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THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES INSTITUTE OF ALBERTA NOVEMBER 2013

DRIVING BUSINESS FORWARD▼ ▼

▼HUMANCapital

For decades, the 9.6 million Canadians born between 1946 and 1965 have been the single largest demographic in Canada’s labour force. Now, the oldest of the baby boomer generation has reached retire-ment age. That has employers in every sector bracing themselves for the looming skills and labour shortage that will hit the country over the next fifteen years as wave after wave of all 9.6 million baby boomers reach retirement age. In itself, the boomers retiring could be a manageable challenge if there were an equal number of young people ready to replace them. But there is not. According to Statistics Canada, there is only one worker aged 25 to 34 years for every three workers 55 or older. It’s not an issue that will be resolved anytime soon, either. Statistics Canada estimates that sometime between 2015 and 2021 the number of seniors will outnumber children under the age of 15. That’s never happened in this country before.

Nationally, “In the five years since the start of the financial crisis, the most significant labour market challenge has been creating enough good jobs for workers. Over the next five years, the most important chal-lenge is more likely to be finding enough good workers for jobs,” said Tiff Macklem, Senior Deputy Governor, The Bank of Canada, in an October speech.In fact, according to the Canadian Cham-ber of Commerce, Canada’s skilled labour

shortage is becoming so dire it represents a threat to the country’s global economic competitiveness. The chamber predicts that over the next decade the country will experience a shortage of 163,000 work-ers in construction, another 130,000 in oil and gas, 60,000 in nursing, 37,000 in trucking, 22,000 in the hotel industry and 10,000 in the steel trades.

The challenges experienced by companies and organizations could be further com-pounded by a knowledge gap. The young people entering the workforce with uni-versity and college degrees who will be replacing baby boomers lack the practical knowledge that can only be gained from working on the ground. This is particular-ly the case for industries such as mining, which has struggled in recent years to ap-peal to younger generations and has an average retirement age of 59.5. All of this has the potential to result in loss of pro-ductivity and competitiveness, both for individual companies as well as the coun-try as a whole.

“There are some things you can only learn in the field with experience,” says Ralph Pritchard, a mechanical designer who returned to the workforce in his 70s to work as a mentor and coach for younger engineers and designers at a pipe design and manufacturing company. “The young guys know the software top to bottom, but

Boomeranging Boomers, Older Workers Can Help Solve The Labour ShortageBy: Alexandra Lopez-Pacheo

HUMANCapital is the Human Resources Institute of Alberta’s quarterly magazine, delivering sound HR practices that protect and engage employees and make organizations more successful. HUMANCapital highlights the most challenging industry issues and the strategies employed to achieve corporate goals. Each issue is also available in a fully interac-tive digital edition. If you would like to be added to our distribution list please contact Bailey Lomas at blomas@hria.ca.To learn more about HRIA visit www.hria.ca

IN THIS ISSUE • Boomeranging Boomers,

Older Workers Can Help Solve The Labour Shortage

•�HR & HSEQ Together: Planning for a State of Emergency

• Board Announcement

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there is a lot they don’t know. I’m really taking the place of someone who is about 40, but that’s the generational gap that exists.”

While the source of the labour crisis is boomers reaching re-tirement age, numerous recent studies and polls are making it increasingly clear that many boomers want to be part of the solution. According to the fourth Sun Life Canadian Unretire-ment Index conducted by Ipsos-Reid between November and December 2011, only 30 percent of Canadians expect to be fully retired by 66. More than half expect to be working until the age of 71. Many will continue to work because they have to but some 39 percent plan to do so because they want to, according to the Sun Life study.

A growing number of companies have zeroed in on this solu-tion. In 2011, ThirdQuarter, a national program designed to assist the matching of skills of mature workers with opportuni-ties, found that 60 percent of the businesses across Canada it surveyed had hired an older worker in the past two years and 79 percent said they were likely to do the same in the future.

One company that has already tapped successfully into the mature labour force is Burlington, Ont.-based Sodexo Cana-da, where employees 50-plus make up a third of the food and facilities management services company’s 10,000 employees. Sue Black, the company’s head of human resources, told the Globe and Mail earlier this summer that this strategy was pay-ing off—but not just in filling job positions.

