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• 22 Dec

  

  Posted by
  Erik Bartz

  
  

  Category

  • Commentary
  • Link

  4 Considerations Before Using a Bring-Your-Own-Computer to Work Program

  0

  

  
  ITBusinessEdge wrote a great piece yesterday, Employeed-Owned Computer Programs: Diving into Murky Waters which brings up an interesting trend in the workplace and raises some potential legal, security and HR issues.  A “BYOC” program could be a fantastic way for businesses to save money, improve employee performance and engagement, etc, but here’s 4 implications to consider first:

  1. Who “owns” the data? Make sure all employees are covered under data ownership agreements, that state all work-related data and applications are the property of the company.  And at the time of termination, etc that transfer and erasure of the data must be witnessed and verified by the internal IT resources.  Update and utilize intellectual property and confidentiality agreements.
  2. A Security Blackhole?! Provide all your staff with security and anti-virus programs, and conduct occasional audits to verify proper security measures are in place.  Include a security agreement stating the employee will take all necessary and mandated precautions.
  3. Who owns the laptop? Your company puts in a couple grand, but the employee bought it, so then who owns it?  Before the employee gets the money, require a “graduated pay-back” of the funds.  For example, each month represents $200 depreciation of the funds – so if you gave $2000 and the employee leaves 6 months later, they owe back $800.  Check with your accountant for the best way to handle it.  Utilize a waiver to satisfy any employment standards requirements regarding pay deductions.
  4. Make it a choice.  Allow employees the option of a company provided computer or participating in a BYOC program.  Some employees may not be interested in purchasing another computer.
• 20 Nov

  

  Posted by
  Mike Morawiec

  
  

  Category

  • Legislation
  • Link

  Employment Accessibility Standard Coming to Ontario

  0

  The recently released Final Proposed Employment Accessibility Standard for the AODA will have a significant impact on every employer in Ontario. The goal of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) is to make Ontario accessible to people with disabilities by 2025, to be achieved by

  “developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025.”

  The Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, Ontario Regulation 429/07 was the first standard to become law, on January 1, 2008.

  The AODA is the first law of it’s kind in Canada and is similar to the Americans with Disabilities Act in the US.  Though not yet law, if adopted in the current form, the act will have a significant impact on every employment related practice from recruitment to termination.

  » Read the rest of the entry..

• 18 Nov

  

  Posted by
  Pam Mihailoff

  
  

  Category

  • Commentary
  • Link

  Revisiting your Mission Statement

  0

  As an HR Consultant for the last 13 years, I’ve been exposed to a diverse group of organizations, across many different industries and in those years I’ve seen A LOT of mission statements.  They usually get framed and posted on the wall somewhere in Reception.  What is interesting is that very few of those mission statements were memorable to me – it was rare to see a statement that truly defined, in a clear and concise way, the company’s purpose and end-state goal.  Often the statements I read sounded all too similar, i.e.  “To be the best in the industry,” “To continually provide exceptional customer service to our valued customers,” and “To be flexible to our clients ever changing needs.”  It seems to me these declarations were more of a marketing statement than a mission statement.

  

  Illustration by Patrick Leger

  I recently came across a fantastic article entitled “How to Write A Mission Statement that isn’t Dumb” that contains wonderful insights on writing a Mission Statement that has true value.  What I learned from this article, is the most effective mission statements are:

  1. simple
  2. quantify the organization’s goal
  3. completely void of meaningless statements like “To strive towards excellence”

  If you develop a mission statement that EVERY employee can remember and understand, they could use it as a guiding tool when making every day decisions in their job.

  You may have heard this famous story about President Kennedy that exemplifies my point. During a visit to the NASA space center in 1962, President Kennedy noticed a janitor carrying a broom.  He interrupted his tour, walked over to the man and said, “Hi, I’m Jack Kennedy. What are you doing?”

  The janitor responded, “I’m helping put a man on the moon, Mr. President.”

  How’s that for simple, goal-oriented and completely void of meaningless statements?

  Now the bigger question – have you read your mission statement lately?

