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Training and Development

Slaw: Amending the Charter of the French Language and other laws

The preamble of the Charter of the French language makes it clear that everyone has the right to live and work using the French language, and that it is the official language of Quebec in government, law, work, education, commerce and business. This preamble is now elaborated to acknowledge that,

 

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Canada’s top 100 employers for 2013

Just this past month, the acclaimed Canada’s Top 100 Employers for 2013 list was released and an editorial was featured in the Globe and Mail. (You can see the full list here) Among the ranks were 3M Canada Co., Deeley Harley-Davidson Canada, Loblaws Cos. Ltd., and Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc. The list is diverse, awarding honours to a mixed bag of firms, from Technip Canada Ltd (124 employees) to Toronto-Dominion Bank (43, 850 employees). While the nature and size vary significantly, one factor remains constant across every organization: employee engagement. Human resource development is at the core of every listed organization’s values, and for good reason; human capital is considered their greatest asset.

 

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Performance management matters despite Dilbert’s mockery!

It is annual performance review time for many organizations! The actual performance review may be a simple rating sheet, a multi-page document, a massive competency check-lists or an online 360 review. Whatever the format of your reviews, it is your entire performance appraisal process, which includes the manager & employee performance appraisal meetings that determines the effectiveness of your appraisal system for your organizational development goals. Scott Adams has dedicated a multitude of Dibert strips mocking performance reviews (scroll to end of article) but for organizations today, performance management still matters.

 

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Bill to protect workers safety at service stations

A Private Member’s Bill, 124, An Act to amend various statutes with respect to worker safety at service stations was introduced on September 20, 2012, seeking to protect gas station attendant’s safety and their income.

 

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What can we learn from recent critical workplace violence incidents?

Under Canadian Occupational Health and Safety legislation, employers are obligated to take all reasonable steps to maintain a safe work environment. In many Provinces (e.g., Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta) as well as the Federal jurisdiction, employers are statutorily obligated to put in place a workplace violence prevention and intervention program (i.e., measures and procedures designed to mitigate the risk of harm from work-related violence)…

 

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Going deeper to go higher: Getting the most out of in-service training for employees and employers

September traditionally marks back to school for kids, and many employees are also starting new courses and maintaining in-service training requirements. For most employers vacation schedules are calming down, as managers are revving up production, sales, vision and values kick-offs, quality improvement programs, client-centered programs and increased service delivery. Underpinning the organizational capacity to deliver its desired goals is training.

 

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Critical accountabilities and performance management

Job descriptions have many uses, the most obvious being to describe key responsibilities and serve as a basis for salary or pay. However, a job description has the potential to deliver far more than this…

 

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Business perspective on unpaid internships in Canada

This is a follow-up post to my previous post on a business perspective on unpaid internships in the United States.This post deals with more of a Canadian business perspective, and when it comes to internships in Canada, the regulations are anything but clear. There are currently no laws in Canada regulating internships specifically, so provincial employment standards acts are the only form of governance. For the most part, internships in Canada are paid, however in some sectors (media, PR, journalism) internships go often unpaid. In the United States, some candidates are actually paying employers for unpaid internships. Luckily in Canada, things haven’t gone that far. However, Canadians are still fairly unaware of what unpaid internships are all about.

 

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Start with firm foundations to obtain stable HR data

I am often contacted by human resources groups and analysts looking to take their work to the next level and discover the next great insight. Often they are seeking some holy grail or mystic equation that will simply answer the complex questions that human systems create. This is a worthy and powerful quest and one which is moving human resources groups and the organizations they serve into a better and more productive position. Unfortunately…

 

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Crafting policies is the art of business

Policies are crucial to a successful business. Without them, it’s impossible to consistently control and keep track of all the things that happen day to day. It’s great to see others as excited about the topic as we are at First Reference. Last week, Scott Lowe outlined on TechRepublic, “10 things to consider when creating policies.” And it’s not just IT policy he’s interested in.

 

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The legality of unpaid internships in Ontario

We’re pleased to present lawyer Andrew Langille of Youth and Work on what the law in Ontario says about unpaid internships. Here, Andrew focuses on the impact of unpaid internships on interns themselves, but organizations and businesses that use or hope to use unpaid interns must pay attention. It is crucial to know whether your intern is legally an intern (and therefore not subject to Ontario’s Employment Standards Act), or actually an employee. And the answer might surprise you.

 

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The pros and cons of unpaid internships: a 360° perspective

A closer look at the economic effect of unpaid internships on employers and interns themselves.

 

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Six steps to summer student success and a sustainable labour force for the future

Senior managers and HR directors alike agree that the main challenge facing organizations in the future will be finding and keeping skilled labour. I’d like to suggest that your organization can start the process of recruiting future employees by providing a positive and successful experience to summer students. I outline six steps on how to do this…

 

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The fate of WSIB safety groups program and JHSC certification training following the passing of Bill 160

On April 1, 2012, certain provisions under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Statute Law Amendment Act, 2011 (formerly Bill 160) came into force, including the prevention mandate in Ontario and Joint Health and Safety Committee certification training. The responsibility for the prevention mandate and the JHSC certification training were transferred from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board to the chief prevention officer at the Ministry of Labour.

 

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Strategy misaligned to HR

This week I was helping a colleague figure out what their HR data was telling them and how to put this into a report. The first place to start was the organizational goals and where they wanted to get to.

 

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