HRM
FOR MANAGERS
Summary
PART 1
PUTTING HRM IN CONTEXT
1. Understanding the Roles and Players of HRM
2. Managing and Respecting Individual Rights
3. Managing in a Unionized Environment
PART 2
FINDING THE BEST EMPLOYEES
4. Attracting Good Candidates
5. Choosing the Right People and Integrating Them
PART 3
MAKING THE MOST OF EMPLOYEE POTENTIAL
6. Compensating Employees Fairly
7. Managing Employee Performance
8. Developing Competencies
PART 4
FOSTER A STIMULATING WORK ENVIRONMENT
9. Managing Discipline and Conflict
10. Employees’ Physical and Psychological Well-Being
11. Mobilizing Your Employees
12. Managing Using HR Indicators
13. A New Context and New Challenges for Managers
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, MANAGE!
HRM FOR
MANAGERS
Second
Edition
82021491-ERPL_AVMPG_00_Liminaires_|
ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, MANAGE!
HRM FOR
MANAGERS
Second
Edition
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On Your Mark, Get Set, Manage!
Second Edition
Preface
It's May 1978. | am 23 years old. Less than a year ago, fresh from HEC Montréal, I was hired
by RONA. I have recently been promoted to Merchant Services Manager. For one week now,
and for the first time in my life, I'm a boss: I have about thirty people under me. Because we
need to help the merchants prepare for the spring traffic, I'm asking my employees — rather
awkwardly, I admit — to work on a weekend,
They refuse outright, daring me to throw them out if I'm not happy.
Nothing, absolutely nothing in my training at HEC Montréal had prepared me for this kind
of work situation.
I can see now that reading On Your Mark, Get Set, Manage! would have been really good for
me back then, but that sort of advice didn’t exist at the time.
Today, I feel this book is truly necessary. And we must be grateful to Anne Bourhis and Denis
Chénevert for taking the initiative and mobilizing an impressive group of contributors to put
together such an excellent human resources management manual. It is intended for those
who are, or will become, involved in this type of management: first-level managers, leading
those who do not have to lead others.
In my case, I was able to resolve the May 1978 incident with my employees. To do it, I had
to learn pretty quickly that you don’t manage a company, or a department, or a team. You
always manage people. Nothing else. The corporate world is a people business.
Business leaders are quick to state that "our employees are our most important strategic
asset.” But as well-intentioned as they may be, I humbly believe that these leaders are making
a mistake. Over the years, I have become convinced that employees are, in fact, a company's
only strategic asset.
In fact, a company is nothing more than a community of people with a common mission: to
manufacture a particular product, provide a particular service, solve a particular problem.
A company always starts with one, two or ten people who want to provide a service and
make it profitable. Tangible or intangible, the company’s "strategic assets” are only the tools
that this group utilizes to accomplish its mission.
If this group is made up of the right people and the company knows how to use that talent,
it will make wise and productive choices. In the long term, the company will build, maintain,
improve and accumulate other assets. But if that original talent is insufficient or misused,
the company will make unwise choices, and in the long run, its strategic assets, even the
best ones, will deteriorate.
A company is about people — people who are mobilized — and nothing else.
From this perspective, managing (in the general sense, not human resource management)
is about finding the right people, helping them to progress and mobilizing them to fulfill the
company’s mission and objectives,
PREFACE
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This is the daily responsibility of first-level managers. If they accept that their task is to create
development opportunities for their subordinates, then the entire organization will be in
development mode. Otherwise, the management of people — and therefore, management in
general — will remain a hollow concept.
Regardless of the hierarchical level and complexity of the task, people are motivated when
they achieve a balance between their individual progress and the company's aims. When
these corporate aims overshadow those of the individual, the employee feels disengaged,
and their motivation suffers. On the other hand, when individual needs prevail, the employees
may be highly motivated, but their energy will not be focused on the company’s objectives.
Thus, the manager's principal role is to mobilize others and create conditions favourable to
achieving this balance between the company’s aims and individual, personal development.
All this, of course, has to be achieved while navigating through the countless constraints
imposed by laws, collective agreements, company policies, etc.
By applying rigour and pragmatism, On Your Mark, Get Set, Manage! deals with all these
aspects of managing the people who populate the daily lives of managers. This book uses
an effective methodology: the presentation of clear concepts, illustrated by concrete and
credible cases. It is aimed at those who, while not being specialists in what the jargon calls
"HRM," do need to manage people every day — or who, like me 40 years ago, will have to do
so when they leave business school. Ultimately, their success or failure will depend on their
performance in people management.
&
This book - which | needed years ago when it didn’t exist — is an essential aid to future
managers and one that, I’m sure, they will keep on hand long after they graduate.
Robert Dutton
Associate Professor, HEC Montréal
President and Chief Executive Officer of RONA Inc., 1992 to 2012
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, MANAGE!
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Foreword
The idea for the first edition of this book, which appeared in 2009, derived from the observation that Human Resource Management (HRM) textbooks aimed at students are all written
from the viewpoint of experts in the HRM field. They assume that students taking an HRM
course, or managers consulting a basic handbook, will become HR specialists. From that
premise, they deal extensively with the technical aspects of human resource management
(for example, explaining how to design and manage a pay structure or write a selection
interview guide), yet offer little insight into the relationships between managers and
their subordinates.
Ten years have passed since the first edition, and little has changed. To our knowledge, there
are no books dealing with HRM issues from the manager's point of view. This is why we set
out to create this book: It addresses readers as managers in the early stages of their careers
and approaches human resource management from their point of view. The key features of
the book, described in the visual guide, reflect both our commitment to teaching and our
solid practical approach,
This book would not have been possible without the collaboration of the 16 authors, all
professors at the Department of Human Resources Management at HEC Montréal, who put
aside personal projects and accepted the demanding task of writing within strict guidelines.
We offer them our heartfelt thanks for agreeing to adhere to a framework that is identical
for all chapters, which we chose in order to ensure that the book was coherent from beginning
to end. Also, we were able to utilize feedback from various users of the book, both teachers
and students, who participated in surveys and focus groups and helped us identify sections
that required further revision. We thank them for their work. Finally, to our undergraduate
students whose questions and comments stimulated us and assisted us in fine-tuning the
project in its early stages, we offer our sincere thanks.
Our overriding pedagogic mission gives this book its unique character. On behalf of all the
authors, we hope you will find your reading instructive and engaging.
Anne Bourhis and Denis Chénevert
FOREWORD
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Visual Guide
A QUICK READING GUIDE
PRACTICAL SECTIONS
At the beginning of each chapter you will find
a series of questions to guide your reading.
ON
YOUR
All chapters begin with a work scenario that
firmly places this manual in a real-life context.
MARK...
aa
Slat
the work
of your
employees.
eather
You shouldth
ae
asky
Work
DES
If the fc
|
Scenario
questions, which this chapter will attempt to answer:
1. Whyis
employee perk
9
a crucial activity for managers?
2. Why is a manager's work often compared to that of a sports coach?
3. What are the Principal sstages inA elections management?
4. Why
is
feedback
an
00! to
optimize
staff performance?
Wie
Score eneines sorreciel paitorsience wopaual
At the end of each chapter, you will find the answers to
these questions and suggestions on sections to consult
in the text for more information.
Are You
Ready?
1. WhyIs
employee
for managers?
perf
The sections titled In the heart of the action
provide concrete examples that illustrate the
authors’ commentary.
a crucial activity
First of all. company management must have a system to translate their vision and strategic
feno action and
results, so that
at every
level of the
know what they are responsible and accountable for. Then, it is up to managers who
supervise
in the various:
to create a
work
0 that each pi
make an optimal
are also affected
by the
way their performance is managed. they want to see their strengths put to the best use in
Ubeir jobs and, in revarn, receive the feedback and recognition they deserve.
See section
7.1.
or seal musts ram, Clewtia, Cammsine Oivectee ofthe ener to put ta men sang pla i actin ane etn
Thee,Nae been morciernng abet the enplemes te reere's mpm growth - nccomoaned by an mcmmane
uton of het ee
te
cry
aking be a matating and curmmmeanare
manages the
waned
to fer us that the labour pct has been fly Renred
events Quates sew labs shortage tat hewn apared
the memepols. mating # ode to tad nomecne wh the
robeareyearticl
pecan telat as Gecre’s sebsny
ta ravine mt tata rte scrote changes Morte” Woh hdl salary ms |r 90 wach on Wid of pe
ecemorec Mor 8 4 ne ct a noc of yoy emt sen Conta wonders
She mare
In the heart of the action
Nabila Khali is an independent bookstore ‘owner looking for
afull-time sales clerk. Client focus is one of her main solec-
bookstore chains and knows that she can only stand out by
offering her customers quality service. She is looking for a
person who is very familiar with literature, has already worked
for at least two years in retail sales, speaks perfect English and
can get by in French.
For two weeks, Nabila has posted a
listing these selection criteria and h
applications.
As she reads through
Toolbox
Putfalls to avoid when formulating
questions
+ Asking abstract or theceetical questions
= Formulating leading questions that contain
The Toolbox presents
information that is
essential for professional practice.
the nnwer
Asking
that have nothing to do with the
requeed competences
- Asking several questions at the saere time
= Writing questions using obscureor
unclear linguage
+ Using company jargon
= Formulating overly long questions
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, MANAGE!
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A SUCCINT SUMMARY
USEFUL EXERCISES
At the end of the chapter, the At a Glance
section summarizes the essential content and
includes a summary figure.
At the end of the chapter, the sections On Your
Mark, Get Set... Review! Discuss! and Your
Turn! are designed to aid the transfer of learning
through review questions, discussion topics
and work scenarios. For answers to the review
questions, see My Lab.
Ata
Glance
Fremre 11-8 comets
bee
Cones
a
nee Sapporting efferts a mobiliz-
Get Set...
requires constant effort ce the part of all members of the oxganizance.
Ir is worth the effort, however, as
° physical
and mental
health and
collective
energy towards improved
Review!
1. What is Jeb evabaation?
2 What is a salary survey?
3. What ace the adwastages of external equity?
4 What is merk pay?
‘S. What ace the main elements in indirect compensation?
6 What diterensiates the various short-term growp variable pay plans?
igure 11.8 The maseger
and mobilization
= Mebitzsten behavtoer,
= Conditions
for 8 mein
= Qnperttal mincon, ve
wb cones
= Mebilciny MM postcee
|
|
Titi Genke
= Hay omens maating
Wha copay mebetevten
nm
SERS
pay pla
Discuss!
|
|
|
|
trom
ere
= Seppe
wd evan manque
benterne
= implement mately
aon
pase
= Cao matey wet
oe
eee
Help
Is ineividual salary transparency
always Gesirabie?
Are unions a deterrent to the appiication of a variable pay pobcy?
Dees compensation
motirate employees?
Can oo say that offering abowe-market compensation is always a guarantee
of produceivity?
Your Turn!
Laurentian
SPA
Veronica Ducharme is the plast manager at Laurervias SPA. a manufacturing plant that
makes hot tubs for the Moetxtal region. She has held this position for nearly theee years,
ito study
¥
‘She has acquired
needs One
to make it as fair
and
retan good
Dave been
and views on the pr
Mrectare
and
eek thelr
policies,
VISUAL GUIDE
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Biographical
Notes
P
This book was written under the direction of:
Anne Bourhis
Anne Bourhis is a full professor in the Department of Human Resources
Management at HEC Montréal, She has a PhD in organizational behaviour
from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also engaged
with the business world as a member of the boards of directors of
Investissement Québec and Héma-Québec.
Her research focuses pri-
marily on recruitment and staff selection.
Denis Chénevert
Denis Chénevert is a full professor and director of the HEC Montréal
Health Unit. He has a PhD in management science from the Ecole doctorale des sciences de l'entreprise de l'Université Toulouse I. He teaches
courses mainly in strategic human resource management and compensation. His research interests lie primarily in the areas of stress, burnout,
absenteeism, performance and quality of work life for caregivers.
Authors
Richard Blain
Richard Blain is a lecturer at HEC Montréal and holds an MBA from HEC
Montréal. He is a member of the Ordre des conseillers en ressources
humaines agréés du Québec and the Institute of Corporate Directors
(ICD.D.). He coordinates the HEC Montréal HRM Certificate Program
and teaches a number of courses. Mr. Blain has 30 years of experience
as a business manager and human resources consultant.
Dominique Bouteiller
Dominique Bouteiller is an associate professor at HEC Montréal and a
graduate of the Institut des Hautes Etudes de I'Information et de la
Communication of the Université de Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1). He
has an MA and a PhD in industrial relations from the Université de
Montréal. His main interests include training management processes,
implementing new methods of competency-based human resource
management, and learning and transfer dynamics in organizations.
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, MANAGE!
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Santiago Campero
Santiago Campero is an assistant professor of human resources management at HEC Montréal. He earned his PhD from the MIT Sloan School
of Management in 2016. His research, which is primarily in the field of
economic sociology, labour markets and entrepreneurship, focuses on
understanding the causes of the under-representation of women and
certain ethnic minorities in the labour market. His research interests are
oriented to high-tech labour markets.
Urwana Coiquaud
Urwana Coiquaud is an assistant professor in the Department of Human
Resources Management at HEC Montréal. As a member of the
Inter-University Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT),
she is interested in the impact of globalization on national and international labour law. She holds a doctorate in law from the Université
d’Aix-Marseille II] and a PhD in industrial relations from the Université
de Montréal (joint degree).
Michel Cossette
A professor at HEC Montréal, Michel Cossette holds a PhD in occupational psychology from UQAM and a master's degree in HR. He mainly
teaches HR analytics. His research focuses on the antecedents and
consequences of service competencies, as well as the roles of HR professionals in relation to HR analytics.
