By HR and health & safety consultancy Peninsula Canada

In today’s fast-paced world, companies need to continuously innovate and evolve. To successfully achieve that, employers should prioritize their employees’ professional growth and development.

Creating and supporting a workforce that stays up to date has obvious advantages. By fostering a culture of learning and growth, companies not only stay on top of the latest industry trends but also create a more motivated and skilled team, ready to take on new challenges and drive success. Employers should want their workforce to reach their full potential; this in turn will help build a stronger, more competitive business.

Employees are more likely to stay with a company that invests in their career growth. Offering career development opportunities reduces turnover, leading to a more stable and devoted workforce.

As employees gain new skills and knowledge through career development opportunities, their performance in their current role tends to improve. They become better equipped to handle challenges and take on new responsibilities.

When employees see opportunities for growth and advancement within their organization, they are more likely to feel satisfied and engaged in their work. Knowing that their efforts contribute to personal and professional development can boost morale and motivation.

There are various ways employers can support employee career development. It’s important to engage in career discussions with employees to understand their aspirations and create personalized career development plans. Whether through coaching or workshops, there is something for every employee to help them thrive.

Peninsula is a trusted HR and health and safety advisory company, serving over 6,000 small businesses across Canada. Clients are supported with ongoing updates of their workplace documentation and policies as legislation changes. Additionally, clients benefit from access to a 24/7 employer HR and OHS advice line and coverage on legal through the Peninsula Protect service promise.

Laura Freeman is executive vice-president of human resources and chief human resources officer for Orgill Inc., the Memphis-based hardware distributor that serves independent hardware and building supply dealers worldwide, including hundreds in Canada.

As the world settles into a “new normal” following the Covid pandemic, we talked with Freeman about what’s changed post-Covid for the HR role.

A lot of her concerns about HR still remain. “We’re still very focused on recruiting and retention of the workforce,” she says, especially as more members of the Generation Z demographic are joining millennials in the job market. “When you think about your hiring, about 50 to 60 percent are falling into those two generations.”

Freeman says traditional hiring practices don’t necessarily apply with them, even some of the more recent ones like Indeed. HR people have to be more imaginative now, and use social media better. “Those audiences are so much in tune with social media. How are we using it for engagement and for recruiting?”

She sees more and more of Orgill’s retail customers using social media, whether it’s Facebook or Instagram or TikTok. But it’s best used not just to engage customers but to tell stories online about employees. For example, a staffer may have helped a customer in a particularly thoughtful way. That situation is used to showcase what a great place the store is to work at. The messaging is good for the store, and Freeman says it’s valuable to use further, “moving it over to say, ‘hey, would you like to be part of the team?’ as a way to find those qualified candidates.”

But getting them is only part of the battle, one that hasn’t changed since before—or during—Covid. “Once you find them, how do you keep them engaged? What are we doing in our work environment that’s attractive to them?”

Policies about cell phone use on the job is one example Freeman offers. Are they able to carry them with them or do they have to put them in a locker? For Orgill, that may be a safety issue as well as a worker rights situation. For stores it could be a combination of both. “It’s balancing those needs from the people side of the business.”

The Cedar Shop is a Sexton yard in Calgary that last year won the Best Contractor Specialist award at the Outstanding Retailer Awards. It has an innovative internship program in which Mitch Wile, the store’s president, trains two high school interns every spring. Hardlines HR Advisor got curious about this program, and how it evolved.

The internship program dates back to 2019 when conversations began between Liz Kovach, president of the Western Retail Lumber Association (WRLA), and Eddie Choe, director of business development at Trimlite Doors, Calgary.

“We wanted to introduce this industry to the younger generation,” Kovach recalls. “They can go to career fairs, but it’s very difficult to know what kind of a career you might have, walking through the booths … I thought there’s got to be a better way (through internships). Eddie said he had a colleague at the Calgary Board of Education and we started talking.”

Covid got in the way, unfortunately. “In 2021, we rekindled our discussions,” Kovach said. “We went to Calgary and met with the Unique Pathway team at the Calgary Board of Education … We told them we wanted to introduce new talent into the industry.