“Our employee engagement scores show that our employees who are 50 years old and older are three times more engaged than younger employees, and their retention rate is 100 times better,” she said. “When we look at our data, they confirm why we want to hire and retain older people in our work force.”

Companies that are taking advantage of the opportunity ma-ture workers represent, however, point to the need to develop good recruiting strategies that are geared to appeal to the needs and wants of older people, including flexible or part-time hours and good health benefits, training opportunities, as well as generous vacation time. But according to Strategies and Best Practices for the Recruitment, Retention and Employment of Older Workers in the Construction Industry, a best-practices

manual created by the Government of Canada’s Construction Sector Council, one of the first steps to succeeding is to iden-tify and address any ageism that might exist within the HR department and company culture.

“Your recruitment team may be bringing both conscious and unconscious biases to the table when they are involved in the recruitment process,” the best-practices manual says. “These biases could inadvertently lead to discrimination against older applicants.”

It also points out that older applicants are often rejected be-cause they are perceived as being over-qualified and thus not likely not stay with the organization. Quite the opposite is true. “Younger workers tend to change jobs more frequently. Older workers who appear over-qualified may be very effective in positions that they understand well, and, in turn, can train, mentor and coach younger workers,” says the manual.

When mature workers are given roles within an organization that allow them to mentor and coach younger generations, they are helping to close the knowledge gap in that organization. What’s more, the research shows that giving back and sharing the knowledge and experience they have gained throughout their careers is often a prime motivator for older people want-ing to get back into the workforce, even after retirement.

From an HR perspective, developing processes designed specifically to effectively manage an intergenerational work-force—and raise awareness and mutual respect of each generation’s perspectives, communication styles and motiva-tors—is essential. That said, older workers such as Pritchard, who is now in his late 70s and still going strong at work, are motivated by the desire to mentor the next generation so they often have the life experience and patience to intuitively un-derstand this. “The young guys speak a different language,” says Pritchard. “If you’ve been of out picture for a couple of years, you have to go in and listen carefully to what they’re saying so you can learn their language, because it’s a whole dif-ferent approach. You can’t go in and say, this is the way to do it. You have to blend in your knowledge with the ability to put it in a good perspective so they can understand and use what you’re teaching them.”

HUMAN CAPITAL

“Our employee engagement scores show that our employees who are 50 years old and older are three times more engaged than

younger employees, and their retention rate is 100 times better. When we look at our data, they confirm why we want to hire and

retain older people in our work force.”~ Sue Black, Sodexo Canada

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HUMAN CAPITAL

HR & HSEQ Together: Planning for a State of Emergency

This past June, AB experienced an unprecedented “State of Emergency” with the flooding that spanned 55, 000 square kilometers, resulting in the evacuation of almost 100, 000 people and 10, 000 homes1 not to mention the impact to road-ways and infrastructure. These events have confronted many organizations that the threat of man-made or natural disasters can cripple operations and have far reaching consequences on employees. Regardless of size, all companies should develop and implement a workable, realistic and effective emergency management plan that suits them.

Step 1: Plan AheadThe Alberta Emergency Management Agency (“AEMA”) offers useful advice and support to people, businesses and communities which offers useful advice on assessing risks and developing & implementing emergency management plans. There are a variety

of links and publications on the AEMA website outlining emer-gency preparedness toolkits and how to guides for families and businesses as well as how to access funding and other emergency preparedness issues. Essentially, the steps are create a planning committee to assess vulnerabilities and capabilities and run the plan, don’t wait for the emergency, implement and refine.

Step 2: Establish a Planning CommitteeThe Human Resources Group (“HR”) alongside the Health, Safety, Environment and Quality Group (“HSEQ”) need to champion and resource the leadership of the organization to assemble a team responsible for creating and implementing a dynamic and robust emergency plan. This committee needs to include input from all areas and levels within the organiza-tion and have the authority and necessary resources to create, implement, execute and continue to improve the plan.

By Brigette Rein

According to Peter Cappelli, author of “Managing the Older Worker” companies require a different model of leadership and management practices, and in his book, he mentions a few ways for organizations to better work with older workers:

• Tailor your rewards and benefits to their lifestyle and interests: The promotion, bonus or stock options don’t mat-ter as much to older workers, as mentioned above. Instead, provide motivation through meaningful work and social rela-tionships; these factors are a bigger priority for older workers than financial- or career advancement-motivated rewards.

