HR and Benefits

In order to keep costs down, yet remain competitive, HR Professionals may find themselves in scenarios where they need to present benefits plans for consideration. The following article provides more depth on benefits.

Key points to remember:
- typical cafeteria type plans tend to encourage plan participants to choose the benefits they are most likely to use, therefore countering the fundamental insurance principle of pooling for risk
- This behavior is assured to increase the cost to the employer, but it is difficult to predict by how much
The spending account allows the employer to control the flexible-benefits costs by capping the costs of the flexible plan

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

Pooling for risk: the handling of an uncertain risk posed to or by a single person by combining it with the same risk affecting a large group, which can be calculated

HR and Pensions

HR Professionals may find themselves in scenarios where they need to implement a benefits plan. Prior to gathering information regarding related services from financial services organizations and then developing a defined benefit pension plan, the following initial step should be considered first.

Key points to remember:
- clarify how a pension plan will support the organization's business and human resource strategy

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
A mandatory earnings-related pension plan implemented January 1, 1966 to provide basic retirement income to Canadians between the ages of 18 and 70 who work in all the provinces and territories, except in the province of Quebec. Quebec operates its own pension plan similar to the CPP for persons who work in that province.

HR and Restructuring

When restructuring, HR professionals may come across scenarios where there is a surplus of employees who may not fit within the company's new strategy.

Key points to remember:
- conduct systemic evaluation of new business needs to ensure right changes are being made
- identify critical work activities and job specification through job analysis
- evaluate internal and external candidates to fill new roles
- proceed with layoffs, as necessary

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

Job Analysis: the process used to collect information about the duties, responsibilities, necessary skills, outcomes, and work environment of a particular job. This information is used to put together a job description.

HR and Expatriates

Human Resource Professionals dealing with relocating employees for an overseas assignment may come across scenarios where employees are reluctant to accept the assignment.

Key points to remember:
- diagnose problem
- obtain input from expatriate and manager
- develop career goals and expectations on an individual basis

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

Expatriate: An employee working in a unit or plant who is not a citizen of the country in which the unit or plant is located, but is a citizen of the country in which the organization is headquartered.
Repatriation: The process of bringing expatriates home.

Skills Gap and Employees

HR Professionals may come across scenarios where new employees lack sufficient skills due to flaws in the recruitment process or employee career planning. This article describes how they implemented a system to address their gap and was able to succeed with an return on investment.

Key points to remember:
- the skills gap needs to be determined for each individual
- a plan should be developed on an individual basis
- involve the employee who is lacking skills and management

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

Skill gap analysis: compares a person’s skills to the skills required for the job to which they have been, or will be, assigned. The result is an improved understanding of exactly which skills employees need to develop further.

HR and Privacy Laws

HR Professionals need to know how privacy laws applies to the workplace and be able to communicate the privacy policies to employees. This article discusses the effects of B.C.'s Personal Information Protection Act, which governs the collection, use, retention, and disclosure of personal information by businesses, non-profit organizations, and charities

Key points to remember:
- educate yourself about privacy as it relates to your direct responsibilities
- ensure peers are aware of privacy concerns

Training Programs and ROI

HR Professionals need to know the value training programs are providing to the company. Lynn Johnston, president of the Canadian Society for Training and Development, provides HR Reporter with a talk about the return on investment from training initiatives in the workplace.

click HERE.

Key points to remember:
- training should be measured on four different levels:
1. trainee assessment of the learning
2. testing the trainees
3. application of the skills on the job
4. impact on employee productivity and departmental financial results

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

Fixed costs: independent of the number of participants
Needs assessment: identifies gaps between what is and what should be in the organization.
Task analysis: investigates the specific skill(s), knowledge or attitudes and at which point there is a breakdown in use or performance.
Variable costs: dependent on the number of participants

Harrassment and Workplace Boundaries

HR Proffesionals may have to deal with workplace harrassment that extends beyond the workplace and work hours. Stephen Hammond (keynote speaker, author, and educator in the field of workplace harassment) provides real world examples in this article. In another article, 3 main points are covered on moving forward with a complaint: 1) take the complaint seriously, 2) investigate the complaint, 3) take steps to address the situation . Whether or not a formal complaint has been made HR should take steps in addressing harrassment in the workplace.