The first internships were in place last spring, with mouldings giant Metrie Inc. taking on interns from the vendor side, and The Cedar Shop introducing interns from the retailer side.

“At the same time, the WRLA was introducing our Let’s Go Build public awareness campaign,” Kovach says. “The Calgary Board of Education had some criteria. The students need to come out with some skills, they said. They didn’t want to offer internships where the interns didn’t learn anything.

“The WRLA has recently done an Alberta Labour Market Study for our sector. It sorted out a lot of misconceptions,” Kovach explained.” One of them is that we think that once you enter the industry, you never leave. In fact, 63 percent of the people that enter our industry leave. We can’t afford to have that many people leave. We have to have some sort of introductory course. We used to refer to it as Lumber and Building Materials 101, but we’re now calling it Building Materials Fundamentals.”

“There has to be a way where everyone that comes into our industry can learn the lingo of our industry.”

A recent Hardlines Podcast featured Michael McLarney talking to Pierre Battah, a leading HR advisor in Canada. Battah has also written a great book: Humanity at Work: Leading for Relationships and Results. He’s also a broadcast journalist, frequently featured on CBC and Radio Canada. Scroll down to the link at the bottom of this article to listen to that podcast.

In their half-hour conversation, McLarney and Battah focused on the realities of managing teams in the retail home improvement environment. HR management has to be done through “check ins” on the fly, because stores are very busy places, Battah said. And the whole point of the “check-in” process is to increase an employee’s engagement.

What is engagement? It’s a commitment of a retail floor employee to a customer, to serving them as well as they can. And more than that, it’s being fully absorbed in whatever the retail task is that day. Battah gave some statistics of employee engagement.

“We know that a third of our folks are born engaged,” Battah said. “They are our owners and managers—they are our leaders. Twenty percent of our employees are involved in a transactional relationship. They have the attitude of ‘you pay me, I’ll do my job.’ But it’s a job. The other 50 percent, if we do a few things, including management by walking around, we have a shot at affecting them—and engaging them.”

Check-ins with staff are important to increase employee engagement, Battah counselled. They ideally are done one-on-one, between the manager and the employee. And, ideally, they are done daily. Checking in doesn’t have to take very long—few minutes if that’s all you have time for. “It’s these small little connections,” Battah says. Do them at the beginning of a shift. Or while you are walking through the store. Take time to check in with each employee. “There’s not a lot of magic bullets on leading people,” Battah confessed. “But checking in is one of them!”

(Pierre Battah, management consultant, HR guru, radio personality and author, is our guest on the latest episode of our Podcast Series, “What’s in Store.” You can listen free and get notifications of upcoming podcasts by clicking here! Scroll down at the linked page to see our complete library of episodes.)

By HR and health & safety consultancy Peninsula Canada

With spring and upcoming long weekends around the corner, people are starting to plan out their long-awaited summer vacations. How can employers handle the surge in vacation requests, while keeping everyone happy?

Start with a policy for requesting vacations days. This policy needs to clearly outline the process for requesting time off. By explaining the process, you are demonstrating transparency and fairness to all employees. Employers may want to include how far in advance staff must book vacation. Or how many employees can take time off at the same time.

Have an accessible shared holiday calendar. It will help staff avoid any vacation clashes. It would also be useful for employers to highlight blackout period dates, when no one can book time off.

Consider a first come, first served policy. Employers could also implement a “first come, first served” policy that will help make managing vacation requests easier. However, it could cause issues if not done properly

There are certain holidays such as Christmas where many staff would want to take leave. To avoid a surge in requests for the same dates, employers can come up with creative ways to divide popular holidays/days. For example, employers can implement a rotational system where everyone can take turns taking time off for certain days, making it fair for everyone.

Incentivize employees who are open to booking time off during quieter periods. An alternative method to manage a sudden influx of vacation requests is to incentivize employees who are open to rescheduling their time to quitter weeks. This incentive may include giving staff an extra day off or half-day. Some companies might also provide the flexibility to carry forward vacation days, in line with legislation in your jurisdiction.

Peninsula is a trusted HR and health and safety advisory company, serving over 6,000 small businesses across Canada. Clients are supported with ongoing updates of their workplace documentation and policies as legislation changes. Additionally, clients benefit from access to a 24/7 employer HR and OHS advice line and coverage on legal through the Peninsula Protect service promise.

