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Jul 21
Love4
team play

Teams that play together, stay together

By Workplace Culture

Studies have shown that greater employee engagement has a significant, positive influence on work quality and revenue, and company-sponsored team play or sports teams are a great way to make that happen.

The Toronto 2015 Pan Am games are in full swing and have captured the fervor of sports fans across the country, as they root for their favourite teams and athletes. In the corporate world, company leaders try to inspire the same level of fandom and engagement in the office, rather than the stadium.

Here are great benefits of how a team playing together can impact the company culture:

1. Teamwork:

Promoting team spirit in the office and on the field increases morale and camaraderie among employees, and unites them towards a common goal: winning. Whether looking to win a game or sign a new client, having a supportive team to share successes with makes the achievement all the more meaningful.

Additionally, teaming up to participate in a fun activity creates an excellent opportunity for networking and casual collaboration, which translates well to a business setting.

2. Coaching:

Behind every good team is a good coach. Coaches have a wealth of knowledge and a strong ability to effectively transfer it to their players. They also have a knack for assigning roles based on players’ strengths and abilities, and how those fit into a larger gameplay strategy.

Allowing employees to coach a team also develops their management skills, while building the confidence of each player when their talents are recognized.

3. Goals and Rewards:

Winning is usually the ultimate goal of most sports, but we’re not all Harlem Globetrotters. Setting realistic, achievable goals – for the team and individuals – and rewarding performance is vital to maintaining a high level of motivation. Whether it’s a gleaming golden trophy or a simple high five, recognition of a job well done is valued by employees, regardless of whether they scored the goal, made the assist, or delivered a solid defensive play.

4. Wellness:

Promoting physical activity through a company sports team fits nicely into corporate wellness programs. Better yet, healthy employees are typically more productive and have lower levels of absenteeism, resulting in higher performance on the job.

5. Retention:

Turnover rates drop dramatically when employees are engaged and feel proud of the company they work for. Giving employees the opportunity to fight for the home team will grow your internal fan base, and keep your star players from being drafted elsewhere.

Summer is a great time to encourage your employees to team up and get active. Whether the team play softball or ultimate Frisbee or cheers on their co-workers from the sidelines, team sports will help foster greater levels of engagement and grow team spirit within your company.

Need more champions on your team? Hire a Career Edge intern.

Jun 23
Love4

Shifting how we think about internships

By Employer

Internships have changed the way businesses attract and recruit talent, fundamentally replacing the entry-level jobs of yesteryear. This changing landscape inspired our most recent workshop, InternSHIFT, an informative and interactive discussion held earlier this month at the 2015 CACEE National Conference in Ottawa. Through this Town Hall Meeting style session, Naguib Gouda, President of Career Edge, led conference delegates through the changing internship landscape, while exploring how paid internships contribute to our economy and social infrastructure.

For those who were unable to attend the conference, we have assembled the key highlights from InternSHIFT below, starting with a quick pop quiz.

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May 26
Love3

Get the Most Out of Your Summer Interns

By Employer

As the temperature outside rises, employers are warming up to the summer internship season; but four months doesn’t always leave much time to make a real dent in many of those seasonal projects.

There are plenty of articles that provide interns with tips to succeed during their internship, but there are also a few things that employers can do to create an environment that inspires optimal performance from their enthusiastic, highly motivated intern during their internship term.

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Feb 17
Love4

Why Paid Internships Matter: Cultivating Tomorrow’s Leaders Today

By Employer

The recent global recession threw the economy a curveball, which forced companies to reduce their personnel significantly. Now, with the Baby Boomers beginning to exit the workforce en masse, a labour crisis is fast approaching, and Canadian businesses must compete with emerging global markets to attract, recruit, and retain the talent needed for socio-economic sustainability well into the future.

In the TED Talk, “The workforce crisis of 2030 — and how to start solving it now,” Rainer Strack, of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), highlights this projected labour shortage in Canada, and in the world’s 15 largest economies, over the next 15 years.

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Dec 31
Love5

Champions of Immigrant Success Award

By Employer

Are you a champion of Immigrant Employment? If you answer yes, apply or submit a nomination for a TRIEC Immigrant Success Award, sponsored by RBC.

Nominations are now open for the TRIEC IS Award: RBC Champions of Immigrant Success. Up to four winners will be selected for: 1) their extraordinary leadership in immigrant employment; 2) the positive impact of their work on both skilled immigrants in the GTA and their own or other businesses; and 3) the sustainability of their initiative(s).

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Dec 05
Love5

The Cutting Edge to Great Talent. Guaranteed.

By Employer

As a result of its ongoing commitment to help highly motivated, well-qualified interns connect with leading Canadian employers, Career Edge is pleased to announce the launch of its new business model and service enhancements, planned to simplify the hiring and retention process for employers seeking top talent through paid internships.