• Consult and empower them: Older workers want to be consulted, so ask them to participate in the decision process

on a project or challenge a bit more. They have experience behind them and wisdom to solve many workplace prob-lems, so ask them to get involved.

• Don’t ignore them: Older workers don’t want to be ignored, and they still need to be managed. Remember that managing someone older doesn’t mean you’re giving up authority; older workers must be held accountable, too.

• Initiate mentoring/onboarding: Companies like Deloitte have taken advantage of older workers’ unique talents by ask-ing them to share problems they see in the organization that they’d like to work on and fix. Their attitude is, “If you think it’s a good idea, we will too, almost without exception. We trust you.”

Sometimes, Cappelli says, older workers have to help younger su-pervisors understand how to best manage them — and to engage younger supervisors in different types of relationships by taking initiative and speaking up for things like what motivates them, the type of environment they want to be in, or their strengths.

This article was originally published in the Winter 2012 issue of HUMANCapital. Peter Cappelli, Professor at the Wharton School has written the book “Managing the Older Worker”. ThirdQuarter (www.thirdquarter.ca) is a Canadian nonprofit organization with a mission to assist companies and mature workers find each other with a unique on-line skills match system. Alexandra Lopez-Pacheo is an Oakville, Ontario based writer who con-tributes regularly to “Hire Perspective” an e-newsletter of ThirdQuarter.ca.

“If you’ve been of out picture for a couple of years, you have to go in and listen

carefully to what they’re saying so you can learn their

language…You have to blend in your knowledge with the ability to put it in a good perspective.”

~ Ralph Pritchard

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HUMAN CAPITAL

Step 3: Analyze the Hazards and Control for ThemThe HSEQ Group needs to engage the committee in the as-sessment of the organization’s capabilities and hazards facing it. The organization must review plans and policies already in place, as well as applicable laws and regulations such as Occupational Health and Safety (“OHS”) obligations and requirements. The committee should determine what part of operations is vital and ensure there are backups for each.

Analyzing the hazards within the organization and the com-munity in which they are located is critical. Understanding the history of the location and determine the crises root cause(s) such as geographic location or human error. The committee must also engage the external stakeholders such as business counterparts in the same building and, first & second responders to as comprehensively as possible iden-tify all potential hazards. Once the hazards are identified, the committee must understand the possibility of facing those hazards, the risk is each if the hazard were to occur and develop a control for each.

Another important aspect the committee must review, is the organizations insurance policy(s) and ensure appropriate cov-erage is in place and understand the applicable exclusions and areas of exposure. All of this will ensure a solid and well re-searched understanding of the true hazards and ultimately, the controls that need to be put in place.

Step 4: Develop the PlanThe “Plan” should cover:1. Control;2. Communication;3. Life Safety;4. Property Protection;5. Community Outreach;6. Recovery & Restoration; and 7. Administrative logistics.

This is where the HR Group needs to be fully engaged. For example, if there is a shutdown of operations, will there be a compensation continuance and for how long. What about crisis counseling for those directly and indirectly impacted? The engagement of the HSEQ Group will cover emergency response procedures and appropriate backup such as employee call lists, building schematics and responsibilities.

Again, engage stakeholders by contacting Municipal and Pro-vincial governmental departments to solicit input and ensure

all of the organizations bases are covered. The key component of the “Plan” is to test it, refine it, test it and refine it. Ensure that there is input from all levels of the organization, not just the committee. Create a lunch n learn activity, a team builder or highlight the “Plan” at an HSEQ meeting. These exercises will help identify gaps, confusion and overlap.

Step 5: Implement, Evaluate and RefineOnce the “Plan” is solidified, distribute it and continue to test it and refine it. Don’t let it sit on a shelf collecting dust; make it part of an annual test run and ensure all new hires are oriented to it. Training and practicing the “Plan” must be conducted routinely so that it remains practical and relevant.