Martina Pileggi is senior director for North American Business Partners at The Hillman Group, a fastener producer for the hardware, automotive, plumbing, and electrical markets.

Following a tough year for many vendors in the industry in 2023, HR leads are facing new challenges of their own. That’s the outlook of Martina Pileggi, who heads up HR for The Hillman Group in North America. Pileggi shares her outlook and concerns for HR leads as they work with their teams in a year that is filled with uncertainty.

An HR professional’s prospective has to be acutely aware of cost control, she says. When things slow down you have to think about cost control around labour, how or when to lay people off. She warns against being too short-sighted or too cost-driven when looking at laying people off. Don’t do anything without thinking it through, she cautions, as you don’t want to be caught short down the road when it’s time to add workers again.

“Because what goes up must go down. And if you’re stuck recruiting for all these positions, you’re now in a shortage of labour when it gets busy again.”

Pileggi offers some straightforward tips: Evaluate how long this problem will last. Do you have to lay off people? Do you cut people, or cut hours? Once people are gone, you may have trouble rehiring. “Those people you lay off are going to find another job. And maybe in three months, when you call them back, guess what? You have nobody.”

Effectively and responsibly managing the staffing needs of your company is, Pileggi says, the number one concern. “Yes, people are laying off, but you still need to have people working for you, and you still need to be prepared for what’s coming.”

She says HR has to work with managers to deal and cope with change. “And this a lot of change.”

Leaders on the floor talking with the teams are often overlooked by HR when it comes to providing tools to help them manage the changes. These leaders and managers have to be considered and HR has to work with them. Pileggi says your managers have to be evaluated for their own capacity as leaders. It’s really important now to take time to develop your managers. Don’t make the mistake, she says, of overlooking the need to support managers at this time.

“Taking care of the people who manage others is high level—to look at their capacity for change, their level of resilience.”

Do they understand what changes are occurring that affect your company? Can they repeat it back? Then do they understand how it’s impacting your business? Again, have them repeat it back in their own words to you. “What did you get from what I said?”

This approach applies to a company whether it has workers across the country like Hillman, or if it’s a small team. A true HR leader will bring everyone together and work with them all to understand the situation. “In a small environment it’s, in fact, better. Because that’s the team that’s holding it all together,” Pileggi adds.

“If your leaders don’t understand it, your culture will struggle.”

The Building Supply Industry Association of British Columbia (BSIA) has launched a pioneering mentorship program. It aims to address the challenges posed by the industry’s dynamic landscape, especially with numerous business owners entering retirement.

The association acknowledges the role mentorship plays in shaping the future of the building supply industry, so it’s made a big investment of time and resources to get this new program up and running. With it, the BSIA aims to elevate mentorship to a structured and essential component for the industry’s sustainability.

Carson Pue, a seasoned expert in coaching and mentorship, has been recruited to lead the charge in crafting the training platform for mentors. He is working with Sofia Friesen and together their expertise provides the foundation for the training program. It’s designed to empower mentors to build and expand on the skills that will foster growth in the younger generations.

A mentorship toolbox is included with the program, offering practical resources for mentors after the training is finished. The toolkit encompasses a wealth of knowledge, strategies, and best practices that mentors can utilize to navigate mentorship effectively.

Upon successful completion of the mentorship program, participants will be awarded a certificate, providing tangible recognition of their commitment to advancing within the building supply industry. This not only signifies a personal achievement but also highlights the value placed on mentorship within the broader professional community.

The BSIA hosted the Mentorship Introduction event for the first wave of mentees on Feb. 7. It was led by Pue and sponsored by PowerHouse Building Solutions and Crown Building Supplies.

Pue’s presentation sparked a sense of shared purpose and determination of all the opportunities that are ahead. As the event concluded, mentors and mentees alike left with a renewed sense of motivation and enthusiasm for the journey that lay ahead.

(For more information about the BSIA Mentorship program, please contact the BSIA directly or call 604-513-2205.)

