The push-pull of remote work versus in-office work continues. You can make remote work well, but there are skills and clarity to develop. A thoughtful policy is a good place to start so that you get the advantages of remote without losing all the spark of in-person.

If you are trying to articulate an effective remote work policy, here you go. I sat down with Kaleem Clarkson, the Chief Operations Officer for BlendMe, a company that assists hybrid and remote teams with their people operations and their policy.

Kaleem highlighted the importance of connection. That is the purpose of being in-person. So, for focused work, in-person is not the place to be. Watch the video.

In this episode, you’ll also learn about:

• Starting with the organization’s philosophy on remote work. As with so many things in HR, understand why you’re doing it.
• Creating role flexibility categories to help manage expectations.
• Clarifying the true purpose of in-office meetings.
• The etiquette for virtual meetings.
• I don’t think you should wear your underwear even if they are not visible. Kaleem? Clearly this is still evolving.

Find Kaleem on LinkedIn or on his YouTube channel.

Visit Blend Me Inc: blendmeinc.com

Find Andrea for consulting at andrea@thehrhub.ca

The post Remote Work Policy: Build Your Own. appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.

I don’t know about you, but age is one aspect of DEI that I hardly ever hear anything about. Yet, the impact of ageist policies on older workers is profound.

Are you thinking something like “but it’s time for those boomers to get out the way so I have a chance!”? Well, I asked Laura Tamblyn Watts, the CEO of CanAge about that. CanAge is Canada’s Seniors Advocacy organization and, she says while a few older workers have a ton of privilege, many are shockingly disadvantaged. With 25 years of experience, Laura brings a wealth of knowledge about ageism and its impact in the workplace and to aging people. We discussed:

The shocking statistics on ageism and why it’s the most prevalent form of discrimination globally;

How ageism manifests in the workplace – from overt policies to hidden biases;

The benefits of multi-generational workforces – from increased productivity to reduced churn;

Practical steps to make your workplace more age-inclusive starting with your DEI policy; and

The risks of doing nothing.

This episode was eye-opening and will broaden your understanding of ageism and equip you with practical tools to foster a more inclusive work environment.

Find Laura on LinkedIn.

Check out CanAge at canage.ca.

Learn more about Living, Learning, and Earning Longer here.

The post Age Discrimination In The Workplace appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.

An Overview of the New Requirements 

Starting on February 1^st, the Canada Labour Code will require federally regulated employers to follow revised termination notice periods and provide dismissed employees with a written statement of benefits.

For an employee who has worked at your company for at least three years, you must:

• Provide them with written notice equivalent to at least one week for every completed year of employment, up to eight weeks maximum of notice; and
• Pay the employee their regular wages in lieu of notice.
• Note: A combination of notice and wages in lieu of notice will be allowed.

Additionally, at the time of termination, you must provide employees with a statement of benefits that outlines their wages, vacation pay, severance pay, and any other benefits and pay occurring from their employment.

What This Means for Employers

What does this mean for you as a federally regulated employer or HR professional?

• Review your employment agreements to confirm that your termination entitlements follow these changes in the Canada Labour Code.
• Ensure that you have systems established to provide terminated employees with a statement of benefits within the required timeframe.

Make sure that you are up to date with these changes. To learn more, visit the Government of Canada and Lawson Lundell LLP.

The post Updates to Canada Labour Code: Amendments to Termination Entitlements appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.

Have you been involved in 360 feedback? It sounds both informative and exposing. But it’s better than a performance appraisal from a leader who may have biases.

I sat down with Jo Ayubi, the CEO of Track 360 Feedback. Jo’s expertise in feedback consultancy and their software platform made her the perfect guide to navigate the nuances of 360 feedback. It’s a powerful tool.

Here’s a sneak peek into our conversation:

• These days we are concerned about how people get the job done, not just what they get done. Otherwise, toxic behaviour will proliferate.
• Aim for at least 6-10 people providing feedback.
• You can’t let the ratee pick their raters. At least not entirely.
• It’s a great development tool.
• For some reason, 360 feedback is about the only topic I remember from university.

Jo knows her stuff – for the first time I tried a firing line (peppering my guest with quick questions) and she did great!

Find Jo Ayoubi and her company at tracksurveys.com.

She would also chat with you on LinkedIn. 

Find me for consulting in Western Canada at thehrhub.ca.

The post 360 Feedback – An Intro appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.

This topic might make some of us break into a cold sweat – fostering healthy conflict at the workplace. I spoke with Kate Otting about this – as a mediator, she’s adept at handling conflict.

Kate is the head of Interaction Management Associates, specializing in mediation. She has an impressive career portfolio, having worked in South Africa, served as the Director of Mediation for the Iowa Peace Institute and the Arizona Attorney General, and currently holds the position of Director of Mediation for the City of Phoenix.

In this episode, Kate shares her insights on:

Understanding when conflict is healthy and when it is harmful. Hint: it’s harmful when it festers.
Techniques to engage in conflict with confidence and compassion. Pretend you’re watching it from a balcony!
The role of patience and understanding in managing conflict. Patience can be hard when emotions are running high.
Resources to help.

This episode is a goldmine for HR professionals seeking to foster a culture of healthy conflict resolution at their workplaces. Check out the link in the comments to watch the full episode!

