Simple Steps to Enhance Mental Wellness Taking time for yourself is an important part of balance and presenting your best you to your colleagues and loved ones. Simple routines can offer you a much-needed breath of fresh air. Hello fellow HR professionals! As someone deeply embedded in the fabric of workforce management, you’re frequently at […]
Workplace investigation trends come and go. Over the past fifteen years, we have made several observations. In the this blog, we share our observation of four workplace investigation trends that are of use for employers. Establishing Clear Investigation Protocols Defining the scope and procedures of an investigation at the outset is crucial for its success.
Building Workplace Accountability: A Guide for Leaders As a human resources consulting team, one of our most valuable experiences is gaining insight into a wide variety of organizations. Whether working with small businesses, large corporations, non-profits, or private companies, we frequently encounter discussions about accountability gaps. These gaps don’t just affect individual performance—they can lead
Organizations are struggling with labour shortages. According to CBC news, some of this shortage may be a function of “The Great Retirement”. They reported a recorded number of 55 – 64 year-olds in addition to the 65+ group has retired in the last 12 months. In my experience, retirement brings about three major changes in
Inevitably, if a professional is conducting workplace investigations, you will encounter a situation where there is no evidence to prove if an allegation occurred or not. In the absence of corroborative evidence, or witness accounts, the workplace investigator may determine that a factual dispute is unsubstantiated. Alternatively, the workplace investigator may decide that an allegation
Do you deal with workplace allegations of harassment? Every day in Saskatchewan, people head to work with the hope of having a good day. People want to be paid fairly for the work they do, and they should reasonably expect to have a safe workplace where they are treated in a polite and professional manner.
As a workplace investigator, I am often asked by the complainant or management if the respondent will be informed/will they know the details of the allegations that have been made against them prior to their (the respondent’s) interview? The answer is always, “Yes.”. The reasons why are: Procedural Fairness In order to be aligned with
Every year, non-profits spend billions of dollars on salary, benefits, and other employee supports. As the number of non-profit organizations has grown in Canada so have the demands on non-profit leadership. Meeting client needs, fund raising, working with a board, finding volunteers, managing the money and with all of these, human resource challenges. To ease
The Problem Everyday people go to work wanting to do a good job, make a difference, and be successful. But, sometimes things don’t go as planned. After tempers flare and rude comments are made, relationships can take a nose dive. This can lead to tension and claims of bullying. Workplace conflict affects the entire team.
As an HR investigator, when I contact an HR investigation witness, they often have questions regarding their participation in the investigation. Three HR investigation witness questions are: Do I have to do this? What can I do to prepare? Will people know what I said in my interview? The First HR Investigation Witness Question: Do
There are allegations of harassment against me. Now what? Workplace harassment investigations cause feelings of intimidation and stress. However, barring any criminal act, as the Respondent, the investigation itself is an opportunity for you to share your reality with the investigators so that they can conduct a fair and thorough investigation. The first step when
Over the course of time in HR, we have seen some interesting waves of mass behaviours. In recent times we have had the #metoo movement. Now we are experiencing the Great Resignation, #thebigquit. What the heck is going on? There are a number of credible studies that support people are leaving their current job in
The Great Resignation -What the Heck is Going On? Read More »
I recently facilitated a session of Respectful Workplace Training with a small company. It started when an older employee watched a customer take off a heavy down parka. “Wow, I didn’t realize there was a lady under all that wrapping. With the winter coats I can’t tell what I’m looking at!” The employee thought it
A topic that was hot a few years ago was the aging worker. Newer topics have since bumped the discussion on the aging worker off the front page. But, the aging worker has not disappeared. For me, the topic is very relevant as I “walk a mile” in those shoes. Recently, I have had some
As a workplace investigator, I get asked, “How do you prevent an HR investigation? I have heard many employers and managers say……. “if I had known I was going to have to conduct an investigation, I would have………”. Of course, no employer or manager wants to be in a situation where a workplace investigation is
The words “Diversity and Inclusion” – are regularly mentioned together. After some thought, I realized they are much more multi-faceted than they first appear. One of the most exciting aspects of consulting work is the range of organizations and people I have the pleasure of crossing paths with and learning from. I recently found myself
As an HR professional I advocate looking after your mental health and urge organizations to consider and support employees’ mental health. Sometimes we need to take our own advice. For a couple of weeks I have not been my normal self. As a result, I have not being doing the things that promote good mental
The best-written human resource management (HRM) policy doesn’t do an organization any good if it just sits in a dusty binder on a shelf. HRM policies need guide the organization by supporting their mission, values, strategic direction, and operations. They also need to be kept up to date and should reflect changes in: Legislation Employee
