Martina Pileggi is a director of human resources for the Hillman Group Canada, a fastener producer for the hardware, automotive, plumbing, and electrical markets. 

As head of human resources for a major hardware and fastener company, Martina Pileggi is a strong believer in corporate values and the importance of communicating and reaffirming those values across a company. During COVID, she and her team have been busy keeping in touch with Hillman’s 900 employees across the country.

Now, as lockdowns end and sanctions get lifted, people are returning to some form of normalcy, even as Canada braces for a fourth wave thanks to the rise of the Delta variant. While the way out of this pandemic is still not entirely clear, Pileggi says a company has to be ready—and maintain standards for the safety and well-being of staff. She offers four points to consider:

1. Commitment to health and safety. This cannot waver, she insists. While many variables remain, ensuring the well-being of your team is job one. The focus here is on the things you can control and what your organization and customers value as important.
2. Keeping jobs intact. Many companies were too hasty in letting people go. Now, the job market definitely favours those looking for work. At Hillman, HR took a longer view. “I am happy to say we were able to ride out any layoffs and keep people working,” says Pileggi.
3. Control your cash and expenses. Hillman saw COVID impact its retail customers in a range of ways. The hardware and home improvement sector has thrived, while many smaller independent retailers and service companies saw sales plummet. “This year has been complex for businesses and our customers. Most have bounced back, but with significant changes to how they do business, due to market fluctuations. Companies have to adapt—HR needs to be at the table to know how to support and be a value-add during these times.”
4. Commitment to communications. Even as things return to normal, Pileggi has no intention of taking the foot off the gas when it comes to staying in touch with staff. She continues to hold monthly safety meetings and developed a series of “stand-up” meetings with Hillman’s various distribution centre operations to ensure ongoing face time throughout the company.

“We came up with a structure,” she says, “that could connect with every single person. And I’m very proud of that.”

By HR and health & safety consultancy Peninsula Canada

The fourth wave is here, and cases are expected to continue rising. Employers must continue to follow public health guidelines and take every precaution to protect the health and safety of their workers.

Reports are showing that the majority of cases are among younger, unvaccinated individuals. Employers can encourage their workers to get the vaccine and support them in making this decision by providing education from reliable sources. Meanwhile, employers can continue to require masks to be worn in the workplace and enforce other measures, such as distancing.

Employers can do their part to limit the spread of the Delta variant by having staff work remotely and reminding staff to stay home even if they experience mild symptoms, such as a sore throat.

Workers should also be provided with support at this time as personal circumstances, such as children starting virtual learning, and mental health may affect their ability to work. Employers can provide accommodation, flexibility and direct staff to additional help via Employee Assistance Programs and government resources.

Peninsula is an HR and Health & Safety consulting firm serving over 80,000 small businesses worldwide, including dealers in home improvement. Clients are supported with ongoing updates to their workplace documentation and policies as legislation changes. Additionally, clients benefit from 24/7 employer HR advice and are protected by legal insurance.

Even with 21 stores and strong brand recognition, Patrick Morin, a chain of 21 Stores in Quebec, has had its share of difficulty trying to recruit people. And if getting them to work in the stores isn’t challenging enough, finding people to work in a warehouse that’s not centrally located—for the evening shift—was even tougher.

That’s why the retailer turned to humour—and digital media—to find workers for its distribution centre in Joliette, a smaller community about 45 minutes from the big markets of Montreal and Laval. “We tried to create a fun working environment and created some initiatives to make the distribution centre attractive to workers,” says Jean-Phillipe Lavoie, director of HR for Patrick Morin.

Working with the company’s marketing team and HR people working together, Patrick Morin came up with a recruitment video that offers a lighthearted look at work in the warehouse. The video features Philippe Bond, a popular Quebec comedian, game show host, and radio announcer. Some humorous moments include Bond being hoisted up in a forklift to access high racking, only to be left there as the forklift operator walks away. Bond shouts to him in desperation, but the operator only mutters, without even looking back, that he’s “on break.” In another scene, after being sent to round up some pallets, Bond returns with a handful of chocolate bars, also known as palettes in Quebec French.

Lavoie says the deal with Bond included sharing the spot with the celebrity’s 300,000 social media followers. “This is the kind of network that brings us a younger generation.”

It was also posted on platforms like LinkedIn. It ties in with other initiatives taken within the workspace itself. These included a pay scale that was competitive, “and we have created break spaces with a sofa, wifi, televisions, and space in the cafeteria where people can have a healthy snack—paid for by the company.”

Patrick Morin has used online videos in the past, but this was the first that was aimed directly at the funny bone. Lavoie says the ongoing need to hire means this production is not a one-shot deal. “It’s getting people talking about Patrick Morin. We will continue to push initiatives like this, because the [hiring] game is not over yet!” he concludes.

IKEA has partnered with a not-for-profit, ACCES Employment, to launch a national Refugee Skills for Employment program in Canada. Recognizing the barriers that refugees can face when getting started in a new country, the program offers virtual customer service training, paid work placements, one-on-one culture and language coaching, job search strategies, and mentorship from IKEA Canada leaders.

