will need a portfolio of ‘human skills’ to remain competitive and resilient in the labour market. “If employers and the next generation of employees focus on foundational ‘human skills,’ they’ll be better able to navigate a new age of career mobility as technology continues to reshape every aspect of the world around us,” said RBC senior vicepresident John Stackhouse.

Canadian HR leaders making tech talent a bigger priority

HR leaders across Canada are waking up to the importance of harnessing automation, investing in AI and, most importantly, securing top tech talent. A recent report from Robert Half found that 60% of IT hiring decision-makers plan to

10

expand the size of their teams between now and the end of the year. The top three Canadian provinces for relocating tech talent are Quebec (90%), Ontario (85%) and British Columbia (66%). When asked what technology skill sets they’re looking to enhance, the majority of HR leaders named security, followed by cloud computing and cloud architecture.

HR manager forecasts how tech will enhance the HR function

There’s no escaping technology and the impact it will have on HR departments.

Al Oliveira, HR manager at Robinson Innovations, believes that “basic HR questions will be challenged with artificial intelligence, such as questions on employee benefits or time off policies.”

But, Oliveira adds, this will allow HR departments to enhance their focus on human connections. “I think we’re going to become more polished and professional around mental health and depression in the workplace,” he said.

“It will become more commonplace, taking on more of a holistic approach …

On the whole, we’re going to make more enjoyable workplaces.”

More HR departments now relying on video interviews

While it was once considered unfriendly and less personal to interview candidates via video, there’s been something of a spike in this tech-savvy approach over the past year. A report from Software Advice revealed that 60% of HR leaders have now turned to video recruitment when they need to conduct remote interviews, while 47% of organizations use the technique to shorten the time it takes to make a hire. It seems candidates are on board with the video recruitment trend: 57% said they prefer live video interviews, compared to 34% who want to interview in person.

What does blockchain mean for HR? The same technology behind cryptocurrency can also facilitate faster and more secure HR processes Most HR practitioners have probably heard the term ‘blockchain’ in passing – but how can this new technology help facilitate the HR function? Soumyasanto Sen, co-founder and partner at People Conscience, sat down with HRDC to offer some much-need clarity about this burgeoning technology.

“Blockchain is the new internet of the world,” Sen says. “The main reason organizations have begun introducing blockchain technology is for the privacy and security of data, along with trust and transparency.

Blockchains are essentially distributed ledgers, which enable secure peer-to-peer encrypted transactions and build trust. There is no central database and no intermediaries’ middleman.”

Today, most data is stored centrally, Sen adds, which makes it easy for hackers to exploit. This is a huge issue that companies are constantly trying to address, and blockchain could provide a solution.

“Blockchain deals with the concept of decentralizing your data storage, meaning the information is stored all around a network rather than in one specific area,” Sen explains.

“Any transaction that is happening is updated and verified in every single node of this network, making the data significantly more difficult to exploit.”

Another key benefit of blockchain is that it eliminates the middleman. “Whenever we go through with a transaction, there is always a middleman involved,” Sen says. “One cannot simply send money to another person – they

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have to go through a bank, which incurs inevitable charges. For data secured with blockchain, you don’t need a middleman, making it more secure, safe and fast.”

So how can HR benefit from this new technology? Sen believes the most obvious application is in regard to part-time or freelance staffers.

“The main reason organizations have begun introducing blockchain technology is for the privacy and security of data” “There are a lot of employees in the world right now who identify as freelancers, many of whom work across borders,” he says. “There are a few challenges for freelance workers, the first being authentication – the verification process for the pay structure is a lot more complicated.

“The second challenge is contractual,” he adds. “Every country has different laws and policies, meaning you’d have to have a collection of contracts for each of the cross-country employees. Blockchain provides Smart Contracts technology, which will make these challenges more manageable, both with the contracts and the freelancer payroll.”

Paying employees using cryptocurrency like Bitcoin or Ethereum is another potential application that has seen increased interest from employees and freelancers, just as HR’s interest in blockchain has also begun to peak.

All of these functions make for more secure and seamless contracts and payments.

Q&A

Benoit Hardy-Vallée Associate partner and Canadian lead for HR reinvention IBM

Years in the industry 18 Fun fact “I’ve been making my own fresh pasta since I was 10 years old and have always had my own pasta machine”

HR’s top tech priorities Where, in your opinion, does HR begin?

I think HR is accountable when a talent decision will have a direct impact on the business. Obviously, HR is instrumental in the employee life cycle, from hiring to retiring, but they also deal directly or indirectly with all these micro-decisions regarding work and individual employees – how we staff, delegate, distribute and reward work. They’re not necessarily decisions that HR will be making themselves, but HR leaders will have to shape, enable and create the environment in which the decision-makers will operate.

Employees, day-to-day, are all evolving in an environment created for them by HR departments.

What will be the top priorities for HR leaders in the near future?

We’re undergoing a ‘technologization’ of HR, which I’ve seen many senior leaders flag as their top priority – both as a challenge and as an opportunity. If we go back 30 years, we saw the emergence of human resource information systems, which are systems of record.

This then led into the digitalization of talent management, also mostly systems of records. Now we have systems of engagement – i.e. systems that shape how we interact with HR. This is creating a lot of discussion on how technology will help HR, while also raising questions around data, privacy and efficient programming. The traditional objectives of HR will not go away. Of course, you still need to hire the right people and have an engaged workforce; however, leaders are now realizing that if you don’t have convenient, seamless technology in place, it’s incredibly difficult to do the work that needs to be done. People simply won’t be as productive.

Leaders now know that they need to bring their levels of digitalization up to the standards of the consumer world – but you can’t just click your fingers and expect this to happen. You need to get a budget in place and create a partnership between IT, finance, marketing and HR.

How has AI affected the HR function?

I think HR is now seeing and understanding the value that AI can bring to the table. One of the first places we’ve seen this is in talent acquisition and talent mobility. Acquisition has a significant ROI, so having a candidate assistant or any tool that creates more engagement with the candidate is something a lot of companies are experimenting with.

The other side of that – i.e. mobility/development – deals with employees being able to change jobs internally and having access to an assistant that gives them career advice or learning recommendations. This cuts out that awkward conversation with the manager about changing teams.

Over time, we will see a shift for HR where the first point of contact will be almost exclusively digital, while the human intervention will come at a higher level. This will provide the consumer-like experience to the employee with the human touch when it is required.

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UPFRONT

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION UPDATE

Is HR missing the mark on mental health?

Recent research suggests people are still afraid to open up to their employers about mental health struggles

when it comes to employees’ physical health.

While eight in 10 workers would come into work when experiencing poor mental health, just over half would come to work if they were physically unwell.

Furthermore, one-fifth of employees believe their current workload is unmanageable, which in itself is impacting on their mental health. A recent study by the Black Dog

“It is worrying to discover that half of employees still don’t feel able to speak out”

Mental health is an issue that’s come to the fore in HR’s remit over the past few years, as more and more HR leaders have begun to recognize the importance of protecting their employees’ well-being.

However, despite the best efforts of organizations, employees remain reticent when it comes to their own internal battles. A recent survey from Mind found that 84% of employees would continue to go to work even if they were suffering from mental health issues. Furthermore, just two-fifths of those surveyed felt their manager was capable of

NEWS BRIEFS

spotting the signs of poor mental health.

“It is worrying to discover that half of employees still don’t feel able to speak out,” says Emma Mamo, head of workplace wellbeing at Mind. “Too many people struggling with poor mental health, such as stress, anxiety and depression, still feel they need to stay silent. For some, reasons include not feeling comfortable disclosing their mental health problem, worrying their employer will think they can’t do their job and not wanting to be treated differently.”

This culture of presenteeism seems to shift

Starbucks opens sign-languagefocused store

Starbucks has plans to open stores with employees who know sign language to cater to deaf customers. The first will be near Washington, DC’s Gallaudet University, a school for deaf and hard-ofhearing students. “Starbucks has taken an innovative approach to incorporating deaf culture that will increase employment opportunities as well as accessibility for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, while at the same time educating and enlightening society,” said Howard Rosenblum of the National Association of the Deaf.

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Institute, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, found that high job strain is associated with an increased risk of developing a mental illness, specifically among middle-aged workers.

The study also revealed that workplaces that reduce job strain could prevent up to 14% of new cases of common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.

“These findings serve as a wake-up call for the role workplace initiatives should play in our efforts to curb the rising costs of mental disorders,” said lead author and associate professor Samuel Harvey. “It’s important to remember that for most people, being at work is a good thing for their mental health. But this research provides strong evidence that organizations can improve employee wellbeing by modifying their workplaces to make them more mentally healthy.”

New HR policy aims to improve toxic culture at Google Google has revealed a new HR policy designed to improve the way employees communicate with each other and avoid incidences of workplace harassment.

The policy comes on the back of a rise in complaints about harassment and trolling taking place on internal communication platforms such as interest-based mailing lists and other messaging avenues. In an internal survey, Google employees said the level of respect in company-wide discussions had declined and that incivility on internal communication platforms was on the rise.

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Q&A

Lisa Sterling EVP, chief people and culture officer

Gaining an edge in diversity and inclusion

CERIDIAN

Years in the industry 21 Fun fact “I don’t like chocolate, but I’m obsessed with Hot Tamales”

Ceridian was recently awarded global EDGE Certification. Tell us more about that.

EDGE Certification is the leading global assessment methodology and business certification standard for gender equality. It reflects our strong commitment to gender equality in the workplace. At Ceridian, our leadership is incredibly passionate about gender issues in the workplace and providing women ample opportunities in the technology sector. The EDGE assessment actually found that Ceridian enjoys a much higher percentage of female employees and women in leadership roles when compared to our industry peers.

We also scored very highly in the areas of inclusivity of our culture, flexibility and equal pay for equal work.

At Ceridian, we champion an inclusivity commit­­ ment called the Ceridian Women’s Network, a group that focuses on the professional improvement and personal development of women through a variety of activities and initiatives. We’re also a founding partner of #MoveTheDial.

You recently gave a talk at the HR Tech Summit in Toronto on the importance of HR leaders earning their place within the C-suite. What’s your advice for an HR leader looking to gain a seat at the table?

Be brave. Be firm about the things you need and simply demand that seat. However, having it isn’t the relevant part; rather, it’s what you do with the seat when you

Airline employee alleges sexism over ‘man bun’ firing

A British Airways employee has accused his employer of sexism, claiming he was fired over his ‘man bun.’

Sid Ouared alleges he was terminated from his role after bosses demanded he chop off his long locks, asserting it breached their uniform policy. Ouared says he was told he couldn’t wear his hair in a bun, as only female staff could sport that style.

“Thousands of women who work for BA and who worked alongside me had their hair exactly like mine,” Ouared said. “Yet I’m discriminated against for it.”

have it. Mainly, if you want that all-important seat in the C-suite, you really must be prepared to say the things others simply are not prepared to. You must use your voice to advocate for your people, your culture and your organization.

What topics were you personally looking forward to hearing about at the HR Tech Summit?

People analytics has been a really big topic for us lately.

In today’s world, we’re inundated with information, but in reality, many leaders don’t fully understand what will best help them make informed, people-driven decisions.

It will be interesting to see how organizations start using predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning to gather data and then present insightful and prescriptive information back so we know how to use the data and for what purposes.

What future trends in HR tech do you think we’ll see moving forward?

One major trend will revolve around machine learning and artificial intelligence. Organizations will start looking at ways to automate the transactional elements of an employee’s job so they can begin focusing on the human side of operations. It’s all about putting the ‘H’ back in HR. I believe we will start seeing a lot more of an intensive focus on taking the manual aspects out of our jobs.

Amazon rolls out transgender resources initiative

Amazon has announced the launch of a new transgender resources initiative for employees. The program aims to introduce materials that provide guidance for transgender employees and toolkits for their managers, colleagues and HR leaders at Amazon offices. “Amazon also provides benefits that cover transgender services, including support for employees going through gender reassignment and associated mental health services for employees and their dependents,” said Simon Johnson, director of media at Amazon.

Pregnancy discrimination still rife in workplaces

A recent report from UK law firm Slater and Gordon found that almost one in three bosses wouldn’t hire a female candidate in case they became pregnant too soon. Polling more than 500 leaders, the study found that 15% freely admitted to having flaunted sex bias laws.

