05/03/2012    11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Bridging the Workforce Productivity Gap in Canada: the solution's not where most people are looking.

Presenters:
Jan van der Hoop (HiringSmart)
Tim Brennan (HiringSmart)

Canada's workforce productivity is lagging that of most of the developed world, and trending downward - in sharp contrast to our neighbours (and competitors) to the South where labour productivity is considerably stronger than ours and growing.

The economists point to a more conservative climate in Canada as it relates to investments in such things as R&D and technology... and the truth is that we have pretty much wrung what we can out of the cost side of the equation through two decades of process improvement.

So how do we stop the downward spiral and become competitive once again in a market that is more global then ever? A big part of the answer lies in learning to measure what matters as it relates to matching talent with opportunity, and in learning to work - and to produce value - differently than we have in the past.

As we’ve often said, ‘what got us here, won’t get us there’. We need to develop a different set of metrics than we are typically reporting today, to guide how we staff, manage and lead our organizations. Surveys report that CFOs are every bit as concerned about their inability to reliably connect the dots between People and the P&L as we are as HR professionals. These new metrics are readily available in any organization; we just need to start using them.

Perhaps the best news is that the level of financial investment to get on the right path is low – very low – in contrast to the return on that investment. But it does require a willingness to see – and to do – differently.

Are you up for the challenge?

05/03/2012    12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Coaching Leaders to Personalize Their Own Guide to Highly Effective Leadership

Presenters:
David Crisp (Crisp Leadership Strategies)

The missing link in effective Talent Management and HR Strategy - 80% of managers routinely show up as not highly effective. Another study found 60% wanted no responsibility for managing people. How you change this varies with the personalities involved. Strengthening leaders can increase their results 3 to 20 times, prepares them for succession and powers the missing core of performance management. Understanding the skills effective leaders need in common, but can apply differently helps you develop approaches that work for everyone. Take away a useful guide you can get others to understand and use. Help your organization close one of the most puzzling gaps in all HR work.

With staff levels pared back drastically, innovation and development is challenging even for top notch leaders and repeated studies show nearly 82% don’t have the people skills to manage such a complex task. Here’s what it takes in a plain, simple, practical outline. The truism that ‘leaders develop leaders’ has never been more accurate – without skill in leadership, it is impossible to fully recognize it or develop it in others. The challenge is each leader is different, needs different emphasis in coaching and interacts differently with their peers, bosses and reports. There are consistent guide beacons, however, that help to understand and practice using.

Leadership inspires innovative efforts beyond the routine and unleashes the combined creativity of every single employee, again in unique ways for each individual. Companies can no longer afford to limit their innovations to those dreamed up by a small research staff or a creative CEO alone. To compete effectively, the only route to survival in our turbulent, challenging environment, requires effective leadership from every person capable of providing it at every level of the organization on a daily basis, not occasional efforts approved by laborious bureaucratic processes.

Recruiting, no matter how effective, can close only part of the talent gap. Even assuming your organization can identify its leadership needs there’s no point recruiting the best if they are dumped into an uncreative environment set by weak leaders. Only by spreading leadership skills widely around the organization and creating an environment where people are willing to take reasonable risks can innovation occur steadily and reliably. Effective leaders encourage trial and error and don’t penalize people for taking calculated risks and making suggestions that don’t always pan out. Knowing how to balance risk and return at a grass-roots as well as at the enterprise level is an essential skill for leaders today. Understanding what it takes to engage employees fully, including their emotional needs to contribute, to be respected and to grow their skills, is key to developing the highest productivity on a continuing basis.

05/03/2012    1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Empowering Your Social Workforce in the Cloud

Presenters:
Patrick McGuire (Vana Workforce)

Vana Workforce in partnership with HR.com, Canadian Masters in HR Strategy & Execution are excited to present “Empowering Your Social Workforce in the Cloud”; an information session for HR professionals, consultants, managers, small and midsized enterprise owners and operators; a rich overview and insight how to go from Hire to Retire with integrated HRIS solutions, saving time and money, increasing performance and reducing the bottom line for maximum impact and ROI while embracing the Social Workforce for increased success.

