As a trade and international business development specialist, Barbara Mowat facilitates relationships between borders. Acting as The State of Virginia’s Trade Mission Partner in Canada, Barbara played an instrumental role in connecting two organizations – TPD and Bannockburn Global Forex, LLC.
In the last three years, temporary work has grown at three times the pace of permanent work in North America.
Last year, there were 2 million temporary workers in Canada, or, 13.6% of the workforce (1). The same trends were observed in the USA. In August 2012, there were 2.5 million contract and temporary workers in the USA (2). Furthermore, demand for temporary workers in the USA is projected to grow at a rate 5.9% faster this quarter than in the same period last year (3).
Temporary work is becoming popular across a diverse range of fields and levels of expertise. Upward trends in temporary workforce employment have been observed in the education, culture, and accommodation and food services industries (4), as well as in the nursing, information systems, and financial services industries (5).
Across all industries, employers are seeking flexible work solutions to manage productivity and increase competitiveness.
In working with staffing agencies, the agency, not the employer, becomes the employer of record, responsible for the worker’s administration costs. Since the cost of hiring temporary workers (in the short term) is often less expensive than the cost of recruiting and retaining permanent employees, employers can increase capacity and maintain productivity while benefiting from cost savings.
“Engagement” – it’s the buzzword in today’s HR world. But, what is ‘engagement’, exactly? Can it be measured or quantified? How do you increase it? And most importantly, how does ‘engagement’ impact a business’s overall success in the marketplace?
Habanero Consulting is a Top Employer. They have been named one of the Best Companies to Work For by BC Business Magazine, ranked as one of the top three Best Small and Medium Employers, and, most recently, were awarded as the number one Best Workplace in the Country by the Globe and Mail. Caterina Sanders is the Director of Employee Experience at Habanero Consulting and is a thought-leader in the HR industry. Here, she shares her insights on best practices in HR and building a ‘Best Workplace’:
Employers understand the importance of recruiting talented people that are the right fit for their organizations. However, once the right people are in place, training employees and providing them with the proper knowledge and tools to do their jobs can be a costly investment.
Performance review programs are often used to help identify important employee issues, such as the need for promotion, extra training, and compensation reviews; but performance reviews now play a much larger role – influencing the engagement of an organization’s employees.
Engagement is a key issue in today’s HR world with statistics indicating that disengaged workers cost North American businesses well over $350 billion annually in lost productivity(1).
With this in mind, we have put together a comprehensive Performance Review Program Guidebook that includes a number of useful tools and resources that will guide you in implementing and managing your Performance Review Program for maximum benefit at minimum cost.
The Performance Review Program Guidebook includes:
With the Performance Review Program, you can rest assured that your greatest assets, your people, will be setup to achieve success – improving efficiency, increasing engagement and driving excellence within your organization!
To access the Performance Review Program for $149.99 – click the button below!
{{cta(‘6795e6c0-902d-49a8-bb13-1dd86c4f0a36’)}}
For more information about conducting performance reviews, or to receive a quote for services, call us toll-free at 1-888-685-3530
(1) Source: Canada HR Centre
In early November, we shared an Expert Series Article with you about Canada’s E-Marketing Legislation. The proposed regulations meant severe impacts for business owners wishing to leverage electronic messaging to market their business.
Thankfully, the Government of Canada has released a revised set of regulations.
In today’s marketplace, an increasing number of organizations are realizing the importance of being representative of the markets in which they serve. As well, with emerging growth in the global economy, companies are starting to incorporate diversity into all elements of their business – from hiring practices, to procurement, to training and development.
Many companies are already realizing significant advantages of leveraging diversity in both internal performance and external market competitiveness. Because of this, the incorporation of diversity at other levels of business is getting an increasing amount of warranted attention.
Leslie Meingast, an active leader in the Women and SME market shares further insight into the opportunities a diverse culture brings organizations.
Diversity in culture breads diversity in thought. By opening up to differences in opinion and perspective, global viewpoints are seen and heard. Without this diversity, people and organizations can become myopic, impeding growth and hindering opportunity.
At The Personnel Department, diversity is foundational.
At The Personnel Department, diversity is foundational.
This diversity brings richness to our organization.
Consider these facts:
The women’s market is valued to be $15 trillion. Yet shockingly, very few corporations have developed a Diversity Supplier Program to tap into this market.
In Canada, only 35 corporations take part in WEConnect International. Some of these enlightened companies include: Accenture, BMO, RBC, Telus and Walmart.
In the USA, only about 1000 corporations take part in WBENC. Some of these enlightened companies include: Chevron, Boeing, Nordstrom, and Target.