Furthermore, 29% of leaders said they would discount a woman for a role if she had young children, while 28% said they would reject a married female candidate, and 40% said they believe men are more committed to their jobs.

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PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER

VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE It’s rare for a multinational company with a rich cultural heritage to embrace local norms, but that’s just what L’Oréal Group strives for. HRDC spoke to L’Oréal HR director Amber Kristof about how the company is using the concept of universalization to accomplish this goal

BASED IN France, L’Oréal Group is represented in 150 countries and has 34 brands and 80,000 employees worldwide. Not surprisingly, while the company prides itself on its cultural heritage, it has thrived by not just being a slice of France transposed overseas. Instead, the company’s leaders aim to effectively balance local culture with a truly multinational company, and HR plays a key role in this strategy.

“Having worked in multinationals before, something I’ve really appreciated here at L’Oréal is what we call universalization,” says Amber Kristof, L’Oréal Group’s HR director in Australia and New Zealand. “That’s where we think globally but act locally. That’s not just how we sell the product to the market, but also how we manage the culture.”

HRDC chatted with Kristof about cultural differences, some of the tougher aspects of undertaking work in HR and why her goal is to create a ‘school of excellence’ at the company.

HRDC: What’s the HR philosophy at L’Oréal?

AK: We talk in terms of HR’s proximity to our employees. Do we really know them and what they want to be doing in their careers? Do we get into the finer details so we can then help them be successful? We’re measured as an HR function on how close we are to people,

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whether we’re getting the best out of them and how we’re providing them with opportunities to grow and advance their careers.

We also want to create a school of excellence so people start their careers here and can continue here. That means allowing them opportunities to move around the business – we have 34 brands globally, so there are

glamorous events, but ... it’s very much about collective success: the brand will be successful; we’re all going to be successful.

We’ll launch this particular fragrance, and we’re going to do it together. There’s a real sense of people helping each other achieve success for the business.

However, we operate in a very dynamic and

“We’re measured as an HR function on how close we are to people, whether we’re getting the best out of them and how we’re providing them with opportunities to grow” plenty of opportunities. For millennials who are perhaps not as loyal to companies as previous generations, having this ‘school of excellence’ mentality to draw from is invaluable. If we can create that within the organization, then there’s no need for us to lose their IP, as they haven’t had to move elsewhere to gain experience.

HRDC: How would you describe the culture at L’Oréal, and do you believe it’s consistent around the world?

AK: The perception from the outside might be that it’s all very Devil Wears Prada and

competitive market, so we can’t play it safe.

We have to be innovative, and we have to be far more on-trend than a lot of multinationals might, simply due to the changeable nature of the marketplace. In 2017, the L’Oréal Group invested €877 million, or 3.4% of our sales, in research and innovation. We have 20 research centres across the US, Japan, China, India, Brazil and South Africa, and last year we filed 497 patents. Beauty is, above all, a scientific adventure, and we know that to stay ahead of the game, we must be quick and inventive.

The other great aspect of L’Oréal’s culture is its focus on diversity and inclusiveness and

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PROFILE Name: Amber Kristof Company: L’Oréal Group Title: HR director, Australia and New Zealand HR experience: 21 years Previous roles »»Executive general manager of HR, Melbourne IT »»HR manager – APAC and Africa IT, Ford Motor Company »»Leadership development manager, Ford Motor Company »»HR manager, The Walt Disney Company »»HR manager – stamping plant, Ford Motor Company »»HR manager – US HR division, Ford Motor Company »»Graduate program, Ford Motor Company Qualifications »»Bachelor of science (honours), psychology and genetics, University of Melbourne »»Graduate diploma, industrial relations and human resource management, University of Melbourne

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PEOPLE

GLOBAL HR LEADER ethics. We foster a workplace where all people of every ethnicity, social background, religion, gender, age and ability feel welcomed and valued. Throughout its history, L’Oréal has always set the objective of providing security and protection to all of its employees to enable them to work with peace of mind.

Our Share & Care program, initiated in 2013, is part of a long tradition of social progress and attention to the individual. It promotes, in all the group subsidiaries, a common set of social benefits at the best market level while drawing inspiration from local initiatives and specificities.

We also give back from a philanthropic

issues in this area are somewhat unique. Can you explain?

AK: Seventy-five percent of our workforce is female, so we are concentrating on bringing more men into the company. The retention bit is fine once men join us and see what we have to offer. The difficulty is around attracting them, because we are perceived as being a beauty business. To combat this, our messaging to candidates focuses on how we are a successful global business, our innovation, what we are doing with technology, our excellent opportunities for career growth, and how entrepreneurial behaviour is expected and rewarded in the business.

“What comes out of France is great, and we’re lucky because there’s lots of research behind it all. But we usually pick the initiatives that make the most sense for us and make it work for our culture” perspective. Take our iconic For Women in Science program that combines science, which is at the heart of our business, and our passion and drive for equality. Each year, the program recognizes the achievements of exceptional female scientists at different stages of their careers and awards them with fellowships to help further their research.

HRDC: You’ve mentioned the concept of universalization. Does this mean you can pick and choose what works best for the local market?

AK: What comes out of France is great, and we’re lucky because there’s lots of research behind it all. But we usually pick the initiatives that make the most sense for us and make it work for our culture. Often, as long as the underlying message is not lost, the company is fine for us to tweak it to make it work and ensure it is successful.

HRDC: Like many organizations, L’Oréal has a focus on D&I, but your

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We also offer extensive learning opportunities, which is attractive to all candidates.

L’Oréal mandates in every country that a certain percentage of sales be put back into training every year. We have a budget, and it doesn’t falter.

In the middle of every year, managers sit down with their employees as part of the performance review process and input into the system training suggestions from a catalogue of training opportunities. The data is collected, and the training team then works with the leadership team to plan the annual training calendar.

There are also other learning opportunities such as individual coaching, and some employees are fortunate to go to Paris for L&D sessions – I’ve been lucky to go several times for HR-specific training. We have had gatherings of 400 or more HR people undertaking HR lab-type hackathons with external ‘disruptor’ experts to ensure we’re going to be cutting-edge in the HR space, too.

We also just launched a new parental leave

HOW TO MAKE UNIVERSALIZATION WORK L’Oréal uses the concept of universalization to take the best of the company’s global initiatives and tweak them so they fly in the local market. Amber Kristof provides her tips for ‘selling’ ideas back into a parent company based overseas.

Be clear on the business case. “If you

1 work for a company that wants to do something local, you need to talk about the business benefit, how it will help the local business operations and, by extension, the parent operation.”

Take the emotion out of it. “Sometimes if

2 you get something that has been sent

down through the layers of the organization, you might think it doesn’t make sense. You can go into it with a bit too much emotion, and that’s often HR’s problem – our heart drives our approach. It’s best to be objective.”

Persistence is gold. “Always remember:

3 If it doesn’t work, then try again. If you

really believe in it, maybe you haven’t told the story right. See how else you can tell the story; go back and try it again. Don’t give up! We need our employees to know the value HR brings to them, because it ultimately impacts the culture and the working environment.” policy, which provides all L’Oréal employees with equal paid leave for secondary and primary carers. This initiative means that if a L’Oréal employee’s partner takes parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child, then the L’Oréal employee will be entitled to take 10 days’ paid leave immediately after the birth or adoption, followed by 12 paid weeks once their partner has returned to work (within the first 12 months). This matches the entitlement our employees who are primary carers currently receive. This initiative was a key step to providing equality within our workplace, which supports both parents in having significant time as full-time carers; it also aims to make it easier for the primary carer to return to work and fosters a culture of shared parental responsibilities.

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UPFRONT

OPINION

GOT AN OPINION THAT COUNTS? Email editor@hrmonline.ca

Hack your leadership style HR directors looking to turbocharge their productivity need to re-evaluate their current approach, writes Scott Stein A RECENT Forbes article entitled “Why Leadership Training Doesn’t Work” identified how many leadership training programs offer limited success because they focus on theory rather than how to implement practical strategies, and also don’t take the time required for such skills to stick. In addition, many employees are tired of attending training sessions that regurgitate leadership concepts from the 1980s and 1990s, rather than connecting to today’s accelerated digital world.

These trends are intensifying the need for HR directors to find innovative ways to enable their people (and themselves) to learn new skills while executing business plans in these fast-paced environments, and many feel overwhelmed by this mandate.

This is where leadership hacks come in. A leadership hack is anything that helps you (or your people) accomplish more in less time.

This can include shortcuts that may not be commonly known, simplified steps to make a task easier to do, fast-tracking processes or any approach that simplifies and speeds up a task. To accomplish more, HR directors need to adopt new ways of thinking and influencing that enable them to do more with less.

One area in need of hacking is the time-suck represented by email. Many people are locked into the common pattern of checking and rechecking their inboxes, which

fragments focus and can interfere with decision-making.

The answer could come in the form of the 321-Zero system devised by New York Times bestselling author Kevin Kruse as a product of his study of the habits of successful billionaires, entrepreneurs and Olympic athletes.

vidual and frees up time for the leader.

The hack is simple: The leader must invest 10 to 15 minutes in working with the individual to create a one-page plan laying out the essentials of the task. Rather than tell them what you want them to do, start by asking them what they think the steps should be and guide them through the process. Capture what they share on an iPad or piece of paper to ensure understanding. Once the steps are identified, ask them in what order they should execute the steps, and mentor them toward the most efficient method. To finalize the delegation hack, schedule a couple of check-ins so they can update you on their progress.

One other crucial area that often needs to be hacked is team meetings. Who hasn’t been to a meeting that was a waste of time? Add up the lost time and productivity, and it’s clear that meetings are ripe for hacking.

The problem with most team meetings is simple: The purpose of the meeting gets lost.

Employees will often complain about the amount of time taken up by people talking in circles or, most importantly, a lack of clarity on the purpose or outcome of the meeting.

Team meetings typically fall into one of

“HR directors need to adopt new ways of thinking and influencing that enable them to do more with less” The system calls for checking email at three scheduled times per day and simultaneously setting a timer to 21 minutes, then making a game of getting your email inbox to zero in that timeframe. This hack lends itself to greater focus and a clearer inbox.

HR leaders also have tasks that should be delegated that are nonetheless held onto.

Many don’t want to take the time required to delegate or don’t trust the abilities of the person they would be entrusting the task to. A 2012 Harvard Business Review article titled “Why Aren’t You Delegating?” found that almost 50% of companies were concerned about the delegation abilities of their people, but most did not offer any training on how to delegate. A delegation hack could change this dynamic into one that empowers an indi-

four categories: reporting, problem-solving, decision-making and strategy development.

Should the wrong format be used, attendees switch off, frustration levels rise, and it can take much longer to reach an outcome.

Selecting the right meeting for the right situation increases the effectiveness of everyone involved and eliminates wasted time.

By implementing these leadership hacks, HR directors can fast-track their performance, and that of their people, to gain a competitive edge in today’s world.

Scott Stein has helped thousands of leaders implement fast-track strategies to improve results. He is the author of Leadership Hacks: Clever Shortcuts to Boost Your Impact and Results.

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LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT INSIGHT

DATA ANALYSIS

The do’s and don’ts of data collection HRDC caught up with Paul Juniper to get his unique insights into how HR leaders should be collecting and analyzing data

USING DATA to build an accurate picture of organizational blind spots is a core responsibility of the modern HR leader. As well as helping HR to understand where changes in strategy might be necessary, data collection also enables HR leaders to argue a particular point of view or push through important initiatives with the executive team.

data collection mistakes cost time and yield findings of little use.

Understanding the difference between descriptive and predictive data is an important first step for any HR leader who wants to use organizational data effectively.

“The first level of data that people tend to get is descriptive, which is often thought of as

“You can overwhelm people with data.

HR leaders need to inform themselves on where the opportunities lie and then how they can improve business results by collecting the right data” Paul Juniper, Queen’s IRC However, as with many potentially transformative activities, data collection and analysis often isn’t that simple. While most HR departments now realize the value of data, their good intentions don’t necessarily lead to the most effective execution. Common

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‘tombstone’ data,” says Paul Juniper, director emeritus of the Industrial Relations Centre [IRC] at Queen’s University. “It consists of the number of employees you have, how long they’ve been with you, how much you pay them, gender, whether or not they smoke,

what benefit plan they’re in and what training they’ve taken.”

