Halifax Half Day Workshop April 2010 Topic: Walking the High Wire - Balancing Management Rights & Employee Privacy Interests presented by Jack Graham, Q.C., Partner, Labour & Employment Group, McInnes Cooper, Halifax Morale in the Workplace: Turn Negative into Positive presented by Wilson Bateman, President, Global Training Edge Inc. Walking the High Wire - Balancing Management Rights & Employee Privacy Interests Employers have legitimate rights to secure resources, to investigate undesirable conduct, to acquire the information about applicants and employees that is necessary to make sound business decisions and to meet their legal obligations under the abundance of laws governing employment in Canada. However, it is an ever increasing challenge to find the correct balance between these employers’ rights and their employees' privacy interests. This session is intended to provide some general guidance on what an employer is entitled to know, and how that information may acceptably be acquired, in some typical workplace circumstances that are becoming more complicated by the need to find the right balance point: • Using social media to screen job applicants or keep tabs on employees; • Risk, attendance and performance management through workplace and off-site surveillance technology; and • Acquiring the medical information necessary to assess employee health issues, and to meet accommodation obligations, especially when the employee is uncooperative or in denial. While each set of circumstances requires an individualized assessment, this session will provide useful general guidelines to recognizing where the risks lie, and how employee privacy interests must be taken into consideration. Click here for information on Jack Graham Morale in the Workplace: Turn Negative into Positive The energy in today's workplace may seem negative or even toxic at times. People are dealing with issues that may contribute to a negative attitude towards fellow employees and managers. Many workplaces are downsizing, reducing the number of employees, cutting budgets, limiting travel and are grim about future prospects. This combination of issues can lead to problems within any workplace, resulting in negative energy. Negative energy affects the workplace not only with morale, but also productivity, potential violence, conflict and stress. Put negative energy into perspective. Examine it and then evaluate its impact on the individual and the organization. Many people may not even realize that they are thinking in a negative manner or that they are negative at all, even when confronted with the idea. Participants will acquire new tools to examine their thought patterns to determine if they are a negative or a positive thinker. Learn more about the benefits of positive thinking and acquire techniques to help people become more positive. These tools can be used by any employee within the organization. Discover how to avoid a toxic work environment. Recognize how to evaluate the extent of this negative energy, the impact on each employee, their workteam and the organization overall. Participants will also gain insight about controls and what can we do to change the negative into positive energy. This special program will assist employees and organizations in dealing with issues around negative energy, which can cause pain and suffering, an issue that will impact everyone at some point in his or her working lives. Click here for information on Wilson Bateman Halifax Half Day Workshop October 2009 Topic: Downsizing: A “Moment of Truth” for Your Organization’s Employment Brand presented by Mark Surrette, President, Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette and Anna Stuart, Partner, Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette Strategic Workforce Planning in Turbulent Times presented by Tim Brennan, Chief Visionary Officer, HiringSmart Canada Inc. Downsizing: A “Moment of Truth” for Your Organization’s Employment Brand Downsizing was a new event in the 80’s, became standard practice in the 90’s and today has taken on an entirely new dimension. Downsizing, when it must be done, has to be viewed in the light of employee retention and recruitment. Imagine, using restructuring as an engagement process! Beyond the moral and social responsibility to treat people with dignity and respect, it makes good business sense to effectively manage the human impact of downsizing. Whether you are downsizing for economic or strategic reasons, people remember how you treated them and talk about it. If they perceive their experience as unnecessarily negative or unfair, they will share it with friends, family and colleagues. In the age of the internet and social networking, the harm to your employment brand can be swift and far-reaching, and can haunt you when you are ready recruit new talent. There are also the perceptions of your remaining employees to consider. If they believe you have not been fair or respectful to departing employees, they will look for other job opportunities once conditions improve. Those most likely to depart are the individuals with the most options – your top talent. Discover how to manage downsizing so it will have a positive long-term impact on your organization’s employment brand. Employers of choice understand the value of looking at HR from a marketing perspective. They think about employment with an organization as a product like any other with a unique set of