The program aims to hire 150 refugees within a three-year span and is part of a broader commitment from IKEA globally to reach 2,500 refugees with meaningful employment by 2022. ACCES Employment provides community counselling and employment services for job seekers with diverse backgrounds.

“At IKEA, we believe that refugees bring immense value to both business and society when given the right opportunities to access a better life,” says Tanja Fratangeli, head of people and culture at IKEA Canada. The ACCES initiative not only provides access to jobs and new skills for refugees, “but it also provides IKEA the opportunity to connect with exceptional talent and create a diverse and inclusive work environment where individual differences are celebrated and embraced,” she adds.

The program, which was launched earlier this year, has already resulted in successful placements for participants across IKEA Canada’s stores, distribution centres, and national service office.

This month we talk with Zaida Fazlic, director, people and culture at Taiga Building Products, the national building materials wholesaler. This continues our occasional series with her on the topic of leadership.

Good leaders build positive work environments that energize their team and bring out the best in them by providing them with the coaching, tools, training, and support they need to do their jobs well. Zaida Fazlic, who heads HR at Taiga Building Products, is a student of good leadership.

A lot of those leadership skills come from having a high level of emotional intelligence, or the self-awareness and self-regulation to manage one’s own hot buttons.

As a leader, it’s important to have passion, of course, but not overreacting in heated situations requires being able to tap into the mood of one’s team. She says good leaders are able to “read the room” when they are heading up a group, and they should be able to adjust their leadership style accordingly. They have integrity and care for others and help others succeed.

Lack of good leadership can lead to toxic and stressful work environments that drain team members of the good energy they need to be productive.

It all comes down to having empathy. Fazlic admits the notion of empathy carries a certain connotation that might project weakness. But it doesn’t have to. She refers to “tough empathy,” a technique that requires tapping into your workers’ feelings and frustrations, but not being an enabler of bad habits. Instead, using a tougher approach can actually empower your people.

“What can you do to help them to help themselves? Then hold them accountable.” She stresses the value of holding people accountable, but in respectful ways. “It’s important for their self-esteem.”

While some of those strengths can be innate (“some people just seem to have a talent, they have a knack”), leadership traits can also be developed and nurtured. But, she says, it takes commitment, and it takes honesty. “People have to be really honest with themselves, something that is difficult for many people to do.”

By Olivia Cicchini, employment law content specialist at the HR consulting firm, Peninsula Canada. Olivia is a licensed paralegal with the Law Society of Ontario, specializing in employment law and legal drafting.

Due to the pandemic, there have been some court cases where terminated workers argued that they should have received a lengthier notice period. In one court case, the employee claimed the negative impact of the pandemic on the economy made it harder for him to get a job, even though the termination happened before the pandemic. In another case, the termination occurred in March 2020, just after a state of emergency was declared in Ontario.

Both appeals to extend the notice period length were denied by courts. The first appeal was denied because the court held that terminations that happened prior to the pandemic “should not attract the same consideration” as those that happened during. In the second, the court declined to extend the notice period because the termination was made early in the pandemic and its impact on the job market and economy was not yet known.

Based on these cases, the pandemic has not impacted the length of reasonable notice periods in a significant way. However, it is possible that courts may make different decisions if the termination occurred well into the pandemic when its impacts on the economy and job market were well known. Employers are advised to incorporate a clear and detailed termination clause in their contracts to protect their businesses.

Peninsula is an HR and Health & Safety consulting firm serving over 80,000 small businesses worldwide, including dealers in home improvement. Clients are supported with ongoing updates to their workplace documentation and policies as legislation changes. Additionally, clients benefit from 24/7 employer HR advice and are protected by legal insurance.

By Sonya Ruff Jarvis

Sonya Ruff Jarvis is an entrepreneur and founder of Jarvis Consultants LLC, a marketing, events and branding firm. Sonya has been a part of the B2B retail industry, working across all types of retail formats and categories, for nearly 30 years and is the founder of the Home Improvement eRetailer Summit. You can contact her at sonya@jarvisconsultants.com.

It is hard to admit that we all have hidden biases. We extend our unconscious biases when making choices. The real problem develops when we are being paid to make decisions for our company and our prejudices emerge. This is particularly harmful when in a hiring position.

Jarvis Consultants has developed a trademarked process called FAIR to help those in hiring roles avoid the pitfalls of unconscious biases during the employment process. These tips are especially helpful when charged with creating a diversified workforce.

Employing FAIR tips:

Focus on the candidates’ experience and qualifications versus names, gender, disability, religion, etc. Some employers have gone as far as implementing a blind resumé system where candidates receive a number. Research shows that this system increases the chances of women being hired.

Assess the organization by reviewing your website, photos of team events, and marketing materials and messaging. All of these images project your company. Research shows that more than half of employees want to work in a diverse environment. Remember, applicants are evaluating you too.

