I once had a sales rep respond, when we told them that we were investing in on-going education for them, “can you please teach us something new”? I am not sure what the team expected as an answer. Were they expecting some panacea, some hidden secret that will get them to success? Certainly there are a lot of people coming into a sales career, or who are struggling in the sales position, that a whole industry has arisen about “secrets to success”. The amount of literature on successful sales is enormous and people in sales should continue to hone their skills and knowledge through reading, seminars, and continuing...

As per PaySource February 2012 Edition Minimal Wage Updates British Columbia Effective May 1, 2012, the British Columbia minimum wage will increase to $10.25 per hour up from the current rate of $9.50 per hour. As well, the special minimum wage for liquor servers will increase to $9.00 effective May 1, 2012. New Brunswick Effective April 1 2012, the minimum wage will increase to $10.00 per hour up from the current rate of $9.50. Nova Scotia Effective April 1 2012, the minimum wage will increase to $10.15 per hour. The minimum wage for inexperienced workers, with less than three months’ experience in the work for which they were...

Salary negotiations can be just like walking a tight rope. Every word must be chosen carefully and deliberately because the danger is apparent in every direction. Below are links to some interesting articles that offer tips on the subject. https://www.payscale.com/compensation-today/2012/01/salary-negotiation-tips https://www.liveabout.com/tips-for-a-successful-salary-negotiation-1919080 Submitted by: Tim Jackson

Earlier this month the Canada Revenue Agency issued this statement about a change to CPP and how it will apply to Wage Loss Replacement Plans (WLRP): “In December 2011, new CPP legislation clarified that all payments made from uninsured WLRPs are considered to be remuneration from pensionable employment. This legislation is retroactive to January 1, 2006. Employers who have not deducted CPP on uninsured WLRP payments in the past, whether those plans follow insurance principles or not, should start doing so effective January 1, 2012. Employers who deducted CPP on these WLRP will not be refunded those deductions. However, the Canada Revenue Agency will consider any request it...

Defined as "an intentional concealment of knowledge requested by another [individual]", knowledge hiding happens in every organization and is likely hurting your company more than you know. The following articles discuss different studies on how and why employees hide information and they also suggest some options that you might find useful on how to curtail this phenomenon. http://www.hrmguide.net/canada/learning/hoarding-knowledge.htm https://www.strategy-business.com/article/re00150 Submitted by: Linh Giang

We live in a fast food society. We seem to be demanding things quicker and quicker. At one time you would turn on your computer and then go fill up your coffee while the programs loaded. Today we almost “lose it” when it takes 10 seconds to load a webpage instead of instantaneously seeing our Facebook profile the minute we hit the enter button. So when one of our reps came to me with the question “How long do I work my networking group before I give up on it?”, I had to mentally roll back the years to a time when we weren’t “microwaving” every decision. My...

Please note the basic exemption for federal and provincial has changed effective Jan 1, 2012. A new TD1 form must be completed if you are claiming more than the basic amount for Federal / Provincial tax or requesting addition tax deduction. If there is no change to your basic exemption no action is required. For further information, please visit Canada Revenue Agency website: TD1 Forms:

Fundamental attribution error refers to the tendency to over-attribute other people's actions to their personality while overlooking the situational or environmental factors that could influence their actions. When evaluating ourselves, we are more aware of the pressure of circumstances. For example, if a colleague doesn't meet a deadline, it's because he is lazy; if we don't meet a deadline, it's because we have way too much work and our bosses' expectations are unrealistic. It's always someone else's fault. The following article talks about people who like to blame, whine and always play the victim card. It identifies ten executive-level complainers who contribute to the flourishing dysfunction of workplaces....

Every year, it seems, a new set of buzzwords and acronyms associated with those buzzwords gets added to our lexicon. Lol is not “love you lots”, but “laughing out loud”. Add an ROF in front and you are now “rolling on the floor” too. Add in business terms and buzz phrases and it sometimes it feels like you are in the commercial where the business consultants are spinning these phrases and platitudes around the client so fast that they say a lot and nothing at the same time. It seems that one of the hottest new phrases is "Key Performance Indicators" or in acronym language “KPIs”. Business leaders...

In the October 3, 2011 throne speech, which opened the fourth session of the 39th Parliament, the Government of British Columbia announced that it plans to introduce a new provincial statutory holiday. The new holiday, known as Family Day, will be celebrated each year on the third Monday in February. In order to give employers time to adjust to the holiday, the first Family Day will be celebrated on February 18, 2013. British Columbia will become the fourth province to recognize Family Day, along with Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. The third Monday in February is also a holiday in Manitoba (Louis Riel Day) and Prince Edward Island (Islander...