Employee recognition is the practice of expressing thankfulness to staff for excellent performance. The goal of employee recognition is to encourage and reinforce productive performance. Which, in turn, increases business productivity and performance. Often, leaders and employers don’t provide as much as workers would like. This is because employers and leaders often feel the recognition
This is how to bring Fit for Work policy to life. Policies can be great tools and guides for organizations if they are in use. For a policy to be of value to an organization, it needs to reflect the organization’s values and culture. But still, a well-written policy does not do the organization any
Fit for Work Policy ~ Custom Training – Case Study Read More »
Today’s blog, by Leah Knibbs, is about pronouns and gender identity. One of the cool things about being in a profession for a long time is the changes you see over time. Sometimes these changes are hard-fought and contentious to adapt. Sometimes after the hard-fought change, many little changes occur. These little changes solidify our
Organizational Structure Organizations often wonder if their structure is right for the work of the organization. The organizational structure must support how you want to do business. Not only does the structure need to be right for the work, but also the culture and achieving the strategic direction. Organizations will ask Kn/a HR to review
If you don’t already have a Respectful Workplace Policy … now is the time to implement one. The world is changing. Showing respect, patience and understanding for others is more important now, than ever before. The pandemic has challenged us in ways many generations have never been challenged before. For example, we have all seen
The Empty Downtown Within days, downtown offices in many cities around the world turned to ghost towns. Workers were asked to stay home to “flatten the curve.” Most service-oriented businesses, serving the downtown office crowd, were either ordered to close their doors, or voluntarily shut down because there’s no one to serve. Organizations that took
Often we get calls about organizations needing job descriptions. Job descriptions are a useful tool, but are a means to an end, the end being a common understanding about roles and responsibilities and it all boils down to the importance of role clarity. Job descriptions are documents that are important for many things, but the
Employers and employees (employee groups and/or unions) want to ensure that wages are fair. Fair can be defined a number of ways, most often fair means as the wages relate to the market. When we say a job is being paid fair in relation to market, we need to consider two parts – “who” and
Joint Union and Management Wage Study – Case Study Read More »
During the 1990s and 2000s, many organizations developed job evaluation plans (JEP). Job evaluation plans determine what pay to assign to a position within an organization. Job evaluation plans would rate the job’s responsibility, skill, working conditions, and effort. Once rated, the job would be assigned a numerical value. The job’s numerical value would then
Feedback is a powerful management tool. It is a mechanism for change, and it helps employees develop and perform. This is why feedback should not be only an annual or semi-annual event at performance review meetings. Employee feedback should be constant and in the moment. Here are reasons why. Annual or Semi-Annual Reviews Should Be
Why Managers Should Provide Feedback In The Moment Read More »
Should you choose an external investigator? As an employer or manager, dealing with harassment complaints can be extremely difficult as you are dealing with typically a highly emotional situation that you may not be well versed in. Once presented with a complaint or aware of a situation, one of the early decisions for managers or the
Should You Choose an External Workplace Investigator? Read More »
The Steps For an Employee to Take if They Feel They Have Been Harassed As an employee, you are entitled to a safe workplace, one that is free of harassment. Your employer is legally required to provide you with this safe and harassment-free workplace. If you feel you have been harassed at work, there are
Steps For an Employee to Take When Dealing With Workplace Harassment Read More »
As HR professionals, our plates are full helping our organizations navigate life during COVID-19. However, that does not mean that all the other strategic and tactical HR needs have magically disappeared, they have just shifted in priorities and rightly so. HR professionals challenge today is addressing the emergent needs but also keeping our eye on
Times are uncertain and change in the workplace is occurring at a rapid pace. HR plays a role in supporting the organization, leaders, and workers as they work through COVID-19 social distancing while contributing to the workers being successful and productive – either as essential workers in high-risk situations or as non-essential workers who have
For those of you who are new to working from home – I get it. I have been working from home for the past nine years. In that time, I have raised twins (they were 1 when I started) and had a third child. So I understand the challenges that come when you have work
How to Make Working from Home Work for You (and Your Family!) Read More »
How should an employer or manager handle a harassment complaint? As an employer or manager, there is nothing more unsettling than an employee presenting a harassment complaint to you, be it a formal written complaint or verbally informing you of the complaint. Regardless of how complaints are presented, or the employees desire to advance the
The 6 Steps For Employers or Managers to Take After Receiving a Harassment Complaint. Read More »