Olivier Doucet
Olivier Doucet (MBA, PhD, CRHA) is an associate professor at HEC
Montréal, where he teaches performance management in various programs. His main research interests focus on managerial leadership and
sound performance management practices. He addresses these topics
in terms of their dynamics in supervisory-supervised relationships and
work teams, as well as their effects on employee engagement
and performance,
Patrick Dubé
Teacher and coordinator of the mandatory human resources management
course for the BAA at HEC Montréal, Patrick Dubé holds an MSc in
management from HEC Montréal and is a member of the Ordre des
conseillers en ressources humaines agréés (CRHA). He teaches the
required core course on human resources management to BAA and DESS
(Advanced Graduate Diploma) students. He has more than 20 years of
experience as a human resources professional, mainly as a manager.
Alain Gosselin
Alain Gosselin is a full professor and strategic advisor at the Ecole des
dirigeants de HEC Montréal. He holds a PhD from the University of
Maryland. His teaching, research and publications focus mainly on strategic human resources management and talent management.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
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Marc-Antonin Hennebert
Marc-Antonin Hennebert is a full professor in the Department of Human
Resources Management at HEC Montréal and a researcher at the
Inter-University Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT).
He holds a doctorate in industrial relations from the Université de
Montréal. He is interested in the areas of labour relations and collective
bargaining, as well as the social responsibilities of multinational companies.
Kevin Hill
Kevin Hill is an associate professor at HEC Montréal. He holds a PhD in
organizational behaviour and human resources management from the
Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, He mainly
teaches courses in the development of negotiation skills. His research
interests focus primarily on conflict management in the workplace.
Mouna Knani
An assistant professor at HEC Montréal, Mouna Knani has a PhD in
administrative sciences, with a concentration in human resources
management, from Université Laval. She mainly teaches courses in
human resources management and occupational health and safety. Her
research interests include presenteeism, burnout and psychosocial risks,
Lucie Morissette
Lucie Morissette is an associate professor in the Department of Human
Resources Management at HEC Montréal. She has a PhD in industrial
relations from the Université de Montréal. She is interested in labour
relations and the role of labour institutions at the national and regional
levels. Her work also touches on digital transformation and its implications for labour regulation, managers, unions and workers.
Jean Poitras
Jean Poitras is an associate professor at HEC Montréal. A psychologist
specializing in conflict management, he is the principal author of the
following books: Psychologie de la négociation, La médiation et la réconciliation des intéréts, and Systemes de gestion de conflits. He is also a member
of the scientific boards for several conflict management and mediation
journals. A dynamic classroom communicator, his teaching focuses on
acquiring intervention strategies that are both perceptive and practical.
Michel Tremblay
Michel Tremblay is a full professor at HEC Montréal and holds the Chair
on the mobilization of individuals, groups and organizations. He has a
PhD in administration from the Institut d'administration des entreprises
(IAE) d'Aix-Marseille. Co-winner of the Gaétan Morin Research Award
in 1998, he has so far contributed, either individually or as part of a team,
to more than 40 publications in scholarly journals of international scope.
His recent research has dealt mainly with employee mobilization.
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, MANAGE!
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Table of Contents
=
PART1: PUTTING HRM
IN CONTEXT
CHAPTER
1
Understanding the Roles and Players of HRM
SS!
1.1 Evolution of the Human Resources Function
5
1.2° Roles of HRM Players
6
1.2.1 Employees
1.2.2 Managers.
1.2.3 Senior management
1.2.4H
resources professional:
1.2.5 Unions
6
7
8
8
9
1.3 Roles of Influencers
1.3.1 Customers
9
9
1.3.2 Governments
10
1.3.3 External HR consultants
1.3.4 Advocacy groups
1.4 Objectives and Models of the HR Function
10
10
10
1.4.1 Contribution to organizational performance ____ 10
1.4.2 HRM models.
1.4.3 Different configurations of the HR function.
12
13
2.3 Managing Individual Employment Relationships___
2.3.1 Managing diversity,
2.3.2 Managing and respecting standards.
2.3.3 Managing the termination of individual
employment relationships
46
Apa Clare)
49
Are You Ready?
50
On Your Mark, Get Set...
51
Adal
31
Discuss! —__________________________ 52
Your
Turn!
orn
52
CHAPTER
3
Managing in a Unionized Environment
55
3.1 Managerial Objectives,
57
or
3.2 Unionization
_
.
3.2.1 Why do workers join unions?
3.2.2 The unionization process
campaign
,
:
E
3.3 Who Are the Main Players ina Union? ___
.
_
3.4 The Manager's Role in Collective Bargaining
15
Ata Glance
17
Are You Ready?
18
3.5.1 Pressure tactics in the case of a dispute.
On Your Mark, Get Set...
3.5.2 Work stoppage: strikes and lockouts
19
3.5.3 Dispute settlement and return to work
Discuss!
19
Your Turnt
20
23
3.6 Collective Agreements: Union “Shock”
Relationship Law
25
25
2.2.1 The managerial role
2.2.2 The manager's management rights.
2.2.3 The manager's legal environment in the
management of individual employment
relationships
25
26
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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__
711
72
tool or manager’s constraint?
72
T
= AtaGlance
—
———
blah
1
79
80
On Your Mark, Get Set...
acta
the Legal Environment
68
3.7 Labour Relations Models 0
i:
2.2 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities and
66
3.6.1 The collective agreement: management
Are You Ready?
2.1 Managerial Goals and Employment
«4
.
19
Managing and Respecting Individual Rights
62
3.5 The Manager's Role During a Work Stoppage
Review!
2
58
58
61
3.2.3 The manager's role in the unionization
1.5 Structure and Orientation of This Book
CHAPTER
33
34
39
:
SF
81
81
S
:
27
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5.6 New Employee Orientation 140
BEST EMPLOYEES
CHAPTER 4
Attracting Good Candidates
85
4.1 The Manager's Staffing Goals.
88
4.2 Quantitative Personnel Planning
5.6.1 Preparing for the new employee's arrival,
140
5.6.2 A new employee's first days
5.6.3 Follow-up
141
141
At a Glance
89
Discuss!
89
Your Turn!
4.2.2 Determining personnel availability
4.2.3 Balancing demands and availability
90
92
4.3 Qualitative Personnel Planning
4.3.1 Job analysis and job description
4.3.2 Definition of required competencies
4.3.3 Choosing selection criteria
94
94
97
100
4.4 Recruiting Candidates
102
4.4.2 Social media
103
103
4.4.3 Job postings in print media
4.4.4 Private recruitment agencies.
104
105
—144
'
146
146
Appendix 5.1 Background Check Consent Form
149
PART 3: MAKING THE MOST
OF EMPLOYEE POTENTIAL
CHAPTER 6
Compensating Employees Fairly
151
4.4.5 Public agencies and bureaus
105
4.4.6 Job fairs
105
Matters of Compensation
153
4.4.7 Educational institutions
448 Professional associations and unions
106
106
2 Respecting Internal Equity
6.2.1 Managerial roles and responsibilities
154
4.4.9 Networking
106
-
4.4.10 Writing a job posting
At a Glance —$_—$ $$ —$_
Are You Ready?
107
110
Wt
re
a Sartiary ie, Gee Sates
Dis cisead et
spe
113
Your Turn!
-
113
7
_
Appendix 4.1 Job Description an
Competency Profile
CHAPTER
ck
——---—
On Your Mark, Get Set... ——_—_—_—_—_—_—_—__—_ 145
Review!
145
4.2.1 Determining personnel needs
4.4.1 Websites
143
Are You Ready? -
—
——
4
in internal equity
154
6.2.2 Job description and competency profile
6.2.3 Job evaluation
6.2.4 Pay Equity Act
6.3 Respecting External Equity
6.3.1 Managerial roles and responsibilities
in external equity
ing the Right People
and Integrating Them
417
5.1 Manager's Recruitment Goals
119
5.2 Considerations for the Selection Process
119
5.3 The Screening Process
5.3.1 Sorting applications
5.3.2 The screening interview
121
122
124
5.4 The Selection Process.
5.4.1 The selection interview
5.4.2 Selection tests.
5.4.3 Background check
5.4.4 The final decision
125
125
132
136
139
5.5 Hiring
139
xiv
155
155
157
158
159
6.3.2 Choosing benchmark markets
159
6.3.3 Salary surveys.
160
6.3.4 Salary positioning
162
6.3.5 Pay structure and ranges
163
6.4 Respecting Individual Equity
6.4.1 Managerial roles and responsibilities
5
S2021491-ERPLAVMPG_00_Liminaires_ENiodd
6.1 A Manager's Goals in
164
in individual and collective equity
165
6.4.2 Salary increases and individual bonuses
6.4.3 Piece rate pay and commission plans.
165
167
6.5 Respecting Collective Equity
6.5.1 Short-term group variable pay plans
6.5.2 Long-term group variable pay plans,
66 biapha aaah
Seen
6.6.2 Paid time off,
6.6.3 Other services
Ata Gl
ae
———_—————_
Are You Ready?
On Your Mark, Get Set
Review!
Discuss!
167
168
168
reg
att
171
172
173
174
174
175
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—
————————
175
Appendix 6.1 Job Description and
on
8
Appendix 6.2 Job Description and
Competency Profile ———————__
brektetly
anagms
am
——_—179
m A
Perf
Emproyse
ermanee
183
7.1 A Manager's Performance Management Goals
185
7.1.1 Managerial roles and responsibilities
186
7.2 Performance Management Process
_____
7.2.1 Master strategic goals _____________
8.5.3 A great variety of methods and practices
229
5.4 po
230
or
jemvommerits
8.5.5 Learning strategies: is there a
winning formula?
8.5.6 Take advantage of the ripple effect
231
231
8.6 Supporting the Transfer of Learning
8.6.1 The learning continues
8.6.2 Transferring to obtain desired results
8.6.3 The manager's role in supporting
the transfer
231
232
232
8.7 The Manager: . Central Player
234
233
8.7.1 If you don’t do it, who will?_____
8.7.2 Stay on the straight and narrow
8.7.3 Beware of high
zones
234
«1877
188
8.7.4 Some truths and facts about learning
235
234
234
7.2.2 Define expectations
190
7.2.3 Support performance
192
Ata Glance
236
7.2.4 Appraise performance
7.2.5 Suggest an action plan
198
203
Are You Ready?
On Your Mark, Get Set...
237
239
At a Glance
205
unre You Ready?
06
On Your Mark, Get Set... ———________—_
Review!
Discuss!
Your Turn!
:
207
207
208
208
Appendix 7.1 Rating Scale Evaluation Form
210
Appendix 7.2 Evaluation by Objectives Form
211
Review!
Discuss!
239
239
Your Turn!
240
PART 4: FOSTERING A STIMULATING
WORK ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER 9
Managing Discipline and Conflict
243
9.1 The Consequences of Conflicts
246
9.2 Discipline Management
246
CHAPTER 8
Developing Competencies
213
,
8.1 A Manager's Goals
215
8.2 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities
216
8.2.1 Developing competencies:
a well-established process
8.2.2 Competency: multiple players’ concern
8.3 Competency in All its Forms
216
217
9.2.1 Roles and responsibilities of the
different players
248
9.2.2 Framework for intervention,
9.2.3 Intervention process
249
251
9.2.4 Sanctions
254
218
9.3 Resolving Conflicts Between Employees
8.3.1 Competency: not so easy to define
218
9.3.1 Roles and responsibilities of the
8,3,2 Competency capital: a biodegradable asset.
219
932 nba
3.3 Whatis a “quality”
‘
’
8.3.3
What is a “quality” competency?
8.4 Deciding which Competencies to Develop.
221
.3.2
Players |
inane
:
Situaons
requiring the manager's
intervention
255
255
256
222
9.3.3 The intervention plan
257
8.4.1 What is a competency need?
222
9.3.4 Two other conflict resolution mechanisms __
258
8.4.2 How to determine competency needs?
8.4.3 Gathering the relevant information
i
"
8.4.4 Confirming the diagnosis of your
competency needs
8.4.5F
di
is to devel
eal
222
225
:
;
.
9.4 Redressing Conflictual Group Dynamics
ae
9.4.1 Roles and responsibilities of the
4
different players
=
9.4.2 Clarification of tasks and responsibilities___—- 261
ac
a
8.5 Choosing Learning Strategies
8.5.1 The desire to learn, at the heart
of the training experience
8.5.2 Available learning strategies
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226
226
226
227
227
9.4.3 Establishing decision-making policies
262
9.4.4 Balancing leadership style and employee
expectations
9.4.5 Discussions about group standards
9.4.6 Maintaining a climate of harmony
263
264
265
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eee
270
11.5.2 Managers need to transmit organizational
vision, mission and values
11.5.3 Managers must make good use of human
resources practices
Review!
270
11.5.4 Managers should organize work in order
Your Turn!
a7
iiresxou Keany?
On Your Mark, Get Set...
Appendix 9.1 Disciplinary Incident Report Form
273°
321
322
to offer opportunities for mobilization
AtaGlance
323
—
325
Are You Ready?
CHAPTER 10
Employees’ Physical and
Psychological Well-Being
275
On Your Mark, Get Set... —————_______
Review!
Discuss!
—————_——
Your Turn!
10.1 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities in
the Area of Occupational Health and Safety___.__—s.
102° Prevenuion
10.2.1 Physical risks
278
CHAPTER
280
Managing Using HR Indicators
12
331
280
284
12.1 Human Resources Management Using Indicators:
10.3 Managing Situations
10.3.1 Workplace accidents and investigations
10.3.2 Employee assistance programs
10.4 Follow-up and Remediation
10.2.2 Psychosocial risks____
289
289
290
291
A Shared Responsibility
12.1.1 The manager and indicators
12.1.2 Sharing responsibilities for the
development and use of indicators.