features, benefits and a specific target market –the top talent in the industry. Leading organizations strive to develop and communicate a strong employee value proposition that resonates with the type of employees they wish to recruit and retain. Review some of the best practices in downsizing that help not only at the time of the downsizing but serve to mitigate the potentially negative impacts on your organization’s employment brand. Learn how employment brand is shaped, how downsizing can impact employment brand and engage in a dialogue about creating a ‘moment of truth’ that serves to enhance your organization’s employment brand and position you for the return of the war for talent. Click here for information on Mark Surrette Click here for information on Anna Stuart Strategic Workforce Planning in Turbulent Times With the current unstable economic climate, companies that find ways to maximize their employees’ contribution have a greater chance of weathering the storm. Currently, 70 to 80 percent of the workforce in North America is at some level disengaged in their work, which in itself costs the economy billions of dollars annually in misdirected resources. Much of this waste is a direct result of outdated staffing and talent management approaches. We must focus on measuring what matters, specifically the four critical aspects of fit: fit with the job, fit with the manager, fit with the team and fit with the organization. These are the four leading indicators that lead to engagement with effects the business results that the organization uses as the real measurement of success. You will obtain three strategic activities that will clearly outline the steps to create a consistent, efficient hiring process across an entire organization based on the four critical aspects of fit. Discover techniques and tools to collect the information that matters for strategic workforce planning. We will examine best practices of leading organizations to ensure that you get the right person quickly and accurately, saving time and money. Learn how to create a "knowledge chain reaction" within your organization that will become the framework for strategic workforce planning decisions. Managers will then be able to see where there may be current weak spots and address the problem, which in turn leads to reduced turnover and increased retention and engagement. Click here for information on Tim Brennan Halifax Half Day Workshop April 2009 Topic: Would You Follow You? Leadership in Times of Change presented by Kevin Hamm, President & COO, DownEast Communications, Halifax Today’s Critical Issues in Employment Law presented by Jack Graham, B.A., B.Ed., LL.B., Partner, Labour & Employment Group, McInnes Cooper, Halifax Would You Follow You? Leadership in Times of Change This dynamic session will look at the traits of leaders and how leaders must understand the distinction between “managing” versus “leading”. With over 20% of current Canadian workplace eligible to retire in ten years, the need to keep employees tuned in and turned on to what you are doing is most critical in today's marketplace. The presentation will help participants take stock of their personal leadership style, what components they admire, respect and measure themselves against that. Our presenter will teach participants how to reflect, reset and rejuvenate their leadership style, their department and even the organization they work for. We will address Personal Power vs Positional Power. We examine the influence we have when we are in a position of leadership. Participants will review a particular leadership model on how to drive a performance culture that leads to greater retention and greater operating results. We will also look at the power of dreaming and the impact it can have on your life, career and everyone with whom you make contact. Participants will discover the four main ways we learn in life and how to apply them to both their career and personal lives. We will table the technique called “Skill/Attitude” and how it applies to everyone. This workshop will also present an outstanding HR tool called “Can’t/Won’t” and describe how to use it with others. Click here for information on Kevin Hamm Today’s Critical Issues in Employment Law One of the most important components of HR strategy relates to employment agreements. The agreements define the key rights and obligations of both parties, as well as benefits and restrictions that an employee may be subject to during the term of the contract and after the contract ends. The first part of this presentation will consider the following issues pertaining to employment contracts: purpose, open ended vs. fixed term, how to define key issues related to compensation and benefits, restrictive covenants related to non competition, confidentiality and non-solicitation and how to limit an employer’s liability at the time of termination. Participants will also obtain legal updates on recent court decisions pertaining to testing, second obligations of terminated employees to mitigate their damages and making fundamental changes to employment contracts. Our well-known legal expert will review the latest trends, cases and strategies to avoid needless litigation. Click here for information on Jack Graham Halifax Half Day Workshop October 2008 Topic: You Hired the Best- Now Keep Them! presented by Steve Ashton, Vice President, People & Organization Dev't, IWK Health Centre High Risk