When a company has a set vision, values, and mission it gives a direction for all future communications and goals. Having these ideals known within the company can help create a cohesive team and a united environment. The language we choose to use can say quite a lot about a company. What comes to mind when one says that a company is respectful and honest? Hardworking and professional? Efficient and effective? We have preconceived notions related to these words and deciding which ones we use in our communications can project different images of a company. These carefully chosen messages can also change the way clients and coworkers interact...

A core part of human resources management is being on top of employee engagement. Disengagement is a common risk, which is why it is important for leaders to identify signs of engagement versus disengagement and how to improve the latter. Individuals engaged in their work may be optimistic, selfless and solution-oriented. They may go above and beyond what is expected of them and show a consistent passion for learning. When credited with praise, they pass that credit along to other team members. When they are in the wrong, they are accountable and accept constructive criticism.   Disengaged individuals tend to be pessimistic, self-centered, negative and egocentric. They may...

Acknowledging and rewarding an employee’s good behavior is a great way to increase motivation, improve performance, and retain top talent. Recognition comes in many forms, but when looking at ideas for rewarding your team, why not give extrinsic and intrinsic motivators a try? Extrinsic rewards are tangible motivators, like offering pay raises, bonuses, and benefits. Monetary benefits can instantly motivate some employees to work towards the reward, especially since money directly impacts one’s quality of life. As nice as they seem, these kinds of rewards tend to have short-term effects, and can be costly if expected to be continuously given.  This may also be difficult for some smaller...

Unfortunately, resignations are unavoidable in the workplace, and can be uncomfortable for both parties. Knowing the rules of resignation can make these conversations much easier for both the employee and employer and may avoid a potential claim to the organization. An employee’s resignation is usually clear and is not normally subject to interpretation. It can be as simple as “I’ve decided to stay home for the next few years to take care of my family”, or simply “this job isn’t working for me”. In situations such as these, the conversation won’t likely leave room for ambiguity, however if this conversation is not followed by a written letter of...

  In my past experience, performance management strategies have increasingly been dreaded and criticized for being too complicated. Often I’ve heard people say “there are too many forms to fill in” or “this is so much work and there are too many issues to address.”  One of the common misperceptions is that an entire year of an employee’s progress and challenges has to be crammed into one meeting at performance review time. However, successful performance management is about tracking development, working towards goals continually, and addressing things as they come along throughout the entire year. Managing one’s performance should be on-going, throughout the year. Here are some suggestions...

Vacation time is an entitlement to employees across all provinces in Canada. Apart from being an entitlement, it is also considered to be a benefit in attracting and retaining employees.  Each provincial employment standards set a minimum vacation time to be provided to employees – most of which outline a minimum of two weeks’ vacation per year to start. However, 62% of employers in Canada offer more than the minimum requirements to new employees[1]. New executives may be offered a minimum of four weeks of vacation time[2]. The amount of vacation a company chooses to offer will often be considered as part of the total compensation plan. Once...

Absenteeism costs Canadian employers over $16.6 billion per year. Add into this, productivity losses and other indirect costs, and that number actually increases to $37 billion.* Employee absenteeism is a costly and disruptive problem to any organization. To ensure that a company is successful, it relies on its employees to be punctual, present and actively engaged. Employees should be held accountable for their attendance habits; however the employer does have an obligation to determine culpable and non-culpable absenteeism, and to deal with each type appropriately, providing accommodation for non-culpable absences where applicable. What is the difference? A culpable absence is an absence that occurs as a result of...

As Human Resources professionals we have all been subjected to the stigma that HR = “The Grim Reaper”, has been kept around to deliver the bad or worst news.  In order to challenge the status quo and have a paradigm shift in the thought process of our client groups, it is important to provide our services without the negative connotation and have a more positive and strategic approach. It is imperative that we, as HR, build our relationships with our client groups, internal or external, with professionalism, credibility, and trust. Get to know your client groups and determine what makes them tick, both positively and negatively. What are...

Layoff becomes a default answer for companies to address economic recession or tough financial times. This means cost cuts and temporary lay-off while the salary of the remaining employees stay relatively high. With Western Canada, specifically Calgary, Alberta feeling the effects of the change in the oil and gas market, many companies have been faced with layoffs. Reduction in salary can be seen as an alternative to layoffs as the employers may be able to retain their best talent in bad times while they wait for the market to change once again in their favour. While companies are happy to raise prices and employees are happy to receive...

When a fellow HR director calls asking for a post-employment reference about one of your former employees, it’s a dilemma—especially when you don’t have anything positive to say about the former employee. Your ethical side cries out to warn your fellow traveler from HR that this guy is bad news and shouldn’t be hired. But your professional side knows that bad-mouthing a former employee can get you into a heap of legal trouble and that the last thing your company needs is to be sued for defamation. So what should you say? This article will give you a strategy to resolve the dilemma.   Damned If You Do...