10.5 Psychological Har
291
12.2 Use of Indicators
335
292
337
at Work
10.5.1 What is psychological harassment?
10.5.2 Employer obligations and comittments
regarding psychological harassment
333
333
333
_
12.3 What Can Be Measured?
12.3.1 Indicators related to attracting, selecting
and integrating candidates
12.3.2 Compensation management indicators
12.3.3 Performance management indicators.
Are You Ready?
298
12.3.4 Competency development indicators
344
On Your Mark, Get Set...
Review!
Discuss!
Your Turn!
300
300
300
301
12.3.5 Employee attitudes and behaviours
12.3.6 Synthesis: effectiveness and
efficiency indicators, two dimensions
of HR performance
347
nbaiciace
293
Appendix 10.1 Employer's Declaration
of Commitment
352
12.4 Positioning of Indicators in an Organizational
303
Value Chain
At a Glance
CHAPTER
337
340
342
11
353
—
—
——
Are You Ready?
357
Mobilizing Your Employees
305
11.1 A Manager's Mobilization Goals
307
11.2 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities
in Mobilization
308
CHAPTER
11.3 What Does it Mean to Mobilize Personnel?
11.3.1 Compliance with employment contract
11.3.2 Individual motivation
11.3.3 Mobilization: the art of improving others
309
310
311
312
ANew Context and New Challenges
for Managers
361
11.4 Why Do People Mobilize?
gig)
Se ANewNakinond
said
314
315
316
318
13.2 The Causes of Workplace Transformations
13.2.1 Organizational change
13.2.2 The nature of work changes
13.2.3 The workforce changes
365
365
368
371
319
319
13.3 Some Challenges You Will Face
13.3.1 Managing a diverse workforce
375
375
11.4.1 The role of trust
11.4.2 The role of support and recognition
11.4.3 The role of justice
11.4.4 The role of empowerment
11.5 How to Mobilize Your Troops?
11.5.1 Developing your leadership
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——356
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Your Turn!
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358
358
358
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13.3.2 Inadequacy of skills
13.3.3 Workplace flexibility
13.3.4 Work-life balance
376
377
378
Ata Glance
379
Are You Ready?
381
On Your Mark, Get Set...
Review!
Discuss!
Your Turn!
382
382
383
383
Glossary
Photos Credits
386
——— ——_—_—_________
Index
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
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392
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PART1
Putting HRM in Context
Understanding the ~
Roles and Players
of HRM
Richard Blain and Patrick Dubé
p.5_
p.6_
1.1 Evolution of the Human Resources Function
1.2 Roles of HRM Players
p.9_
1.3 Roles of Influencers
p.10_ 1.4 Objectives and Models of the HR Function
p.16_ 1.5 Structure and Orientation of this Book
ON
YOUR
MARK...
In your studies, you specialized in a particular field (marketing, accounting, finance,
logistics, law, engineering, etc.). You will start your career as a professional,
responsible for files or activities in your field of specialization. After a few years, you
will probably be involved in managing a work team. Your performance will no
longer be linked only to your field of expertise, but also to your management skills.
This book refers to that stage of your career. As anew manager, you will assume
many operational responsibilities in your department, but you will also have to
manage the members of your team. As a result, you will need to ask yourself the
following questions, to which this chapter will attempt to provide answers:
1. What roles can | play in human resources management?
2. Who are the players and stakeholders in HRM?
3. What are the objectives of HRM?
4, What differentiates the two HRM models?
5. What justifies the different configurations of the HR function?
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Work
|
Scenario
With more than 90 employees, the Co-op Universitat is a large
co-operative in a university setting in Québec. It offers various
services to the student community: a cafeteria and caterer,
a bookstore that sells school supplies, and parking in the
building. The Co-op is committed to providing its customers
with a high standard of service.
The cafeteria managed by the Co-op offers customers a full
line of food products, from sandwiches to complete meals.
Open
from
7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., it serves all three meals,
depending on the time of day. During the period of greatest
need, i.e. from the end of August to the end of April, the cafe-
teria employs 38 people, 14 of whom are part-time.
For a little over two years, Korinne Dargis has been the cafeteria manager. Hired after leaving university with a degree
in nutrition, she was very proud of having found a job like
this with its multitude of challenges. Korinne is an excellent
nutritionist. Since her arrival, she has diversified the cafeteria
menus to accommodate student food requests. But this
diversification has led to an increase in food prices of more
In such an environment, it’s not surprising that absenteeism
has increased and that the Co-op is experiencing more and
more difficulty in filling positions. The turnover rate has more
than doubled in the last year. A number of employees say
they are dissatisfied with their working conditions and don't
hesitate to share this with cafeteria customers. Moreover, in
protest, some no longer respond to customers who wonder
about price increases, and even suggest they take their complaints to the manager.
A group of employees attended the last Board of Directors’
meeting to talk about the cafeteria situation. Using a survey
showing that customer satisfaction with service quality had
plummeted
by almost 35%, the employees complained that
the work climate had become unacceptable and didn’t compare with the past. "We can’t carry on working like this; the
situation has to be corrected as soon as possible,” they said.
After this stormy meeting, the Board of Directors asked the
Executive Director of the Co-op to present them with an action
plan to rectify the situation.
than 20%, which resulted in a 10% drop in revenues over the
past year. The working environment has also deteriorated.
Employees complain about her management
style, which is
very different from that of her predecessor. She is perceived
as an authoritarian leader.
As she is younger than most of her employees, Korinne wants
to stamp her authority. “If | start asking them for their opinion
about everything, they'll quickly take matters into their own
hands,” she said. As a result, she doesn't leave employees
much wiggle room and makes decisions without notifying
them. She changes their work schedules and constantly
requires them to work overtime. In short, she feels that employees must simply perform the work for which they are paid.
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Korinne Dargis’s situation is not unique. It is even typical of a person who has been hired
for their expertise, in this case nutrition, but who must carry out a managerial role for which
they are not prepared. Faced with the reaction of her employees, she must ask herself various
questions: How can | fulfill my role as a manager? How can I better manage my team in order
to increase their level of commitment and the satisfaction of our customers, who are increasingly demanding? What support can I get from my manager or the Co-op's HR department
to be more effective?
This scenario shows that the role of managers is often complex since it involves multiple
skills and must reconcile interests that, at first glance, appear to be divergent. Fortunately,
the manager does not have to assume the HR management tasks alone. Many other players
and stakeholders contribute to it.
1.1 Evolution of the Human Resources Function
To fully understand the manager’s role and responsibilities in HRM, itis importanttotakea
historical perspective. The human resources function as we understand it today was
non-existent until the end of the 19th century. At that time, the economy and business
F
7
.
= _
—_ Human resources function
4¥man resources management
practices dealing with company
practices were based on a multitude of small, often family-based enterprises, whose owners
—_ performance, the well-being
ran almost all the operations. Think of farmers or small business owners, for example.
—_ of employees and compliance
Self-employed workers were also numerous, such as craftsmen, fishermen, and day labourers.
with laws.
With industrialization came the standardization of processes and products aimed at increasing
productivity. Following studies made on work organization at the beginning of the 20th
century, this standardization extended to management practices. Thus, foremen whose main
responsibilities had been to supervise the work of relatively autonomous and competent
workers became involved in the organization of tasks, recruitment, staffing, training and
control of outcomes based on prescribed standards (Kanigel, 1997).
In the early 1930s, various researchers, including Elton Mayo, demonstrated that a more
humanistic approach increases productivity while reducing the harmful effects of work
standardization, such as workers' lack of interest in the routine aspects of their tasks, absenteeism and employee turnover. The researchers demonstrated that employees become more
productive when their work conditions are improved by introducing breaks, changing
schedules, improving lighting and allowing free discussion in the workplace (O'Connor, 1999).
Thus, these researchers discovered that employees become more productive when managers
take care of them, show them consideration and value their work. They redefined the role
of the manager, whose task was now more about supporting employees than acting as a
technical expert. Such support allows employees to more fully achieve their potential, individually and collectively, and to perceive themselves as something other than simple production units. This makes the manager's role more complex.
At the same time, the enactment of various labour laws in Canada and Québec contributed
to the formalization of an HR function within organizations. We will come back to the legal
aspects of work in Chapter 2 of this book.
The post-war period (1945-1970) was marked by rapid economic growth. However, in the
mid-1970s, rising oil prices led to a painful economic recession that pushed interest rates up
and slowed business growth, leading to extensive restructuring and high unemployment
(Engerman and Gallman, 2000).
To support growth, companies were looking to reduce costs and develop new markets; this
fuelled the phenomenon of globalization. And the transformation did not happen without
profoundly changing the relationship between employers and employees. The trust that the
latter had in the former was greatly affected by decisions to reduce jobs, reorganize, outsource
CHAPTER 1 UNDERSTANDING THE ROLES AND PLAYERS OF HRM
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overseas jobs, automate work and close many businesses related to the restructuring of the
economy. In Québec, this translated into a significant reduction in entire industrial sectors,
such as textiles and shoe manufacturing (D'Amours, 2006).
Since the late 1990s, the pace of change has accelerated. The significant presence of women
and immigrants in the labour market, the aging of the population leading to massive retirements and the desire of younger generations to better balance their work and personal time
are all factors that are transforming the world of labour and human resources management
(Department of Industry, 2008),
Faced with these new challenges, the human resources function is becoming increasingly
important for the sustainability of organizations, and many companies are coming to regard
their employees as a strategic asset. In managing this asset, a number of players are at work.
1.2 Roles of HRM Players
The situation of Co-op Universitat, the subject of the scenario at the beginning of this chapter,
is not uncommon. The arrival of a new manager can lead to a change — positive or negative
~ in the work environment. In the case of the Co-op, Korinne Dargis’s leadership style has
adversely affected the climate, which has had an impact on the cafeteria's performance.
Revenues and customer satisfaction levels have dropped.
_
Player
OF
A person or entity that is part
of the employment relationship
This example illustrates the importance of HR management to an organization's performance.
Korinne is not performing her management role in a satisfactory manner. She believes that
a boss should be authoritative and should know everything, and that the employees need
only perform the tasks for which they are paid. In seeing things this way, Korinne is completely
_ ignoring some important players in human resources management —the employees themselves.
| HRMis shared amonga variety of players: employees, you as a manager, senior management,
that affects pease
human resources professionals and unions. As we will see in the next section, it is also
___
Influencer
An individual, company or
external
interest group that can
influenced by a number of other stakeholders: customers, governments, consultants, external
suppliers and the various advocacy groups that act as influencers. Although these players
4
;,
q
;
do not have a direct
impact on HR practices,
they can have an nd;
indirect impact
on the way
influence the organization's
human resources management.
| Companies manage their employees.
.
Let's examine more closely your role and that of the other players.
1.2.1 Employees
Employees are the human resources of an organization. It is through their actions, behaviours,
skills, work, energy and intelligence that a company can hope to achieve its objectives. For
example, in the case of Co-op Universitat, employee frustrations have probably contributed
to customer dissatisfaction.
The characteristics of employees have a significant impact on how you manage them.
Whether it is their level of education, age, gender or ethnic and cultural origin, all these and
many other factors can impact on the management of human resources in an organization.
Consider the situation of a company with 150 employees, a large proportion of whom are
between 25 and 35 years old. The organization should anticipate that many of its employees
are, or soon will be, young parents, so it would be beneficial to implement work-life balance
practices, such as flexible hours or telework, to accommodate them. Such practices will
reduce childcare absences, reduce voluntary departures and even increase the productivity
of the employees concerned.
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By contrast, in a company with a higher average age, such policies may not match the
demands of employees, who might prefer, for instance, more generous pension plans
and benefits.
1.2.2 Managers
As a manager, your role is to ensure that your employees exhibit appropriate behaviours and
contribute to organizational performance. To this end, managers must translate the objectives
of their business line into specific targets. Imagine a company that wants to increase its
customer satisfaction level by 5% (from 90% to 95%). The manager will have to express this
organizational goal in concrete terms by explaining to employees that factors such as their
telephone etiquette or general attitude will impact customer satisfaction. He/she must
therefore provide clear directions toward the goal that employees can then reproduce in
order to achieve the desired goal.
Let's go back to the example of Korinne at Co-op Universitat. To improve the quality of
customer service in the cafeteria, she will first have to understand what constitutes good
service. She will then have to set behavioural objectives for her employees, such as routinely
greeting customers or smiling at them.
As a manager, you have multiple responsibilities:
- First of all, your communication role is essential: you must act as a conduit between
management and employees. This involves communicating senior management's decisions
to your employees and, in turn, transmitting staff suggestions back to management. This
is a unique role that only you can perform and one that gives you crucial importance in
the process of HR management. In the situation presented at the beginning of this chapter,
Korinne failed to do so, because she was not listening to her team members and did not
keep them apprised of decisions on price or menu changes.
- As a manager, you must also assume the management tasks specifically related to your
team (plan, implement and oversee). In practice, this means you will need to plan your
staffing needs, make the final decision on hiring a new employee, evaluate their performance, recommend a salary increase, be mindful to update their skills, etc. As we will see in
the next few chapters, organizations usually formulate a number of practices to guide
managers in their responsibilities and to ensure a high level of consistency within
the organization.
- More important, the manager plays a key role in mobilizing the employees of his/her
team by using leadership to direct everyone's efforts toward achieving common objectives.
To do this, you must demonstrate to each employee that you believe in the importance of
their contribution to the team's success, We will have the opportunity to discuss mobilization
again in Chapter 11. Unlike the management role, which has mainly a functional purpose
(hiring, remunerating, training, etc.), the mobilization role focuses more on the human and
informal aspects, such as giving recognition. Managers must understand that it is not their
formal authority that mobilizes employees, but rather their competence, integrity and
credibility. Clearly, in the Co-op Universitat situation, Korinne was not able to exercise her
role as mobilizer. By refusing to inform and listen to her employees and by making decisions
unilaterally, she sent them the message that she did not take their skills into consideration.
