Uncategorized

by Markus Stadelmann-Elder, originally posted on The Maytree Foundation blog “Maytree Conversations”

http://maytree.com/blog/

In a speech at the Canada@150 Conference held in Montreal on March 26-28, 2010, Sherri Torjman, Vice-President of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, argues that Canada will face three main social challenges:

• Canada as productive society;
• Canada as caring society; and
• Canada as aging society.

From a social perspective, the productive society focuses on a learning agenda and on measures to reduce poverty and assist the unemployed. Canada as caring society is concerned with early childhood development and high-quality affordable child care. The caring society should also take action on supports for informal caregivers and the reform of health care, including investment in home care. Canada as aging society must tackle pending labour shortages and shore up the retirement income system. The aging society must be concerned as well with creating accessible communities to ensure the active participation of all citizens.

For those who hear nothing but cash registers when they hear the term “social agenda,” Sherri also presents various revenue options. These include tax reform, shifting spending from expensive late-stage interventions to preventive actions and tapping into markets that are not well recognized, such as the social economy.

Equally important is a discussion about the distribution of revenue to tackle the current fiscal imbalance among orders of governments. Provinces face high and rising costs related to health care. Municipalities throughout the country are assuming an increasingly significant social role.

While the voluntary and private sectors are active players in the social agenda, governments are vital to help alter the unequal distribution of income, goods and services in society. They are conveners of important national conversations. Governments are the primary vehicle for translating into action core ideas – and ideals.

Read Sherri’s speech “Canada at 150: The Social Agenda“.

Congratulations to Dan Gignac, CHRP at Aecon who won our prize draw at the HRPA conference and trade show!

Dan’s business card was randomly selected (via the scientific method of reaching my hand into a glass bowl, eyes closed and no peeking!) among dozens of entries from visitors to the Career Edge Organization booth.

The prize includes two HR-related books, “Loyalty, unplugged” by Adwoa K. Buahene and Giselle Kovary, and “Recruiting, Retaining and Promoting Culturally Different Employees” by Lionel Laroche, Ph.D and Don Rutherford, as well as some Career Edge Organization collateral (pens, etc.).

I came across an interesting article on the Charity Village website this morning, written by Tim Rutledge, Ph.D., a veteran human resources consultant and publisher.

It’s generally accepted in HR and employment worlds that, on average, only 30% of employees are “engaged.” So what about the other 70%?

Rutledge blames “the fish pond mentality” among other chronic workplace issues.

Many consultants trumpet the presence of such things as snack carts and fish ponds as reasons why a company is a great place to work. I have nothing against ponds or snacks, but they don’t lead to engagement. If my manager creates a disengaging environment, I can’t snack my way to engagement.

Agreed! Having said that, snacks are always a plus.

Click here to read the full article

“The best resumes are LinkedIn, You Tube…that’s where people are who they really are.”

Today at the 2010 HRPA conference, Mitch Joel, our afternoon keynote speaker, helped the audience of human resources professionals make the important connection between digital media and employer branding.

“Be open,” he told us. “We are moving towards an open world.”

Mitch Joel is probably the most influential man in Canada as far as social media goes – it’s no wonder they call him “the rock star of digital marketing.”

For those of us who work in this space, he is to e-marketing what someone like Jack Welch is to the business world – a real thought leader. So when he speaks, we listen.

It was interesting though to see and listen to him speak at the HRPA conference today because, even though a lot of us understand and embrace the concept that we are all connected by “6 pixels of separation” (and not through Kevin Bacon, as previously thought in the 90’s), some employers are still struggling to understand what impact, if any, all of this has on what they do.

A few entertaining examples quickly illustrated that Social Media is not a Fad. It is changing everything. If you’re in the business of people, then anything that impacts connectivity directly impacts you.

Mitch said it best today with the first of his 6 closing points: “Accept it!”

Instead of creating hard policies around banning the use of social media tools in the workplace, he encourages “guidelines” that will actually teach employees how to utilize them, empowering them to be ambassadors for your organization.

“This can really increase productivity, and the way people connect to your brand,” he assured us. “This is not a time suck!”

We at Career Edge Organization certainly agree.

Following several successful initiatives with our former interns in previous years, Career Edge Organization decided to officially launch an association for those who completed paid internships in our three programs – Career Edge, Ability Edge and Career Bridge. We call this the Alumni Network.

In October 2009 we sent out an announcement and a call for volunteers to sit on a Committee that would steer the direction of this program. The response we received was overwhelmingly positive, with many indicating they were interested in participating in Alumni forums and events. We received over 130 applications to sit on the Committee!

Choosing the final Alumni Network Committee (ANC) members was a difficult task but we are proud to say we now have a team of 30 impressive and dedicated individuals.