Here are some links Kate has offered:

IMA courses: http://bit.ly/40AT5Be – save 30% on any course or bundle with promo code HRHUB

Free downloadable tools:
• Listening skills checklist
• Checklist for becoming a mediator
• Open-ended questions workbook
• How to Respectfully Disagree Like a Pro – workbook

Find me at thehrhub.ca.

The post From Mediation Skills To Conflict Confidence appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.

All of HR needs to think about the ethical implications of our use of AI.

It’s not alarmist to think that AI will enable HR to discriminate more and in new ways! After all, Amazon had to scrap their recruitment and selection AI because it was biased against women.

This week I, again, spoke with Megan Marie Butler about AI in HR. She speaks plainly and is quite practical in her assessment of AI in HR. She is doing her PhD in the space, but is so frank and easy to understand!

Her insights:

Most AI is legal!

It is all legal because there is so little regulation.

Since it is unregulated, we can unknowingly cause significant social harm if we are not careful. Causing social harm could land us in legal hot water.

Megan provided a few examples of how AI is creating new classes of people to discriminate against.

Regulation is coming. Even so, we are going to learn the hard way. Don’t be the cautionary tale.

Find Megan on LinkedIn @meganmariebutler.
or at ⁠bnmmb@leeds.ac.uk⁠

Find Andrea for consulting in Western Canada at thehrhub.ca.

The post AI In HR: Don’t Be A Cautionary Tale appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.

There’s an intersection between tactics and strategy in HR. As we want our work to matter more and as we move through our careers, we need to understand the transition.

The guest for this episode was Brittany Eisenman, the founding principal of Stokefire. With her unique career path from social work to advising CEOs, Brittany brought a fresh perspective to this! Some of that perspective includes:

Being busy busy busy will not get you involved in the strategy. See the video.

She thinks strategy when someone says ‘tactics’

Watch for being too deep in the weeds! Sometimes you need to poke your head above the surface and look around.

Use whatever data you have even if its limited!

Think about alignment. Deep alignment.

Find Britni at LinkedIn or on Stokefire.com.

Find Andrea for HR consulting in Western Canada at thehrhub.ca.

The post What Is HR Strategy Compared To Tactics? appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.

Why is it so hard to find someone to talk about HR strategy? I’ve been trying for a long time now… and apparently it’s complicated!

Len Nanjad, however, was up to the task! He thinks deeply about HR strategy including how to deliver an HR strategy that balances the complexity of people with business strategy. He is also the guest on one of my most popular episodes! He says:

1⃣ So developing our strategy is similar to other parts of the business: First understand the business strategy.

He gives us some guidance about how to think the product-market fit of HR – see the video below.

We talk about how to consider all the things that employees think we should be doing and sometimes we want to do.

We’re not doing HR to do HR well. Not usually anyhow.

If you read this far, I’m also looking for someone who’s willing to teach communications 101 to HR. It’s not exactly our thing if we’re in larger companies. But in smaller companies, sometimes we are all they’ve got. If you know of someone willing to have this convo with me, message me!

Find Len on LinkedIn at @lennanjad.
or www.mnp.ca/en/personnel/len-nanjad.

Find me (Andrea) at HR Strategy: What should you focus on? appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.

In HR we have to navigate the boundaries between us and leadership. We want to provide good service, but we can’t enable leaders to avoid their responsibilities.

This week’s guest was Pam Schmidt. Pam, a leadership and organization development consultant, shared her experiences and insights on a common challenge in HR and offered some practical advice (and a little bit of spine!).

Pam discussed:

2⃣ Two ways leaders may approach HR that may be misguided: role clarity and team function.

Why she sees these as ‘red flags’ and what could be going wrong underneath.

Her approach to supporting leaders

Why she thinks HR sometimes steps in anyhow.

Ultimately it works best if leaders take responsibility for their team’s dynamics.

By tuning into this episode, you will learn about:
The importance of leaders in handling challenging situations and setting clear expectations.
The role of HR professionals in supporting leaders while maintaining their own boundaries.
The significance of role clarity and team function in an organization.
How to approach conflict and feedback in a leadership role.

Find Pam on LinkedIn (@pamschmidt1).

Find Andrea at thehrhub.ca.

The post Skills HR Professionals Should Have: Avoiding A Leader’s Work appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.

In the world of HR, conflict resolution is an everyday thing. Employees frequently seek us out to help them resolve their conflict. Incorporating mediation for HR can help.

Mediation skills are made up of skills we already have. The thing that gets in our way is usually fear or discomfort around conflict. So you need to practice. Unfortunately.

I actually went looking for someone to talk to about alternative dispute resolution. Mediation is one element but I’ll have to cover other aspects of ADR later. However I found Kate Otting in the process. She is CEO of Interaction Management Associates and has led mediation groups all over. Currently she is the Director of Mediation for the City of Phoenix. She says:

Mediation may one of the few fields where mediocrity is the goal. See the video.

The more we engage with conflict (notice I didn’t say ‘in’), the more adept we become at managing it.

Conflict is expensive x 10. I can only imagine how much time I’ve spent on conflict never mind the economy.

When is the last time an employee came in your office to vent?

Here are some links Kate has offered:

• IMA courses – save 30% on any course or bundle with promo code HRHUB.

Free downloadable tools:
• Listening skills checklist
• Checklist for becoming a mediator
• Open-ended questions workbook
• How to Respectfully Disagree Like a Pro – workbook

Find me at thehrhub.ca.

The post Mediation for HR: Everyday Skills for Conflict appeared first on HR West Consulting - Elevating Success.