The HR Hub

The question: Is it undue hardship or is it a regular hardship? Those of  us in HR in Canada need to consider this.  And we can always brush up  on the duty to accommodate so check out this video.   This was the focus of my conversation with Dylan Snowdon. Dylan is an  Employment Lawyer and Instructor in the Faculty of Law at the University  of Calgary. This is something he is asked about a lot and here are some  of his insights:  ✅ You have to accommodate, but can consider those accommodations that  have the least impact on the employer.   🧐 Accommodations can take many forms, and it doesn't always have to be a  big or complicated solution.   😢 The difficult accommodations are when there are a lot of unknowns or  the employer is not accepting.  Mental health often falls in this  category.  📢 Whenever someone requests accommodation, the duty has been triggered.    Remember, the duty to accommodate is an important part of creating an  inclusive workplace. By making reasonable efforts to accommodate the  needs of employees, employers can create a workplace that is welcoming  and supportive of all employees. Find Dylan at https://carbertwaite.com/calgary-lawy... Andrea is an HR Consultant and can be found at www.thehrhub.ca

Career transitions are an inevitable part of anyone's employment  journey. It can be a promotion but also termination. The termination  side is typically where career transition or outplacement comes in.   This week's guest, Kim Spurgeon, is Sr VP Canada, Transition and  Mobility with LHH Knightsbridge.  LHH Knightsbridge is one of the  leaders in helping employers navigate career transitions.  She has been  in that business much of her career and has an impressive depth of  knowledge and experience.  She shares:  ☺️ Terminations can be done with empathy.  ⚡️ Elon Musk and Twitter are a master class on what NOT to do.  ⚖️ Career transitions can also help mitigate the risk of being sued by  employees - see the video below.  🏆 Career transition services can also help you manage your brand as an  employer.   `🪃Also, with the jobs market the way it is, career transition can keep the  door open for boomerangs.  These are the employees who leave you, but  come back again with valuable skills and knowledge! Find LHH Knightsbridge and Kim at www.lhh.com   I (Andrea) am an HR  Consultant in Western Canada.  Find me at www.thehrhub.ca

We all have biases and you might not be aware of yours. It's part of our most primitive brains so we aren't going to get rid of it. The only thing we can do is be aware and manage it. In this video I speak with Dr. Helen Turnbull CSP. She has been digging into the topic for a long time - long before it (and DEI) became such a key HR issue. She did a TEDx on inclusion in 2013. So props to her! Here are some of the things she shared: 🏳️ If you've ever been rude to an overseas call centre representative because they aren't on your continent, check your bias. Are you REALLY that open-minded and unbiased? 2️⃣ Confirmation bias and pattern recognition bias are two of the most prevalent examples of unconscious bias in the workplace. Unchecked, either will lead to poor decision-making, missed opportunities and sub-par business performance. 😇 The only way to minimize the impact of unconscious bias is to bring it to our conscious awareness. She suggests saying "Let's not make that decision until we check our biases." Find Helen at https://drhelenturnbull.com/ Andrea is an HR consultant in Western Canada and you can find her at https://www.thehrhub.ca/

As more companies prioritize employee wellbeing and the employee  experience, they start to think about a wellness program.  It's not as  easy as hiring a yoga instructor, but maybe you could start there?     I spoke with Reena Vokoun (again).  She's the owner of Passion Fit which  works with employers to build meaningful wellness programs.  She also  wrote The Wellness Empowered Woman.  Here are a few of Reena's tips to  keep in mind as you develop your program:  💰 Make sure you have the money and support before you start.  👯‍♀️ Consider how to offer individualized content: Not all employees  have the same needs when it comes to wellness. Consider offering  one-on-one in addition fitness classes, nutrition coaching, and mental  health resources.     🥵 Wellness programs don't replace healthy workplaces like reasonable  workloads and supportive management.  🎓 Recognize the social determinants of health and do what you can:  Health is impacted by factors beyond individual behaviors, such as  access to healthy food, education, and healthcare among others.  🧑‍🚒 Involve employees in developing their programs: They are the  experts on their own wellness needs. Reena can be found through her company, Passion Fit, at https://passionfit.com/  Andrea is an HR consultant and can be found through www.thehrhub.com

What environment do you need for creativity, focus, and deep thought?    I think I am getting the hint.  Notifications, emails and messages  aren't making me more productive and they greatly reduce my ability to  be thoughtful.  This is true for many of the people in our organizations  too.      Daniel Sih is an author and productivity guy.  I reached out because of  his Spacemakers book, but I was curious about productivity and he  delivered!     🥃 He's a physiotherapist and accidentally became a productivity  consultant over a glass of whiskey.    ❌ Now he is going to TedX and his 'idea worth sharing' is that we need  to put down our phones to be more productive and have better  relationships.  📧 He used to think productivity was about getting better at email and  prioritization.  That is helpful, but, to truly be productive, you need  to think about who you are and what is important to you. Then be  productive at THOSE things.  🧑🏽‍🏫 Notwithstanding the importance of knowing our priorities, we can  teach employees to manage email, set priorities, and maintain good  habits.  Organizations have a better chance of getting a lot more of the  right work done. Spacemakers: How to Unplug, Unwind, and Think Clearly in the Digital Age   You can find more about Daniel and Spacemakers on https://spacemakers.com.au/    You can find Elissa Lok for Spacemaker or Email Ninja training in North America at elissa@spacemakers.com.au    And finally, I am an HR consultant as well.  Reach out to me through my website www.thehrhub.ca