For the other 100 applicants as well as the 9,500+ former interns in our database – we intend to create many opportunities to volunteer and participate with our organization, our Host Employers and each other.

To kick things off we held our inaugural ANC Meeting at Toronto City Hall (many thanks to our Ward Councillor Adam Vaughan)  this past Wednesday evening and were thrilled to see almost every single committee member in attendance, as well as members of our team including our VP, Donna Smith and our President & CEO, Anne Lamont.

To tackle the massive job of running a Network for Alumni, we decided to divide and conquer, breaking down into groups or subcommittees that will each oversee Alumni Events, Online Communities, Benefits and Perks as well as professional development needs for Alumni of each of our three programs.

By the end of the meeting, every single person had contributed and participated and there was an air of excitement and anticipation in the room because we know that collectively, we can create a program that is innovative and tailored to the specific needs of our thousands of stakeholders. I can’t wait to see what we come up with by our next ANC Meeting in the Spring!

After the holidays, when many of us return to work in January, many of us will be asked the same question by friends, family and coworkers: What’s your New Year’s resolution? To which the average person will give the typical answers: exercise more, eat less, travel, etc.

This year, make your resolutions work for you! As you reflect on the past and set goals for the future, take the opportunity to reexamine your professional life and your goals at work. After all, over half of our waking hours are spent either at the office or commuting to and from it!

Here are some work-related targets to strive towards in 2010:

1. Adopt-a-project

2010 is the perfect time to tackle those projects you put on the backburner in ’09. They don’t even need to be your projects. Somewhere in the land of the lost and abandoned, there is a project once loved and pursued with enthusiasm that never saw the light of day. Keep your eyes peeled for something that inspires you, blow the dust of the file folders and breathe new life into an old initiative.

2. Take Risks

In 2009 you flew under the radar, played it safe and kept your opinions to yourself. You nodded along in meetings and grumbled in private about the inefficiencies of this or that process which hasn’t been changed in over a decade.

This year, speak up in meetings, challenge the status quo and show that you’re willing to be accountable and make a positive change in your organization. Stop the grumbling and put forth solutions. You might even get a pat on the back.

3. Ask for a Raise or Promotion

With talks of lay-offs, hiring freezes and unemployment soaring, many of us were just happy to have a job in 2009. You worked tirelessly to reach your targets, came in to the office early, stayed until late and gave 200% every day without asking for a thing in return.

Now, as things slowly recover, your organization or department may have you to thank (in part) for weathering the storm so well. If you’ve paid your dues and your requests are reasonable, there is nothing wrong with seeking fair compensation or recognition for your efforts.

4. Get organized!

How many hours a day do you spend looking for your stapler? What about that file that you’re sure you saved – you just can’t remember which folder you saved it in?

Many of us have mastered the art of organization at home – our DVDs are in alphabetical order and everything in the pantry is labeled – but the office is a different story. There are piles of documents to be sorted, sticky notes on everything and your virtual desktop is even worse. Before you jump back into things, take an hour to purge what you no longer need and develop a system that will work for you in 2010.

5. Reconnect – Build and Expand your Professional Network

Need an excuse to reconnect with a former colleague from work or university? The New Year – especially the turn of a decade – provides a perfect opportunity to reach out and say hello. Technology, whether through your PC or your Blackberry, makes it easier than ever. Social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook allow you to find those you used to know and get to know those who share interests with you. Sites like meetup.com can help you find common interest groups to join. You can also apply to sit on committees and boards where you can make a difference as well as meet other professionals with similar goals.

6. Attain a Work-Life-Balance

Last year, your nine-to-five was more like an eight-to-eight. There were some days in the winter you never even saw daylight – you were in before sunrise, left the office after sunset and went to the cafeteria at lunch to grab a sandwich to eat at your desk!

Besides lacking Vitamin D, your family and personal life has also taken a hit. You can’t remember the last time you went to your son’s choir practice or watched your daughter play hockey. Your friends joke that they talk to your voicemail more than they talk to you and the last movie you saw was the Titanic.

In 2010, this should be your top goal: set boundaries and maintain a balance. Some of us have adopted the philosophy of staying at work until the job is done but the truth is, your work will never be finished. There will always be more to do and at some point you have to recognize that you have done all you can for the day and a life awaits you beyond your cubicle walls.

7. Do Good Work

Given the sacrifices we make for work, one can only hope that it is for the greater good. But if you feel uncomfortable telling people about what you do and have trouble making eye contact with yourself in the mirror, you are probably not proud of your work.

Working in the not-for-profit sector has it’s pros and cons – it’s not for everyone – but there are many other ways to make a difference. There are champions in the private sector that make a difference in society either through the business they do or the way they do business.