While this might appear to be fairly standard information, some descriptive data isn’t as easily accessible as it should be, and some HR leaders only discover that when they go searching for it. Juniper recalls asking a friend who was a VP for a major national corporation how many employees the company currently had. The VP didn’t know exactly and said he would have to call each of the 10 regional offices to find out.

“Much of the tombstone data tends to be held in different buckets, and those buckets are often not aware of each other,” Juniper says. “You might have a compensation department that has lots of good comp information but knows little about training offered, or a training department that has no idea that 40% of the workforce may need new computer skills for a new company-wide technology initiative.”

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Brought to you by

Creating prescriptive data sets involves collecting descriptive information and using it to forecast what is likely to happen in the future, rather than looking back. In his time as a VP of HR, Juniper did just that when he created a smoking cessation study within his organization.

The first step was to find out from life insurance records which employees were smokers. As Juniper dug deeper into his company’s descriptive data, he made a compelling discovery when analyzing the differences in casual absenteeism (people phoning in sick for a day or two) between smokers and non-smokers. He was able to confidently report that his company experienced 20% more casual absences among smokers.

“We were then able to calculate the extra cost of smokers being casually ill and compare that against the cost of implementing a smoking cessation program,” Juniper says.

“That gave us a cost benefit to introducing the

program. So when I went to an executive and said I wanted to spend money on implementing my idea, I could articulate with evidence what it would save us. It took 30 seconds for the executive to approve the program because I had the data to prove it was a worthwhile pursuit.”

From there, Juniper and his team set a target for smoking reduction and used the organization’s internal communications to include articles in the monthly newsletter and posters in break rooms with different strategies related to kicking the habit.

“In doing that, we were able to reduce the number of smokers in the workplace by 10%, which we could prove would save us money,” Juniper says. “We used an existing piece of tombstone information to predict and cost what the change would be and then used that to justify introducing a program. There was a clear health benefit, and we helped people who were amenable to stop smoking. However, some people are never going to stop smoking – it doesn’t matter what incentives you put in place.”

There are many examples of how not to use or analyze data. Juniper gives the example of a sales-driven organization that was not hitting its targets. The VP of sales diagnosed the problem as being related to salespeople not making enough calls, so he implemented a

system to ensure his staff spent more time on the phone. The strategy led to a 20% increase in sales calls, but suddenly sales went down.

“The new plan forced people to make sales calls to customers who weren’t qualified in order to meet the new requirement,” Juniper says. “They were not being measured on whether they were qualified calls or whether or not a sale was closed. Some of the best salespeople did not make many calls, but they closed almost all of them. This new plan was detrimental to those top performers.

It was a fairly simple mistake, but it had serious implications.”

The benefits of using data to implement a strategy are clear, but Juniper urges a cautious approach. HR leaders shouldn’t rush into data collection, but instead should dedicate a significant chunk of time to planning before jumping in.

“You need to be careful about what you collect and measure the results carefully; it makes much more sense to focus on one small area,” Juniper says. “There are two main challenges when you get started: not knowing what to collect and collecting too much. You can overwhelm people with data. HR leaders need to inform themselves on where the opportunities lie and then how they can improve business results by collecting the right data.”

ABOUT QUEEN’S IRC The Queen’s University Industrial Relations Centre [IRC], a professional development unit within the Faculty of Arts & Science, delivers programs in labour relations, human resources and organizational development, based on 80 years of experience and research. Our programs are led by industry leaders and designed for busy practitioners who want to directly apply their knowledge to their work environment.

Human resources: Learn how to build and engage teams in multi-disciplinary environments, manage change, and transform key HR data into business strategy.

Labour relations: Develop the skills to effectively handle disputes and negotiations, build trust, and manage unionized environments.

Organizational development: Diagnose organizational challenges, explore design issues and develop robust solutions. Choose from twoto five-day open enrolment programs delivered across Canada or customized on-site training solutions that address your organization’s specific needs. We also offer certificate programs in advanced human resources, organizational development, labour relations and advanced labour relations for professionals who want to continue to develop their skills and contribute to their organization’s success.

Why Queen’s IRC? • Opportunities to network with high-level colleagues from across the country • Coaching from internationally renowned facilitators with real-world experience • Experiential programming to test theories and ideas • Skills and strategies that directly apply to work environments • Mentoring beyond classroom sessions Learn more at irc.queensu.ca

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14/08/2018 4:56:30 AM

NOVEMBER 13 AND 14, 2018 • TORONTO CONGRESS CENTRE

BRINGING TOGETHER OVER 300+ MOST SENIOR HR PROFESSIONALS Join senior HR professionals for a two-day extravaganza of high-level keynotes, panel debates, standalone sessions and networking opportunities.

Shawn Kanungo

Jodi Kovitz

Dan Pontefract

Christine Song

Soula Courlas

Gena Restivo

Innovation Strategist; General Partner of Queen & Rook Capital, Top 40 under 40; Inc. Magazine’s 100 Most Innovative Leadership Speakers in 2018

CEO & Founder

Best-selling author of OPEN TO THINK, THE PURPOSE EFFECT & FLAT ARMY; Chief Envisioner at TELUS, Adjunct Professor at the University of Victoria

VP, People & Culture

National Lead, People & Change Services

Vice President, Human Resources & Communications

#MoveTheDial

BioConnect

KPMG in Canada

AstraZeneca Canada

WHY ATTEND:

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

 Obtain practical strategies from Canada’s top HR leaders

 Understanding global trends in diversity & inclusion

 Engage with your peers through facilitated networking opportunities and the delegate drinks reception

 Developing a culture of innovation within your organization

 Earn HRPA continuing professional development credits – stay tuned for confirmed hours!

 Supporting women in leadership and closing the gender pay gap

Register today at hrleaders.ca or call 416-644-8740 ext 243 to secure your spot!

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14/08/2018 5:01:39 4:59:18AM AM 14/08/2018

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SPECIAL REPORT

CEOs ON LEADERSHIP

CEOs on leadership What skills do today’s leaders need to propel their organizations to success in a world that’s constantly changing? HRDC spoke to six men and women who are leading cuttingedge companies to find out

IN TODAY’S uncertain world, it’s more important than ever before for leaders to be agile and have foresight in organizational development. HRDC sat down with six global leaders to discuss how best to handle change, how to inspire a culture of transformation and how they’re future-proofing their organizations against the onslaught of impending digitalization.

For this special report, HRDC talked to executives across a wide range of sectors, from recruitment and online dating to cannabis cultivation and health benefits. Their views on leadership are as varied as the industries they work in: Jay Wilgar, CEO of Newstrike, discussed the complexities of earning customer buy-in for an emerging industry, while both #MovetheDial founder Jodi Kovitz and The Leadership Agency’s Jamie Hoobanoff talked about the importance of filling more leadership positions with women. On the following pages, each of these ground-breaking leaders outline the factors that have driven them to succeed and have molded their unique leadership styles.

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SPECIAL REPORT

CEOs ON LEADERSHIP

One step at a time As the founder of a company geared toward helping startups succeed, The Leadership Agency’s Jamie Hoobanoff knows that encouraging diversity is key

JAMIE HOOBANOFF is no stranger to diversity. In her 10 years in the recruitment sector, Hoobanoff h as i nterviewed o ver 10,000 people and placed more than 3,000 of them in jobs across North America. After enjoying an extensive career in hiring, Hoobanoff went on to found The Leadership Agency, which focuses on helping clients lead within the technology and startup space. Even though her company effuses a predominantly sales-like culture, Hoobanoff is most proud of its commitment to inclusivity.

“Our culture, as a company, is incredibly transparent,” she says. “We operate in an industry that unfortunately doesn’t have a lot of transparency within it, so that’s one of our number-one core values as a business. It’s built into the genetics of our company. We’re really disciplined and super driven, meaning we have goals and targets as with any salesoriented company. Our credo is to help our clients lead, and we’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

“It’s not just about providing a great service or great people for the role on offer; w e a re truly passionate about helping our clients lead,” she adds. “Overall, we know it’s all about people, from hiring the right people for a job to recruiting the right talent into our own organization to working with the right clients.”

This passion for people extends into how approaches The Leadership Agency diversity in leadership. Although the tech sector continues to make strides in terms of

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AI, automation and robotics, inclusivity seems as if it’s being left behind. A survey of 900 Canadian tech companies found that women account for only 8% of director roles, while 73% of tech companies have no women on their boards – despite the fact that companies with a focus on diversity and inclusion can yield greater monetary gains.

“Diversity is about more than just having any type of marginalized sector in the workplace,” Hoobanoff says. “Empowering real and authentic diversity comes from employees knowing they have a platform on which to express themselves. You need to provide an opportunity for growth in an inclusive space. We have a commitment to make sure our clients are given an opportunity to make diverse decisions in their hiring process, which comes down to our own inclusive pipeline of candidates.

“Though 50% of the leaders we’ve placed have been female,” she continues, “it is very difficult to get diverse candidates to say yes to something. After all, you don’t know what you don’t know – and 80% of B2B brands have never been heard of. It’s a movement – therefore, it’s not easy. It’s not about slapping a diversity hiring quota on talent leaders.

However, we are totally committed to it, both for ourselves and for our clients.”

This desire to further her organization’s diversity efforts stems from Hoobanoff ’s own personal leadership style – one she aptly describes as “self-expressed.”

“Everyone who works with me or has ever been led by me knows that they can be fully self-expressed and really understand what’s expected of them,” she says. “I’m very clear on expectations, I’m collaborative, and I want people to feel challenged and empowered to push themselves. My team is confident and encouraged to challenge and push everyone to be their best selves.”

Hoobanoff is also a founding member of The Big Push, a female-founded accelerator program that helps technology companies go from the seed round of funding to the A round.

“We’re working with three different startups right now, and we’re all female-founded with a woman-led board of directors,” she

THE LEADERSHIP AGENCY

BY THE NUMBERS

97%

of candidates placed by The Leadership Agency have met or exceeded first-year targets

50%

of leaders placed by The Leadership Agency have been female

25%

of clients have raised their next level of financing since hiring leaders

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“It’s a movement – therefore, it’s not easy.

It’s not about slapping a diversity hiring quota on talent leaders. However, we are totally committed to it, both for ourselves and for our clients”

says. “In there we have lawyers, accountants, PR, marketing and HR, where we all come together and act as an extension of the business we’re trying to help.”

And it doesn’t stop there – The Leadership Agency recently launched We Celebrate Leaders, a new program celebrating leadership in Canada that has a strong focus on diversity and inclusivity in the C-suite.

“One of the key criteria was for these leaders to have a proven commitment to diversity,” Hoobanoff says. “We want to be able to see it in their hiring, in their company culture and in their public commitments to diverse causes. We didn’t choose any leaders unless they abided by these criteria. We can’t hire, promote or be great leaders if we don’t know what it takes to be a great leader.”

In addition, The Leadership Agency will be launching the Giving Back Initiative in September, in which it will donate $10,000 worth of recruitment services to a charitable organization, with the caveat that the organization must also show a commitment to diversity.

“This is where we put our money where our mouth is,” Hoobanoff says. “This initiative will assist a chosen organization in finding an amazing leader who will bring another level of expertise and passion to their team – but again, the not-for-profit in question has to demonstrate diversity and inclusion in their efforts.”

Many organizations play the part of the inclusive employer in public but make few changes internally. While this might help in getting diverse talent through the door, it won’t keep them there. That’s why Hoobanoff thinks it’s essential for leaders to adapt their leadership style and lead by example to ensure a wholly inclusive workforce. “After all,” she says, “you can’t just have the right people on the bus – you have to have the right bus for the people.”

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SPECIAL REPORT

CEOs ON LEADERSHIP

Making a love connection Spark Networks CEO Jeronimo Folgueira Sanchez outlines the challenges inherent in taking a company from a small startup to a publicly traded global operation

SPARK NETWORKS is the global leader in online dating sites. With international names such as EliteSingles, JDate and Christian Mingle, Spark Networks operates in 29 countries and boasts thousands of engaged users. Launched in Germany under the original name Affinitas, the company merged with Spark Networks last year and went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LOV. “The company has changed dramatically in the past two years,” says Spark Networks CEO Jeronimo Folgueira Sanchez. “Going from a German private startup to a global company listed on the NYSE was a major challenge, and we had to change a lot of aspects from the top down. A lot of this looked at the evolution of our internal processes through to the seniority of the teams and team dynamic.”