• 05 Nov

  

  Posted by
  Mike Morawiec

  
  

  Category

  • Commentary
  • Link

  The Rules for Wrongful Dismissal Claims are Changing

  0

  

  Over the past few years I’ve read many articles regarding the inability of the average person to receive justice in the Canadian Courts due to the tremendous expense and risks associated with actually pursuing legal action; regardless of the merits of the case.  This is no less a factor in the area of wrongful dismissal.

  Most lawyers are reluctant to work on a “contingency basis” and since terminated employees are normally out of work and reluctant to commit the funds necessary to conduct a wrongful dismissal suit, many cases are not initiated, regardless of the facts. The increased potential for legal action against employers will likely change significantly as a result of the Provincial Government’s efforts at improving the average individual’s access to justice.

  On Jan. 1, 2010, the most dramatic changes to the rules of court since 1985 will be implemented.  These rules will disable three of the most valuable weapons in employers’ litigation arsenal– costs, complexity and delay.  This is according to a recent article by Howard Levitt in the Financial Post.

  » Read the rest of the entry..

• 26 Oct

  

  Posted by
  Erik Bartz

  
  

  Category

  • Commentary
  • Link

  Practice the ‘puppy theory’

  1

  The HR Fishbowl wrote an interesting piece titled, “Annual Reviews…Who Needs Them?”  It explores the perspective shared by Carol Bartz in a New York Times article regarding annual performance reviews and her general dislike for them.

  I have the puppy theory. When the puppy pees on the carpet, you say something right then because you don’t say six months later, “Remember that day, January 12th, when you peed on the carpet?” That doesn’t make any sense. “This is what’s on my mind. This is quick feedback.” And then I’m on to the next thing.

  If I had my way I wouldn’t do annual reviews, if I felt that everybody would be more honest about positive and negative feedback along the way. I think the annual review process is so antiquated. I almost would rather ask each employee to tell us if they’ve had a meaningful conversation with their manager this quarter. Yes or no. And if they say no, they ought to have one. I don’t even need to know what it is. But if you viewed it as meaningful, then that’s all that counts.

  Its an interesting perspective on the importance of feedback and the inefficiency of the annual performance review.  Perhaps its time not just to review your annual reviews, but the communication between managers and their staff.

• 15 Oct

  

  Posted by
  Erik Bartz

  
  

  Category

  • Commentary
  • Link

  Social media drives culture change

  0

  Here is a great story from Rypple, “Social media drives culture change,” about how their social feedback application has led to a positive impact at one of their clients.  By using social media, the client grew out of the product because it led people to get comfortable sharing feedback face-to-face.  We know improving communication in the workplace is full of benefits – perhaps going online can help us improve our offline interactions.

  Check out Rypple.

• 05 Oct

  

  Posted by
  Teresa Cirillo

  
  

  Category

  • Commentary
  • Link

  Flu Season Approaches…

  0

  Has your inbox been inundated with emails regarding the 2009 H1N1 Flu Pandemic?  The truth is…IT’S UPON US…..

  Spread of the H1N1 virus (“Swine Flu”) is thought to occur in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people who are infected with influenza.  You could be infected by touching something – such as a surface or object that have flu viruses on it and then touching your mouth or nose.

  The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus include fever, coughing, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting.

  In seasonal flu, certain people are at “high risk” of serious complications. About 70 percent of people who have been hospitalized with this 2009 H1N1 virus have had one or more medical conditions previously recognized as placing people at “high risk” of serious seasonal flu-related complications. This includes pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and kidney disease.

  People infected with seasonal or the 2009 H1N1 flu may be able to infect others from 1 day before getting sick to 5 to 7 days after. This can be longer in some people, especially children and people with weakened immune systems and in people infected with the new H1Na1 virus.

  So how does an organization address what could be the “Perfect Storm” as it relates to flu season?  A suggestion is to take a two-phased approach:

  Phase 1 is all about Flu Prevention – Provide your employees and managers with practical tools to help prevent the transmission of the flu (seasonal and H1N1).

  Phase II is all about a Business Continuity Plan – This assumes a severe flu outbreak whereby business continuity is threatened in certain markets or regions.  This phase requires that you give careful thought to how you would continue to operate under a severe labour shortage.

  WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STAY HEALTHY?