The “Plan” is dynamic and it must continue to be reviewed and refined as necessary not only to ensure it is lawful, but to ensure it’s realistic and accurate. An obvious but key component to the “Plan” is the consideration of issues that impact the organizations human capital. Ensure that as part of the planning process, the HR and HSEQ Groups have a firm understanding of their existing policies as well as legal obligations that may be faced depending on the nature and scale of a disaster.

Step 6: HR and HSEQ ConsiderationsEmployees who are not returning to work (voluntarily or invol-untarily) may be eligible for final wages, payment for accrued but unused vacation time, commissions, bonuses, expense reimbursement or severances. Depending on the situation, employees may be temporarily laid off, decide to voluntarily terminate their employment or the organization may be in a situation where they have to close down operations perma-nently or for the long term.

Employees who do not or cannot return to work immedi-ately may be eligible for some form of protected leave under Provincial or Federal law or organizations policies. For ex-ample, the Federal Government supports the Wage Earner Protection Program (“WEPP”) Act and Employment Insur-ance (“EI”) Act. The WEPP program protects employees legally entitled to work in Canada protection concerning the payment of wages if the employer becomes bankrupt or subject to receivership2. The EI program provides tem-porary financial assistance for people between jobs, who cannot work due to sickness, maternity/paternity and for those providing care to a family member who is gravely ill3.

If the organization has an employee assistance plan (“EAP”), make sure it is accessible to those who my need it. Also remind

Analyzing the hazards within the organization and the community in which they are located is critical.

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the workforce of its existence and confidential nature of the services. Depending on the situation, an organization may de-cide to establish a continuation of benefits outside of the legal requirements.

Organizations need to ensure the Health and Safety of the workforce. Following a state of emergency, remain aware of standards for workplace safety. Employees may not work if they have a good faith belief that there is an “imminent danger” in the workplace. In fact, an employee is obligated to report the unsafe working condition under OHS and is protected from punishment from the employer for doing so.

ConclusionWhile this article covers a variety of topics, it is important to note it is not all encompassing. Organizations should enlist the help of professionals.

With direct respect to the devastating floods in AB in June, we as a team, a community have risen up and demonstrated a sense of responsibility and compassion that has been amaz-ing. The single strongest predictor of group effectiveness is the amount of help we give to each other. The challenges of this past summer have further proven this; the “States of Emer-gency” throughout the Province united us. We are a team and Mother Nature helped us rise up and realize it at a very deep and meaningful level.

1 - Southern AB 2013 Floods, The Provincial Recovery Framework (July 18, 2013).2 - Government of Canada. Labour Program. www.labour.gc.ca/eng/standards_equity/wepp3 - Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. www.hrdsc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/ei

This article was originally published in the Fall 2013 issue of HUMAN-CapitalBrigette Rein is currently a PhD student studying economic development and capacity building. She has a special interest in partnership with First Nations in Western Canada with a focus on training and job creation. She can be reached at brigette.rein@gmail.com.

With direct respect to the devastating floods in AB in June,

we as a team, a community have risen up and demonstrated

a sense of responsibility and compassion that has been

amazing.

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HUMAN CAPITAL

The Human Resources Institute of Alberta (HRIA) is a professional association dedicated to strengthening the human resources profession by ensuring our members have the tools and resources required to influence, shape and lead organizations into sustainable and productive ventures. We are Alberta’s exclusive certifying body for the nationally recognized Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation. The CHRP designation is the leading standard for HR professionals in Canada; it demonstrates HR expertise, experience and ethical management of today’s human capital.

We are pleased to introduce the 2013/14 Board of Directors

2013/14 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Alykhan Bandali, CHRPChair

Chris McNelly, CHRPVice Chair

Shannon Friesen, CHRPPast Chair

Nora Molina, MBAExecutive Director

Allan McCalder, CHRPDirector

Alison Meyer, CHRPDirector

Andrew Walcot, CHRPDirector

Angela Boyes, CHRPDirector

Arlene MacLellan, CHRPDirector

Chris Sopal, CHRPDirector

Leslie Henkel, CHRPDirector

Lynette Grose, CHRPDirector

Melody Wisoley, CHRPDirector

Neil Riley, CHRPDirector

Sherry Scott, CHRPDirector

HUMAN RESOURCES INSTITUTE OF ALBERTA

HUMAN RESOURCES INSTITUTE OF ALBERTA

www.HRIA.ca

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