2006 HR Forum - HR Council · About the 2006 HR Forum The HR Council for the Voluntary/Non-proﬁt...

2006 HR Forum:Report Back to Participants

About the HR CouncilThe HR Council for the Voluntary/Non-profit Sector is a national, non-profit organization committed to the

development and enhancement of a highly skilled workforce that is focused on building better communities

and improving the lives of Canadians. Through partnerships with a range of stakeholders, the HR Council

aims to contribute to the development of a sustainable, vibrant and confident voluntary/non-profit sector by

providing leadership, knowledge and opportunities for collaboration on issues related to paid employment.

HR Council for the Voluntary/Non-profit Sector

201-291 Dalhousie Street

Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7E5

T: 613.244.8332

F: 613.241.2252

www.hrcouncil.ca

The HR Council is funded by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program.


2006 HR Forum: Report Back to Participants

http://www.hrcouncil.ca

http://www.hrcouncil.ca

Table of Contents

About the 2006 HR Forum 1

About this report 1

Attracting and recruiting employees 2

The Board’s role in HR management 3

Diversity 4

Effective relationships with unions 5

Employee retention 6

Flexibility and alternate work arrangements 7

Leadership and succession planning 8

Professionalization of the Sector 9

Safe and healthy workplaces 10

Shared services and resources 11


2006 HR Forum: Report Back to Participants i

About the 2006 HR Forum

The HR Council for the Voluntary/Non-profit Sector hosted an HR Forum on December 5th in Toronto. De-signed as an open discussion with HR Council board members about HR issues, experiences, successes and challenges specific to the sector, the forum gave over 100 participants from a variety of organizations the opportunity to provide input that will help shape the programs and services of the HR Council.

In addition to discussing hot-button HR issues with peers, participants also had the opportunity to listen to a keynote address from Ruth McCambridge, editor-in-chief of Non-profit Quarterly, who spoke about the im-portance of supporting and investing in paid human resources in order for organizations to have a true im-pact in their communities. With generous support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, each participant was also given a free one-year subscription to Non-profit Quarterly.

About this report

This report summarizes the experiences, successes, challenges and recommendations provided by forum participants to address ten specific issues that affect paid employment in the voluntary/non-profit sector. The report is divided into ten sections. Each section provides a summary of key themes, existing challenges, and recommended solutions for the issue that were expressed by forum participants.

Please note that the key themes, challenges and solutions outlined in this report are those of par-ticipants of the 2006 HR Forum and do not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the HR Council.

For more information about this report, the 2006 HR Forum, or the HR Council for the Voluntary/Non-profit Sector, please contact Lee Rose, Communications Manager, by telephone at 613.244.8332 (extension 225) or by e-mail at [email protected].


2006 HR Forum: Report Back to Participants 1

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Attracting and recruit ing employees

Key Theme

To address the issue of attracting and recruiting employees, organizations should collaborate to better position the voluntary and non-profit sector as a viable place to build a career.

Existing Challenges Recommended Solutions

• Gap between the job requirements of a position and the skill sets of potential candidates

• More and more candidates have higher levels of formal education, but lower levels of on-the-job experience. They may be unwilling to put in the time to build experience

• Nature of project funding limits interest in contractual positions. Candidates are looking for full-time, stable employment

• To better reflect the general population, more men need to be attracted to work in the voluntary and non-profit sector

• “Flat” nature of organizations limits advancement opportunities

• Absence of undergraduate degrees in non-profit management makes it challenging to position sector as a viable career choice

• Limited awareness of existing or upcoming job opportunities

• Organizations challenged to fill positions too quickly

• Streamline process of recognizing foreign education credentials

• Create paid internships to provide experience for young people to build their résumés while promoting the sector as a viable place to build a career

• Work with post-secondary institutions to promote co-op work terms in the voluntary and non-profit sector

• Pay employees for the value they provide. Offer additional incentives such as additional time off by closing office during holiday periods

• Cover costs of education or training in exchange for employee’s commitment to stay with organization

• Encourage career growth and development within the sector



The Board’s role in HR management

Key Theme

Effective boards need to be aware of the role of human resources in an organization. A sound HR strategy will better position an organization to fulfill its mandate.