The Western Retail Lumber Association’s latest annual Building & Hardware Showcase, held in Winnipeg last month, featured a dynamic keynote speaker. Lauren Johnson is a mental performance coach and public speaker who has worked with top professional athletes, including the New York Yankees baseball team.

Her presentation at a morning breakfast event was titled, “Achieving Extraordinary Results.” It focused on one’s ability to turn plans into decisive actions through high-level decision making.

One of the things that keeps people from reaching the next level of empowerment and decision making is the impulse to hold onto old ways of thinking. Johnson challenged her audience to look at their own “maps” and question how to change that map to better confront change.

“You have to apply change to your old map,” she told the audience. If you’re not adjusting and not asking how everything is changing day to day, then your attitudes toward coping become out of date.

Often, people will stand by and let change happen without them. Even people who are willing to confront that change often hold off until the need is too great. “Don’t wait until there’s a big gap in where you are and where you should be,” she said. Ask yourself: “What did I do well? How can I do better? And what did I learn?”

But you can’t wait for someone to instill these attitudes in you. “You have to own these. Do them for yourself.” If you’re trying to please someone else or simply go through the motions, your efforts won’t succeed. “Development will only happen if you choose to do it.”

Johnson concluded by urging the audience to take responsibility for making change themselves. “If you want to be unstoppable, you have to be accountable,” she said. “Mindset is everything.”

By HR and health & safety consultancy Peninsula Canada

January, often associated with setting new goals and resolutions, poses challenges due to post-holiday and seasonal blues. Employers can implement several strategies to foster a positive workplace and motivate staff. If feasible, introducing flexible work schedules allows employees to better manage the challenges posed by shorter days and inclement weather, promoting a healthier work-life balance.

Incorporate wellness initiatives that prioritize both physical and mental health among your team. Make sure your team is well-informed about the available in-house resources dedicated to nurturing their mental well-being. If your company currently doesn’t offer an employee assistance program, make sure you provide information on external resources they can turn to for a holistic approach to well-being support.

Bring your staff together through team-building activities or themed events. These can help maintain a fun workplace, boost morale, and create a supportive work environment. Additionally, recognition and appreciation are powerful motivators. Acknowledging good work makes employees feel seen, valued, and appreciated. You can bring the team together by celebrating the success of their colleagues.

Lastly, open communication channels, where employees can express concerns and feedback, will ensure you provide a supportive platform, one that makes everyone feel heard and valued during the winter months.

Peninsula is a trusted HR and health and safety advisory company, serving over 6,000 small businesses across Canada. Clients are supported with ongoing updates of their workplace documentation and policies as legislation changes. Additionally, clients benefit from access to a 24/7 employer HR and OHS advice line and coverage on legal through the Peninsula Protect service promise.

Donald Cooper is a Toronto-based speaker and business coach. Using his vast experience as a manufacturer (Cooper Canada sports equipment) and an award-winning retailer, Cooper has helped hundreds of companies in over 40 industries around the world to create compelling customer value, clarity of purpose, and long-term profitability.

While tech is a fast-growing, ever-evolving aspect of business, it’s also engaging, challenging—and fun. But lining up the personnel to manage the tech side of your business can come down to identifying distinct roles that should handle tech. There are at least two quite different types of business technology that every business must embrace. Because they’re so different, it’s unlikely that one technology person will be an expert in both areas.

The first we’ll call “operational technology” that will help you achieve world-class operating efficiency in each part of your business. With every industry and market being so intensely price-competitive, world-class operating efficiency is your only hope of profitability. Do you have an operational technology hero?

The second kind of technology we’ll call “marketing technology” that will help you understand, serve, and communicate with customers as a group—and customers as individuals. This will include the technology of:

• delivering extraordinary customer experiences
• creating databases of customers, prospects, and key influencers
• website creation and maintenance
• communicating with customers through blogs or e-newsletters, social media, and apps
• data mining (and lots more stuff that many of us simply don’t understand yet)

Now, it may not be quite that simple to break down for your company. In some businesses, there may be more than two types of technology that must be embraced and those businesses will need to align themselves with an expert in each of those areas. For example, in some industries, the technology of exotic new raw materials may be the key to success. In other industries biotechnology or nanotechnology may be key.