As a result, employees did the minimum required for their tasks, which affected the performance of the Co-op.
- All managers must also handle administrative tasks such as completing forms or updating
data in the information system, accepting employees’ vacation dates or entering data
on absences.
- Lastly, the manager is the person to whom employees turn when they are experiencing
difficulties. She/he then plays a problem-solving role, as illustrated by the section In the
Heart of the Action on the next page.
CHAPTER 1 UNDERSTANDING THE ROLES AND PLAYERS OF HRM
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In the heart of the action
In a hospital, the care unit employees find that patients _ they report their suspicions? To their manager. Without this
become more nervous and aggressive when two of theircolinformation, the hospital will not be able to take the necessary
leagues in particular are providing care. Without ever witnessdecisions to ensure the quality of care and the achievement
ing any violence, they suspect that these two employees are _ of the hospital's mission.
being rather threatening toward the patients.To whom should
HR practices
—_In carrying out these roles, the manager is adopting human resources, or HR, practices.
apanciersdenbe
These practices represent concrete ways of managing staff. For example, a manager who
he/she has mastered
employee management.
| Wants to engage his/her employees can offer public congratulations when they have suc—_ cessfully dealt with a sensitive issue. This practice is not necessarily written or mandatory
in the organization, but it is an informal and spontaneous way of responding.
Pie
1.2.3 Senior management
Organizational objectives — what the company as a whole wants to achieve — are determined
at the senior management level. Senior management ensures that objectives are aligned with
the mission, vision and values of the organization:
- The mission of an organization is its raison d’étre, the reason why it was created. During
the life of an organization, its mission very rarely changes. No matter what happens, a
grocery store will not provide health care; it will continue to sell food.
®
- An organization's vision is an ideal to be achieved that will necessarily change over time.
Moreover, the pursuit of this vision can be an important source of motivation and commitment for employees. In the previous example, the grocery store could, for example, have
the vision of being the number one grocery store in its neighbourhood.
-
Acompany’s values are the principles and guidelines on which it bases its decisions and
gives them meaning and coherence.
- The vision will undoubtedly dictate the organization's objectives. To be number one in
the neighbourhood, the grocery store must, for instance, offer unparalleled customer service.
~ The objective will in turn have consequences for HR management. To improve its customer
service, the grocery store will have to hire the best employees. And to attract them, it will
need to offer different salaries or work conditions from those of other businesses. It could
also make substantial investments in employee training, including through customer
service programs.
_ __ Senior management, in developing and communicating the mission, vision and organizational
HRpolicy —_ objectives, oversees the implementation of HR policies, i.e. formal rules that dictate HRM
Frebasepecmtr Sian ses
decisions. For example, our grocery store could have a policy requiring all employees to
to oversee human resources
management.
| UNdergo customer service training. This policy will guide managers' actions (their HR prac—_ tices). For instance, they will have to organize work schedules in such a way as to free
employees from their usual tasks so they can undertake the training.
1.2.4 Human resources professionals
Human resources professionals, or HR professionals, are specialists whose mandate is to
formalize human resources practices and to design policies that will support the organization's
mission, vision, objectives and values. For example, they might design a performance
8
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appraisal program with analysis grids and descriptions of roles and responsibilities so that
managers can assess their employees fairly and objectively. These professionals are often
called on to develop tools and programs or to advise managers of other departments to help
them manage their teams.
Although they work in the HR department, not all will manage human resources ona daily
s
.
:,
basis. Only the managers of departments supervise the people who report directly to them.
In addition, they often act as guardians of the organization's sound management practices
and policies. When a manager does not respect established operating procedures, HR professionals intervene, particularly through training or coaching, to help him/her in
team
— Human resources department
An administrative unit
composed of human resource
Professionals.
management.
Let's return to the case of the hospital described in the section In the heart of the action on
the previous page. HR professionals will be required to assist the manager in conducting a
formal investigation into care quality and the level of respect for patients, in accordance with
the procedure established in the organization's regulations, the collective agreement and
applicable legislation. If the investigation uncovers inappropriate behaviour by both employees involved, HR professionals will provide the necessary expertise to determine the right
disciplinary measures and communicate them to the two employees.
1.2.5 Unions
In companies where the workforce is unionized (Chapter 3),the union is the representative
of the employees, according to the terms stipulated in the Québec Labour Code. As such, it
is an important player in HR management since it will negotiate with management the work
conditions of the employees it represents. These conditions are set out in the collective
agreement (Chapter 3, section 3.2.2).
Let's take the example of decisions to assign positions to an employee. In several collective
agreements, unions have negotiated clauses recognizing seniority as a criterion for granting
positions. Thus, if two employees have the necessary skills to assume the responsibilities of
the position, it will be assigned to the more senior employee.
Even in companies with non-unionized workforces, unions can have an impact on HR
management because they are able to influence governments or even customers. Union
representations regarding minimum wage are a good example. This illustrates the fact that
HR management is subject to external influences as well as internal.
1.3 Roles of Influencers
1.3.1 Customers
Customers can influence HR management by choosing whether or not to remain loyal to an
organization. Thus, they could boycott a company that has a bad reputation for the way it
manages its employees. To regain its customers, the organization then needs to review its
HR practices in order to restore its reputation.
The Starbucks coffee chain has had an experience of this kind. After the departure of the
CEO, the new management sought to increase sales per store and reduce costs. As a result,
the company changed its HR practices: it reduced customer service training for baristas and
put pressure on the employees to serve more customers per hour. This new way of working
led to a deterioration of the customer experience. Customers began to abandon Starbucks.
The situation was not resolved until the founder returned, and he made a radical decision
(Schultz and Gordon, 2011): he closed all stores for several days to train employees and
refocus HR practices on the Starbucks philosophy (Schultz and Gordon, 2011).
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1.3.2 Governments
In general, governments are trying to legislate in response to societal changes. They aim to
adopt and reform labour laws to benefit the common good or to respond to perceived
demands from voters or interest groups.
For instance, not long ago, employees who were injured on the job had very few rights and
received minimal benefits. Under pressure from the general population and unions, governments adopted laws on occupational health and safety and occupational diseases. Such laws
are intended, among other things, to protect and compensate employees who have been
injured on the job.
As we will see in Chapter 2, these laws, which must be respected by both employers and
employees, are numerous and affect many aspects of HR management (hiring, compensation,
training, etc.). The body responsible for ensuring their application in Québec is the Commission
des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).
1.3.3 External HR consultants
Depending on their needs, organizations sometimes use the services of external HR consultants. Their specialized expertise is often required within organizations for specific and
time-critical needs. For example, consultants may be called upon to conduct a diagnosis of
the organization's human resources, develop and facilitate the implementation of HR practices, design a new salary structure, search for candidates for a hard-to-fill position, conduct
a psychological harassment investigation or offer training and coaching.
The granting of such external mandates depends on the organization's needs, but above all
on the resources and skills available internally. Consultants are often used as a complement
to the existing HR department.
1.3.4 Advocacy groups
Advocacy groups, such as the Conseil du patronat du Québec, political parties, environmental
and citizens’ groups, large labour unions or other organizations, can also have an impact on
human resources management. For example, they may seek to influence the government to
ensure that the laws it enacts are consistent with their views.
Let's take the example of the debate about setting the minimum wage at $15. Many advocacy
groups have been heard on this issue, including associations against poverty, the Conseil du
patronat, chambers of commerce and the large labour unions. Regardless of whether or not
the minimum wage is finally increased to $15, many companies have been influenced by this
debate and have taken steps to increase the salaries paid to their employees at the bottom
of the scale.
1.4 Objectives and Models of the HR Function
1.4.1 Contribution to organizational performance
As with all organizational functions, the ultimate goal of human resources management is to
contribute to organizational performance in order to ensure its sustainability. This is called
value creation. The HR function mainly contributes to this goal through activities that attract,
retain, develop and mobilize employees.
Numerous studies have shown the importance of HR management by highlighting a link
between a coherent set of HR practices and organizational performance. Why are coherent
HR practices beneficial to the organization?
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Employees of an organization produce value in two
ways: (1) through their skills and (2) through the
development of a particular combination of HR activities
Figure 1.1 Staircase model
that incite them to give of their best (Le Louarn and Wils,
2001). Thus, as the "staircase model" shows, HR
management is at the heart of value creation (Figure
1.1). According to this causal chain, a logical set of HR
activities promotes specific employee attitudes and
behaviours (HR results) that have a positive effect on
the quality of products and services (organizational
results), which ensures the sustainability of the organization (success). We will come back to this point in
Chapter 12 (section 12.3.5).
Long-term
success
Organizational results
Although this cascading shows the impact of HR activities on the company's results, the causal effect remains
incomplete without the contribution of the manager who
implements them through appropriate HRM practices.
Thus, as a manager, you are a key player in the production of value. More specifically, you instigate it as soon
as you take ownership of HR policies and turn them into
HR results
practices that will encourage employees to adopt attitudes
and
behaviours
that
can
produce
organizational results.
Human resource (HR) activities
For example, it is not uncommon to see, within the same
Source: Adapted from Le Louarn (2008).
fast food chain, very different financial results and customer service among different stores, Yet all of the stores
benefit from the same HR policies, which were designed
and disseminated by the HR department at the organization's head office. The difference
between ordinary and extraordinary results often lies in the way management policies are
applied in each store.
That's why in this book we will concentrate on how a manager like you can take ownership
of HR policies and, in the process, bring HR practices to life.
Although HRM practices have changed significantly over the years and continue to evolve
as the needs of organizations change, it would be wrong to claim that they must be consistent
from one organization to another. Rather, they must take into account the internal and external
situation of the organization and adjust accordingly. For example, training practices within
a large company such as a bank are very different from those of a start-up or small to mid-size
enterprise (SME). A bank has a lot of financial and human resources in place to design training
that is very comprehensive and will instill its many internal procedures in employees. A
start-up SME does not have these means and is more concerned about its short-term survival;
it therefore trains its employees in market development rather than in compliance with
procedures that would make it less agile. In this example, it is the internal environment
(financial resources, market orientation) that dictates the best practices to adopt.
As a result, there is no single recipe for defining HR practices within organizations. In order
to contribute to the organization's success, these practices must take into account its internal
and external environments and must be aligned with the organizational objectives set by
senior management.
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1.4.2 HRM models
The diversity of the roles that make up the human resources function today could be
expressed as a continuum, with traditional HRM practices at one end and innovative practices
at the other (Figure 1.2).
Figure 1.2 The HRM continuum
teehee
Sa
In the more traditional model, HR management maintains practices similar to those used 30
or 40 years ago. Labour is mainly regarded as a cost, employees as simple production units
and HR management is often much more reactive than proactive. In this kind of model,
managers tend to apply methods that have been successful in the past, or in other companies,
because they reflect the environment of their current employer. In organizations of this type,
the HR department has an essentially administrative function. For example, if there is high
employee turnover, the company will put more effort into hiring without necessarily questioning the reasons for departures or looking at ways of improving employee job satisfaction.
Thus, it acts like someone trying to fill a bucket with a hole in it. That person will be condemned to pour water into the bucket indefinitely, whereas by mending the hole they could
save themselves a lot of effort and devote their time to more important tasks.
o
This might suggest that the traditional model is outdated and should not be used. Yet, in
many business sectors, such an approach is the norm and consistent with the business model
of organizations. Let's consider customer service centres, commonly referred to as call
centres. In this business sector, employees have to follow a clearly defined procedure in
responding to the various situations presented to them by customers. As a result, they lack
the flexibility to take the initiative or suggest improvements. If the customer's problem is still
unresolved at the end of the interaction, the employee will refer them to another department
called Level 2 Intervention so that someone else can work on the problem. In this type of
organization, the manager's role is primarily to ensure that employees receive training on
the telephone system and the procedures that need to be followed during a call in accordance
with established standards. The manager will set up schedules, conduct hiring to ensure
optimal coverage of time slots and monitor employee performance, including listening to
conversations and analyzing call statistics (wait times, call durations, customer satisfaction
surveys, etc.).
Let's go back for a moment to the scenario presented at the beginning of this chapter. We
can clearly recognize the more traditional style of Korinne Dargis, the manager of the Co-op
Universitat cafeteria. Promoted for her skills in nutrition, but without managerial experience,
she never learned to lead and mobilize a team. She seems to believe that the contribution
of her employees is limited to the tasks they perform. Although she has made positive changes
in the diversity of menus to better meet customer expectations, she alone decides what
should be done and how it should be done, without consulting employees or enriching her
thinking with their proposals and suggestions. However, better communication and a more
inclusive decision-making process would certainly encourage employees to promote the
new menus and better control costs. After all, they do the work on the front line and have
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direct, daily contact with customers. This would undoubtedly have a significant impact on
productivity, customer service and, ultimately, cafeteria traffic and sales.
Conversely, in an innovative model, spending on human resources is regarded as an investment and employees as an asset that the organization seeks to develop. Here, the role of the
HR function is central to all the organization's activities and constantly adapts to different
situations, even if it means developing its own practices. Consider the example of the Lauralco
aluminum smelter in the Portneuf region, a subsidiary of the multinational Alcoa, described
in the following section.
In the heart of the action
The Lauralco aluminum smelter is known for its highly decentralized management approach, based on the considerable
decision-making autonomy of its production teams. The
company’s staffing strategy favours internal recruitment, and
the alignment of values between candidate and organization
takes precedence over technical skills. Ninety-six percent of
the employees hired when the plant opened had no technical expertise in the aluminum smelter sector. Training and
skills development are therefore strongly encouraged, with
an annual average of more than 60 hours of training per
employee. Reward systems are oriented towards collective
rather than individual performance, and the amount of
bonuses paid is the same, regardless of the employee's position in the company. Non-financial recognition is also a central
HR practice in Lauralco's organizational culture, to which all
managers adhere. Such a strategy has resulted in this plant
achieving some of the best results of all the multinational’s
plants in terms of customer and employee satisfaction rates,
turnover rates, health and safety and productivity (Dompierre
et al., 2003).