• General lack of understanding of the board’s role in terms of HR management

• Lack of understanding of the legal responsibilities of an organization as an employer

• Blurring of the line between the board’s role and the role of organizational management in human resources

• Include HR management overview in orientation kits for new board members

• Develop an easy to follow step-by-step HR manual for board members

• Build on the United Way Loaned Representative model to have HR specialists work with organizations to develop HR policies and strategies

• Find funding to establish a national training program for board members



Diversity

Key Theme

To embrace diversity, organizations must: have workplaces that respect and include differences; recognize the unique contributions that individuals with different experiences, cultural backgrounds and perspectives can make; and create a work environment that maximizes the potential of all staff.


• Difficult to integrate culturally diverse staff and promote cultural tolerance

• Communicating effectively within a diverse environment

• Organizations serve and attract diverse people but do not manage diversity well

• Hard to target external messaging to a diverse population

• Organizations are complacent about diversity

• Staff population is not culturally reflective of client population

• Be proactive in managing the “culture” of an evolving organization

• Recognize that there is a business case for diversity

• Identify cultural biases and stereotypes and develop strategies to address and counteract them

• When recruiting, attend job fairs that are targeted towards new Canadians

• Develop partnerships with other organizations to promote diversity in the workplace



Effective relationships with unions

Key Theme

Organizations and unions must promote respect and mutual understanding by working together at the workplace level. In addition, they should collaborate to address issues that affect the sector such as funding.


• Challenge of maintaining competitive wages within heavily unionized health and education sectors

• Unions may have a lack of knowledge about the non-profit and voluntary sector

• Capacity to meeting union demands in absence of adequate funding

• Management and board are inexperienced in dealing with unions

• Staff do not understand what it means to be part of a union

• High turnover of national union representatives

• Foster good working relationship with unions by holding regular labour/management meetings

• Create joint committees on workplace issues including health & safety, harassment and performance management

• Use collective bargaining as leverage for funding increases

• Develop national strategy to build a better understanding of the labour movement within the voluntary and non-profit sector.

• Identify examples of good labour-management practices to share within the sector

• Organize a joint session of unions and employers on a specific topic. This would contribute to joint understanding and dialogue.



Employee retention

Key Theme

Retaining great staff is vital for organizational success. Talented people who continue to develop skills and increase their value to organizations are a manager’s most important resource.


• Organizations spend time and money to train staff, only to have them move on to a better paying job with a foundation, a for-profit business or government

• Ensuring that salaries for Executive Directors are competitive

• Uncertainty about funding and interruptions in funding too often mean that valuable employees are let go and may not return to organization once funding is secured

• Lack of funding for infrastructure and benefits. People often leave for better health/medical/vision/retirement benefits

• Younger part-time staff leaving for full-time employment elsewhere

• Issues with contracts

• Managers are often pre-occupied with other issues and HR issues are left on the back-burner

• When an individual leaves an organization, others are forced to pick up the slack which can lead to stress and burnout.

• Provide leaves of absence for education

• Develop opportunities for staff to participate on committees in the community, people find this type of work rewarding

• Increase team building activities Staff retreats Team building exercises Stress management workshops Coaching and mentoring

• Increase employee recognition Daily, informal recognition Ongoing awards such as employee of the month Annual holiday staff party Peer recognition

• Offer retention bonuses to keep project staff onboard until project completion

• Move away from project-based funding

• Offer annual training allowances for employees to use for training of their choice



Flexibi l ity and alternate work arrangements

Key Theme

No sector is better positioned than ours to offer employees flexibility and time-management options. In a competitive labour market, the sector must highlight and promote these benefits of working in non-profit and voluntary organizations.


• Effective management of people who work from home

• Consistency and perceived fairness of work arrangements.

• Struggle for employees to maintain a balance between work and life

• Offering flexibility in a unionized environment

• Managing and coordinating flexible schedules and work arrangements

• Trust your employees

• Incorporate flexibility in the organization’s values, policies and procedures.