Key points to remember:
- a harrasssment policy should be in place
- the company is liable for employees gathering outside the workplace, especially when a manager is present. (It is considered to be an extension of the workplace).
- the company has an obligation to correct a poisoned work environment

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

HR and Compensation Strategies

In a tight marketplace, HR professionals may encounter scenarios where employees leave for more lucrative opportunities at competing companies.

Key points to remember:
- collect internal and external data to support the need for changes to salary scale
- make adjustments to reflect what is happening in the labour market

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

Classification: systematic arrangement in groups or categories according to established criteria
Compa-ratio: the ratio of average pay to the midpoint of the pay range (ie. average pay= $2960/month/ midpoint of range= $3000, compa-ration= .98)
Hay Guide-Chart Profile method: method of job evaluation that creates a profile for each position based on its required know-how, degree of problem solving, and accountability
Midpoint: the middle value of the reported salary range
Pay grade: sets of jobs having similar worth or content, grouped together to establish rates of pay.
Pay ranges: A set of possible pay rates defined by a minimum, maximum, and midpoint of pay for employees holding a particular job or a job within a particular pay grade.

HR and Contract Compliance

When awarded Federal Government contracts, HR Professionals have a legal and professional obligation to comply with the requirements. Although, resources may be thin, preparing an Employment Equity Report can be turned into a valuable marketing tool, as seen in RBC's example.

Key points to remember:
- complying with requirements is a matter of legal and professional duty
- what are your priorities? (ie. resources might not always be available to hire additional help or outsource to consultants)

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

Employment equity report: a report which provides both qualitative and quantitative data on the representation of designated group members for review, publication and dissemination to the public of a specific employer.

Employer collection of employment equity data fulfills two purposes:

1. it provides the individual employer with information for an internal analysis, for setting goals in the employment equity plan and for monitoring development; and
2. it permits external examination of employer progress in improving the employment situation of designated group members (i.e. by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and the public).

Absenteeism Abuse

Employees in the workplace are not immune to sickness or other unfortunate events that may keep them from attending work . However, HR Professionals may encounter employees who take advantage of the system, thus causing strain on workplace resources. An article in the HR Voice outlines several steps in managing absenteeism. 1) Communicate Attendance Expectations, 2) Ask the Right Questions, 3) Don’t Ignore The Problem, 4) Accommodate any Disability, 5) Meet with the Employee, 6) Carefully Consider Whether Termination is Appropriate. This article provides an interesting strategy to combating absentee abuse.

Key points to remember:
When presented with an concern of an employee's absense:
- Act don't react (ie. while termination for violating a company policy is a valid option, it is harsh and may result in an unjust dismissal claim. On the other hand, ignoring shows lack of concerns for the manager)
- Investigate (ie. Review the employees file to determine whether complaints are valid)
- Meet with employee upon their return (ie. try to determine root causes for absenses)

Merging Cultures and Policies

HR Professionals in merging companys may face challenges of alligning cultures. This article provides some real-world examples of merging companies and HR's approach to alligning key policies.

Key points to remember:
- assessnent and inventory (gain a better understanding about the impact and ensure changes are necessary)
- communication and transparency (ease uncertainty and fear, and squash rumors)
- empower employees (reduce resistance to change through employee participation, when possible)

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

The Four Stages of a Merger or an Acquisition process:
Pre-Deal - acquirer searches for or asseses potential targets and develops a plan for executing the deal.
Due Diligence - makes offer and ensures deal is strategically and economically sound
Integration Planning - creates comprehensive plan for integrating two organizations
Implementation - builds on all the planning that has gone before

Office romance and HR

HR professionals should not be surprised to find personal relationships in the workplace form, flourish, and disintegrate. As one article suggests, our job is to monitor these relationships while providing reasonable solutions which don't necessary send a negative message or make employees feel like you’re interfering in a very personal part of their lives. Relationships between supervisor and subordinate can be potentially dangerous and should be addressed as discussed in another article .

Key points to remember:
- Have a clear and well communicated policy in place regarding work-place relationships
- Act don't react (ie. while termination for violating a company policy is a valid option, it is harsh and would result in the loss of an employee who may be very competent. On the other hand, ignoring could also lead to potential human rights claims)
- Empower the employees to resolve the problem