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Oct 15
Love4

“It is a wise business decision to consider paying your interns, and paying them fairly.”

By Employer

In the October 7, 2013 issue of Canadian HR Reporter, News Editor, Liz Bernier, spoke with Career Edge President, Naguib Gouda, about the unpaid internship debate that has once again heated up in the Canadian business community. As a follow-up to this story, HR Reporter produced a video that investigates the issues related to unpaid internships. In the video, Naguib outlines four key reasons why paying your interns is good for business:

1. Reputation and Ethics

Unpaid internships have a bad reputation. They can be seen as exploitative and even unethical, and businesses seldom want to be associated with either, risking their reputation and ethical standing.

2. Socio-economic Responsibility

Many people – including talented newcomers, persons with disabilities and recent university or college graduates – simply cannot afford to accept a job without pay. This is a concerning thought because it means that unpaid internships cut a significant population out of the workforce.

Organizations could be systematically filtering out the dedicated, hardworking candidates who have to financially support themselves. It’s our social responsibility to help these people find work that reflects their education and qualifications to allow them to be prosperous, successful and productive citizens.

3. Motivation

While we are aware that money isn’t the single most important form of motivation, compensation is still a factor in getting the best results from your employees. If workers do not feel that they are getting compensated fairly for the work they do, they may not be giving you 100%.

You get what you pay for. Top talent are willing to work hard to get that much-needed first experience, but you’ll get the most if you pay them fairly.

4. Retention

If you do bring on an unpaid intern, it may prove difficult to keep them. First of all, your unpaid intern may have to work a second job just to stay afloat – after a while they may find the balance too difficult.

Even if the person is being financially supported by family or loved ones during the internship, it may not be long before they start looking at job boards. Promises of potential paid opportunities “down the road” may not go very far either, as so many unpaid interns have been strung along by companies in the past, they may not take the bait.

Jun 25
Love3

Deloitte reduces barriers to employment for recent graduates with disabilities

By Employer

Having been recognized as one of the country’s Best Diversity Employers in 2012 and Best Employers for New Canadians in 2013, it is obvious that Deloitte takes its talent seriously. Whether it’s developing women in business or welcoming newcomers into the Canadian workforce, Deloitte has maintained a steadfast commitment to promoting a diverse and inclusive environment.

In recent years, Deloitte has launched a number of initiatives to integrate people with disabilities into the workplace. “We are always looking for top talent at Deloitte and hiring people with disabilities is an area that we need to continue to focus on,” says Sarah Boon, Senior Manager of Talent Advisory at Deloitte. “As a business we are finding that this is really an untapped talent market.”

 

In her experience of hiring through Career Edge Organization’s Ability Edge program, Boon has realized the business case for hiring recent grads with disabilities, noting a few key benefits:

Reflecting the marketplace

“Deloitte is the largest professional services firm in Canada. We want to be reflective of the diverse communities in which we live and work. There is a positive impact on morale and team spirit as our workforce becomes even more reflective of our communities.”

Innovative problem-solving

“Our clients expect our teams to be high performing with diverse perspectives, and the global economy requires a broad set of skills and increased innovation to serve the global marketplace. Greater diversity at work means that a wide variety of perspectives are utilized when solving problems.”

Competitive advantage

 

“We prefer to focus on their abilities; we hire people with the right competencies, diverse skill sets, and talents that will enable them to excel in the job. Having diverse people and an inclusive workplace that supports them gives us a competitive advantage.”

But connecting with the right talent isn’t always easy. Boon explains that it is Deloitte’s goal to be recognized internally and externally as a leader in diversity, and to effectively leverage partnerships in the business community to support this initiative. “If Deloitte wants to remain in a leadership position in Canada, we need to seek out the best talent and be innovative with our hiring practices. We can’t do this alone, so our relationship with Career Edge is very important.”

Businesses aren’t the only ones to benefit from partnerships that serve as a catalyst between employers and diverse talent. Candidates that face employment barriers are given the opportunity to get a foot in the door at leading organizations, allowing them to jump-start their career shortly after graduation.

“I registered and someone from Career Edge emailed me out of the blue, notifying me about this opportunity at Deloitte and that my resume was a good fit,” said Alexander Bergen, a current Ability Edge program intern in Deloitte’s Marketplace Services and Digital Marketing department.

In partnership with Career Edge, Deloitte is making a significant impact on reducing barriers to employment faced by recent grads – particularly those with disabilities – looking to gain meaningful work experience that is consistent with their education and career aspirations.

“This internship allowed me to gain valuable marketing experience with one of Canada’s leading professional services firms. Deloitte is a really strong brand and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”

 

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