• Create pilot projects for working at home. Pre-establish clear expectations on deliverables, reporting and methods of communication

• Use technology to “telecommute” to work. Instant messaging and conference calls can connect people effectively and efficiently

• Offer summer hours benefit

• Encourage staff to volunteer one day a month during work hours



Leadership and succession planning

Key Theme

Transitioning an organization from one generation of leaders to another requires planning. An effective succession plan is vital to ensure a seamless transition and to avoid negative impacts on staff and clients.


• Difficult to find leadership training for staff and board members that is specific to the non-profit sector

• Challenge of succession for the long-term when funding is short-term

• Hard to recruit staff for positions between the Executive Director and front-line levels due to limited pool of candidates

• Executive Director may feel threatened by new ideas generated at the board

• Challenge of dealing with succession planning at the board level due to potential for competing agendas

• People do not understand or value the difference between leadership and management

• Unrealistic expectation that executive directors have to be experts in all fields

• Promote awareness at the board level of the importance of investing in a sound succession plan

• Encourage shadowing/cross-training opportunities for key positions both within an organization and across organizations

• Address leadership and succession planning at all levels of the organization

• Work with other organizations to identify common issues and solutions for effective succession planning



Professionalization of the Sector

Key Theme

In an era when more and more people with professional accreditation are competing with experienced veterans for key positions, organizations must take new approaches to valuing both experience and education to find the right person for the job.


• Issues concerning accreditation and professionalization

• Addressing the question of experience vs. education

• Balancing needs to attract accredited employees and to maintain grassroots voice

• Particular jobs within the sector require specific skill sets (i.e. Financial Management)

• Dealing with the lack of career development and progression within the sector

• Encourage individuals to pursue a professional designation such as Fundraising Professional

• Encourage the use of new technologies including distance learning

• Promote the non-profit and voluntary sector as an important part of both the economy and society

• Develop a body of knowledge that can be use in assessing candidates for leadership positions

• Collaborate with other economic sectors to address common HR issues and to increase awareness of the value and credibility of the voluntary/non-profit sector.



Safe and healthy workplaces

Key Theme

Non-profit organizations are overwhelmed by a range of accountability demands and do not have enough support to meet requirements for occupational health and safety. These requirements are misunderstood or not given the priority they require to be effective.


• Health & Safety is an undervalued aspect of human resources management

• Response is sometimes ‘knee-jerk’ after an incident. Suddenly everything is a safety concern

• Lack of leadership on Health & Safety planning at the board and management levels

• Not enough focus on “wellness” promotion

• Organizations employ a minimalist approach to deal with Health & Safety

• No budget

• Lack of understanding of legal requirements concerning workplace health & safety

• Focus on overall employee “wellness” in addition to Health & Safety. Healthy employees are happy employees

• Promote greater awareness of Health & Safety issues at all levels within an organization. Tie Health & Safety into all applicable functions

• Management team and board need to model wellness for the rest of the organization

• Find a way to reduce the occupational health and safety red tape and paperwork

• Develop approach for smaller organizations to work together to develop common solutions to address H&S issues and concerns



Shared services and resources

Key Theme

As organizations are challenged to do more with less, they must identify creative solutions to share facilities, services and resources with other organizations. This will in turn allow them to more effectively manage their individual services and programs.


• Organizations are struggling to do more with less

• Executive Director positions are filled by passionate people, but they may not have the skills required to be effective managers

• Organizations are focused primarily on serving clients

• Agencies grow and HR needs increase, but there is no time to adapt effectively

• Desire to keep problems or issues “in house”

• Share best practices in shared services with other organizations

• Develop partnerships with community colleges for students to offer assistance with information technology and database management

• Share workspace and office equipment with other organizations to reduce overhead costs

• Share costs of administrative support functions

• Develop specific contracts or agreements between organizations to establish how sharing will work



2006 HR Forum - HR Council · About the 2006 HR Forum The HR Council for the Voluntary/Non-proﬁt...

Documents

Transcript of 2006 HR Forum - HR Council · About the 2006 HR Forum The HR Council for the Voluntary/Non-proﬁt...