"Low- engagement companies look to Canada"/ "Managing a multigenerational work force"

Feb. 7, 2018 "Low- engagement companies should look to Canada's culture for inspiration": Today I found this article by Kirsetn Sutton in the Globe and Mail:

Managing director, SAP Labs Canada

When remarking on the country's culture in late 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, "There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada." Charles Foran, CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, reacted by declaring Canada to be an experiment in postnationalism.

"He was articulating a uniquely Canadian philosophy that some find bewildering, even reckless – but could represent a radical new model of nationhood," Mr. Foran said.

That experiment has resulted in the forming of a country of extraordinary tolerance, pride, freedom and industriousness. The stability of our social and financial systems is the envy of much of the world, and most people who live in Canada are happy (79 per cent of Canadians, according to a 2016 Angus Reid Institute report).

If only more Canadian organizations realized this, they might be able to make Corporate Canada as pleasant a place to be as our homes and wilderness. As it is, many companies are still fighting against the micromanagement, bureaucracy and sterility that demotivates Canadian workers and causes 73 per cent to disengage from their work, according to Conference Board of Canada research.

For many Canadians, satisfying work is the missing piece of the puzzle in what are otherwise very fortunate and contented lives. Too often, this is because companies don't give employees enough of a chance to make their work satisfying. 

"Instead of the free and democratic individuals [Adam] Smith envisioned, many employees end up […] spending their days trying to please their bosses so they can keep their jobs," wrote Canadian philosophy professor David G. Dick.

Over the past few years at SAP Canada, we've made a conscious effort to try to reverse that trend. We considered what makes Canadians so happy and tried to create a microcosm of that culture in our workplace. 

This meant embracing diversity of opinion and ability, giving employees autonomy, ownership and opportunities to grow, and not bullying employees into being productive. It also meant remembering that Canadians have families, and that they value the security of our social systems. We mimicked that by creating one of the most generous benefits packages in the country.

Make no mistake, we saw the risk in this strategy. It might work for a country, but business is different. The safe option has always been to tell employees what to do and structure their days around doing it.

 There was a chance employees could have interpreted our laidback attitude – the games rooms and chill-out rooms – as a licence to take their foot off the gas. But they didn't. The hands-off approach not only made our employees want to be productive, but it made them happier and more ambitious as well.

Empowering employees has paid off beyond our wildest dreams. SAP Canada is now Glassdoor's Best Place to Work in Canada, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 from employees. Employees bring their passions to work, are comfortable being themselves, whoever they are, and want to succeed and make a difference in the world. The experience of working at SAP Canada is now much more reminiscent of Canada's strong culture as a whole than the stingy, stuffy, management-heavy workplaces of old.

Give employees the chance to create a culture they want to be a part of, and they will. They'll make work what they want it to be, they'll find purpose, and they'll strive to improve. 

They'll respond to being trusted with the company's destiny. All that will be to the benefit of your business. A genuinely positive company culture is one, to paraphrase Gandhi, that lives in the hearts of its people. It is shaped by individuals, not policies or CEOs. It will, as you've doubtless heard, eat any boardroom strategy for breakfast.

Canadian companies struggling to empower their employees and create innovative, happy cultures can find the blueprint for success right under their noses. Canada is an amazing place to live, a place of incredible positivity, acceptance and independence. Let's make our companies the same.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/leadership-lab/low-engagement-companies-should-look-to-canadas-culture-for-inspiration/article37764797/

"Secrets for success in managing a multigenerational work force": Today I found this article by Jeff Cates in the Globe and Mail:

President, Intuit Canada

Canada's work force is in a state of flux. The average age of retirement is steadily increasing, and the number of senior citizens still working has skyrocketed by around 62 per cent over the past 10 years.

 At the same time, there's an entirely new generation joining the labour market: Generation Z, or those born roughly from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s. The result? Today's business leaders have found themselves in the unprecedented situation of managing four generations working side-by-side.

How can today's leaders successfully manage a multigenerational work force and adapt to the rapid evolution of the expertise their teams need to thrive? Here's my advice.

Don't dwell on differences. Generational stereotypes are precisely that, stereotypes, and not useful tools for creating an inclusive, positive office culture. 

Your employees – Gen Zs, Millennials, Gen Xs and boomers alike – have diverse needs, priorities and goals. Don't assume people hold certain beliefs or require special treatment. Get to know your team members individually to understand how best you can set them up for success.

While this is a best practice for any leader, keeping a close pulse on your employees is especially crucial in a multigenerational work force where your employees have likely experienced vastly different leadership styles and office cultures over the course of their careers.

Keep context in mind. You can be a more empathetic leader instantly by simply understanding the economic landscape that shaped how professionals view their careers and what they expect from their employers. For instance, members of Generation Z were brought up in the economic crisis and have witnessed firsthand the shifting future of work. 

Automation, digital platforms and the explosion of the on-demand and sharing economies have led to the creation of jobs and businesses that didn't exist even a decade ago.