Person in Company: How do I let my disabled employee go?     Employment Lawyer: How are you accommodating them?   PiCo: Uhhhh, but they can't come to work.   Employment Lawyer: 😐   Most of us know the standard is high, but sometimes it can be hard to  explain it to a frustrated leader who is struggling to be effective.   So watch this video with Dylan Snowdon, Employment Lawyer and Instructor  in the Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary. There's lots of  tipsI  ❌You can't terminate someone just because they are on LTD with no  expected return-to-work date.  ⏱️Maintain periodic, reasonable, contact. Go for coffee or lunch with  the employee.  Be positive and supportive.  ☺️The leaders who 'get' it are those who have experience with disability  in some way.  💸Those that proceed with termination too soon and without full  exploration may lose *$$$*   This is technical topic!  And a CANADIAN one  because it is based in Canadian law.  

Employee wellness programs are nearly a required feature of employer  value propositions.  However, designing a cost-effective, meaningful  program that provides value to employees AND the employer is  challenging.   This was the focus of my chat with Reena Vokoun.  She's the owner of  Passion Fit which works with employers to build meaningful wellness  programs.  She also wrote The Wellness Empowered Woman.     Some of her key points:  ⏱️ Timeless but Flexible: A wellness program should be designed to stand  the test of time, but still be flexible enough to accommodate the  changing needs and interests of employees. Broader societal changes will  impact the health of employees and what you might want to include.  🏹 Aligned with Corporate Values and Culture: A wellness program should  align with the company's values and culture so it reinforces your  direction.   🏹 Aligned with Employee Needs: You must have input from employees  themselves to ensure the program fits them. Involve employees in the  program's design, implementation, and maintenance.  📈 Measuring Success: Like many parts of HR, measuring success can be  challenging because it's people.  However there are several, relevant  metrics like participation rates, satisfaction, attendance, and health  plan usage.  It will take time to see the impact. Reena can be found through her company, Passion Fit, at https://passionfit.com/   Andrea is an HR consultant and can be found through www.thehrhub.com

Want to become a CPHR?  Listen up.   I intended to talk to Erica Blain about the new CPHR competencies. We  talked about that and then everything else related to becoming a CPHR.    Erica is the Director of Professional Standards and Registrar at CPHRAB.  We reviewed the revised competencies that were published a year ago  AND:   - What's changed in the NKE   - What it means to the experience validation assessment (EVA)   - Maintaining your CPHR status once you have it   - What qualifies as 'certified professional development'   - CPD credits  - Getting your SHRM too! Check out your provincial association for more information!  Find me at www.thehrhub.ca.

Do you look at your phone when you are bored?  Tik Tok or a game?  Is it making you happy?    Connecting with people is overwhelmingly shown to create happiness. That  doesn't really happen when we are spending more and more time online.  Digital wellness in the workplace is becoming an increasingly important  aspect of wellness. As we spend more and more time on our devices, it's  helping drive burn out, stress, and anxiety. Obviously this will have a  negative impact on the well-being and productivity of workplaces.   The first of my guests, Daniel Sih and author of Spacemaker, has been  invited to speak at TedX and his 'idea worth sharing' is that we need to  manage our use of tech.  He laughs, a little amazed, because most of us  remember a life before this level of tech and yet we have become so  dependent so fast. And now it's an idea worth sharing.  Elissa Lok, my  second guest and HR Consultant, helped Daniel develop a Spacemaker  course and reflects on the impact in organizations.   Some other ideas:  🥱Boredom is not bad even if we do anything to avoid it. In fact, a lot  of creativity happens when we are bored. When we give ourselves time to  be unplugged and disconnected from technology, we allow ourselves to  have new ideas, and think more critically.  It's hard to underestimate  how valuable that is.   💉Our tech is powerful and useful - and addictive.  Addiction can be  defined as the repeated use of something even though it causes  substantial harm. Of course the irony of this topic and how I am  delivering it is obvious.  📱Steve Jobs didn't let his kids use ipads or iphones.   ↘️ The relationship between tech and productivity is an inverted U  curve.   If employers are interested in employee productivity and wellbeing, they  should investigate digital wellbeing. It's the right thing to do do,  but there is also tremendous benefit to the workplace, to ourselves and  our humanity. Spacemakers: How to Unplug, Unwind, and Think Clearly in the Digital Age  You can find more about Daniel and Spacemakers on https://spacemakers.com.au/   You can find Elissa Lok for Spacemaker or Email Ninja training in North America at elissa@spacemakers.com.au    And finally, I am an HR consultant as well.  Reach out to me through my website www.thehrhub.ca .

You don't have to be a subject matter expert to create an amazing  course. Instead, it's about being dedicated to the process of course  development.  Think about that - it's liberating!    This was my second chat with Irina Ketkin and it was as good as the  last.  She's a prof on Udemy and has her own YouTube channel  @TheLnDAcademy.  She's truly a learning and development expert. She  discusses some of the following:  🚗 One acronym that can help you in your course development journey is  ADDIE: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.  🥵 But it's important to note that course development takes time and  effort. On average, it takes about 12 hours of preparation to deliver 1  hour of content. This includes researching and organizing material,  designing interactive activities, and considering the best delivery  methods.   So if you're planning on creating a course, don't underestimate the  amount of work that goes into it. Check out the video to get some tips  about the structured process and approach that will help you create an  amazing course that engages and educates your learners. Find Andrea for HR Consulting support in Western Canada at https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/