This content rich session will deliver an introduction to the cloud with a focus on the future of the social workforce and how it will benefit your organization to go above the clouds no matter your org size. This session will also explore the power of cloud computing and the new opportunities that exist to save your organization time and money. The big question these days seems to be how to manage a growing global social workforce and the “big data” that comes with it; we will address what Core HR really means and how organizations can manage big data and leverage the power of an integrated “hire to retire” human capital management solution in the cloud.

Organizations will learn how to save time and money working in the cloud with an integrated Human Resource Solution.

Consultants, HR Administrators and Managers will gain insights how the Social Workforce is going global and how to better manage and automate mundane monotonous tasks with instant accuracy and reporting metrics so you can focus on the H of HR and work with the other Humans in the Social Workforce.

Everyone will discover the power of the cloud and gain an understanding of the benefits of a robust integrated Hire to Retire HRIS that embraces integration and social collaboration.

"By the year 2014, 47% of ...workers will be under the age of 35. And these younger workers are just as smart and hard-working as we baby-boomers are." Bersin and Associates

05/03/2012    2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Is Your Organizational Culture a 'Me' or a 'We' Culture?

Presenters:
Trish Maguire (Synergyx Solutions)

Is it possible that the recession has accelerated a workplace revolution where leaders have to rethink their philosophies on creating communities of commitment, affiliation, and learning? Is it possible that with the multi-generational workforce we have hit the “Age of the Employee?”

Whether you agree or disagree, the following quotes are fundamental to the concepts presented in this webinar where the question being raised is about the underlying value of creating a “WE” versus “ME” culture:
“Any leadership practice that increases another’s sense of self-confidence, self-determination, and personal effectiveness makes that person more powerful and greatly enhances the possibility of success.” [Kouzes & Posner]
“Organizations need to cease seeing people as helpless reactors, to seeing them as active participants in shaping their reality, from reacting to the present, to creating the future.” [Senge]

Both present powerful insights into the reality that leadership and attitude are key factors that influence an organization’s performance and success.

The opportunity in today’s knowledge-based economy appears to be in the effective development of leadership practices that will not only attract people but demonstrate a commitment to helping them realize their personal goals and ambitions.

The overall objective in today’s webinar is to lead a discussion on the value of creating an organizational leadership culture of inclusivity, collaborative spirit and trustworthy partnering where the focus will be on building a “WE” versus “ME” culture. This concept fosters personal growth both emotionally and intellectually. It is a people centric focus and you will have the opportunity to reflect on practical tools and guidelines to help you define, shape and implement your own ideas.

You can choose to use all the suggestions or just a few. The intention is to encourage you to create your own interpretations and build a greater sense of ownership, affiliation, collaboration and co-partnering within your own organization’s culture.

05/03/2012    3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

IC Management; Time To Get Ready

Presenters:
Dan Roehrs (HCMWorks, Inc.)
Susan Richards (Payment Services Corporation)

* Note: This webcast does not qualify for HRCI or IHR credits

Through the 1980s and 1990s, the staffing industry emerged as a significant part of corporate manpower planning strategies, which prompted an offshoot population of independent contractors. This segment of the workforce was not employed by staffing agencies but rather, they incorporated themselves as a single entity and provided productivity through their newly created “businesses.” This group saw acceleration to its ranks through the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) boom, which spawned many niche technology professional experts who found higher wages by representing themselves as “independent corporations/ contractors”. With the diverse modular implementations of the ERP systems growing, the need for SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Baan and other ERP specialists created a rich supply and dynamic demand. With the technology expertise demand frenzy that continued via the “Y2K” software systems scare of 2000, these dual business elements fueled the continued explosion of the ranks of independent contractors well into the new millennium.

Nearly every week there is news of Independent Contractor misclassification and other "gray area" errors that are resulting in companies primarily (for now) in the US to pay enormous fines and in some extreme cases even serve jail time. This session will review some of these cases and, more importantly, lay out strategy and specific things you should be doing now to prepare for the inevitable audit from the CRA and other government and regulatory bodies of Canada.

Specifically, we will cover the US precedent and how in all of these cases, the company in question could have done more to ensure complete separation from their IC workforce. Further, we will discuss how these cases have increased in number; pointing to a disturbing trend of the US government’s realization of new revenue opportunities. Having seen links to US and Canada business and government actions in the past, we will also show why now is the time for companies here in Canada to be aware of these potential risks and exposures while proactively working to mitigate them. Finally, we will be pointing out specific things that you can be doing right now to lessen your risk.