This trend is only accelerating. According to the World Economic Forum, 65 per cent of children entering primary school today could end up working a job that hasn't yet been invented, and Intuit Canada research projects that freelancers, independent contractors and on-demand workers will make up 45 per cent of the work force by 2020.

What does this mean for managing the newest demographics entering the work force? Flexibility is paramount. According to Intuit Canada's latest report, The Future of Entrepreneurship: Generation Z, almost half of Gen Zs agree that flexibility is a stronger indicator of professional success than salary.

Empower your team to pursue their passions; encourage people to bring their whole selves to work; allow employees to define what balance means to them. In addition to creating a happier, more satisfied work force, placing a premium on flexibility can also help you cultivate a more well-rounded team with diverse perspectives.

Never stop up-skilling. This blistering pace of technological innovation also means that skills are becoming outdated more rapidly than ever before. This applies to workers of all demographics, whether they have decades of industry experience or graduated from university last year. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, nearly half of the knowledge acquired during the first year of a four-year technical degree is already obsolete by graduation day.

This shift towards lifelong learning means that business needs to take a larger role in education. Simply put, if you want to stay competitive, you need to offer continuing opportunities for upskilling, so your employees can keep pace with innovation.

In today's multigenerational workplace, keeping your team up to date on the latest skills, tools, and platforms also means offering diverse opportunities for continuous learning based on unique learning styles and preference. 

Online learning tools like LinkedIn Learning are a great option for workers looking to reinvigorate their skill sets, but understand that some employees may benefit more from in-person training or from the opportunity to attend an industry conference and hear from others in their field.

Amid significant demographic, technological and economic change, today's business leaders face many challenges, and managing multiple generations is no exception. 

However, if you take a vested interest in your employees' unique goals and needs, give them the flexibility to make their role work for them, and offer continuous opportunities for professional growth, you can promote a more motivated, productive team across all generations.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/leadership-lab/the-secret-to-a-satisfied-multigenerational-workforce-its-not-as-hard-as-you-think/article37853130/

Alexandre Bilodeau/ "Is one day off fair compensation for being on call for seven days?"

Feb. 5, 2018 The Ladder: Alexandre Bilodeau: Today I found this article by Karl Moore and Maria Power in the Globe and Mail:

Alex Bilodeau, 30, of Montreal, is a chartered public accountant for KPMG. The now-retired Olympic freestyle skier became the first Canadian double gold-medal winner in moguls freestyle skiing, winning at Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014.

It is an honour for me and an achievement to have two different careers. From an early age, my parents taught me that even if I do become an Olympic champion, at the end of the day, I will still need to be working and I will need a career. I have always said, since I was young, "I am not only Alex-the-skier." I don't want to define Alex Bilodeau as an Olympic skier because I think there are so many things to be accomplished in life.

I am somebody who strives to set many objectives and goals. I am always looking for the next step and that is why I never really left school, always keeping one foot in the classroom. I finished school in June of last year with a master's degree in the CPA program.

It is very important to give back and share your experiences. I want to be a study buddy for the new cohort writing the CPA exam next year. In the same way that someone is getting ready for a professional exam, it is not very different from getting ready for an Olympic run. 

You have all that stress and work that you have invested in and suddenly it is the due date and you need to perform. My skiing career brought me something very special that I can translate into various other skills. I want to share that with others, I think it's very important.

I don't ski much any more but I do ski with family a little. People are surprised by this because they think I must ski all the time on the weekends. For me, it's really about spending more time with people. I actually enjoy more the ride up than the ride down. This is because you are talking to people. I'm exchanging great moments with people, so that's the most important part for me.

It is my motto to not have any regrets. I try to make every decision in my life without regret and without lying to myself. After Vancouver 2010, I actually did a lot of thinking about whether or not I should go on for another four years. Looking in the mirror, I thought, "If I make the decision not to compete at Sochi, will I have regrets down the road?" 

When I will be 65 with grandchildren, will I say to them that grandpa was once an Olympic champion and he could have won two gold medals, but he didn't try so he decided to become an accountant? They would never believe me. I also really felt that I was not the best skier that I could become. I still felt that I had more to give to the sport and felt that I could achieve more.

I wanted to compete in Sochi for the right reasons and I wanted to try something that never has been done before in my sport. I thought, whatever will happen in Sochi, whether I win or fail, I will not keep going afterward, even for a victory lap. Winning Sochi might mean signing bigger contracts, but I didn't want to do it for the money.

At the end of the day, I really felt that once I crossed that finish line in Sochi, it would be my best run I could offer to my sport, and even if I worked four more years, I would not have become a better athlete. I promised myself that I will try as hard as I can and then, at 26 years old, I can still turn around and manage another successful career.

I have always seen an athlete as an entrepreneur. It is literally a business as athletes surround themselves with the right trainers and specialists and manage their image and their marketing. 