Spark Networks is lucky to enjoy the benefits of a strong company culture fostered within an entrepreneurial environment.

Working in an industry whose sole aim is to help customers find true love makes for a rather unique workplace dynamic.

“Our company culture is quite unique, and I would say it is probably one of our biggest strengths,” Sanchez says. “We are

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still very entrepreneurial, very friendly and international, and very fast-moving. We don’t fear change – we embrace it with open arms. People in our company enjoy what they do, and that helps us achieve great results every day.

“For me, it’s very important to preserve this company culture, especially now that we are listed,” he adds. “My method of doing this is imagining myself as ‘shield’ to prevent external pressure – especially quarterly earnings – from changing who we are and

myself what they would do, and that helps me a lot.”

This, Sanchez says, has significantly honed his personal leadership style. “I try to be fair with people and lead by example. I expect employees to work hard and deliver the results, but this is also a standard I apply myself as well. I like to have fun, and I want our workers to enjoy what they do; therefore, I really aim to create a work environment where people are engaged and happy.

This way, they feel ownership and passion

“For me, it’s very important to preserve [our] company culture … My method of doing this is imagining myself as ‘shield’ to prevent external pressure – especially quarterly earnings – from changing who we are and how we do things” how we do things. Also, when hiring new people, we take extra special care to source top talent that fits our internal culture.”

Sanchez is, by anyone’s standards, a relatively young CEO. Yet at just 36 years old, he’s learned a thing or two about how to manage people from some of today’s top business leaders.

“I was fortunate enough to work directly with great CEOs from a significantly young age,” he says. “In my mid-20s, I worked with Gerhard Zeiler, CEO of RTL Group at the time, and Dawn Airey, CEO of Channel 5 in the UK, who’s now CEO of Getty Images.

They inspired me to want to become a chief executive officer, and I really do consider them to be the original role models of the type of CEO I want to be. When I find myself in a difficult situation, quite often I ask

for their work.

“I also try to be super open,” he says.

“Anyone can ask me anything, and I’ll always answer, even if they don’t like the answer. I never tell people what they want to hear; I tell them things as they are, no matter how hard it is. It’s important never to walk away from a difficult talk. Additionally, I put the right amount pressure on people at the right time to get the best of them. As one of my employees once described it, diamonds are made under pressure.”

Sanchez has his own advice for future CEOs – lessons he’s learned along the way that have helped shape him not only as a leader, but also as a person.

“I would say be calm, be patient and don’t forget the big picture,” he says. “Young people – and especially me in my 20s –

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SPARK NETWORKS Beginning life as Affintas, the parent company of EliteSingles, Spark Networks took on the new name after a corporate amalgamation. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, the international organization enjoys a prime location for tech startups. Now listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LOV, Spark Networks employs more than 250 people from over 30 countries.

are very impatient. We want results too quickly and move way too much, changing jobs and companies at the drop of a hat. I realized in recent years that you need time to make meaningful change and impact, and that getting to where you want to be is more important than getting there faster.

Rushing usually prevents you from achieving great things.

“The more responsibility you have, the calmer you need to be,” he continues. “CEOs usually spend nearly half of their time dealing with unexpected crises of all kind, so you need to be calm and make sure you react the right way at the right time. It’s essential to keep the situation under control at all times. Whatever happens, you need to first stop and think. Rushing, overreacting and panicking is typical of young people, and that’s probably why good CEOs tend to be a bit older.

“I didn’t value age and experience in my 20s, but I do now,” he adds. “In the technology industry, old age is seen as a weakness – but I still think there’s a lot of value in age. People get better with the years they accumulate, growing in confidence, experience and mindfulness.”

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SPECIAL REPORT

CEOs ON LEADERSHIP

Shifting the status quo Jodi Kovitz, founder of #MovetheDial, explains why advocating for female leadership in all industries is crucial right now JODI KOVITZ is a big name in the Canadian technology space. Having run a not-for-profit organization, Peerscale (formerly AceTech Ontario), Kovitz founded #MovetheDial in January 2017 with the mission of increasing the participation and leadership of all women in technology. “#MovetheDial is a global movement that aims to advance women in the tech space,” Kovitz says. “We focus on making large, substantive systems change in a metricdriven way through collaboration and a positive solutions focus. We also want to inspire young girls and women to be all they can see so we can help increase the number of women in the pipeline to join the tech industry and lead it into the future.”

Diversity in the tech sector has long been an issue of contention for leaders. A study undertaken by #MovetheDial in conjunction with PwC Canada and the MaRS Discovery District found that just 5% of CEO roles in Canada were held by women.

And the state is even sorrier for tech firms – more than half of the country’s digital organizations have no female executives.

“It’s so incredibly important to empower females into executive positions,” Kovitz says. “I think 2018 has been a tremendous year for the empowerment of ‘the woman’ worldwide. It’s come about through amazing

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movements launched by individuals – people are finally starting to understand the power of advancing all leaders. There are so many different perspectives and results that we can achieve when women are seated at the leadership table.

“In the new economy, from my perspective, we frankly cannot afford to leave any part of the population out,” Kovitz adds.

“When you don’t have women at the design table or at the leadership table, making choices around the solutions we need for the future, those solutions will not reflect the needs of the population at large. For me, that’s the giant impetus as to why we need empower female leaders now – and do it faster than ever before.”

Since launching, #MovetheDial has garnered a community of more than 5,000 and has had a great deal of impact. For example,

organizations like the accelerator hub the C100 have seen a 400% increase in female founder nominations in Toronto for its programs (in that case, the increase was 400%).

For Kovitz, promoting inclusivity has become a personal as well as professional calling. She’s no stranger to discrimination in her own career – yet despite this, she’s determined to take a positive stance when pushing for inclusivity.

“Certainly, I’ve had moments in my career where I’ve had to find ways to demonstrate my potential and my knowledge,” she says.

“I’ve had moments where I’ve wondered if it’s more difficult for me because of my gender and my age. I really try to focus on the opportunities and the solutions rather than the prejudices and bias. I believe the more we can keep our mindset on what we can do to fix the problem instead of focusing wholly on our

TACKLING DIVERSITY IN CANADA Diversity in Canadian companies is something of a sticking point. While many organizations have the desire to change, do they really have the facilitator? A recent report found that of the 100 highest-paid CEOs in Canada in 2017, just three were women. Women make up less than 20% of board members for Canada’s top 500 companies. And yet a PwC study found that 86% of women and 71% of men said they truly care about their organization’s stance on diversity, equality and inclusion.

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“People are finally starting to understand the power of advancing all leaders. There are so many different perspectives and results that we can achieve when women are seated at the leadership table”

own challenges, the better we will be and the faster we will move the dial.”

As a woman paving the way for change, Kovitz has spent time perfecting her personal leadership style, which relies on authenticity, open dialogue and fostering a wholly inclusive demographic.

“Authentic conversations are the absolute best way to advance the full talent pool to build the solutions we need for the future is in a very positive way,” she says. “If we see the glass as half full and inspire people to go out of their way to take individual and collective action, there’s nothing stopping us from facilitating major change. That reflects in a lot of the messaging around the work we do: being positive, being action-focused and walking the walk. A small example of this would simply be taking someone to a meeting to let them watch and learn in person or connecting someone to an opportunity with a female founder of a tech company. It’s just as much about the little steps as it is the big ones – and I think my leadership style is to show people what’s possible.”

So, from a female leadership perspective, what would Kovitz like to see from the CEOs of the future? She believes leaders can’t just pay lip service to new initiatives – there needs to be more substance behind diversity agendas.

“Employees need to feel like they can belong at the design and leadership tables, which in turn will allow them to come to work as their authentic selves,” she says. “It’s one thing to bring diversity to the table; it’s another thing entirely to make those diverse people feel like they belong there. When they do feel like they do have a true seat, they can make super meaningful contributions as their authentic selves. We really need to not only go out of our way to get people to the design table – we also have to go out of way to make those people feel ownership and pride in their place.”

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14/08/2018 5:02:00 AM

SPECIAL REPORT

CEOs ON LEADERSHIP

The will to win League CEO Mike Serbinis discusses how he’s pioneering a company culture that prioritizes both a competitive spirit and employee well-being

MIKE SERBINIS was always destined to be a great entrepreneur. In high school, he won the International Science and Engineering Fair, which in turn led to an opportunity to meet the CEO of Intel, sparking a vision for what a career as a tech CEO might look like.

After working at Zip2 alongside Elon Musk, Serbinis founded revolutionary health bene-

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fits organization League.

“League started three years ago, born from the idea that the future of healthcare would be vastly different,” Serbinis says. “We set out to build a platform that would empower people with their health every day and help them live happier lives. Along the road, we discovered that the way to do that was to

completely reinvent health benefits, making it the central portal through which employees access their healthcare.”

But healthcare hasn’t always been his calling. Serbinis has enjoyed a rich and exciting career in all manner of technology startups. And his passion for automation sprang up at a rather early age – by his own admission, in his youth, Serbinis was both a sports enthusiast and “jet-propulsion nerd.”

“I didn’t know anything about entrepreneurship as a kid,” he says. “In fact, I only heard the word when a reporter labelled me as one after having built my very first company. This was the beginning of a snowball effect in which I imagined what the future would be like and sought out ways to make it even better.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned along the way,” he continues, “and one that definitely impacts my leadership style, is allowing yourself to believe in a better future. If you have conviction that something is possible, then it’s just a question of whether it’ll be you or someone else who makes it a reality.

An individual who can rally a group of people without money or assets or brands is something to behold. If you have will and conviction, the most important thing it to start and never to stop.”

Serbinis has imbued League’s company culture with this same determination.

“We have a culture that’s competitive,” he says. “Our set of values starts with being ‘in to

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win it,’ because after all, it’s no easy feat to launch an entirely new technology company from scratch. I like to use the metaphor of the Olympic podium – all employees should be aiming for that podium all the time. At League, we’re lean and we’re mean.”

However, he adds, “we’re a health company first and foremost – and there’s no way you can prosper in that sector if you don’t make well-being a priority in the workplace. The health of our staff takes precedence, as does giving them time to work on their own personal well-being – physical,

must make an effort to invest in staff wellbeing, “because, simply enough, we won’t achieve anything if our team doesn’t make it to the other side,” he says. “Certain industries, tech being one of them, have prided themselves on being overly pushy with their employees – this couldn’t be further from the truth for League.”

Having launched companies in both the US and Canada, Serbinis is in the unique position of understanding how each culture works. From this, he explains, he’s been able to take the hard-headed determination of the

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned along the way … is allowing yourself to believe in a better future. If you have conviction that something is possible, then it’s just a question of whether it’ll be you or someone else who makes it a reality” mental and emotional.”

As the head of a company devoted to both technology and health, Serbinis realizes how much the former can sometimes negatively affect the latter – and it’s an issue that he’s very passionate about addressing.

“This pattern that businesses have fallen into, which seems to promote being constantly ‘switched on’ and interruptible, is highly negative,” he says. “There’s so much literature out there linking technology addictions to mental health. We’ve mindful of this at League and have a variety of small initiatives that actively encourage workers to take some down time with their friends and family. After all, the world will not end if you snooze Slack.”

Despite the pressures that come with being a startup, Serbinis knows League

American market and use it to propel the tech space in Canada.

“I’ve been creating and running companies on both sides of the border for a while now,” he says. “Both the style of Silicon Valley and US business practices have a lot of positives. That sense of healthy competition and heartfelt audacity that emanates from the culture makes way for an incredibly valuable set of behaviours. There are absolutely differences between the US and Canadian startup space. Having said that, in the last few years, a lot of these differences have been eliminated.”

In particular, competition for top talent has become just as vicious in Toronto as it is in Silicon Valley.

“The talent pool is filled with great technology talent – but we are in need of some

A BRIEF HISTORY OF LEAGUE

2014

League is founded by Michael Serbinis

2015

Launches in Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver

2016

Receives $25 million in Series A funding, led by OMERS Ventures

2017

Expands across the US

2018

Raises an additional $62 million, led by TELUS Ventures more sales and marketing technology specialists,” Serbinis says. “Now we’ve got hundreds of tech companies just in the Toronto area alone, we are calling out for the commercial side to pick up.