1.4.3 Different configurations of the HR function
As we have just seen, the HR function is dependent on an organization’s situation and the
management model adopted by its managers. The size of the organization and its level of
development can also influence the HR function: from being non-existent in a very small
organization, it can be very elaborate in a large organization. Figure 1.3 illustrates in three
diagrams the evolution of the complexity of the HR function by size of organization.
These patterns show that operational activities are much more important in smaller organizations than in larger ones. The activities include:
- enforcement of laws, personnel regulations and internal policies;
- HR process management, such as recruitment and staffing, training and skills development,
compensation, performance appraisal, career management, occupational health, safety and
well-being, individual and collective workplace relationships, etc.
The HR operational role is a part of all organizations and must be efficient and effective: a
payroll department cannot make miscalculations in employee compensation or fail to pay
amounts that are due into employees’ bank accounts. This would be illegal, unacceptable
and would undermine the credibility of the HR function.
Once an organization has reached a certain size, all functions tend to organize themselves
and become structured, The same applies to the HR function. The functional role of HR
goes beyond the simple application of laws and regulations and the management of HR
processes. Functional HR activities actively contribute to the development of HR policies
and go beyond the technical. In larger organizations, they are concentrated in centres of
specialized expertise (payroll and benefits, labour relations, skills development, attraction,
staffing, etc.).
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Figure 1.3 Evolution of the complexity of the HR function
Strategic
Strategic
Strategic
Functional
Functional
Operational
Operational
Operational
Very small team
No HR department
SME
Undeveloped HR department
Large company
Developed HR department
Lastly, the strategic HR role is important in any organization, regardless of its size. This can
be performed by HR professionals in larger organizations or by senior management in smaller
organizations. The HR function becomes strategic when HR activities are perfectly aligned
with the company's strategy. It's not only about doing things right, but also doing the right
things, those that truly bring value to the organization, its customers, shareholders, employees
and other stakeholders. The section In the heart of the action below illustrates the link
between organizational strategy and HR strategy.
In the heart of the action
In 2013, the Montreal daily newspaper La Presse announced _ new business strategy. As a result, La Presse had to adapt
that it would end its paper edition and begin a transition to _ its hiring practices, and review its work organization, training
digital media by 2016. Such a change cannot happen overand compensation programs to execute a project that would
night and requires the alignment of HR practices with the _ transform the entire company (Crevier, 2013).
As we can see, there is a great deal of variety in the way the HR function is carried out. In
all cases, HR management must allow employees to contribute to organizational performance,
but this contribution varies depending on the business model and strategy of the company.
An effective HR function is characterized by the alignment of HR strategy with business
strategy and the coherence of the HR practices implemented. The section on the next page
shows that two very different organizations will not necessarily adopt the same HR practices.
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In the heart of the action
Consider two retail stores: a luxury jewellery store and a chain
How to develop HR practices in these environments? The table
of dollar stores. Both have similar functions: store operations,
accounting and finance, purchasing, marketing, supply chain
and human resources. But the functional practices of each
below illustrates the potential differences.
will be dictated by the organization's strategy. In the luxury
jewellery business, competitive advantage consists in offering
customers exclusive products, with authentic certified precious
stones, produced by renowned craftsmen. The organization
will have taken care to create a high-end shopping environment in a chic area of the city and will offer personalized
service to each of the customers it wishes to retain. For the
dollar stores, the competitive advantage consists in offering
prices that defy all competition. In order to be able to offer
such prices, the company must limit its costs, renting the
cheapest possible premises and minimizing its maintenance
and store outfitting costs. It will buy products of average or
inferior quality, in very large quantities, in order to benefit from
Both companies will adopt practices to operationalize their
HR strategy. The jewellery store hopes that these practices will
allow it to attract and retain the most competent people in the
field, who will mobilize to provide the outstanding service it
wishes to offer customers and for which it is known. The dollar
stores, on the other hand, need low-skilled staff to perform
simple, repetitive and standardized tasks. The company will
therefore not invest excessively in its employees, especially
since it must keep costs as low as possible to achieve an
already very small profit margin.
Aligning the practices of the various functions will aid the
successful implementation of the strategy. Thus, these two
companies, even if they have totally different HR practices,
can both be commercially successful.
discounts on the purchase price. Its administrative processes
will be unsophisticated, and its investments in information
systems will be minimal.
Dollar store
HR practices
Staff
Very selective
Limited to a few basic criteria, such as the
availability of candidates
Compensation
Generous
Minimally developed
Skills development
Highly developed
Minimally developed
Pustavnasce evaluation
Detailed and ongoing
None (dismissal of employees who do not meet
Talent and career management
Priority
performance criteria)
None
Employer-employee relations
Based on consultation and participation
Based on the task at hand
Work organization
Well-coordinated
Individual and segmented
Internal communication
Regular on all aspects of the business, in the
short, medium and long term
Minimal, based on daily tasks
1.5 Structure and Orientation of This Book
As you will have understood, this book focuses on the manager's perspective; that is, the
person who is in direct contact with the members of a team. The manager may also be
referred to as a supervisor, immediate supervisor, foreman, front-line manager, first-level
manager or team leader. This managerial viewpoint does not mean that the strategic
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perspective is of little importance or that technical topics directly related to human resources
professionals (such as the development of training programs) have no place in the training
of business students. These strategic and technical dimensions are regularly covered in the
basic books on human resources management (Dolan and Saba, 2013; St-Onge et al., 2017).
A mastery of these topics is not essential for managers who do not work in a HR department.
Why then should they be taught to students who wish to pursue a management career?
Shouldn't we just let HR professionals acquire these specialized skills?
What this book does is concentrate on the most important player in HR management, the
one who is best positioned to guide his/her team toward achieving the organization's objectives, And that is the manager. It must be noted that the manager’s perspective has often been
neglected, both in basic books and in research.
Yet most business students move into management positions in non-HR positions early in
their careers. This book is specifically intended for those who have chosen a career as a
manager in accounting, finance, production, marketing, information technology, etc. It is also
meant for those who wish to learn about HR management before deepening their knowledge
in specialized courses. Lastly, it addresses practising managers who have been trained in
other disciplines such as engineering or law, who manage teams and who feel the need to
better understand the fundamentals of HR management. Whether you are a student or a
practising manager, our objectives are: (1) to explain the challenges you will face in managing
your employees; (2) to show that the way in which these challenges are addressed can
contribute to (or hinder) the achievement of your organization's objectives; and (3) to propose
tools that will help you make the decisions best suited to your situation.
Regardless of the size of the team you are managing, you will need to spend a significant
amount of time developing action plans to achieve operational results. Since the achievement
of your objectives largely depends on the contribution of your team members, you will have
to engage in a number of HRM activities: planning teamwork, assigning tasks to employees,
evaluating their performance, training, mobilization, transmitting information relevant to the
performance of the work, etc.
®
You will also have to interact with the HR department, which will support you in the daily
management of your employees in order to deal with, for example, absenteeism or interpersonal conflicts. You will also need the expertise of HR professionals to guide you in your
management decisions on more specialized topics, such as interpretation of laws or seeking
innovative ways to overcome certain difficulties.
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Ata
Glance
Before making a human resources decision, the manager must weigh six elements: his/her
knowledge, the HRM tools available, his/her roles and responsibilities, the support of the
HR department, the roles of other players and the pitfalls or errors to avoid (Figure 1.4).
Figure 1.4 The manager and human resources
Available HRM tools
Essential knowledge
Pitfalls or mistakes to avoid
The manager and
human
resources
Role of other players
Support from HR department
Manager's roles and
responsibilities
First, managers will use the HR management knowledge they have acquired over time to
solve problems or make choices. The purpose of this book is to introduce them to the essential
knowledge in which they should be proficient. For example, knowledge of the vocabulary
specific to this field of expertise is a prerequisite for effective communication with
HR professionals.
Second, managers must be aware of the range of tools that the HR department or senior
management makes available to them. By tools we mean forms, analysis grids, various
techniques, computerized systems, etc. that will help managers to assume their responsibilities. When an organization is unionized, the collective agreement becomes another work
tool for the manager.
Third, managers must identify the responsibilities and roles assigned to them. Knowing your
responsibilities helps to avoid jurisdictional conflicts among the different players in HR
management. Fourth, managers must look at the assistance that the HR department can
provide: advice, support, collaboration, etc.
Subsequently, other players, internal or external, have important roles to play in HR. Consider
the unions, which influence the nature of HR policies and practices. Lastly, managers must
be wary of the pitfalls and errors that lie in wait, for example, in believing that a successful
professional will necessarily make a good manager.
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Are You
Ready?
1. What roles can | play in human resources management?
As a manager, your central role is to ensure that your employees demonstrate appropriate
behaviour and contribute to organizational performance. For this purpose, you must translate
the objectives of your business line into concrete and specific targets. Among other things,
you must ensure good communication with your employees and with other stakeholders of
the company, assume your management responsibilities (plan, implement and control),
mobilize your employees, perform certain administrative tasks and solve problems that arise.
See section 1.2.2.
2. Who are the players and stakeholders in HRM?
Human resources management is shared among different players: employees, you as a
manager, senior management, HR management professionals and unions. It is also influenced
by several stakeholders: customers, governments, consultants, other external suppliers and
various advocacy groups. Although they do not have a direct impact on HR practices, these
influencers can have an indirect impact on the way companies manage their employees.
o
See section 1.2.
3. What are the objectives of HRM?
The main objective of HR management is to contribute to organizational performance in
order to ensure its sustainability. This is called value creation. The HR function mainly
contributes to this goal through activities that attract, retain, develop and mobilize employees.
HR management is at the core of value creation, as a coherent set of HR activities promotes
appropriate employee attitudes and behaviours that have a positive impact on the quality of
products and services, ensuring the financial health and sustainability of the organization.
See section 1.4.1.
4. What differentiates the two HRM models?
In the traditional model, labour is mainly regarded as a cost, employees as simple production
units, and HR management is often much more reactive than proactive. In this type of
organization, the HR department mainly occupies an administrative function. Conversely,
in an innovative model, spending on human resources is considered to be an investment
and employees an asset that the company seeks to develop. Here, the role of the HR function
is central to all the organization's activities and constantly adapts to different situations, even
if it means developing its own practices.
See section 1.4.2.
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5. What justifies the different configurations of the HR function?
The HR function is dependent on the situation of an organization and the management model
adopted by its managers. The size of the organization and its level of development have an
influence on the HR function. While often non-existent in very small organizations, this
function can be very elaborate in a large company.
See section 1.4.3.
On
Your
Mark,
Get Set...
e
Review!
@
.© e e
1.
Who are the internal players in HR manage
responsibilities?
2.
What distinguishes an HR practice from an
3.
What differentiates very small companies from large ones in terms of their
HR function?
4.
What steps can lead HR practices to influence financial performance and
organizational sustainability? Why?
:
=
What are the six elements of the manager's decision-making model?
5.
Loading
e
&
MyBookshelf
> My eLab > Documents
> Answer Key to Review Questions
Discuss!
1.
Why does the manager's role differ depending on whether his/her organization
adheres to a traditional or renewed model? The decentralization of responsibilities to
the manager has advantages, such as speed of decision making, but does it not also
have disadvantages?
2.
Why does the performance of a functional department such as marketing or finance
depend on the method used by the manager to manage his/her employees?
3.
Why does the HR function have to follow and adapt to the evolution of the
organization?
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Your Turn!
Fierce competition forces many organizations to find ways to improve their performance.
This is the situation of a retail business: senior management has asked each of its stores to
reorganize work in order to reduce costs. However, it leaves it to the store managers to
determine how to achieve this objective.
In mid-summer, the manager of one of the Joliette stores, who had been on the job for just
under a year, unilaterally decided to reorganize the work as follows: (1) he reduced the
number of hierarchical levels by one by eliminating the position of Assistant Manager; (2)
he changed the names of positions from Manager, Assistant Manager, Supervisors and
Employees to Manager, Team Leaders and Associates; (3) he made the role of Team Leader
more central, due to his/her relationship with the manager, making it narrower, as well as
the mobilization role he is called upon to play with the associates in conjunction with the
manager. Two days after making this decision, the manager met with the store employees
for about 15 minutes to inform them of the upcoming changes. He then distributed a one-page
document outlining the reorganization.
Immediately, panic spreads among the store employees. The assistant manager is opposed
to this reorganization, not knowing whether he will be able to be transferred elsewhere in
the company. The team leaders, who are already overworked, are afraid of having to assume
the responsibilities of the assistant manager, whose position will be eliminated. As for the
employees, now called “associates,” they fear that their team leader is so busy he will no
longer be able to help them. As they return from vacation, employees are informed of the
changes by their colleagues. Rumours are starting to circulate, and the resistance is
getting organized.
&
Three months have passed since the manager announced his reorganization. However, no
measures have been implemented to date. Already a number of employees (mainly younger
ones) and a team leader have resigned. The holiday season, which is crucial for retail sales,
is fast approaching...
Questions
1. Why did this reorganization trigger so many reactions from employees? What beliefs
probably influenced the manager's approach?
2. Could the manager have done it any other way? If so, how?
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Schultz, H., and Gordon, J.(2011). Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing
Its Soul, Rodale, 350 p.
St-Onge, S., Guerrero, S., Haines, V., and Brun, J.-P. (2017). Relever les défis de la gestion
des ressources humaines, 5" edition, Cheneliére Education, 459 p.