Terminations- Take the Fear Out of Firing presented by David L. Ray, B.A., LL.B., CFE, Senior Practice Leader, Security & Investigations, Grant Thornton LLP, Calgary You Hired the Best- Now Keep Them! Employee Engagement is viewed by many organizations as the secret to success with very tangible results with regard to corporate performance, customer satisfaction, innovation, and the attraction and retention of top talent. This is especially important in Canada, where our economy is more and more tied to knowledge capital. Therefore, those with the best team, pulling together in the right direction will, all things being equal, win the race. Today’s challenge is how to engage employees and prove that it can actually improve the workplace. In this session, we will look at recent research and trends, including: - Why engagement matters - for executives, leaders of people, front-line employees, and unions. - The importance of the role of front-line leaders; - An overview of some new leadership development programs and other employee engagement initiatives; - The use of employee surveys, focus groups and employee involvement programs. At the end of the day, employee engagement initiatives will only work if the organization and its leaders truly believe in building a long term, trusting relationship with its employees. We will also examine the conditions which cause many of these initiatives to fail, and what we can do to improve their chances for success. Click here for information on Steve Ashton High Risk Terminations- Take the Fear Out of Firing Ever increasing levels of workplace violence cause concern when we consider terminating employees who are threatening or may be considered dangerous. Bullies and employees who utter veiled or direct threats are often treated with caution when their behaviour would normally get them terminated. This session will provide tools to assess the risk of physical harm to staff when terminating an employee that may be prone to violence. Participants will be given a template to profile the person being terminated so that the organization can make a considered risk analysis and decide whether there may be repercussions from the termination. Discover various measures to consider to reduce risk prior to termination, measures to consider in completing the termination and countermeasures to put in place following termination. No risk can be completely eliminated but you will acquire a step by step means of ensuring that the organization undertakes appropriate due diligence to ensure that the risks to the organization and staff are properly managed. Click here for information on David Ray Halifax Half Day Workshop April 2008 Topic: Diversity Update: Today’s Legal Issues Regarding Accommodation presented by Tara Erskine, B.A.,LL.B., CHRP, Partner, McInnes Cooper, Halifax . Creative Communication- Manage Conflict in the Workplace presented by Peggy Grall, Certified Executive Coach & Consultant, Peggy Grall & Associates Diversity Update: Today’s Legal Issues Regarding Accommodation A growing challenge for employers is to attract and retain employees. Part of the challenge is providing a workplace that respects the differences among employees and turns it into a competitive advantage. This session will provide an overview of the law on accommodation of diversity. Human rights legislation and proposed amendments to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act will be reviewed. Recent cases regarding discrimination on prohibited grounds such as age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, family status and disability provide important lessons as to the costs of failing to accommodate diversity. Participants will obtain answers to questions such as: What should employers do for employees who due to religious reasons cannot work on certain days? Do employers have to accommodate modified hours for employees with child care obligations? What constitutes discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation? What pro-active steps can be taken to avoid complaints of discrimination based on race? What accommodations are required with employees who suffer from a disability? How do I respond to a human rights complaint? Click here for information on Tara Erskine Creative Communication- Manage Conflict in the Workplace Unresolved conflict costs the workplace time, resources and reputations. When leaders are faced with helping employees settle sticky issues, it requires skill, determination and a host of time-tested techniques. When relationships go wrong at work, it's common for people to want to blame and criticize the other person. During individual or team conflict you can find yourself thinking, "If it just wasn't for his/ her bad attitude," or "that little group" - this place would be great! It's a common - but deadly- first response to workplace conflict. This workshop will help leaders and managers to assertively engage each other to artfully resolve conflict and transform disputes into opportunities for creativity and innovation. In this advanced session, you will learn how to debunk the myths and misconceptions about conflict in the workplace, learn to quickly settle the question of, 'Who's problem is it anyway' in any dispute, distinguish assertive responses over aggressive or passive ones and select the right response. Discover the key factors that contribute to employee disputes, new approaches available and work with individual