“However,” he adds, “entrepreneurs that I’ve backed and those on my teams are in it to win it, too. They have that Silicon Valley state of mind and an audacity that they can really build something great. And Toronto is an amazing place to do this.”

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SPECIAL REPORT

CEOs ON LEADERSHIP

Tomorrow starts here For Cisco Canada president Rola Dagher, leadership means focusing on serving rather than being served

THE PRESIDENT of Cisco Canada, Rola Dagher has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in leadership and technology. Born and raised in Lebanon, Dagher emigrated to Canada during the Lebanese Civil War, taking up the role of director at Bell Canada before moving to Dell. Last year, she was appointed president of Cisco Canada.

“I’ve been in this industry for over 30 years now,” Dagher says. “I became a leader about nine years ago, and so far, I’m absolutely in love with the role. It’s all about being obsessed with our people, our customers and our partners.”

Dagher is especially excited about the many campaigns and initiatives at play within Cisco Canada, including a groundbreaking program called Connected North.

“Our main objectives for the past 12 months have dealt with converting the old traditional tech legacy into propelling tech to the heart of everything we do,” she says.

“Right now, we’re at the intersection where technology is impacting human progress on a variety of different levels. We have an initiative called Connected North in Canada where we connect our Indigenous and remote communities through technology to help

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them learn new skills and understand more about what lies outside of their territory. The program helps to link them to places like the Louvre, to international hockey coaches in Toronto, essentially to people all over the world who can deliver ground-breaking mentoring sessions for them.”

In today’s uncertain world, leaders are faced with the relentless task of futureproofing their organizations in order to ensure they can weather any storm. Since joining the company last summer, Dagher has seen the evolution of Cisco Canada through a selfevident transformation process.

“Every day I wake up proud because I’m working for Cisco,” she says. “And that really

does all come down to the people. To me, it starts with people and ends with people.

Being a servant leader at an organization such as Cisco, one that’s really driven to transform business, is amazing. I’m so proud of the technology we’re innovating on a daily basis because it empowers communities and it drives global change.

“Personally, I don’t want Cisco Canada to be a place people have go to – it has to be somewhere employees really want to be,” she adds. “I need people to be passionate about what they do because once you find that passion, the sky is your limit. Specifically, looking back on what we’ve built here, we’ve fostered an environment that empowers

LIFE AT CISCO CANADA Number of employees: 1,700 Established: 1984 Headquarters: Toronto Cisco Canada has been named one of Canada’s top 100 employers. The company was also named one of Canada’s top employers for young people, boasting an associate program for university graduates and schemes to help young employees go far in their careers. Known for supporting myriad charities, Cisco Canada maintains its own employee-led council to direct volunteering programs.

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“Leadership is absolutely an honour and an action; it’s not a title. It’s something you impress upon your people, enabling them to be the very best at what they do”

people. We’ve built such a strong foundation based on unleashing employees’ potential.

We embed values in our people to go out there and believe wholeheartedly in disrupting, giving back and ensuring technology is at the centre of all.”

Leading a technology company presents its own set of challenges – namely, staying on top of the constant stream of new developments in the field.

“As we go into the fourth industrial revolution, we need to prepare our next generation to go out there and deal with robotics, AI and data,” Dagher says. “Technology is going to be the enabler, but people are always going to be the transformer. Because no matter how smart the robot is, it’ll never be able to take over the emotional intelligence of a human worker. I always say, in the old days HR would hire for IQ; today it’s all about EQ. That’s the biggest differentiator we as humans have, and that’s what we at Cisco Canada believe to be the future.

Namely, it’s the culture of continuous improvement.”

And for Dagher, a determining factor that underlies a company’s culture is the leadership team. For her, authentic leadership emanates from an ideal of servant leadership: She believes an organization’s leader should be humble, adaptable and willing to empower their team to go out and make a real impact.

“Three powerful words I use every day that keep me learning and excited about my role are ‘empowering’, ‘inspiring’ and ‘impacting,’” she says. “You don’t simply wake up a leader – you earn it through dedication and hard work. Leadership is absolutely an honour and an action; it’s not a title. It’s something you impress upon your people, enabling them to be the very best at what they do. That’s what I love about being a leader – it’s who I am in a nutshell.”

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14/08/2018 5:02:16 AM

SPECIAL REPORT

CEOs ON LEADERSHIP

Uncharted waters As the CEO of cannabis startup Newstrike, Jay Wilgar knows a thing or two about leading a business in a constantly shifting environment

SINCE THE announcement of the legalization of cannabis, it feels as if the entire world is watching Canada to see what the outcome of this radical social shift will be. At the forefront of all the debate sits Jay Wilgar, CEO and director of Newstrike, a cannabis startup licensed to both cultivate and sell cannabis in all acceptable forms. But, in this new age of legalized weed, how can a startup win the confidence of an apprehensive customer base?

“We produce a high-quality product,” Wilgar says, “but essentially it’s all about creating brand recognition and allowing people fully appreciate what it is they’re using. In that regard, we take a bit of a different tack to other organizations. We’re not focused on the medical side of the business right now. Our main priority is the adult-use Canadian market – and it’s a super exciting time for us.”

And though Wilgar seems like a veritable scholar on all aspects of the cannabis business, his career history tells a very different story.

“My background lies in the wind energy sector,” he says. “Cannabis wasn’t something I knew a lot about as a product; however, I did see a huge opportunity off the back of everything the Canadian government is doing in regard to legalization. I jumped from wind power straight into cannabis – a rather odd shift, but a successful one.”

Wilgar has found that there are transfer-

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able leadership skills that are intrinsic to both industries, particularly when it comes to navigating government policies.

“You have to deal a lot with the government in brand-new industries such as these,” he says, “and like any business in the early days, you have to persevere and commit everything to it. It took us six years to get Newstrike to where it is right now, and a lot of that was taken up with grinding every detail out while waiting for policies to change.

When you recognize an opportunity, the first step is to gather the right sorts of people

Newstrike’s place in the cannabis industry.

“We’re all about crafting the ideal brand identity that people are fully comfortable with,” he says. “At Newstrike, we’re trying to make the process very simple for customers.

A lot of Canadian licensed producers out there will offer 30 or 40 different products, whereas we plan to offer just five. The idea is to allow a consumer to grow into the brand.

It’s going to take time for people to become comfortable with the idea of cannabis being fully legal – so part of our brand strategy definitely addresses that.”

“The success of a new venture hangs upon the types of talent of you recruit. For me, it’s all about coming up with the right ideas and ensuring we have the right team around to make those visions a reality” around you, which is exactly what we did.”

When it comes to his personal leadership style, Wilgar describes it as visionary.

“I’d be the first to admit that I’m not that good at operations, but I can see where we need to end up as an organization,” he says.

“I’m no connoisseur of cannabis, but the success of a new venture hangs upon the types of talent of you recruit. For me, it’s all about coming up with the right ideas and ensuring we have the right team around to make those visions a reality.”

When launching a new venture, business leaders know that half the battle is getting brand buy-in. People are creatures of habit and tend to stick with what they know – so when a new sector emerges, decision-makers have their hands full trying to approach apprehensive consumers. Wilgar felt that creating a completely unique customer experience would be key to solidifying

He adds that changing the national mindset on an issue like cannabis is incredibly difficult – although the needle is starting to move.

“While the stigma around cannabis is still there, it’s definitely going away,” he says. “It won’t disappear overnight, but we are seeing a lot of people becoming interested in the product that wouldn’t have been just a few years ago. I cite my parents as prime examples of this. They’re in their 70s, but they’re really into what Newstrike is doing at the moment. They grew up in the ’60s when cannabis was stigmatized, and now for them, there’s this fascination around the nowlegalized drug. From a brand point of view, we want to know what makes these consumers tick and what will make them buy in.”

However you view the emerging cannabis industry, there’s no denying Wilgar’s – and other cannabis entrepreneurs’ – overwhelming

FAST FACTS: NEWSTRIKE

Founded in 2004

Owner of the Up Cannabis brand

Headquartered in Ontario, with offices in Toronto and Oakville

Has production facilities in Brantford and Niagara, Ontario

Publicly listed on the TSX under the ticker symbol V-HIP

enthusiasm for this new venture.

“The rush of entrepreneurial enthusiasm is there, and we’re seeing it all the time,” he says. “People are rushing to get into his business any way they can. From a business point of view, this is one of the most exciting industries in the world right now. The work we’re doing with cannabis in Canada is ground-breaking.”

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SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

RECRUITMENT

Diversify your talent pipeline It’s time to shake up your existing recruitment strategy and start hiring outside of your usual disciplines – especially with co-op talent

NICOLE SIMEC had always wanted to work for Microsoft. She grew up using its products, and it was a brand she believed in – but as an honours arts and business student at the University of Waterloo, she wasn’t sure if she would be a good fit. “I thought I wasn’t the student that they would typically hire,” Simec says. “I don’t come from a technical background. I’m not in a STEM program.”

But after gaining valuable skills, confidence and experience through two co-op work terms at other companies, she decided to apply to

firmly rooted in its co-op hiring practices.

“Hiring co-op students from various disciplines is important from a Microsoft perspective because it gives us insight into different ways of thinking and different ways of doing things,” says Julie Norden, a partner marketing advisor at Microsoft Canada who supervised Simec as a co-op student.

This isn’t a new hiring strategy for Norden or her organization. For more than two decades, Microsoft Canada has recognized that hiring a team of co-op students from a variety

“[Co-op students] bring that unique, fresh perspective. They’re younger. They’ve been out in the world. They know what’s happening, and they bring new ideas into a corporation like Microsoft” Julie Norden, Microsoft Canada Microsoft Canada for her next co-op work term. Simec landed the job and was even asked to stay for a second work term.

Microsoft Canada is a strong believer in hiring employees with diverse skills, experiences and backgrounds, and this belief is

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of disciplines is a powerful choice. Not only do their various learning backgrounds complement one another, but their multi-faceted approaches to problem-solving – boosted by a dose of healthy competition – can lead to realized innovation within the company.

Indeed, research shows that diversity breeds innovation. A 2017 study by Deloitte found that diverse and inclusive workplaces are six times more likely to be innovative, six times more likely to anticipate change and respond effectively, and twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets.

Alongside Simec on the Microsoft Canada co-op team were students from science, math, environment and applied health sciences programs. Together, they worked on the retail demo experience team to help develop the consumer experience on Surface tablets in retail stores across Canada.

“They bring that unique, fresh perspective,” Norden says. “They’re younger. They’ve been out in the world. They know what’s happening, and they bring new ideas into a corporation

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5 WAYS TO BUILD A ROBUST CO-OP HIRING STRATEGY 1. Start early. It’s never too early to engage with potential rock stars.

Outstanding co-op students make your best future full-timers.

2. Innovate. Canadian success comes from diversity. Multi-disciplinary teams produce innovative outcomes.

3. Be real. Your job descriptions should reflect your culture and what kind of organization you are. If you don’t know what attracted your star performers, ask them.

4. Be approachable. Open your mind and open your doors so that talent can see themselves working at your organization … and then be prepared for a queue.

Nicole Simec (left) with fellow University of Waterloo co-op students

like Microsoft. That’s very important.”

Empowered co-op students also become brand ambassadors and loyal employees, often translating into full-time hires. Just ask Adi Morun, a former co-op student who is now the partner development manager at Microsoft Canada. He says his three work terms at the company were extremely rewarding because of the tasks he was given.

“I had the opportunity to work on projects that were impactful to the organization,” Morun says. “They weren’t just ‘make work’ projects; they were projects that were actually implemented within the broader company.”

Morun says hiring students is an investment for an organization. Having been a co-op student himself, he believes in recruiting young talent for their long-term hiring potential.

“Looking for new graduates to come in to Microsoft, we see many successful hires who have had successful co-op terms and have that relevant work experience,” Morun says. “I know when speaking to colleagues in the industry, co-op has really become a standard for building a set of experiences that are crucial for success after university.”

Multiple co-op experiences helped Simec expand her knowledge base and build confidence before she applied to Microsoft. She felt valued and empowered to work from her strengths, particularly in communications, breaking down complex information into simpler terms.

“She just brought an energy, an openness to learning that I thought was fantastic,” Norden says. “I really treated her more like a

5. Keep in touch. With all the different ways to stay connected these days, keep the conversation flowing with your top candidates. full-time employee.”