Ignore conventional ways of doing business, where unconscious biases can sneak in. Use the job description, requirements, and candidate qualifications throughout the hiring process to ensure you stretch beyond your comfort zone during the decision-making process. It has been recognized that diverse companies enjoy 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee.

Recognize that creating a diversified workplace makes a better business. Diverse companies perform better, have higher profits, are more innovative, and attract top talent. It is not just a nicety. It is necessary to be competitive.

We are all guilty of carrying unconscious biases. Admit it and start using practices like FAIR. They will help avoid unconscious biases in hiring. Contributing to a company by attracting, hiring—and keeping—top talent based on qualifications is the ultimate goal of any successfully run company.

Lock Search Group has stepped up to sponsor HR Advisor since its inception. Here’s a closer look at what Lock Search does, according to Matthew Frost, senior recruitment consultant at Lock Search Group. Frost’s specialty is the home improvement and building supplies space.

So you’re looking to add a new member to your team. Is your HR department equipped to take on this journey or should you seek external support from a recruitment firm? For many organizations, the sheer bandwidth required to locate top talent (pre-COVID) was overwhelming at times. Now factor in the influx of job seekers that were dismissed during the pandemic and the challenge to locate qualified candidates is magnified significantly.

Many companies within the hardlines community are reaching out to recruitment firms to help manage the timely process of finding all-star candidates.

At Lock Search Group, the approach is far beyond the “post and pray” technique that’s used when companies post a position on an online job board or their company website and then hope that the right person sees and applies for the position. It can prove to be a less effective method for locating exceptional individuals that will make a positive impact on an organization.

At Lock, we find that 85 percent of the time, successfully placed candidates had never even seen the posting for the role that they end up moving into. They were actually “sourced” by a recruiter working on behalf of their client.

Recruitment firms dedicate their human resources to making contact with potential candidates who are already making strides within a particular industry and then invite them to learn more about a new job opportunity. The time required to perform a thorough search can often be beyond what an HR team can manage, resulting in longer cycles reviewing resumés, scheduling interviews, and settling for a candidate that was simply the best they could find.

If this sounds remotely familiar, it might be time to leverage a recruitment firm for your next candidate search.

This month we talk with Walter Pranke, vice president, human resources at Lee Valley Tools, a national chain of tool and gift stores headquartered in Ottawa.

Hiring—and keeping—good people is proving to be a difficult process as we emerge from the lockdowns of COVID. “How do we get our employees back on track? How do we support them post-COVID?” asks Walter Pranke, who oversees HR for Lee Valley Tools. He says mentoring can support this process.

For smaller retail operations, the practice of shadowing a new hire right in the aisles can serve a similar purpose.

As government subsidies for workers decrease or end altogether after the summer, he expects hiring efforts to get a little easier. But hiring is only the first step. Retention, especially of star employees, is a longer-term challenge for any business. Mentoring, says Pranke, can play an important role in this. “It can contribute to strengthening the company’s culture. A good mentor can really serve as the link between an organization’s needs and the individual’s needs.”

With the guidance early on that a mentor can provide, an employee’s level of engagement increases. “From there one could expect to see an increase in effort and productivity with employees often willing to do more with discretionary effort for the company,” he says. “That enhances the entire organization.”

So just what is a mentor? Pranke says a mentor acts as an advocate for the employee long-term. In that role, a more seasoned staffer can provide wisdom and insights into the new person’s role that would not necessarily have been part of their formal education.

He recommends putting a formal process in place to assign mentors. A good mentor, he notes, should have strong communication skills, be a motivating influence, and a thought leader. They need to be unbiased and reflect the company’s culture and values.

For sales staff in a store, the practice of “shadowing” is popular for helping new hires get the hang of the store’s systems and products. This process can likewise use the best practices of a more formal mentoring role to make it worthwhile. Assigning a “buddy” on the sales floor provides an opportunity for a new hire to get acquainted with the store and fellow workers more quickly. “That’s the start of a mentoring relationship,” Pranke says.

By Kiljon Shukullari, advisory team lead for the HR Advice group at Peninsula Canada. He has his Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation and specializes in employment relations, talent management, recruitment, and process and program optimization.

While having a remote work policy is not required by provincial employment standards legislation across Canada, employers are advised to create one if they have staff working from home.

Working from home can prove challenging for some employees as the lines between work and personal lives are more blurred. Remote work policies provide clarity and act as a guideline for workers. In their policies, employers can set out expectations for work hours, when employees should be taking breaks, how fast they are expected to respond to communications, as well as realistic expectations and goals for work performance.

Clearly communicating rules for remote work can prevent time theft, presenteeism and loss of productivity. Remote work policies can also give instructions to staff on how they can seek support if they need accommodation, are struggling with mental health, or have any other kind of concern about their remote work arrangement.

Peninsula is an HR and Health & Safety consulting firm serving over 80,000 small businesses worldwide, including dealers in home improvement. Clients are supported with ongoing updates to their workplace documentation and policies as legislation changes. Additionally, clients benefit from 24/7 employer HR advice and are protected by legal insurance.