leadership skills necessary to help yourself and others resolve issues in a timely and professional manner. Click here for information on Peggy Grall Halifax Half Day Workshop November 2007 Topic: Get a Handle on Harassment Investigations - Tips, Trips & Traps presented by David L. Ray, B.A., LL.B., CFE, Senior Practice Leader, Security & Investigations, Grant Thornton LLP, Calgary Discipline Employees Without Fear presented by Jack Graham, B.A., B.Ed., LL.B., Partner, Labour & Employment Group, McInnes Cooper, Halifax Get a Handle on Harassment Investigations - Tips, Trips & Traps This harassment update will walk you through an actual workplace harassment investigation from allegation to discipline. Participants will be provided with a model for internal investigations which protects the rights of the employer, the employee and witnesses. Emphasis will be placed on resolving harassment complaints and conducting the investigation in a manner that will cause the least amount of disruption to the workplace. There will be a discussion on the legal principles of harassment, the difference between workplace and legislative harassment and the duty of the employer to accommodate in cases of discrimination. Participants will also be provided with options to plan the investigation, conduct interviews and report on findings. They will be provided with a sample outline for a harassment report and considerations in arriving at conclusions. There will also be a discussion of report recommendations available to the harassment investigator. Click here for information on David Ray Discipline Employees Without Fear Every employer must establish a system to evaluate workplace performance and misconduct as well as impose fair and consistent discipline. It is essential for employers to have an appropriate framework to conduct disciplinary investigations, to take corrective action for sub-standard performance and to impose discipline in a manner that is consistent and fair to employees and to the employer. Many employers misunderstand the fundamentals of why and how discipline should be imposed. They may not be aware of how this obligation fits with a variety of other legal obligations, including those arising under human rights legislation and employment standards. Participants will obtain information on how to: identify the basis for imposing discipline, develop a process for investigating misconduct, impose progressive discipline for sub-standard performance, develop a framework for determining an appropriate level of discipline, and avoid common mistakes when imposing disciplinary penalties. This session will provide a lively and insightful outline of practical tips and solutions for avoiding legal liability, and dealing with discipline as a positive, constructive tool for improving work performance. Click here for information on Jack Graham Halifax Half Day Workshop April 2007 Topic: The War for Talent: Winning by Staff Retention presented by Kevin Hamm, President & COO, DownEast Communications, Halifax. Bullying & Harassment: What Every Manager Needs to Know presented by Donna Scotten, Senior Account Manager & Training Consultant Sheppell.FGI, Halifax The War for Talent: Winning by Staff Retention Though there has been a spotlight on the shrinking labour pool as a concern for all companies in the past several years, retention of qualified workers has always been a major concern for senior management. Regardless of the size of the labour pool, retention of top performers has topped the list of many organization’s goals. However, as we prepare for mass retirement from the baby boomer generation and as our younger candidates head to other provinces and countries in search of new opportunities and higher wages, retention climbs even higher on our priority lists. This session will explore new programs which have proven to be most successful to retain the valuable staff in your organization. We will focus on three main areas – Morale, Motivation and Momentum – and provide a selection of tips and tools to aid in keeping staff. Discover options available to organizations to create a climate in which employees will want to remain. We will compare closed door, open door and open floor policies. Other highlights include speaking to employee-driven committees, the importance of communication during times of change and its effects on morale, and how to get to the front lines to ensure morale is kept up. Click here for information on Kevin Hamm Bullying & Harassment: What Every Manager Needs to Know Human Resources professionals and people leaders are invested in creating an environment where all people feel free from the effects of any kind of abusive or aggressive behaviour, also known as bullying. The subject is one that challenges our organizations today as they become increasingly aware of the effects of bullying yet find that addressing these behaviours is a difficult and sometimes complex task. This presentation will teach you how to heighten awareness around the subtle and overt behaviours that constitute abusive behaviour at work. We'll help you define behaviours and give you pointers to help identify an employee who would be most likely to behave abusively, then provide an overview of strategy and tactics around the best practices to de-escalate and address situational stressors that can lead to aggression and bullying. The speaker will also touch on the basics in terms of the right to