Norden’s advice to employers looking to build their reputation and talent strategy is not to overlook hiring an interdisciplinary co-op team, even if you’ve never hired co-op students before. She believes a diverse team of students is worth nurturing. “Take on that challenge,” she says. “Be engaged with them.

Create a co-op community and really just listen to them and understand what they’re trying to get out of their co-op program.”

University of Waterloo co-op students are available for hire year-round. Our team is based across Canada and is ready to provide on-the-ground support for your hiring needs. To post a job or learn more about our hiring process, contact us at hire.talent@uwaterloo.ca.

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14/08/2018 5:03:22 AM

FEATURES

INSIDE HR

View from above Design thinking has taken over Cathay Pacific’s HR operations to the extent that anything that doesn’t add value to the employee experience is being stripped out. Iain Hopkins spoke to Cathay Pacific’s Tony Reynolds about the logical next phase of HR’s evolution TAKING INSPIRATION from the likes of Airbnb, Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific has repositioned its HR team as an ‘employee experience’ team. For Tony Reynolds, the airline’s general manager of employee experience, it’s a natural part of Cathay Pacific’s evolution – in fact, he believes it’s the only natural way forward.

“I think it would be very difficult to execute on a fantastic customer experience if you

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aren’t first delivering a great employee experience,” he says. “In fact, I don’t think you can have one without the other.”

The mandate is simple: to merge the employee experience philosophy with the customer experience philosophy. In doing so, Reynolds and his team are aiming to consider every touchpoint along an employee’s journey.

Underpinning it all is data and a firm belief in the power of design thinking.

Reynolds, who looks after four centres of excellence – one of which is data and science analytics – says this is deeper than a rebranding of HR. “We still need to do the traditional HR tasks like performance management, paying people on time and so forth,” he says. “So we’ve retained those bits, which do have an impact on the employee experience. But the philosophy underpinning it is much broader

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and a bit different. Really, how we define it is that it’s anything an employee feels about the business and the brand.”

FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO A POSITIVE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE Deloitte’s Simply Irresistible Organization model

Driven by data Cathay Pacific is also clear on its value proposition to customers. “Cathay wants to win and be competitors by delivering a premium customer experience,” Reynolds says. “We’re not just about great products or great routes; we don’t want to be a low-cost carrier, and we’re not really about attracting pricesensitive customers.”

To execute on that value proposition, Cathay has always made sophisticated use of data insights. The organization has been building its digital capabilities over the last few years in order to drive positive experiences at all the touchpoints one might expect, from how people think about buying from Cathay to what they buy, the online experience, the check-in experience, security, baggage and after-flight service.

“The employee experience uses the same model,” Reynolds says. “What are the key touchpoints that have an impact on the employee experience? It’s about human-centred design.

How do we start to do this better?”

Reynolds points to the design of Cathay’s recruitment centre. A candidate will walk up to the recruitment centre, where they will be greeted by cabin crew and handed a boarding pass that includes the interview time, and then escorted to the gate where the interview will be conducted. “We immerse people in our brand from the start,” he says. “That goes through pre-boarding and onboarding.

People get a very tailored experience, depending on who they are.”

Internal benchmarking Cathay Pacific uses typical data points around employee engagement and partners with Qualtrics for an annual engagement survey, along with pulse surveys “to get the high-level insight into how people are feeling,” Reynolds says. He adds that the company is not interested in benchmarking against other organizations that are at other stages of maturity and use different people strategies.

Meaningful work

Supportive management

Positive work environment

Growth opportunities

Trust in leadership

Autonomy

Clear and transparent goals

Flexible work environment

Training and support on the job

Mission and purpose

Select to fit

Coaching

Humanistic workplace

Facilitated talent mobility

Continuous investment in people

Small, empowered teams

Investment in managers’ development

Culture of recognition

Self-directed, dynamic learning

Transparency and honesty

Time for slack

Agile performance management

Fair, inclusive, diverse work environment

High-impact learning culture

Inspiration

Source: Deloitte University Press

“Internal benchmarks are what really matters,” he says. “Our questions focus on how we’re going in terms of delivering against our market-leading customer experience. Are we doing enough to support our employees in

Reynolds concedes that employee Net Promoter Scores and engagement indexes by geography and employee group are nothing new, but he says the platforms used and the analysis that can now be undertaken are far

“What are the key touchpoints that have an impact on the employee experience?

It’s about human-centred design. How do we start to do this better?”

Tony Reynolds, Cathay Pacific delivering a great customer experience, as opposed to, ‘How do you feel about the training and your immediate manager?’ It’s all geared to whether we are doing enough to support you to deliver a great customer experience.”

more sophisticated.

“It doesn’t take six months to analyze everything and then come up with action plans department by department,” he says. “We can do things quite quickly and prioritize easily.”

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14/08/2018 5:04:20 AM

FEATURES

INSIDE HR

“It doesn’t take six months to analyze everything and then come up with action plans department by department. We can do things quite quickly and prioritize easily” Tony Reynolds, Cathay Pacific The more interesting newer element, he says, is cross-pollinating employee data with customer, commercial and operational data, which has revealed some invaluable insights.

For example, Cathay now knows that what their customers are most frustrated by isn’t the same as what the employees who work closest with customers might view as a frus-

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tration. He uses food as a hypothetical.

“Many of our customers may feel if they don’t get their beef or lamb, then that happens on an airline, and they’re not particularly bothered by it. But our employees may feel that we’re a premium airline; people have paid a lot for a ticket, and if we can’t give them a meal they want, that’s a problem. So

that’s the kind of data we’re starting to use to drive our action planning and programs of work. We weren’t able to do that in the past, so we have a more comprehensive set of data across the whole organization.”

Linking HR to the frontline Part of Cathay’s success with the employee experience has been in ensuring that HR is never far from the frontline – no mean feat for an organization that employs 12,000 cabin crew and 3,500 pilots.

“What’s really critical is how we design our frameworks,” Reynolds says. “All of them should be about driving great customer outcomes: how we incentivize, drive and recognize great customer outcomes. All our HR frameworks are built around that concept

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STARTING FROM SCRATCH

How can other HR professionals build an employee experience mindset into everything they do? Tony Reynolds provides his advice.

Take the lead from the customer experience “The starting point here, and I think it would apply elsewhere, would be to really take a lead from the customer experience. It’s hard to argue against aligning your customer experience with your employee experience, so it’s the most useful place to start on the journey. Any organization can choose the way it recruits and how it onboards; you’re not subject to these internal bureaucracies and internal histories – you can decide you’re going to do things differently.”

Candidates for jobs at Cathay Pacific are immersed in the brand from the start.

now, or they will be if they aren’t yet. And to do that you need to be working with people who are on the frontline.”

In some instances, it means involving these frontline workers in the solutions, but Reynolds is mindful that many crew members choose their career for lifestyle reasons. They want to check their rosters and fly; they may not be interested in these ‘nice-to-haves.’

Involving them gives them more buy-in, Reynolds says, while also bolstering HR’s reputation internally.

“HR has traditionally been very distant from the frontline. It’s been a reactive journey.

But HR has a big impact on the way people feel about the brand, not just through training but all our frameworks, and today it’s our focus, our philosophy – people in my department get sick of me saying, ‘We’ll prioritize the employees closest to our customers.’”

Where to next?

Looking ahead, Reynolds says his biggest challenge is engaging frontline employees – the cabin crew and pilots – which he says is a challenge shared by all organizations with

geographically dispersed employees.

“For an airline, you almost have an absentee workforce,” he says. “No one is sitting in an office anywhere; they are flying, so it’s a hard audience to engage.”

The key, he adds, is face-to-face engagement. “That’s a challenge – it might take three months to get face time with everyone; otherwise, if there are too many people out of operation, we can’t fly our aircraft.”

To improve engagement with these employees, the employee experience team is launching what Reynolds calls “big, bold expos” to attract people’s attention and get them excited about the future. They’ll also be launching a new portal and communications hub. Incentives are being reviewed, shifting away from a traditional model that rewards people for length of service and toward a model that recognizes those who truly deliver exceptional customer outcomes.

Another focus area is the physical environment. “We want to make it look and feel like we’re obsessed with the customer and it’s an exciting place to be,” Reynolds says.

He also wants to shift away from looking

Take that mindset through the whole employee life cycle “How is that experience different at different levels? How do you segment it? What technology do you use? Where do you invest your time and effort, and why? Take that through the entire employee life cycle, through your onboarding experience, through your career development and offboarding. If you’re expecting people to execute a great customer experience, the place to start is with your employees.” back through the rear-view mirror. “I was a consultant for a while, and for a lot of organizations, it’s all about the history. Airlines are the same: first flight, first plane. We need to focus on the future: our new business-class proposition, where we’re flying to next.”

Finally, Reynolds says he has the airline industry “bug,” and despite its challenges, it’s an exciting field.

“You certainly have some challenges running global operations and transforming the business at the same time,” he says. “Add to that the nature of our business, where things go wrong all the time – whether it’s air-traffic control or technical faults, there’s always something going wrong that can slow you down. But it’s an amazing place to be.”

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14/08/2018 5:04:26 AM

FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: FINANCIAL WELL-BEING

Overcoming financial stress Financial woes can have a serious impact on your employees’ mental health. How can HR take the lead in helping employees achieve greater financial well-being?

MONEY WOES have the propensity to impact every aspect of our lives, causing depression, anxiety and panic attacks. Yet despite the widespread nature of financial wellness worries, the topic still seems to be one that’s taboo in most organizations. Why are employers and employees so resistant to discussing financial wellness at work?

security, through to aging workers preparing for retirement. External stresses on financial wellness are additional factors that should not be overlooked. They can impact employees at any point in their career and include life events like boomerang children returning to the nest or caring for sick or elderly relatives.”

Despite the proliferation of financial

“What every HR leader needs to be aware of is that when employees are asked about the stresses in their lives, financial stress is always amongst their top responses as to what is weighing on their minds” Karen Postnikoff Wisz, Venngo “Financial wellness is a significant source of worry for many employees,” says Karen Postnikoff Wisz, brand and digital marketing manager at Venngo. “It spans a wide range of demographics and generations, from millennials who’ve just graduated and have no job

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anxiety in the workplace, the topic is still met with apprehension from both parties.

“What every HR leader needs to be aware of is that when employees are asked about the stresses in their lives, financial stress is always amongst their top responses as to

what is weighing on their minds,” Wisz says.

“This is mainly because financial stress has such a huge impact on our overall physical and mental well-being. There’s a lot of research out there which shows that cardiovascular disorder, obesity, absenteeism and anxiety can all stem from a stressed employee base. Employers will have a hard time trying to coax productivity out of worried employees, as it strongly impacts the mental capabilities required to be successful in their day-to-day roles.”

Signs of stress Employers wanting to spot the early signs of a worker suffering from financial worries should look for several key indicators, Wisz says.

“An increase in absenteeism in your staff base is an obvious starting point,” she says.

“If employees are suddenly calling in sick at a dramatically higher rate, perhaps you should try to uncover what the issue is. Conversely, presenteeism may also be a sign of money woes. Employees may be physically at the workplace but unfocused and not efficiently performing their tasks.”

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Other signs that employees are struggling financially could be an increased reliance on the employee assistance program or a dramatic rise in their use of medical benefits. This can also extend to employees frequenting benefits such as massage, therapy or counselling.

“If someone is struggling financially, they may demonstrate obvious signs of stress and may be withdrawn, difficult or angry,” says Martine Robins, director and owner of The HR Dept. “They may be pushing to earn extra money through paid overtime or ask

for a salary increase. On rare occasions, people in financially accessible positions have abused that trust by stealing company funds. Any behaviour that is out of character for an individual should be investigated by their manager to understand if it relates to one of the typical three causes: health, relationships or finances.”

However, organizations need to err on the side of caution when discussing private financial matters with employees.

“From an employer perspective, there’s a

fine line between offering practical assistance and not being too paternalistic,” Robins says.

“In reality, more education around financial wellness needs to start in school as part of helping young people understand this. Ideally, employers should look to help employees engage with these issues on an ongoing basis, and consider using external agencies and providers. This approach is about helping employees become financially self-sufficient.”

