Situations, Issues, & Learning Points

Situation 6 – you need to create a communication strategy to keep anxiety down and maintain morale of employee's during the company merger

Key points:

• 75% of staff either speak little or no English

• large manufacturing plant with employees distributed in 5 locations

Issue: How to communicate the message to employees in all locations and so that they understand?

Learning points:

• communication method should suit the size of the company

• it is not important that the method of communication be consistent, as long as the messaging is consistent

Situation 7 – you are developing a comprehensive learning strategy for a Government Department

Issue: How do I create a learning environment?

Learning points:

• There are 5 characteristics that describe a learning organization:

1. Systemic problem solving

2. Experimentation to support innovation

3. Learning from experience through action learning

4. Learning from others by benchmarking others in the industry; and

5. Transferring knowledge throughout the organization through such things as rotational assignments

Situation 8 – There is a high turnover of part-time staff because they are led to believe they can obtain full-time position fairly quickly

Key Points:

• morale is decreasing

• training costs and service disruption is increasing

Issue: How do I deal with this false perception among PT employees? How do I fix the hiring process for future PT employees?

Learning points:

Think about the order of things (ie first step)

• listen to and address employees concerns

• deal with misperceptions about career mobility opportunities

• assess potential solutions

• discipline hiring manager for misleading candidates

Situation 9 – An employee survey has indicated some areas which need improvement

Key points:

• target the one that needs the greatest attention

Issue: Which area needs the greatest attention? How do we improve that area?

Learning points:

• the smaller the standard of deviation, the more people that agree with the statement

• make sure enough information is gathered before moving forward with a strategy

Situation 10 – In a company of unionized and non-unionized staff, the unionized staff receive a $500 signing bonus.

Key points:

• non-unionized staff are currently ineligible for any bonuses

• non-unionized staff are unaware of the bonus

Issue: Do we tell the non-unionized staff about the bonus? What if the non-unionized staff find out about the bonus? How will we deal with the situation?

Learning points:

• communication in a proactive manner is critical in order to manage the situation in a positive manner.

• it is important to at least match the gains made by unionized employees

• tying a larger bonus to performance is a good strategy to reinforce achievement

Situations, Issues, & Learning Points

Situation 1- an employee has been hurt and damage has been done to production as a result of an unsafe action

Key points:

• employee is long-term with a good record

• employee belongs to a union

Issue: What disciplinary action should be taken? Who should be involved?

Learning points:

• always ensure the safety of the employee first

• always involve a union representative in the investigation for union employees

• discipline the employee to show due diligence

• file a report with appropriate regulatory authorities

Situation 2 – a minority employee is breaking a rule and claiming he is being discriminated against if disciplined

Key points:

• the supervisor has met with the employee

• the unwanted action is still taking place

Issue: Can we discipline the employee without the employee successfully filing a Human Rights claim?

Learning points:

• make sure an investigation is done to substantiate any false claims

• don't involve the whole team unless the investigation shows the practice is wide spread

Situation 3 - employees are telling off-color jokes but nobody's complained.

Issue: do you approach the individuals or the company, as a whole?

Learning points:

• since there was a group of people involved, it is better to address the whole company

• you need to get buy-in from the top. Start with the leader.

Situation 4 – an employee on STD was denied LTD and wishes to return to work on a PT basis

Key points:

• the company has not facilitated PT work requests in the past due to legitimate operational reasons

Issue: does the company need to accommodate the employee's request?

Learning points:

• the organization has a responsibility to investigate the possibility of accommodation without undue hardship

Situation 5 - a candidate a filed a complaint based on the decision that she was not hired because of her lack of typing skills despite it not being a requirement

Issue: is the employer justified in its hiring decision?

Learning points:

• there must be a bona fide occupational requirement for candidates to function successfully in areas being tested

HR and terminating for or without cause

Most HR professionals find employee dismissal difficult, regardless of the reason of the dismissal. However, when a dismissal is necessary HR professionals should examine each case carefully to determine whether to terminate for or without cause.

Key points to remember:

• in termination for cause, you must ensure that enough groundwork has been laid. (ie. the employee has been specifically advised, in writing, of the consequences he or she would face if they did not change their behavior)
• termination without cause is possible for any reason that is not discriminatory
  

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

Termination with cause: occurs when an employee is dismissed for a serious reason related to the employee's conduct.

Termination without cause: employee is being terminated for reasons that are not related to misconduct and notice of the termination and possibly severance pay is required as outlined in the employment/labour standards.

Notice: amount of time between informing an employee in writing that s/he will be terminated and the date upon which the termination will take effect.

Payment in lieu of notice: an employer may choose to have the termination take effect immediately, and pay the employee for the weeks of notice required by the legislation or as agreed to in the employment contract.

HR and Merger communication

During a merger, HR Professionals may encounter scenarios where communication with employees may present challenges. For example, not all employee may have English as their first language. Some employees may be assigned to a remote location or be frequently traveling on business.

Key points to remember:

• It is not important that the "method" of communication be consistent, as long as the "messaging" is consistent
• Different methods of communication may be suited to one group over the other
• Supervisory communication is good, but only if you can ensure consistency of message
  

HR and OHS

As an HR Professional, you may come across scenarios where employees are working unsafe or using equipment unsafely. It is important to involve the employee in correcting the action. In addition, speaking with the supervisor will serve as a reminder that it is their responsibility to enforce safety procedures and provide the necessary training. Bringing the incident to the attention at the next health and safety meeting will also help to ensure others are aware of the steps.

Key points to remember:

• Under Occupational Health and Safety Legislation, in the event of an accident, an employer is deemed to be guilty until proven innocent
• Proving due diligence requires that the employer discipline employees when safety procedures are not followed
• Supervisors are responsible for employee's safety; to provide proper equipment, information and training on workplace safety

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

Due Diligence: employers shall take all reasonable precautions, under the particular circumstances, to prevent injuries or accidents in the workplace

HR and Employment Equity

As an HR Professional, providing equal opportunities is not only ethical, it is the law. However, providing equal opportunities does not mean not hiring the most qualified candidate, even if that candidate is not within one of the designated groups (ie female, disabled, Aboriginals, visible minority).

Key points to remember:

• compliance with Employment Equity is not quota based
• ensure the recruiting process is targeting designated groups
• provide targeted internal candidates with additional development opportunities so that they are more likely to be successful the next time a suitable advancement becomes available

Key Terms
This week’s HR terminology includes:

Employment Equity Plan: outlines the policies and practices that an employer proposes to use in order to hire, train, promote and retain members of the designated groups

Employment Systems Review (ESR): examines the impact of an employer's human resource policies and practices on designated groups and includes an analysis of all reasonable steps taken to accommodate the special needs of these group membersRepresentation

Representation: refers to the percentage of all employees in a particular occupation, salary range, industrial sector, etc. who are members of a particular designated group

Harassment and Hesitant Employees

As an HR professional, you may encounter scenarios where an employee has been harassed, but is hesitant to make a formal complaint. Regardless of whether or not the information was obtained confidentially, harassment is serious and in claims of harassment, nothing is confidential that is made known to a manager.

Key points to remember:

• There are serious implications to ignoring a harassment claim
• The law requires that the employer take immediate action upon any indication of harassment
• The obligation to provide a safe environment overrides any privacy concern
• Requiring an individual to confront their harasser is a violation of Human Rights