a safe working environment free from the effects of abusive behaviour, how to approach to the bully, as well as encouraging the pursuit of both the informal and formal complaints processes. Click here for information on Donna Scotten Halifax Half Day Workshop November 2006 Topic: “Financial Fiends”: Effectively Dealing with Fraud in the Workplace Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia- Supporting Injury Prevention and Return to Work Speaker: Susan MacMillan, FCA, CFI, CFE, Partner, Forensic Accounting & Investigative Services, Grant Thornton LLP, Halifax Tony Bremner, Provincial Coordinator, Return to Work Programs, Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia “Financial Fiends”: Effectively Dealing with Fraud in the Workplace Public awareness of corporate wrong-doing and fraud has never been higher. How do you minimize the risk that fraud is occurring in your organization? What do you do when faced with the prospect that it has occurred? What are the responsibilities and obligations of an employer and how are they balanced with the rights of an employee who has been accused of and/or investigated for fraud or other wrong-doing? This informative session will provide HR and administrative professionals with insight into the occurrence of fraud, strategies for its prevention and detection, and how to appropriately react to suspicions of fraud. Participants will understand how fraud could be occurring in their organization, recognize the indicators, develop strategies to prevent and detect it, and considerations when reacting to fraud. Topics Covered: • Fraud: what is it, who does it and why • Environments favorable to fraud • Indicators or “red flags” of fraud • Deterrents to fraud • Reacting to allegations of fraud in your organization • Balancing the rights of employers and employees “Financial Fiends”: Effectively Dealing with Fraud in the Workplace Susan MacMillan is partner in charge of Grant Thornton’s Forensic Accounting and Investigative Services in Halifax. She obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration from Acadia University in 1977 and her CA designation in 1979. She is a certified Fraud Examiner and certified Forensic Investigator. She has also provided expert testimony in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia Provincial Court on matters of theft, fraud and accounting. She has conducted numerous investigations and reviewed auditor performance as well as critiqued reports prepared by other experts. Susan has spoken to numerous corporate audiences on the topic of workplace fraud. Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia- Supporting Injury Prevention and Return to Work In 2005, over 34,000 claims were registered with the WCB. That works out to more than 90 injuries a day across Nova Scotia. Of those, over 9,000 workers – 25 a day – were injured severely enough to lose time from work. One person died on the job every two weeks. If you put all of the people who were injured on the job last year together in one place, it would be the third largest community in Nova Scotia. The human and economic cost of workplace injuries is simply not acceptable in this day and age. When thinking about how to reduce the cost of workers’ compensation, it is important to know that, all things being equal, Nova Scotia has one of the highest injury rates in Canada compared to other provinces. Also, workers in Nova Scotia stay on short-term benefits longer and more workers in our province go on to receive permanent benefits. We need to better understand what drives this situation and what we can do to ensure workers return safely to work. It is in everyone’s best interest to help employees get back on the job in a safe and timely manner. Otherwise, employers will continue to pay high workers’ compensation premiums and workers will continue to see their lives interrupted and changed by workplace injuries. It will take the combined efforts of everyone – workers, employers, labour groups, government, health care providers and others – to change this situation. The WCB will use all of the tools at is disposal to encourage safe workplaces and help injured workers return to work. Tony Bremner will describe the steps the WCB is taking to help create a safety culture in this province and help injured workers return to work in a safe and more timely manner. This includes the WCB’s Rate Incentive Program, Priority Employer Program, a new online service called MyAccount. Tony will also explain how the WCB’s new agreement with Nova Scotia physiotherapy clinics improves opportunities for safe and timely return to work. Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia- Supporting Injury Prevention and Return to Work Tony Bremner has worked his entire 28-year career at the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia. Tony has a wealth of knowledge about injury prevention and helping injured workers return to work. For the past 8 years, Tony has traveled throughout the province helping employers and labour groups understand the terrible human and financial toll of workplace injuries. He encourages everyone in the workplace to work together to implement effective programs to reduce the impact of these injuries on the employee and their employer. As President of the 400-member NSGEU Local 55, he is well positioned to understand both the employer and labour perspective on workplace safety and return to work issues.