Is your workplace diverse? Is it environmentally sustainable? Do they treat their employees well and give back to the community? Do you feel like your work has a net positive impact on the world? These are all questions you should ask yourself in 2010.

8. Build Relationships at Work

If you’ve worked at your company for ten years and still don’t know the name of “the tall guy” in the cubicle next to you, 2010 should mark a turning point for you.

What’s amazing is that sometimes a ten minute informal chat at the water cooler with an employee can bring forth solutions to problems that executives never reach after hours in a boardroom meeting behind closed doors.

Managers especially should take the time in the New Year to get to know their teams better. Those who manage large departments can sometimes get lost in the day to day shuffle. Studies show that employee engagement levels are highest when people like and get along with their coworkers, so anything you can do to facilitate team-building in the New Year should be among your top priorities.

9. Learn

They say learning is a life-long process and yet it seems like we have much of it behind us by the time we’re in our twenties.

Whether you’ve hit a ceiling in your field or think it’s time for a second career, there are more opportunities now than ever to continue your education. This can come in many different forms, whether you pursue an MBA, take evening courses to improve your technical skills, buy computer software to learn a new language or take advantage of professional development opportunities at work. Beyond workshops and conferences, your employer may even be willing to fund your post-graduate studies so keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities and be ready to take advantage of them.

10. Just Say No!

You don’t even think before you say it anymore – if someone needs a favour or offers you an assignment, you say “yes” before they can even finish the sentence.

If you feel bogged down and behind at work, you may think it’s because you’re not doing your job. But chances are, you’re doing your job and then some. Unfortunately, your accomplishments are overshadowed by your growing list of “to-dos” that are being pushed from one calendar year to the next and unless you work around the clock, you’ll probably never get around to them.

In 2010, be assertive and resolve to resist the temptation to take on more than you can handle. No one will perceive it as an effort to do less. It’s a commitment to doing what you do better.

On behalf of the team here at Career Edge Organization, we wish you a safe and Happy Holiday and all the best in the New Year!

Today Career Edge Organization participated in the 2009 CACEE Regional conference, delivering a workshop on Generation Y for employers and career educators.

Ever since we launched our national Gen Y survey in September, our Vice President Donna Smith and our Director, Marketing and Communications, Janice Rudkowski, have been busy taking the groundbreaking study on the road, delivering presentations to employers at conferences, recruiting forums and even directly to our Host Organizations at their own offices.

Interested in hearing about our Gen Y study? Use our comment feature to request information and/or share your thoughts!

This afternoon, Donna and Janice spoke to a full room about What Motivates the Next Generation of Leaders – information that every employer should now.

Host Employers CIBC sponsored the workshop, which reviewed trends from the research as well as insights established by us and the Angus Reid Strategies research team. Participants were given examples of tangible responses and actions for employers who recruit Gen Y graduates.

We’re confident that attendees walked away with a better understanding of what today’s grads and future Millennials aspire to, career-wise to really get the best of what this group has to offer.

Also in attendance were Career Edge Organization friends TalentEgg, who also delivered a workshop on Gen Y. Lauren Friese, the Gen Y brain behind TalentEgg, spoke about what top students are looking for in a career and gave tips on how employers can better target their campus recruitment campaigns.

The great thing about conferences like these (aside from the insights and knowledge!) is that you never know who you’re going to run into! For a long time now we have been trying to figure out who in TD Bank was behind what we think is a brilliant initiative, “The Hunt: A five part series on finding a job.” Sure enough, a TD representative who played an instrumental role on the project was actually in attendance and Janice had the opportunity to speak to her.

“The Hunt” is an incredible resource for grads seeking work that uniquely takes an interactive approach that provides insights from four different perspectives: Students, Employers, Career Centres, and Experts.

Overall, it was a great event and we look forward to continuing to work with our friends at CACEE in the future!

About CACEE

The Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE) is a national non-profit partnership of employer recruiters and career services professionals. Our mission is to provide authoritative information, advice, professional development opportunities and other services to employers, career services professionals, and students.

Recently one of the members of our LinkedIn group for employers and partner organizations began a discussion about the top “emerging careers,” particularly for recent graduates of Arts programs. One of the respondents raised the topic of “green jobs” and the timing couldn’t be better.

This year, the Toronto City Summit Alliance (chaired by David Pecaut, one of the founders of Career Edge) created the “Greening Canada Fund,” a voluntary carbon offset fund to help Canadian corporations reduce emissions. It is the first of its kind aimed entirely at large Canadian corporations.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Greening Canada Fund would be launching with $13 million dollars. Career Edge Organization host employers TD Bank and Bank of Montreal are their first investors (Click here to read the full press release). The Fund aims to reach $50 million.