You can improve the sport and give back by having the right image for the next generation and being an inspiration for the young kids. It was very important that young athletes look at me and say, "Wow, that is so cool because that's an athlete that has a good work ethic and can translate it into something else." That is why I invest in many sports foundations that give bursaries to athletes who keep going with their studies.

With everything in life, you need balance. It's very difficult after a long day of training to focus on school. When you have been up early training in altitude, gone to the gym, gone through physio analysis, video analysis, massage therapy and a meeting with all your coaches, by the time you get dinner and get to your bed, it's 8:30 or 9 p.m. and it's a lot easier to open up Netflix or play a video game then to open up an accounting book. But the challenge teaches you a lot about balance.

 Athletes do have time to study; it's just demanding on the body. It is tough physically and mentally. This is why I still look up to [football player] Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, even though I am retired from sports. He has all my respect in the world for pursuing his studies in medicine. That's the role model beyond sport that I would like to portray.

It is the best feeling in the world to go all the way to the end and say, "Check, I've done it." Millennials need to understand the importance of going all the way to the end of their goal, not just touching it, but owning it. They don't go in-depth in what they do. They want to touch a little bit of everything. I personally want to go all the way to the end of my goals.

There is a similarity between the presidents of companies and athletes at the top of their sport. The president of a company needs to stand alone as a leader and have that image, just like an athlete who is on top of that podium day in and day out. 

Meanwhile, you need to surround yourself with the right people to allow you to succeed. It's the same thing with a CEO: he needs to surround himself with the right people. He can't do everything.

It's all about having the right people around you. The people around me understand that I'm a Type A personality and I am someone that has an ego. I need to have the right people around me to tell me the real things.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/management/alexandre-bilodeau-on-how-being-an-athlete-prepared-him-to-become-anentrepreneur/article37849041/

"Is one day off fair compensation for being on call for seven days?": Today I found this article in the Globe and Mail:

THE QUESTION

A hospital has informed a group of non-unionized managers that we will be on call from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. during a seven-day work period. It is expected to occur two to three times a year. This will be addition to working during the day. The compensation for on-call duty is one day off in lieu. Is the employer able to do this? How can we, as a group, approach this situation, in order to refuse or negotiate better compensation? Is there a separation recourse, such as arguing constructive dismissal?

THE FIRST ANSWER

Daniel A. Lublin

Partner at Whitten & Lublin Employment & Labour Lawyers

The first problem with your employer's new rule is that it could be illegal. In addition to potentially offending regulatory laws addressing hours of work and overtime, provincial employment standards codes across Canada require employers to pay employees for being on-call and do not permit trading on-call pay for time off in lieu.

For instance, in Ontario, there is a requirement to pay three hours of regular wages to an employee who is on-call and required to work, even if he or she does not work the full three hours. 

Similarly, in Alberta, an employer is required to pay an employee three hours of minimum wage for each call-out or when the employee is required to wear a uniform and/or monitor radio calls, even if not called out. In British Columbia, an employee must be paid for being on-call, unless he or she remains at home while on-call.

The second problem with the proposed new rule is that, even if reworked to comply with all aspects of the relevant legislation, it could amount to a breach of contract, known as a constructive dismissal. Employers have the right to make tweaks or changes to employment terms and conditions so long as they are not fundamental alterations. 

Significant workplace changes, such as reduced compensation, more hours of work, a different work location and different duties, could be viewed as a constructive dismissal, depending on the impact of the changes on the employee. If this is the case, employees may have the right to reject the changes and sue for a severance package while they look for other work.

If all of your colleagues are opposed to the new proposal, you should stick together to put pressure on your employer to reconsider, or to try to negotiate better terms. If that does not result in anything positive, there is a legal claim to consider.

The Second Answer: 

Kyle Couch

President & CEO, Spectrum Organizational Development Inc.

For many office workers, when the proverbial five o'clock whistle blows, the race is on to dash to the parking lot or train to head home. However, in industries such as health care, manufacturing, and customer service, some shifts are just getting started. In far too many cases, these employees conduct their work with very little management support. Many organizations are therefore altering managers' schedules to ensure adequate coverage for these off-hour shifts.

As a manager, your success is 100 per cent dependent upon the success of your team. Therefore, this move will give you a better ability to ensure they have what they need to be successful. While the idea of being on-call may seem unfair, you should consider the fact that your employees will have a greater level of support from you and your colleagues – and their productivity and effectiveness can increase dramatically – by having your support when on-site employees and supervision cannot overcome a challenge.

In hindsight, your hospital could have involved their managers in the process of coming to this conclusion and implementing this new process. While I believe the concept is progressive, simply informing you of the decision was a mistake.

The other thing to consider is that you will simply be "on-call," and you may find that over the course of the two or three weeks that you are responsible for support that you may not be disturbed at all. The more proactive you and your fellow managers are during the day to train your off-shift supervisors, and to identify potential issues, the less likely you are to be contacted.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/is-one-day-off-fair-compensation-for-being-on-call-over-a-seven-day-period/article37837144/