Wisz advises employers to “boast a full and robust benefits package by augmenting yours

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14/08/2018 5:05:07 AM

FEATURES

SECTOR FOCUS: FINANCIAL WELL-BEING

“From an employer perspective, there’s a fine line between offering practical assistance and not being too paternalistic” Martine Robins, The HR Dept

with a program such as the one we offer at Venngo. Our program has a really great cost-per-head compared to other benefits programs. Our perks are a great supplement to any pre-existing benefits plan. And there’s no direct cost between the use of our programs and the employers – so the fee won’t increase with the number of people who use it.”

By implanting a strong program as a pre-emptive rather than a curative measure, HR can directly help individual workers by ensuring that financial stress is eased before it has even begun to simmer. This could prevent workers from having to go on shortterm disability leave or having to seek external help, making it a win-win overall.

The future of financial wellness Looking to HR’s role in financial wellness in the future, Wisz points out that “nothing in life is suddenly becoming less expensive.” She stresses the need for HR to consider financial wellness for all generations in the workforce.

“Millennials now make up a large part of our staff bases, but there’s also an overwhelming need to support the aging workforce who simply cannot afford to retire just

42

yet,” she says. “Perhaps they didn’t plan appropriately, or external factors are preventing them from leaving their job – whatever the reasoning behind it, employers can use programs such as ours at Venngo to make their company more attractive to the top talent out there.”

In the war for talent, it’s no longer enough for organizations to roll out the same old ‘one size fits all’ benefit plans. Hyperpersonalization is extending into perks much the same way as it has in learning and development initiatives – so don’t underestimate employees’ needs and get left behind the curve.

“Offering to take on some of your employees’ financial responsibilities to offset their life costs is a proactive way that employers can help out,” Wisz says. “At Venngo, we’ve already seen large companies incorporating our program into theirs, with clients such as KPMG and Deloitte. Financial wellness is universal, helping people across all sectors and of all ages. Coast to coast, our program is a key differentiator in the marketplace, giving organizations a sense of focus in their benefits packages.”

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14/08/2018 5:05:09 AM

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CANADIAN HR AWARDS FINALISTS 2O18

BRO

2018

Thursday, September 20 The Liberty Grand, Toronto

HRDC received a record number of nominations from across the nation in our quest to find the HR profession’s most dedicated, diligent and diverse organizations, teams and professionals – and now it’s time to reveal the finalists for the fifth annual Canadian HR Awards.

Want to be there as the lucky winners receive their awards? Join more than 600 HR leaders and professionals at the awards ceremony, hosted by TV celebrity Jessi Cruickshank, on September 20 at Toronto’s Liberty Grand.

Together with our event partner, Ultimate Software, and our publisher, Key Media International, HRDC would like to thank both the HR community and our event sponsors. Your support in the pursuit of HR excellence makes this event a huge success year after year.

Don’t miss out! Make a table reservation today at hrawards.ca or contact our dedicated events team at events@keymedia.com For more event updates, follow us on: /HRDCanada

@HRD_Canada

HRD Canada Magazine

#HRAwardsCA

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

44

AWARD SPONSORS

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BROUGHT TO YOU BY

THE ULTIMATE SOFTWARE AWARD FOR

BEST WORKPLACE CULTURE yy ACL yy AstraZeneca Canada yy Axonify

THE KPMG IN CANADA AWARD FOR

HR LEADER OF THE YEAR

yy Arielle Meloul Wechsler Air Canada

yy Alexis Corbett Bank of Canada

yy Doctors of BC

yy Larissa Holmes

yy Kinaxis

yy Cheryl Fullerton

yy Left yy Mindful Snacks yy Paysafe yy Thalmic Labs yy TJX Canada

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yy Jason Fleming MedReleaf

yy Jennifer Vantuil Platinum Investments

yy Emma Horgan Questrade

yy Agnes Garaba SAP Canada

THE TALENTEGG AWARD FOR

THE MERCER AWARD FOR

BEST EMPLOYER BRANDING

EXCELLENCE IN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

yy Adobe Systems Canada

yy Accenture

yy Colliers International yy Manulife yy McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada

yy Ceridian yy Jazz Aviation yy Manulife yy Norton Rose Fulbright yy Scotiabank

yy Nav Canada

yy Tolko Industries

yy Reynolds and Reynolds

yy Ultimate Software

yy Sun Life Financial yy Traction on Demand

yy Janet Hughes Vancouver Film School

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8/14/2018 10:54:53 AM

CANADIAN HR AWARDS FINALISTS 2O18 THE ACCOMPASS AWARD FOR

THE DENTSU AEGIS NETWORK AWARD FOR

THE GLOBOFORCE AWARD FOR

(500 EMPLOYEES OR MORE)

BEST HR COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

yy Bank of Canada

yy AstraZeneca Canada

yy Accenture

yy Agnico Eagle

yy Canopy Growth Corporation

yy CAA Club Group

yy ADP Canada

yy BlueCat Networks

yy CIBC

yy Aecon

yy Kinaxis

yy Hydro Ottawa

yy BDC

yy KUBRA

yy KPMG

yy Doctors of BC

yy Tata Consultancy Services Canada

yy McCarthy Tetrault

yy La Coop Fédérée - Agri-business Division

CANADIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR

yy CIMA+ yy Corus Entertainment yy La Coop Fédérée – Agri-business Division

yy Traction on Demand

yy Marine Harvest

BEST REWARD & RECOGNITION STRATEGY

yy Moneris Solutions yy Stryker

THE MAXSYS STAFFING & CONSULTING AWARD FOR

MOST EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT STRATEGY

yy Ubisoft Toronto yy Ultimate Software

yy TD Bank Group

yy Nav Canada

yy University of Toronto

yy Ubisoft Toronto yy WinSport

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FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELLNESS

yy Bell/BCE

yy Axonify

yy ATB Financial

yy Bank of Canada

yy Best Buy Canada

yy Bell

yy D2L Corporation

yy G Adventures

yy Challenger Motor Freight

yy BlueCat Networks

yy Jazz Aviation

yy Hydro Ottawa

yy Dentsu Aegis Network

yy Niagara Casinos

yy Kinaxis

yy D2L Corporation

yy Fidelity Canada

yy G Adventures

yy Freshii

yy SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health

yy Left

yy Fidelity Canada yy LoyaltyOne

yy IBM

yy Royal Bank of Canada

yy Jazz Aviation

yy Sienna Senior Living

yy Labatt Breweries of Canada

yy WilsonHCG

yy Procter & Gamble

yy Sklar Wilton & Associates

MOST INNOVATIVE USE OF HR TECHNOLOGY

yy McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada

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8/14/2018 10:55:43 AM

CANADIAN HR AWARDS FINALISTS 2O18 THE IVEY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AWARD FOR

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN THE HR INDUSTRY This is the highest honour and most coveted award at the Canadian HR Awards.

This award recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the industry as a whole through visionary people management strategies and leadership. This award will acknowledge someone with an established history of distinguished service to the HR profession, who has exhibited leadership and provided inspiration to others in the sector while putting the interests of the industry at the top of their priorities.

THE LEADERSHIP AGENCY AWARD FOR

WOMAN OF DISTINCTION

yy Marni Johnson BlueShore Financial

yy Shelley Brown Bromelin HR Consulting

yy Paula Knight Cancer Care Ontario

yy Colleen Bailey Moffit Enercare

THE HRDC READERS’ CHOICE AWARD FOR

THE HRDC READERS’ CHOICE AWARD FOR

(FEWER THAN 100 STAFF)

(100 STAFF OR MORE)

yy /N SPRO

yy ADP Canada

yy 7Geese

yy Aon Hewitt

yy Clear HR Consulting

yy Globoforce

yy KLF Group

yy IBM Canada

yy The Leadership Agency

yy MaRS Discovery District

BEST SERVICE PROVIDER

yy Colleen Baxter

BEST SERVICE PROVIDER

yy Randstad Canada

J.D. Irving

yy WilsonHCG

yy Heidi Hauver Keynote Group

yy Stephanie Hollingshead Sierra Systems

yy Tanya Wick Tolko Industries

Winner to be announced on September 20

AWARD SPONSOR

48

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8/14/2018 10:55:57 AM

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

CANADIAN HR CHAMPION (CEO)

yy Laurie Schultz ACL

yy Carol Leaman Axonify

yy David Ossip Ceridian

yy David Bowden Colliers International

yy Sam Sebastian Pelmorex (The Weather Network)

yy Joe Dietrich Trillium Mutual Insurance Company

CANADIAN HR TEAM OF THE YEAR

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(FINANCE OR INSURANCE)

(RETAIL OR HOSPITALITY)

yy Coast Mental Health

yy Coinsquare

yy Best Buy Canada

yy Freshii

yy Paysafe

yy Giant Tiger Stores

yy Intelex

yy Peoples Group/ Peoples Trust

yy JYSK Canada

(FEWER THAN 500 EMPLOYEES)

yy Kira Systems yy SickKids Centre for Community Mental Health yy Stryker yy Thalmic Labs

yy Questrade yy Royal Bank of Canada yy Western Financial Group

yy Sleep Country Canada yy TouchBistro yy Tulip Retail yy Walmart Canada

yy Wave

yy Kirk Simpson Wave

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8/14/2018 10:56:10 AM

CANADIAN HR AWARDS FINALISTS 2O18

CANADIAN HR RISING STAR OF THE YEAR

BEST CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STRATEGY

yy Izzie Egan

yy Aird & Berlis

Blankslate Partners

yy Garima Gupta Deloitte

yy Victor Sei ICE Currency Services

yy Ludivine Beltramelli KBS

yy Jacqueline Tran Kinross Gold Corporation

yy Stephanie Schiffmacher Nature’s Path

yy Diana Trasolini Paladin Security Group

yy Keyur Jani Royal Bank of Canada

yy Bell yy Canadian Tire Corporation

BEST TALENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

yy Lorenzo Lisi

yy DHL Supply Chain

yy Nancy F. Barteaux

yy FL Fuller Landau

yy S. Margot Blight

yy LoyaltyOne

yy Nature’s Path

yy Seneca College

yy PepsiCo Canada

yy Tata Consultancy Services Canada

yy Tata Consultancy Services Canada yy The Travel Corporation

(WITHIN A PRACTICE)

yy Acclaim Ability Management

yy L’Oréal Canada

yy Purolator

BEST LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT LAWYER

yy Wave

Aird & Berlis Barteaux Durnford Borden Ladner Gervais

yy Benjamin Kranc Kranc Associates

yy Andrew Monkhouse Monkhouse Law

yy James D. Kondopulos Roper Greyell

yy Laura Williams Williams HR Law

yy Melissa Udvari Tulip Retail

yy Alexandra Hall You.i TV

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8/14/2018 10:57:47 AM

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

LABOUR & EMPLOYMENT LAW BOUTIQUE FIRM OF THE YEAR yy Kent Employment Law yy MacLeod Law Firm

The distinguished panel of judges for the 2018 Canadian HR Awards

Nita Chhinzer

Talene Palvetzian

Associate professor in human resources management University of Guelph

Corporate manager, leadership development Ontario Public Service

David Creelman CEO, Creelman Research; Board of advisors Workforce Institute

yy Minken Employment Lawyers yy Monkhouse Law yy Rodney Employment Law yy Sherrard Kuzz yy Whitten & Lublin yy Williams HR Law

Nan Oldroyd Director, talent management George Brown College

Tim Morton

Barbara Benoliel

Founder and managing partner Prompta Consulting Group

Academic program coordinator Human and Social Services

Barbara Green President Think Productive North America

Don’t miss the live reveal of winners at the stellar Canadian HR Awards on Thursday, September 20, 2018, at the Liberty Grand Toronto.

Guarantee your place among 600 attendees by reserving your table today at hrawards.ca, or contact us at events@keymedia.com.

www.hrmonline.ca

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8/14/2018 10:58:05 AM

FEATURES

PURPOSE

Five myths about purpose Everyone wants and needs to find purpose in their work. But according to Aaron Hurst, doing so requires shattering some common myths

MOST OF what we understand about purpose at work comes from Hollywood.

Stories are a powerful way to learn, but most of the stories we see on screen give us a romanticized view of the role of purpose in our work. They build myths about purpose that actually make it harder for us to focus on what matters. But perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of these myths is that they imply that purpose is not something for everyone, which – based on my experience working with thousands of professionals, as well as emerging research on the topic – couldn’t be further from the truth.