Looking forward, the opportunities for both corporations and diverse SME’s are limitless. Now is the time to develop diversity initiatives, invest in training programs, and broaden your perspective. By leveraging diversity in both internal performance and external practices, you can catapult your business into a wide-open market space.
Using a spider-web analogy, women tend to envision themselves as the centre of influence, with webs of connection leading to others in their network or organization. While the women may be leaders or managers within their organization, they embrace the expertise of others, leaning on colleagues for support.
Within our company, culture promotes collaboration and invests in the education and training of our greatest assets, our people. As a result, the organizational ‘web’ is continually growing outward – gaining capability, capacity and bandwidth.
TPD is WEConnect International and Employment Equity certified. Given these certification and HR qualifications, we work with our clients to develop diversity initiatives that will enable their business to succeed. To learn more about how to implement diversity programs within your organization, please reach out to us.
{{cta(‘d342b0d4-ff15-435a-a72d-7a61adcc8a9d’,’justifycenter’)}}
Leslie Meingast is the CEO of The Personnel Department® (TPD), an award winning Human Resources Corporation that specializes in Recruitment, Staffing and HR Solutions.
Since 1980, Leslie has grown a global organization which has been named a Best Employer by various institutions over the last 10 years.
Leslie plays an active role in many organizations and advisory boards including:
A mentor, speaker and advocate in diversity, Leslie works tirelessly to break barriers for women in business. “Diversity is a business imperative”, Meingast explains, “I live it, breathe it, sleep it”.
Given Leslie’s contributions to the women’s market and supplier diversity programs in Canada, she was awarded the 2012 WEConnect Internaional Ambassador Award. The award ceremony occurred during the WEConnnect International annual conference, held in Toronto from November 11-13, 2012. Congratulations, Leslie!
Think beyond what’s on paper. Make sure to consider both the requirements of the position, and the type of person who is likely to fit your company’s unique culture. What’s that “X Factor” that makes people successful in your organization.
A critical, yet widely underestimated element in the hiring process is the avenue in which you are sourcing your candidates. The types of candidates which you are able to access through public forums are often a factor of timing. In publicly placing advertisements for openings, you may be limiting yourself to the population that is actively looking for work … when and where you are posting your ads. By broadening your search to different avenues you can gain access to a whole new group of people that are ready to be excited by the right opportunity … we call these people the underemployed.
Utilizing skill assessments during your hiring process is a good way for employers to factually determine whether or not a candidate’s abilities match the skills, certifications and experience they have listed on their resume. To learn more about common types of assessments used by employers, click here.
Fully understand the job market and choose the right person for your company by interviewing a wide spectrum of talent (interviewing at least 4-7 candidates is advised). If your pre-screen is effective, these interviews should be more about determining the candidates’ cultural fit within an organization. In addition, all interviews should be conducted within a tight timeline to enable employers to gauge the individuals’ relative strengths and perspective values in the most effective way.
A set questionnaire will also ensure a consistent and equitable screening process. Employers should position themselves to lead the conversation by asking the right questions; that way, they will receive an honest response and unveil potential red flags. Also, when performing reference checks within one’s own industry, be mindful that the person on the other end of the line could likely be your competitor. If you’re not careful, you might be putting yourself and your competition in an unethical situation.
In many cases, background checking practices are legal and even mandatory. In other cases, background checking is deemed to be discriminatory and has serious legal repercussions. For this reason, employers should ensure they are protecting themselves from exposure to undue liability.
Once the new addition to the team has signed employment papers to secure their position, employers must ensure they are set up for success in their role. Proper training, constructive feedback, and follow-ups will help to ensure they successfully integrate within the company.
Imagine this… after investing substantial time, effort and money in your hiring and onboarding process, you find out the employee you’ve hired is not the person you perceived them to be. Though there were no red flags and the employee seemed to be the right fit, the individual has unexpectedly left the position. And now, you’re back to square one. What is your backup plan? Are you prepared to repeat the steps listed above to find another suitable hire?
It’s undeniable that The Steps to a Successful Hire are extensive, time consuming and can become exhausting – which is precisely why it’s so important that employers are aware of the investment they are making in the process. To better understand just what that means, read over TPD’s Real Cost of Hiring Worksheet!
{{cta(‘8e976b8f-fa47-4f0f-8560-2504aaa8c382’)}}
When crucial team members take time off from work, hiring temporary workers is a great option; especially during the summer months when many employees take vacation or when gaps in employment present themselves during times of turnover. Hiring a temporary employee when you’re recruiting for an internal position is a great way to make sure you have time to find the right employee, without making compromises.