  • Stay informed. Keep informed by visiting websites, such as www.Fightflu.ca, as important information becomes available

  • Take everyday actions to stay healthy. As influenza is transmitted person to person, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing or use your upper sleeve and not your hands.  Throw tissues in the trash after you have used them.  Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.  Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective

  • Stay at home if you get sick. Limit your contact with others to keep from infecting them.

  • Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.

  Has your inbox been inundated with emails regarding the 2009 H1N1 Flu Pandemic?  The truth is…IT’S UPON US…..

  Spread of the H1N1 virus (“Swine Flu”) is thought to occur in the same way that seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people who are infected with influenza.  You could be infected by touching something – such as a surface or object that have flu viruses on it and then touching your mouth or nose.

  The symptoms of 2009 H1N1 flu virus include fever, coughing, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting.

  In seasonal flu, certain people are at “high risk” of serious complications. About 70 percent of people who have been hospitalized with this 2009 H1N1 virus have had one or more medical conditions previously recognized as placing people at “high risk” of serious seasonal flu-related complications. This includes pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and kidney disease.

  People infected with seasonal or the 2009 H1N1 flu may be able to infect others from 1 day before getting sick to 5 to 7 days after. This can be longer in some people, especially children and people with weakened immune systems and in people infected with the new H1Na1 virus.

  So how does an organization address what could be the “Perfect Storm” as it relates to flu season?  A suggestion is to take a two-phased approach:

  Phase 1 is all about Flu Prevention – Provide your employees and managers with practical tools to help prevent the transmission of the flu (seasonal and H1N1).

  Phase II is all about a Business Continuity Plan – This assumes a severe flu outbreak whereby business continuity is threatened in certain markets or regions.  This phase requires that you give careful thought to how you would continue to operate under a severe labour shortage.

  WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STAY HEALTHY?

  • Stay informed. Keep informed by visiting websites, such as www.Fightflu.ca, as important information becomes available
  • Take everyday actions to stay healthy. As influenza is transmitted person to person, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing or use your upper sleeve and not your hands.  Throw tissues in the trash after you have used them.  Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.  Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective
  • Stay at home if you get sick. Limit your contact with others to keep from infecting them.
  • Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.

  Here is another recent post with a great list of 8 Steps for HR to Create a Plan B.

• 17 Sep

  

  Posted by
  Erik Bartz

  
  

  Category

  • Commentary
  • Link

  Gap Adopts Results-Only Work Environment

  0

  Gap To Employees: Work Wherever, Whenever You Want – BusinessWeek.

  You might recall reading about Best Buy switching to a work when you want, wherever you want workplace strategy a couple of years ago.  Well, a second major retailer has joined this budding revolution in HR strategy, and seen huge returns on their marginal investment.

  ROWE is a corporate culture initiative designed to significantly improve employee productivity, accountability and engagement. Under a ROWE, employees are empowered to work whenever and wherever they want as long as the work gets done.

  Turnover plummeted, engagement and work-life balance scores jumped after just letting their employees dictate their own schedules and locations.  Well, that is simplifying what Gap Outlet did, so click over to the article which includes an overview of the process they used to implement ROWE and some of the results they experienced.

• 19 Aug

  

  Posted by
  Erik Bartz

  
  

  Category

  • Commentary
  • Link

  Is Engagement a Competitive Advantage?

  0

  

  In BusinessWeek’s summer double issue exploring the case for optimism in today’s market, they explore the case for optimism and employee engagement: Is Optimism a Competitive Advantage.

  In our most recent webinar we discussed the importance of employee engagement to limit bad behaviour in the workforce, but perhaps we missed emphasizing some of the positives engagement can have as well.  I know sometimes when we talk about employee engagement with business owners we get the rolling eyeballs telling us we’re talking ‘HR fluff.’

  But then I read an article like this highlighting Best Buy seeing avg. annual sales increase of $100,000 per store when engagement goes up just 2%.  Thats not an insignificant number when you have 100’s of stores.

  The article has some great examples of engagement having positive effects on companies, perhaps even saving them from certain failure.

• 10 Aug

  

  Posted by
  Erik Bartz

  
  

  Category

  • Link

  Four-Day Workweek Saves $1.8 Million

  0

  Here is some food for thought for companies looking to save money and potentially improve employee job satisfaction.

  Four-Day Workweek Saves $1.8 Million in Utah, Makes Workers Happy