CHAPTER 1 UNDERSTANDING THE ROLES AND PLAYERS OF HRM
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PART1
Putting HRM in Context
Managing
and Respecting
Individual
Rights
Urwana Coiquaud
p.25_ 2.1 Managerial Goals and Employment Relationship Law
p.25_ 2.2 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities and the Legal Environment
p.33_ 2.3 Managing Individual Employment Relationships
ON YOUR MARK...
As a manager, your work environment is subject to a number of rules (laws,
regulations, contracts, standards, policies). In this context, several questions arise:
1. How much leeway is there in managing individual employment relationships?
2. How can | choose the resource people that | might need to consult? When
should | plan a meeting with them and how should | prepare for this meeting?
3. Do | know my legal environment well?
4. What kind of behaviour and attitudes can | expect from my employees?
What can they expect from me and the organization?
5. What problem situations deserve special attention on my part?
82021491-ERPL_AVMPG_02_Ch2_EN.indd 23
Work
|
Scenario
You have just been hired as a manager in the sales department
of the Agilinbio company.
Your workday has just started and you receive a visit from
Robert, who has been a driver with the delivery department
for only a year. He looks downcast and his eyes are red. He
asks permission to take four days off to be with his spouse,
who has been seriously injured in an accident.
You are wondering how to reply to his request when a colleague informs you that Ernesto, who does follow-up on
orders, has made
a mistake and is trying to cover it up by
falsifying the original purchase order. This behaviour infuriates you! You haven't had time to calm down yet when Esther
bursts into your office. She is one of a group of people whose
schedules have been changed following a reorganization in
the shipping department. Now they have to work on Saturday.
However, in her religion, Saturday, the Sabbath, is a day of
You are on your way to the shipping department where Esther
works to speak with her supervisor. You meet Mathieu, who
almost knocks you over in the hallway. After being jostled
around, you expect a few words of apology, but he keeps
going as if nothing happened. You notice that Mathieu is not
in a good mood because the human resources department
refused to give him the leave he asked for. Since then, he has
been unpleasant with his colleagues and with clients. You find
his sulkiness intolerable and intend to put a stop to it.
On top of that, your department's services are often paralyzed
because of all sorts of computer problems. You plan to use
the services of a computer specialist to solve the problem
and are wondering whether to hire him as an employee or a
consultant. One thing seems certain this morning: managing
clients is much easier than managing employees!
rest. As a practising Jew, she wants her schedule changed so
she can respect her religious obligations. Your reassure her
and say that you will do what it takes to settle the problem
right away.
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, MANAGE!
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In the following sections we will highlight the legal aspects of certain decisions you will
be asked to make as manager.
2.1 Managerial Goals and Employment Relationship Law
In your day-to-day work as a manager, it is important that you have a thorough understanding of the various laws governing individual employment relationships, and know
how to solve common contentious issues. Can one work alone in this field? What reflexes
does one need to acquire?
In order to answer these questions, you will have to learn to better define your role and
responsibilities in the legal context and clearly understand the tools available to you, as
well as identifying people who can assist you. Once we have mapped out these areas, we
will explore individual employment relationships from three perspectives:
1.What does a manager have
non-discrimination principles?
to know
about
the
employment
contract
and
2. What are the minimum labour standards and what is the impact of these rules?
3. How and under what terms does an employment relationship end?
2.2 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities and the
Legal Environment
Over the past few decades, the regulatory environment for human resources managers
has become more complex, modernized or reformed. Whether considering the introduction
of psychological harassment provisions, the creation of the CNESST or the improvement
of standards, each of these examples shows the importance of being familiar with one’s
legal environment and its potential changes. After first examining the manager's role and
responsibilities, we will describe this environment
2.2.1 The managerial role
As you exercise your managerial functions, you will wear two hats: one as an employee in
the organization and the other as a manager in charge of other employees. This double
task, with its advantages and responsibilities, is both demanding and stimulating.
- As an employee, you have rights and obligations to fulfill. You must be present during
the hours required, do the work asked of you and act professionally. In return, you will
receive a salary, vacation, paid holidays, etc.
- As a manager, depending on the organization your work for, you may be an executive.
When that is the case, you embody the authority and the image of the employer; your
behaviour must be exemplary'. Otherwise, the relationship of trust between you and your
.
°
employer will be compromised.
As an executive and a manager, you will at times be faced with situations that require you
A
4
i
a
y
.
to take legal ramifications
into account. In fairly
straightforward
situations,
as in. the case of
granting Robert days off, you may be able to make the decision yourself. Other cases, such
as Esther's, will require the intervention of the HR department (if available in your company)
or the services of a professional such as a lawyer, HR advisor or labour relations advisor. In
f
sae
that case, as with Esther, it is up to you to carefully prepare the file. In the following Toolbox
in the executive and relies on
you will find a few tips for managing these situations.
professionalism.
1. Savardc. Hydro-Québec (2003) QCCRT 376 (CanLIl), par. 107,
Rivigres (2017) QCTAT 632, par. 239, 264-265.
Hi
Executive
Employee to whom the
one bane pes ech of his/
er authority,
employee
‘anaures
the eugamion
endl
contro! of operations and
_retains autonomy. In return,
the employer has confidence
112-115; Geélimas et Université du Québec @ Trois-
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Toolbox
Preparing a meeting with the HR department or a professional (advisor
or lawyer)
Before the meeting
- Gather related documents; make copies of the originals, which will be kept
aside, and hand out only the copies. For example, you may need:
* pay slips;
- employment contract or collective agreement in effect, or employer policies
outlined in the employee handbook;
+ correspondence (emails, faxes, regular mail);
- amendments (changes made to the contract after it was signed);
- letters or disciplinary notices;
- medical certificates;
- minutes or reports of meetings;
+ receipts for expenses.
- Establish a timeline for the events.
- List the names of the people involved.
- Make a list of questions you would like clarified.
During the meeting
- Explain the facts relevant to the case concisely and accurately.
- Reveal all the information you possess, both negative and positive. Leave it up
to the advisor or lawyer to decide what he considers pertinent.
e
Whatever the situation, as a manager you will be in charge of putting together the file, or
at least, gathering or reconstructing the facts. Vigilance, careful application to the task at
hand, and meticulous organization of your work will enable you to perform your new
leadership functions to the best of your ability.
2.2.2 The manager's management rights
Managers are the channel for communicating decisions and information between management and employees. They exercise management rights through delegation. Undoubtedly
their management responsibilities vary. The legal rights of managers stem from a variety
of factors, such as the company’s philosophy, size, and sector of activity, or the existence
of standards and rules to be followed, Managers have discretionary power in certain
situations (for example, to hire the person they feel is the most competent). On the other
hand, in other situations their power is limited by the presence of specialists who are in
charge of the problem (the HR department) or the existence of guidelines and rules which
they must strictly adhere to (company policies, for example).
The following example illustrates the complexity and importance of the decisions a manager
makes, as well as their repercussions.
26
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In the heart of the action
During work hours, you catch Paul surfing a website containing
inappropriate content.
- You pretend you haven't seen anything and head towards
your office without saying a word. Doesn't your silence give
the message that this kind of conduct is tolerated? Does it
follow organizational guidelines and practices? Could this
act be considered theft, stealing time? Can you close your
eyes to this kind of conduct?
- You fire the guilty employee on the spot. Is this legal? Does
your company have a directive on Internet usage? If so, what
does it state?
- You call Paul into your office and impose a disciplinary
measure. What kind of disciplinary action can you take? Do
the company’s policies include rules regarding Internet use?
Does company policy dictate precise measures for this type
of transgression? In the past, have you had to deal with similar cases? If the answer is “yes,” can you put that experience
to use? Has Paul ever been subject to disciplinary measures?
- You let him know verbally that it is inappropriate to visit
this type of site, but you do not take any disciplinary action.
Should you count on the HR department for direction?
A manager's function is crucial regarding the application of rules prescribed by law. Note,
however, that this is not the sole responsibility of the manager. Internally, and depending
on the issue at hand, you could benefit from the support of the HR department or, in its
absence, that of management. Externally, depending on the type of problem and the
economic sector of the company, managers can contact associations, sectoral committees
or government organizations (e.g. CNESST) to obtain information and documentation.
Sometimes, they can also take a training session or seek a lawyer's advice.
2.2.3 The manager's legal environment in the management of
individual employment relationships
As a manager, the legal environment you work in is governed by several legal sources:
administrative directives, regulations, employment contracts, collective agreements (see
Chapter 3) and laws, How do you find your way through all of these? The goal of the
following sections is to provide information on each of these sources. To start with, you
must first decide whether the company falls under federal or provincial jurisdiction.
Federal or provincial jurisdiction?
In our country’s federal system, jurisdictions are shared between the federal government
and the provinces. Through this division, approximately 90% of the Canadian labour force
is subject to provincial laws and 10% to federal laws. As a result, managers must decide
whether federal or provincial labour laws apply to their company.
The answer to this question is complex, but be aware that labour relationships generally
fall under provincial jurisdiction. In principle, managers in the province of Québec apply
provincial labour provisions when the nature of the company’s activity falls under provincial
jurisdiction. Conversely, when its activity falls under federal jurisdiction, federal laws apply
to labour relationships.
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Another question also arises: Which activities fall exclusively under federal jurisdiction?
As a general rule, federally regulated companies are those that involve: a) dealings with
other countries (for example, air routes, air or maritime transport, broadcasting); b) interprovincial links (road and rail transportation between provinces); or c) the national interest
(nuclear energy, national defence, currency and coinage, and banking). This rule is fraught
with exceptions, which this book will not cover (to learn more about the subject, see Brun,
Tremblay and Brouillet, 2014). In the next few sections, we will present the regulatory
environment of a manager working in a company under provincial jurisdiction.
Labour legislation
A myriad of laws apply to the labour field. Unfortunately for the manager, there is no code
that brings all the legal provisions together in one document. The legal environment,
represented in a non-exhaustive way here, is very fragmented, as shown in Figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1
Labour legislation of Human Resources Management in Quebec
Voluntary
Retirement Savings
Plan Act
Charter of Human
Rights and
Freedoms
Act Respecting
Industrial Accidents and
Occupational Diseases
Québe
®
Civil Code
Act Respecting
Occupational
Health and Safety
Charter of the
French Language
Act Respecting
Labour
Standards
National
Holiday Act
Act Respecting the
Protection of Personal
Information in the
Private Sector
Act Respecting Workforce
Vocational Training and
Qualification
Pay Equity Act
Act Respecting
Equal Access to
Employment in
Public Bodies
28
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Each of the laws shown in Figure 2.1 has a specific objective. For example, the Act Respecting
Occupational Health and Safety deals with methods of preventing accidents and occupational
disease. The Act Respecting Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases indemnifies the
person suffering from occupational injuries. Laws also define the people they apply to. For
example, in the Act Respecting Labour Standards, senior management, in principle, is
excluded from its application. This means that senior managers cannot invoke its provisions.
To sum up, each law has a specific purpose and deals with a particular group of people.
Notable exceptions, however, are the Québec Civil Code and the Québec Charterof Human
Rights and Freedoms. These documents have a broader scope than the laws mentioned
above and do not apply exclusively to workers. The Québec Civil Code deals with aspects
other than labour law, such as filiation and marriage. In addition, the Charter of Human
Rights and Freedoms has a broader application than just working relationships, since it
concerns the lessee and the client, as well as the worker.
Table 2.1 contains a listing of the laws that include provisions affecting employees. The
purpose of each law is indicated and an example is given of how it is applied.
Table 2.1 Overview of labour laws
Law and
rafaranee
Year
Purpose of the law
ed
Example of application
1975
Charter of Human
Rights and Freedoms,
RS.0.¢.C-12
1991
Québec Civil Code, LQ. | Governs relationships of a private nature
Julian is thinking about going to work for our
1991
competitor. Doesn't the non-competition clause in his
employment contract prevent that?
1977
Charter of the French
States fundamental rights and freedoms and sets anti- | Kali asks for five days off to practise his religion.
Am |
| discrimination standards in the labour field
obliged to give them to him?
Protects the French language in the workplace
language, R.S.0.
chapter C-11
1965
Labour Code, R.5.0.,
knowledgeof Spanish, Can | demand that he master
the language?
Deals with collective working relationships
chapter C-27
1979
Act Respecting Labour
Standards, R.S.0.,
chapter N-1,1
For this promotion, Lucas is required to have a good
Menwan is encouraging his colleagues to unionize.
Can | reprimand him?
| Sets minimum labour standards and grants
employees recourse in the case of dismissals
Suzanne refuses to work overtime. Can she be given a
disciplinary measure for insubordination?
2000
Act Respecting Equal
Establishes a framework for equal access to address
Access to Employment | the situation of certain groups discriminated against
in Public Bodies,
in employment (women, native peoples, visible
R.S.0., chapterA-2.01 | minorities and people whose mother tongue is
neither French nor English)
Atraining day organized by the company is aimed
| mainly at women. Is this decision justified and does it
comply with legislation?
1996
Pay Equity Act,R.S.0.,
chapter E-12.001
| Corrects the wage gap created by systemic
discrimination based on gender against people who
occupy predominantly female job classes
People holding positions as secretaries, mainly
| women, are paid an average of 15% less than what
men receive for a comparable job. Does this comply
with legislation?
1978
National Holiday Act,
States that June 24 is a statutory general holiday
To finish up an order, two teams would have to work
R.S.Q., chapter F-1.1
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on June 24. Can | demand that they do so?
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Table 2.1
Overview of labour laws (continued)
Year
Purpose of the law
Example of application
Act Respecting the
Ensures the protection of personal information and
Eva is asking for her disciplinary file. Can | refuse to
Protection of Personal
sets rules concerning its collection, retention, use and | give itto her?