Myth 1: Purpose = cause In working with thousands of professionals seeking purpose, the greatest barrier has been the ubiquitous belief that they have to find their cause. When business professionals leave Taproot’s pro bono consultant orientations, they are usually fired up and want to get on a project immediately. They can’t wait.

That being said, on one of our earliest projects, we were having a difficult time getting any of our largely gen-x, pro bono marketing consultants to join a team. The project was branding and naming work for a critical organization serving low-income

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seniors in one of San Francisco’s most challenged neighbourhoods, the Tenderloin. When I pitched the project to our pro bono consultants, they begged for a different project.

“I totally get that seniors are important, but I’m 32, and it really isn’t an issue that gets me excited,” they said. “Do you have anything focused on kids or the environment? I am really passionate about helping kids and the

Francisco. It turned out they had not only done a world-class job with the organization’s brand, but they had become an ongoing marketing committee for the organization, and several of them had become donors.

So many of us who are looking for a cause think we have to find our one true calling. We want to know that our mission is to help save one-legged kittens or find a cure for cancer.

Purpose is about finding a direction, not a destination … We may never find one true calling, but we can understand the color of our purpose, which can help us have much more meaningful careers and lives environment. That’s our future.” We shared with them the dire needs of the organization and asked them to be open-minded and give it a try. If, at the end, they were unsatisfied, we would give them first dibs on the next round of projects. They reluctantly agreed.

Nine months later, I received a surprising email. The leader of the pro bono consulting team was urging me to attend a session at City Hall to protect funding for seniors in San

Hollywood stars helped popularize this notion with their high-profile focuses on particular issues, such as George Clooney (Darfur), Brad Pitt (New Orleans), Angelina Jolie (refugees) and Matt Damon (water).

I’m also guilty of feeding into this way of thinking. When you are seeking resources or attention, being able to point to your success as part of your destiny works incredibly well.

People want to hear that you knew you were

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money and security. Purpose is a universal need, and even those in challenging situations still make it a priority.

Arguably, the most famous advocate for purpose in history is Viktor Frankl, who wrote about the importance and presence of purpose in Nazi concentration camps, where he lived during the Holocaust. He found that purpose was key to his survival. “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way,” Frankl famously wrote in Man’s Search for Meaning.

It turns out that in many ways, the prioritization of purpose is inversely correlated with wealth. Money often conflicts with finding purpose, as it creates a false substitute for defining success.

Myth 3: Purpose = revelation going to be a doctor/basketball player/president/entrepreneur the minute you took your first step, still wearing diapers. Once you’re successful, you’re expected to tell a version of your biography that supports this mythology.

Destiny makes for a powerful story, but this concept is not only misleading, it also does the next generation a great disservice, as it sets unrealistic and unhealthy expectations.

Nearly all the early-career professionals who seek an informational interview with me lament that they haven’t found their cause yet. And while there are certainly people who are driven in this singular manner about a cause, it is almost always the result of a personal tragedy or an experience that inspired them to act. Maybe they were touched by the death of their mother from cancer, or their child died from gun violence.

Still, this holds true only for a very small percentage of people, and it is by no means the only way to find purpose.

For the rest of us, seeking our purpose is about finding a direction, not a destination.

Purpose is a verb, not a noun. We may never

find one true calling, but we can understand the colour of our purpose, which can help us have much more meaningful careers and lives.

Myth 2: Purpose = luxury Why do the poorest Americans donate 3.2% of their income to charity, compared to the wealthiest, who donate only 1.3%? Why do people living in wealthier neighbourhoods appear to be less generous?

Why also are those with the least money, education and prestigious jobs more likely than their wealthy counterparts to say that they would keep their job even if they suddenly were financially set for life? Why would a janitor continue to work if he won the lottery and an investment banker take an early retirement?

If you talk to people in less prestigious jobs and in poorer communities, they aren’t surprised by these facts. They see it every day and experience it firsthand. As a reverend in south central Los Angeles told me, “Being poor isn’t so bad; it’s just inconvenient.”

Purpose isn’t a luxury only for those with

Connected to the myth that purpose is about a cause is the myth that we discover our purpose in one fell swoop. We’re just walking along, minding our own business, when – bam! – our life’s calling is transmitted to us like a bolt of lightning from above.

True, this is usually how superheroes find their purpose. Batman saw his parents murdered, and it became his purpose to fight crime in Gotham City. Superman discovered that his people were wiped out because of civil war and found his purpose in fostering peace and civility. But the reality is that this is not how it usually happens for us mere mortals.

“We don’t receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us,” Marcel Proust famously observed. When I shared this insight with a group of international graduate students at Oxford, they suddenly became visibly disturbed. Noticing the change in mood in the room, I asked them what had happened.

After an awkward pause, one woman raised her hand and answered that she had come to graduate school looking for a revelation. She

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FEATURES

PURPOSE

didn’t know what she wanted to do in her career but figured that she would leave with clarity about her purpose.

Slowly, everyone started nodding their heads. They had had the same realization – that one of their main reasons to attend graduate school (and go into debt) was to have a revelation.

Most of us will work for 45 to 50 years.

Think about that for a second. That’s the same amount of time it would take to attend college 12 times. And it’s increasingly true that during that time, we will hold many different jobs, and for more and more of us, those will be in a range of fields. We have so many opportunities to find the work that best suits our perspective on the world and the way we most enjoy contributing.

Myth 4: Purpose = only some work Administrative assistants spend their days supporting executives and have little autonomy or control over their workflow. Much of their work is repetitive and stressful, but it pays the bills and enables them to have the income they need to support the rest of their lives. It’s just a job – a 9-to-5, right?

Well, yes and no. It turns out that this is true, but only for about a third of administrative assistants, and perhaps more surprisingly, it’s also true for about a third of every occupation. What we do is not nearly as important as how we do it and what attitude we bring to the work. As the saying goes, “Wherever you go, there you are.” What we get from work has more to do with us than the work itself.

Work plays very different roles in people’s lives. For some people, a job is simply a job.

For them, work is a paycheck, and they don’t seek anything else from it. It enables them to have the money to enjoy their lives outside their job – they aren’t looking to derive meaning from their work. Those with careers

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care more deeply about their work as a way to get ahead within their profession or function.

It brings social status and power, which boosts their self-esteem. Finally, those with callings fully integrate their work into their lives and values. They see work as integral to who they are and part of their lives.

Amy Wrzesniewski and her colleagues found that across occupations, there were

monotonous practice. Winning the race or game is amazing, but their satisfaction stems from their deep investment.

With athletes, the relationship between pain and gain is clearest, but the same holds true of doing any work where we are experiencing high levels of purpose. Even when doing work that is making a big impact, if there is no skin in the game, the depth of

Purpose isn’t a luxury only for those with money and security. Purpose is a universal need, and even those in challenging situations still make it a priority fairly even divides between people who saw their work as a job, career or calling. It reinforced previous research that demonstrated that the ways individuals view work may be more tied to their psychological traits than to the work itself.

Another study by Wrzesniewski showed correlations between experiencing work as a calling and overall well-being and health. This implies something very important: It is in your best interest to see work as a calling, and as a society, we need to shift more toward calling-based work.

Myth 5: Purpose = easy Running a marathon hurts. There are the blisters, the chafing, the body aches. And yet, completing a marathon is something that many report as being incredibly meaningful. It pushes runners to their limits, both physically and emotionally.

Professional athletes make it look so easy.

When we watch them, they appear natural and effortless. In reality, athletes work incredibly hard and endure tremendous pain to be successful. As fans, we rarely witness the injuries or watch the thousands of hours of

purpose is diminished. Viktor Frankl also said, “Man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain, but rather to see a meaning in his life.”

As Jennifer Benz put it, “Purpose doesn’t free you from working hard and being challenged – it will actually inspire and drive you to put yourself further out of your comfort zone. The falls will be harder, but the wins will feel so much better.”

The truth about purpose Purpose is for everyone, regardless of our profession or socioeconomic status. It is not about a cause or something that we discover by revelation. It is a challenging and rewarding journey.

Aaron Hurst is the foremost expert on the science of purpose at work. In 2014, he brought global awareness to the rise of the fourth economic era in history, the purpose economy. He is the author of The Purpose Economy: How Your Desire for Impact, Personal Growth and Community Is Changing the World and the co-founder and CEO of Imperative, the technology platform for leaders in the new economy. For more information, visit imperative.com

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PEOPLE

CAREER PATH

COMPETITIVE DRIVE Not one to sit still, Brett Reed is always on the hunt for his next challenge

Always a high-energy child, Reed found his niche with karate; his parents enrolled him at age 5 with the goal of instilling self-control and discipline. As a side effect, his involvement with the martial art left him with soft skills he uses to this day “I learned to read body language. It’s a misconception that one structure fits all. We are all moving towards the same goal, but there are many different ways of getting there”

1999

DISCOVERS A PASSION

2010

HAS HIS CURIOSITY SPARKED

2013

SAYS ‘OUI’ TO FRANCE After graduating from high school, Reed moved to France, where he lived with a French family in the Parisian suburbs while studying at the University of Paris for two years, punctuated with travel across Europe “I needed to figure out what I wanted to do – so I did something random. It was an amazing opportunity to get a taste of life outside of Canada. I met many people from different backgrounds and had the chance to understand what made them tick”

Reed eventually went on to represent Canada at the Karate World Cup in Tokyo, which he considers to be the peak of his karate career. His time competing left him with an enduring curiosity about people

“I was able to interact with people from different backgrounds and different walks of life. It sparked my curiosity about how people interact. When I put teams together now, I can see how karate gave me those building blocks” 2014

2015

FINDS RECRUITING At the suggestion of a friend, Reed applied for a junior position in recruitment, taking his first steps into the world of HR “From the interview on, I was sold. I could focus on one position, see what the team needed, fill the position and then move on – as soon as I was bored, I could move on to the brief for the next position. I loved the pressure and stress, the fast pace, and the high-energy vibe”

CRACKS THE BOOKS While working as a recruiter for a series of tech companies in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, Reed began a degree in human resources management at the University of Toronto that tied in with the expansion of his job as a recruiter “I started to realize that HR could have a real impact, that it could be part of the action in the same way recruiting was”

2017

JUMPS TO A STARTUP Itching for something new, Reed was encouraged by a friend to check out the startup space. He connected with the two founders of SnapTravel and found they all speak the same language “I thrive on pressure and high stakes. We talked about the fast pace and scaling quickly, being hands-on and growing a team. I joined as employee 11, and less than a year later, we’re at 57 – it’s been such an exciting roller-coaster ride”

2016

JOINS BELL While watching a Maple Leafs hockey game at his parents’ house, Reed received a message from the director of HR at Bell, which ultimately led him to a job overseeing a team of nine “Bell is really corporate and I’m the opposite, but my mom said it was an amazing opportunity and pushed me to go for it. It was an amazing learning opportunity and challenge; my team got to tackle some interesting problems”

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PEOPLE

OTHER LIFE

TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER LIFE Email editor@hrmonline.ca

Charest was drawn to the Pacific Crest Trail’s variety of climate a nd scenery, which includes desert, snow, rivers a nd mou ntains

4,265km

Length of the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from Mexico to Canada

10–11

Hours Charest spent walking the trail every day

5

Pairs of hiking shoes he went through; each lasted around 800km

HITTING THE TRAIL Michael Charest was the last person anyone expected to take a hike – but he’s currently conquering one of North America’s longest trails MICHAEL CHAREST describes himself as an “urban tourist,” so it surprised everyone when he announced he was setting off on a five-month quest to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, which cuts a path up the western edge of North America.

“This is an out-of-the-box project for me,” says Charest, who, before departing on his quest in May, worked as a senior HR

56

director for the Mark Edwards Group. “I needed to get out of my comfort zone.”

Preparation for the quest – item number eight on Charest’s bucket list – included spending up to five hours a day on the treadmill while bearing a 40-pound backpack. This was meant to ready Charest, who had only done day hikes up to that point, for the physical challenge – and, most import-

antly, to break in his hiking shoes.

But all that effort has paid off in spades, Charest says, and not just in terms of the sponsorship funds he’s raising for MADD [Mothers Against Drunk Driving].

“The views are incredible – every 15 minutes, you have a ‘wow’ moment,” he says. “And the solitude and time to think while walking is very precious.”

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