One of the many positive impacts of this Fund is the inevitable creation of green jobs.

This news comes shortly after the recent “Brick Works Forum” held by not-for-profit Evergreen in partnership with the federal government that gathered 100 business leaders to talk about the emerging Green Economy. Many of the participants, representing forward-thinking, innovative leaders in Canada, were also our host employers, such as GE Canada.

For many recent grads and Millennial job-seekers, companies that have gone green are attractive places to work. This group may currently face high unemployment rates but they still represent the leaders of tomorrow. It seems that going green may not only be the ethical and sustainable thing to do, it is also good for employment branding.

I stumbled upon GoodWork the other day, who call themselves “Canada’s green job site.” Employers looking to attract green talent can post here free.

Earlier this week, our President and CEO at Career Edge Organization, Anne Lamont attended the Toronto Forum for Global Cities, put on by the International Economic Forum of the Americas, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

This year’s theme was “restoring growth in a post bail-out era” and the speakers included CEOs and representatives from the White House, OECD, Deloitte & Touche, Toronto Hydro Corporation, World Bank Group, IBM, TD, GE Canada and Scotia Bank. On a side note, it was great to see that several of our Host Organizations were represented there.

On Monday, the OECD issued its Territorial Review of Toronto which essentially identifies what we are doing right and what we can be doing better on economic development issues such as energy, infrastructure, finance and innovation, to name a few.

First, the good news – the Report cites Toronto as one of the most diverse cities in the OECD, and the most culturally diverse urban centre in Canada, with half of the population being foreign born.

However the reality is that we (Toronto employers) could do a much better job of tapping into this valuable resource.

One of the key policy issues identified is “the under-utilization of immigrants and cultural diversity” and not surprisingly, “bridging education programmes and internships” were cited as clear solutions to “address obstacles to the recognition and appreciation of foreign skills, which are an asset for the knowledge economy.”

We are pleased to see that the OECD mentioned us as a successful “bridge to work” program, in reference to our Career Bridge program for Internationally Qualified Professionals (for those of you who have the report, you can find us on page 115). The Report goes on to say that now that the approach has been tested, bridging and internship programs could be used more widely.

Yesterday, November 5th, two Career Edge Organization “staffers” Rizwan Abdul and Rima Dasgupta attended the 6th annual JOIN Conference Employing Individuals with Disabilities – Strategies on inclusion, Recruitment and Retention.

First some information on JOIN.  Job Opportunity Information Network (JOIN), for Persons with Disabilities is a network of 50 community agencies who deliver ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) Employment Supports in Toronto and Central East Region. JOIN affiliates assist persons living with disabilities to find and maintain employment, and assist employers looking to recruit qualified candidates with disabilities to meet their hiring needs.

Now more about the annual conference. The JOIN Annual conference is an event that facilitates discussion among various stakeholders about hiring, retaining and promoting employees with disabilities. The Annual conference is widely seen as a leading event for businesses, not-for-profit sector organizations and public sector employers working with individuals with disabilities.

Career Edge Organization, one of the founding members of the JOIN Toronto Region Business Leadership Network was pleased to attend this year’s JOIN conference. From our perspective, it  was an excellent learning experience and we are pleased to observe that once again (and despite widespread recessionary constraints in effect) there was a great turnout as new businesses become members of JOIN and are taking a proactive approach by hiring persons with disabilities (PWD’s).

Our staff who participated in the event were very encouraged that many employers attending including Scotiabank, the lead event sponsor organization are also Career Edge Organization host employers who recognize us as a key player among organizations that work in the area of integrating PWD’s in the workplace through the Ability Edge paid internship program.  This year’s conference has seen many new employers participating but we encourage new employer involvement to keep the momentum created by JOIN on track. Hiring qualified persons with disabilities is a proven key business enabler – we hear that loud and clear from many of the host organizations that we partner with to provide graduates with disabilities meaningful work experience throught the Ability Edge program.

The keynote address by Dr. Jennifer Arnold was very inspirational as she narrated her journey as a person with disability and her experiences in overcoming the barriers to become a Pediatrician, neonatal specialist, professor and a reality TV star. The various sessions conducted by members of JOIN were also very informative as they discussed their key learnings and best practices working with employees with disabilities.

The sharing was phenomenal! Some of the key learnings from the sessions were that hiring, retaining and promoting PWD’s is an ongoing learning process and no one can claim to be the experts in the area. Notable best practices that can be emulated from these employers is that open communication between all key holders including the employees with a disability is crucial in integrating these employees and removing the barriers to their integration in the workforce.