Information in the
Private Sector, R.S.Q.,
chapter P-39.1
disclosure in the work environment
1979
Act Respecting
Occupational Health
and Safety, R.S.0.,
chapter $-2.1
Focuseson eliminating hazards to the health, safety | Frederico refuses to work because of the cold. His
and physical integrity of personnel; determines the —_| fingers are numb although he wears gloves. He is
tights and obligations of workers, employers and their | afraid of endangering his colleagues because he
respective associations; establishes the mechanisms | cannot perform the exacting work required by his job.
and recourse available to make the provisions of the | What decision should | make?
lawa reality
1985
Act Respecting
Industrial Accidents
and Occupational
Diseases, R.S.0.,
chapter A-3,001
Establishes the rightto compensation, rehabilitation,
medical assistance and retum to work for victims of
work-related accidents and occupational diseases
2014
Voluntary Retirement | Proposes a group retirement savings plan gradually
Savings Plan Act, RSQ, | accessible in Québec companiesto employees
chapter R-17.0.1
choose to join it, the purpose being to encourage retire.
ment savings
for all Québec workers.
1996
Law
ane
Twenty employees of the consulting firm would like to
contribute
to a vol:
i
savings plan.As a
| manager, are you required to contribute?
There are numerous laws relating to labour activities. This variety can be explained by the
way contemporary labour law has been put together — piecemeal, depending on the
interests or needs of the moment. It is thus important for managers to clearly define the
problem they are facing. They must first identify the law or laws that may apply to the
situation at hand and then make certain that the person(s) presumably referred to by the
provision is (are) in fact covered by these laws.
Web Links
Commission des droits de
la personne et des droits
de la jeunesse (CDPDJ)
From these laws, certain obligations and rights will ensue that, in the event of
non-compliance, will allow access to remedies before administrative tribunals responsible
for interpreting and applying the laws. These are sometimes in addition to the ordinary
courts (common law courts), which we will not address here. Figure 2.2 connects the
laws, the administrative agencies responsible for their implementation and enforcement,
and the courts that deal with complaints alleging contravention of the law and that resolve
disputes. It is important to note that each right granted by a law engenders a forum for
debate, in other words, a jurisdiction that can be called upon to ensure that the law is either
upheld or overturned, or otherwise interpreted, thus creating jurisprudence.
cdpdij.qc.ca
Commission des normes,
de l’équité, de la santé et
de la sécurité du travail
(CNESST)
cnesst.gouv.qc.ca
Jurisprudence
A body of decisions,
sufficiently in agreement,
handed down by jurisdictions
on a question of law (Guillien
and Vincent,
| Essya is back at her job after a work accident. Her
doctor has prescribed a progressive return to work,
starting with four days a week for two months and
then back to full time. Can I speed up the process?
1988).
Employment contract
Most government bodies, such as the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et
de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), provide training, guidelines and documentation. They
also offer mediation and reconciliation services.
The environment a manager works in is composed of both general and specific laws and
regulations. Added to these are clauses that employees negotiate individually with the
employer (individual employment contracts) and clauses found within an employee association (collective agreements), which together make up the contractual environment of
employment relationships.
Acontract by which a person -
the employee - undertakes for
a limited period to do work
for remuneration, according to
the instructions and under the
direction or control of another
person - the employer.
The manager's contractual environment
As we will see in Chapter 3, in a unionized company the collective agreement defines
employees’ working conditions. If there is no collective agreement, the employment
contract details the application of employment relationships.
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Figure 2.2
Organizations and specialized courts responsible for applying laws relating to labour activities
Human Rights
Tribunal
Commission des droits de la
personne et des droits de la
Jeunesse (CDPDJ)
Charter of Human
Rights and
Freedoms
Act Respecting
Labour Standards
Labour Standards
National Holiday
Act
Labour Tribunal
Act Respecting
Occupational Health
and Safety
sion des normes, de
de la santé et de la
sécurité du travail (CNESST)
Occupational Health
and Safety
Act Respecting
Industrial Accidents
and Occupational
Diseases
Pay Equity
Grievance arbitrator
Pay Equity Act
Labour Code
In cases where these two conventions coexist, the collective agreement prevails, even if an
individual contract of employment was concluded previously’.
We should note, however, that employment relationships, both collective and individual,
are subject to a legislative framework that includes public order laws. These are
“command-and-control” laws that are binding on the parties and determine an absolute
standard (prohibition of discrimination, for example) or set a minimum standard (such as
minimum wage). The Act Respecting Labour Standards / (A. L. S.) is a public order law’,
meaning that any provision in a collective agreement or employment contract that deviates
minimum standard.
2 Isidore Garon itée v. Tremblay; Fillion et Fréres (1976) inc. v. Syndicat nationaldes employés de garage du Québec inc.,
(2006) 1 RCS. 27, par. 47.
3. Sections 93 and 94, A.LS.
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from this law or an accompanying regulation would be null and void. Consequently, the
parties to the contract cannot digress from the public order law or claim it does not apply.
Lawmakers also provide for a legal system that applies “by default” when parties have
made no agreement. In practical terms, this means that if you hire an employee without
an Officially signed employment contract, the law stipulates a series of rights and obligations
that pertain both to the employee and employer. For example, the Québec Civil Code
obliges employees to be loyal.
Legislation thus creates the framework within which the parties may agree on working
conditions that will be specified in the employment contract (in a non-unionized environment)
or in the collective agreement (in a unionized environment). In addition, the employer can
add rules. We will discuss these rules in the following section.
The manager and company policies
The development and implementation of human resources management policies are an
integral part of an employer's rights. They may be specified in an employee handbook
or a guide. It is important that they become proficient in the rules it sets forth, so they
can inform employees of them, explain them as required and see that they are respected.
Applying these directives will ensure fair and thorough management of working conditions and the methods and rules for company operations.
In general, the first draft of the handbook and subsequent updates will be developed by
the human resources department. In the absence of an HR department, managers will
have to assume this responsibility jointly with company management. The handbook
typically contains three sections: presentation of the company, working conditions and
internal policies. Details under these categories are supplied only as examples.
Toolbox
Sections typically found in the employee handbook
Presentation
the company
~ History
~ Mission
~ Orientations
~ Activities
~ Organizational
flowchart
of
Working
Company
conditions
policies
- Probation period
~ Working hours
~ Pay
~ Leave (sick, annual, matemity,
parental, training)
- Holidays
~ Breaks
- Fringe benefits
~ Travel expenses
~ Harassment
~ Using information
and
communication technology
~ Personal appearance
= Use of tobacco, cannabis,
alcohol and drugs
The handbook must, above all, conform to existing legislation. It must be updated regularly.
Certain situations may require an interpretation of a text or raise issues not foreseen when
a law was passed, as shown in the example on the next page.
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In the heart of the action
In your company, the employee handbook offers employees
hopes to take advantage of the company’s program to take
the opportunity to take unpaid study leaves. Evita, who worksas _ the course, but you refuse the request. Obviously, your intera bookkeeper, is keen on sailing. She plans to take atwo-month _ pretation of the notion of study leave is narrower than Evita’s.
training course at a renowned British sailing school. Evita
In this example, the handbook does not in fact define the kind of “studies” that qualify for a
leave. There is no indication as to whether the study leave is restricted to academic studies.
This lack of precision may give rise to interpretation. The manager or the human resources
department must therefore carefully consider the decision, in order to assess the present
and future effects it may have on employees and the organization.
The handbook must be written in clear, precise language — this is just as important as the
document's distribution. For the manager to be able to act, it is crucial that the guide be
made available to the employees. When the handbook contains policies that the company
considers important (for example, directives concerning Internet usage), it is recommended
that all employees sign an acknowledgement that they have received a copy.
Rules included in the handbook must also be applied consistently. Distribution and consistent
application have repercussions on the management of disciplinary action (see Chapter 9)
and, in the case of a dispute, tribunals will examine them carefully.
The following advice may help you avoid managing discipline in a blameworthy fashion.
Toolbox
Advice about the employee handbook content and its enforcement
Amanager must see that the handbook:
- conforms to legislation and the collective agreement, if there is one;
= contains clear and unambiguous provisions;
- includes reasonable content;
- has been distributed to employees before coming into effect;
- indicates clear consequences if rules are not respected;
- is applied consistently as soon as it takes effect.
Source: Re Lumber & Sawmill Workers’ Union, local 2537 v. KVP co. Ltd., (1965) 16 LAC. 73.
2.3 Managing Individual Employment Relationships
Although the handbook is an invaluable management tool, it does not, in any way, replace
the provisions of the law. Following this overview of the manager's legal environment, we
will now look at the management of individual employment relationships, Three themes
will be addressed: diversity, labour standards and the dissolution of the
employment relationship.
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2.3.1 Managing diversity
The employment world in Québec has changed profoundly over the last 40 years. When
labour legislation was drawn up, the archetypal worker was a white man, in good health,
married to a woman and a practising Roman Catholic or Protestant. Today, this model has
undergone a radical change. The arrival of a large number of women on the labour market,
use of immigration to make up for the declining population, and shortage of workers in
certain sectors have all been factors in increasing the diversity now found in Québec
society. Managers must include all of these groups in new employment communities.
A diversity in the workforce requires a diversity of contracts. While the Fordist model, the
basis of labour law, was essentially a contract between an employee and an employer, the
range of contractual forms has since diversified considerably. Full-time employment contracts coexist with a growing number of temporary, part-time or on-call contracts which
can bring uncertainty, but which also heighten the interest in new forms of contractual
relations, such as the engagement of self-employed workers, employment agencies, or
subcontractors, occasionally via digital platforms. In general, these changes diminish the
importance of the employment contract. Also, it is becoming difficult to determine the
exact content of contracts, since the distinction between an employment contract and
other labour relationships is slowly disappearing.
Based on these observations, we will first analyze contract diversity and then examine
human diversity.
Diversity in contractual relationships
Does recruiting an employee and retaining the services of a self-employed worker amount
to the same thing? This question was raised in the scenario presented at the beginning of
the chapter concerning hiring a computer specialist. While it may be difficult for a manager
to distinguish between an employee and a self-employed worker, this distinction is crucial,
legally-speaking, since employment relationships in the two cases are not the same, When
a company decides to hire a self-employed worker rather than an employee, the choice
can usually be justified by the need for a specific expertise at a given time to deal with an
urgent matter. The example below illustrates what differentiates an employee from a
self-employed worker or independent contractor.
Oy
In the heart of the action
Zacato Ltd. is experiencing frequent problems with its computer equipment.
This results in a lot of wasted time, because everyone tries to solve whatever problems come up, regardless of
their expertise with computers. The company has two choices:
- Create a position for a computer specialist. He will be
in charge of solving problems on a daily basis, as well as
updates and regular computer maintenance. He will be paid
a salary, perform the work requested under the supervision of
the employer, be entitled to vacations and other benefits, be
present at the required hours, perform the work requested
using company equipment and materials and be evaluated
on the quality and scope of their work. The specialist and the
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employer will contribute, as the case may be, to the various
benefit plans (including employment insurance, the Québec
Parental Insurance Plan and the Québec Pension Plan).
- Hire a computer consultant who will have the necessary
professional qualifications to perform the computer
troubleshooting. The consultant will have a great deal of
autonomy in the way he performs the work, but also in
choosing his clients. Zacato Ltd. will only be one client
among many for him. The self-employed worker's services
will be paid for upon receipt of invoices and he will have to
contribute to the benefit plans himself.
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For managers, the practical implication of this distinction is the fact that self-employed
workers are not governed by the provisions present in labour legislation. As a result, these
individuals will not have the same rights as employees and managers will not have the
same obligations towards them, as shown in Table 2.2. For example, managers will exercise
no disciplinary authority and will have control over their work only once it is finished.
Self-employed workers cannot claim overtime or holidays, since they are not employees.
However, this situation can tend to evolve into one where a tribunal may be called upon
to redefine a self-employed worker's contract, usually at the request of said worker, and
revise what was a job contract into an employment contract. This requalification will have
unfortunate consequences for the company.
Table 2.2
Employee versus self-employed worker
Job
Employment contract
(employer/employee relationship)
or service
contract
(relationship between work provider and
independent contractor or self-employed worker)
There is no relationship of legal subordination between the work
The employer directs the work, resulting in a relationship of
provider (client) and the contractor (consultant).
subordination.*
On the contrary, the contractor is autonomous and retains control over
his work.
Because of the independence founded on the mastery of one or more
competencies, contractors are free to perform work as they see fit; they
may, for example, call on the services of people they need to perform the
work or service.
The employee performs the work personally.
The employer generally responsibility for mistakes made by its employee. | The contractor answers for any mistakes affecting the work provider.
Work tools are usually supplied by the employer.
The contractor owns the tools.
Remuneration is set or determined.
The contractor makes a profit, but also shoulders losses at times.
* This element is by far the main criterion used to define an employment relationship.
Let's now look at another facet of diversity, the multicultural makeup of the workforce.
Workplace diversity
Esther's situation, described at the beginning of this chapter, presents a reality that we are
seeing more and more frequently: the obligation to respect the principle of equality in our
workplaces, to be sensitive to differences and to be able to manage them, especially taking
into account other employees, The section on the next page illustrates this situation.
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In the heart of the action
Zamanuddin Gulistani, a 28-year-old man of Afghan origin,
has been working for two years as a brush cutter north of the
village of Saint-Michel-des-Saints. Before coming to Québec
in 2003, he had never set foot in such a dense forest, let alone
held a brush cutterin his hands.As he sharpens his equipment,
he recounts the story of how he left Kabul and ended up deep
in the forests of Québec. Located more than three and a half
hours north of Montréal by road, the bush camp looks like
the United Nations. Muslims mingle with Orthodox Christians,
and you hear people speaking Russian, Romanian and Farsi. In
Discrimination
An infringement of the right to
equality consisting of treating
an individual or a group of
individuals differently on the
basis of one or more of their
personal characteristics.
®
order to respect everyone's religious practices, the cook always
offers a choice of two meals and makes certain that pork does
not come into contact with the other food. As the manager of
this forestry company, what worker accommodation measures
deserve your consideration?
Source: Translated from M.-P. Paquin-Boutin [2005] “Forét: place aux travailleurs
immigrants, de Kaboul 4 Saint-Michel-des-Saints,” La Presse, Actualités (Friday,
August 19), p.A2..
Work environments have become veritable melting pots. Companies benefit from this rich
diversity, but they must also manage it and see that the right to equality is respected. The
Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDLP) affirms that every person in Québec has the
right to be treated equally, and therefore to protection against prohibited discrimination
in the exercising of rights and freedoms as recognized by the Charter.
Employment equality consists in putting everyone on an equal footing by offering equal
opportunities and rights to all so that distinctions cannot be made on discriminatory
grounds (section 10). It is therefore not a question of granting a privilege. Yet, what exactly
are the forms of discrimination recognized by the Charter? These are individual
characteristics that may not be used as the basis for justifying a decision that affects, for
example, recruiting, transferring, promoting or dismissing an employee; they are presented
below, in Table 2.3.
Table 2.3 Grounds for discrimination under section 10 of the Charter of Human Rights and
Freedoms (Québec)
Grounds
for
discrimination
Definition
Race, colour, national or ethnic origin
Country of ortgin or skin cojour
Sex
Female or male, intersex
Gender identity or expression
Transgender person (in transition or not)or intersex
Pregnancy
Condition of a pregnant woman, maternity leave
Sexual orientation
Heterosexuality, homosexuality
Crisis
Being single, married, in a common-law marriage, adopted, divorced, member of a single-parent family, any
form of family ties or kinship
Age
A person's age or age group; exceptions provided for in some legislation may, however, not be
discriminatory (for example, the legal voting age set at 18)
Religion
Membership or non-membership in a religious denomination, practice of a given religion or non-practice of
any religion
Political convictions
36
$2021491-ERPLAVMPG_02_Ch2_ENindd
Firm convictions expressed by open support of a political ideology, activism on behalf of a political party or
social lobby group, participation in the activities of a trade union acting as a social pressure group, etc. (This
does not include belonging to a union per se.)
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Grounds for discrimination
Definition
Language
Any spoken language, including an accent; the status of French as the official language of Québec, however,
is not in itself discriminatory
Social condition
education), for example, socially underprivileged people, including welfare recipients or homeless people
Handicap
An actual or presumed disadvantage arising from a deficiency such as the loss, malformation or abnormality
of an organ, of a mental structure or function, psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or
function; or the means used to palliate a handicap, such as a wheelchair, quide dog or prosthesis
Aspecific place or position in society as a result of particular facts or circumstances (income, occupation,
Source: Commission des droits de la personne et des deoits de la jeunesse, 2019, www.cdpdj.ge.
del
tits!
asp
Having examined the grounds for discrimination, we now turn our attention to determining
when the principle of non-discrimination must be respected. In the eyes of the Charter,
the protection of the right to equality is assured by human resources management activities
(detailed in Table 2.4).
Table 2.4
Scope of the right to equality
It is forbidden to discriminate
Examples of job discrim’
Inthe reception, classification or processing of a job
application by an employment bureau
You have filed candidates’ resumés by ethnic origin.
In. an employment application form
The following question appears on the form: Are you married?
_
In an employment interview
You ask the candidate if he or she has children.
$.11
In job postings
You post “driver” as a job vacancy.
5.13
In legal documents (contracts, collective
agreements, etc.)
Group insurance only provides benefits to employees with spouses of the
opposite sex.
$.16
In the process of recruiting
You ask this question: In the past, have you ever received welfare assistance?
At the time of apprenticeship
The period of apprenticeship for employees over 50 years of age is extended by
two months.
During the probationary period
The trial period is longer for women
During vocational training
You refuse to give a training session to a group made up of only members of
visible minorities.
At the time of a promotion ora transfer
You refuse a candidate a promotion or a transfer because she is pregnant.
At the time of a displacement
You decide to remove an employee from her position as consultant because one
of the company’s important clients doesn’t like dealing with people of African
origin.
At the time of a layoff, suspension or dismissal
In agreement with management, you have chosen the criterion of gender to
decide who to layoff, suspend or dismiss.
During decisions concerning conditions of
employment
In your company, workers of Mexican origin don't have the right to use the cafeteria;
the room reserved for them is dirty and has neither electricity nor water.
5.18
During the establishment of categories or dasses of
employment
CHAPTER
| According to job classifications, workers are required to be able to lift 50 kilos.
This requirement is a factor in eliminating people with less physical strength,
especially women.
2 MANAGING AND RESPECTING INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
soma
than for men.
ra
In the heart of the action
N
- You decide not to hire Désiré Montambo because of the
colour of his skin. You are afraid some of your customers
will refuse to deal with a black person.
.
There are several types of discrimination, including
direct and indirect discrimination. Although there
are no differences in the consequences, this distinction
makes it possible to better identify situations of discrimination. Let us analyze the two examples that
appear in the box on the left.
In the first case, the discrimination is direct. You are
refusing to hire an applicant because of his race. This
practice or rule creates a distinction based on one of
the grounds of discrimination mentioned in the Charter
increase in demand. However, Laura, one of the employees,
of Human Rights and Freedoms, The second example is
is a practising Catholic and cannot work on Sunday.
a case of indirect discrimination; for justifiable business reasons, the employer requires employees to
work on Sunday. This rule, which appears neutral,
applies equally to all employees but discriminates
against one individual because of a “personal characteristic” defined as a ground for disDirect discrimination
crimination, in this case religion.
Arecently launched product has been very successful with
customers. Management has asked all employees to work
the three following Sundays to respond to this sudden
Act of subjecting a person
to different treatment based
ona prohibited form of
discrimination, and doing
$o in an overt manner
(CDPDJ, 2019).
Indirect discrimination
Uniform application of a
standard, policy, rule or practice
that is neutral at first sight but
nevertheless has a discriminatory
effect on an individual or class of
individuals (CDPDJ, 2019).
Regardless of the type of discrimination, the employer may justify a discriminatory standard
in the following two situations:
- If itis a non-profit institution of a charitable, philanthropic, religious, political or
educational nature (section 20) or of an institution devoted exclusively to the well-being
of an ethnic group. For example, a support group for Innu women can insist that mastery
of innu-aimun, the language of the Innu, be a requirement to fill the position of receptionist.
- If the grounds for discrimination under section 10 constitutes a quality or ability objectively required for employment. For example, a manager could refuse to hire a lineman
because of serious vision problems (handicap) that cannot be compensated for in any way.
A lineman must work at heights in a very high-risk environment. Near vision, distance
vision and distance estimation represent justifiable occupational requirements.
To determine whether the discrimination is justified by a quality or ability objectively
required for the job, the employer must demonstrate the discrimination as described in
the section below.
In the heart of the action
You need to recruit a person to conduct high seas rescues.
The candidate must undergo physical tests that could be
considered discriminatory on two grounds: handicap and sex
(women’s aerobic ability is different from that of men). How can
you be certain that the tests are not discriminatory?
To be sure, you must check to see if:
1. The rule is “adopted [...] for a purpose rationally linked to the
performance of the job.” For example, the manager must be
sure that it is reasonable to impose a swimming test on a candidate for the position of high seas rescuer, to make certain that
the work will be done safely and effectively. It does appear that
to fill this position you would have to be able to swim very well.
2. The rule is adopted in good faith. In Québec, good faith is
presumed. Therefore, this test does not apply.
3. The standard found discriminatory is “reasonably” necessary
to reach the objective. To demonstrate this, the manager must
prove that it was impossible to deal with the circumstances or
accommodate the person or group adversely affected by the
norm without creating undue hardship. This duty to accommodate involves, for example, designing a test that takes
into account the difference in aerobic capacity between men
and women.
Source: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission)
v. British Columbia Government
and Service Employees’ Union
(B.C.G.S.E.U,), [1999] 3 RCS. 3.
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The above leads us to the subject of reasonable accommodations, which have been the
subject of much debate in Québec. What exactly are they?
Once you have determined that a measure is discriminatory, your role is to participate in
the search for a way to accommodate. In other words, you must try to find a solution that
puts the person in question on an equal footing with his colleagues who do not have one
of the personal characteristics identified in the Charter. The following are some examples
of reasonable accommodation:
- Using technology adapted to visually or hearing impaired people.
- Modifying the work premises, such as widening a door frame to allow a wheelchair to
go through.
- Modifying and sharing tasks: if employees can perform most of the tasks the job requires,
they can exchange incidental tasks they are unable to accomplish because of their handicap with another person, whether or not it is the result of an employment injury.
- Relaxing work schedules in order to allow employees to receive medical treatment or
follow the tenets of their religion. For example, in the case of Esther presented in the
introduction to this chapter, arranging her working hours constitutes an accommodation
that would allow her to meet her religious obligations.
However, how far does one go? There is a limit above which accommodation becomes excessive. Generally, courts take several factors into consideration:
[..-] the actual cost of the requested accommodation taking into account the nature of
the enterprise and its financial health; the adverse effect of the accommodation on the
victim of discrimination and on the other members of the personnel; the proper operations of the company. Examining these factors must be done following the dictates of
common sense, based on the facts of each case*.
However, in a case involving chronic absenteeism, if the employer shows that, despite
measures taken to accommodate the employee, the employee will be unable to resume
his or her work in the reasonably foreseeable future, the employer will have discharged
its burden of proof and established undue hardship‘.
The duty to accommodate requires the participation and creativity of everyone concerned — the employee, the union, the manager, the human resources department and
senior management. If necessary, the manager should not hesitate to seek advice from
specialists (for example, occupational therapists and doctors) or community organizations.
2.3.2 Managing and respecting standards
In addition to respecting the right to equality, a manager must also respect standards set
by laws and provisions found in labour legislation. In everyday practice, a broad range of
situations may arise, which are not all possible to analyze here. We will thus turn our
attention to some frequently applied standards, We will discuss minimum labour standards
and compliance with the employment contract You can learn more by consulting
Chapters 3 (Managing in a Unionized Environment), 9 (Managing Discipline and Conflict)
and 10 (Ensuring Physical and Psychological Integrity of Employees).
Managing in compliance with minimum labour standards
”
ra
The Act Respecting Labour Standards is one of the most important laws managers must
consider. It is public policy and applies in the context of individual reports, as well as
collective working relationships, because minimum standards are required in all situations
Translated from Anctilv. Industries Maibee Inc., [2005] QCCRT
crti01/2005qccrt101.pdf,
. Hye
101,
v. Syndicat des employé-e-s
de techniques professionnelles
www.canlii.org/fr/ gc/qcert/doc/2005/2005qe-
et de bureau d'Hydro-Québec, section locale 2000
(SCFP-FTQ), [2008] CSC 43, par. 17, wwew.canlii.org/fr/ca/csc/doc/2008/2008cs043/
2008043. pdf; Québec
(Commission
des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la séewrité du travail) v. Caron, 2018 CSC 3 (CanLII),
www.canlilong/fr/ca/csc/doc/2018/2018ce3sc3/2018csc3.pdf.
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®
(a collective agreement may not contain clauses that create working conditions that would
be below the standards set forth in the law).
Time management represents a prime focus of a manager's world. Questions of wage determination, overtime, breaks, annual leave and statutory holidays all relate to work time. In
our society, we mark certain significant occasions in our lives — we will see that the law
designates some of these events as general holidays.
Time and money
Contract or collective agreements provide for salaries or wages that cannot go below a
certain minimum amount. Setting a minimum wage for work accomplished reflects a
concern to reduce poverty and protect workers. While the principle of minimum wage is
set forth in the law (section 40, A.L.S.), minimum wage rates are set by labour standards
regulations. Calculation of the minimum wage does not include benefits supplied by the
employer, for example lodging and meals, a car or telephone, or specific clothing required
by the company. (art. 41, 85 et 85.1). Some categories of workers are excluded from this
standard, such as athletes whose membership in a sports team is conditional on the
continuation of following an academic training program.
Hours of work
The law sets a regular workweek at 40 hours (section 52, A.L.S.). Past that, an employee
works overtime which is paid at a fixed rate of the hourly wage plus 50% (section 55,
A.L.S.). This provision does not, however, apply to executives (section 54, A.L.S.).
Let us take a look at an example of how these criteria
have been applied in the following example.
In the
heart
of the
°
action
Paula earns $15 an hour and usually works 40 hours a week.
This week, you asked her to finish a special order, so she
worked four hours overtime.
A regular workweek does not have the same number
of hours in all sectors of activity, as provided for by
regulations associated with the law (see Table 2.5).
For example, if you work for a logging company, overtime is calculated beginning with the 48" hour.
A
In the employment contract or the handbook, parties
may also agree on a number of hours in a regular
Paula thus received: $15 x (40 h + [4 x 1.5]) = $690.
workweek that is less than that prescribed by law. If
40 regular hours x $15 per hour = $600
+
4 overtime hours x ($15 x 1.5) = $90
the employee handbook provides for a regular workweek of 35 hours, overtime is paid at an increased rate
only as of the 41* hour. Between the 36 and 40 hours,
the regular rate applies.
First, managers must authorize any overtime hours in
advance. An employee cannot work overtime without
the manager's knowledge and claim payment later. To avoid unpleasant surprises, it is
recommended that a manager set up a procedure for agreeing to work overtime.
Table 2.5
Number of hours in a regular workweek by sector of activity
Employee category
Number of hours in regular workweek
Security guard who watches over a property
for a security firm
44 hours
Employee who works in logging operations or a sawmill
47 hours
Employee in an isolated area or the James Bay territory
55 hours
Security guard outside
a security firm
60 hours
40
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The hours to be paid to the employee are as follows:
- while he/she is available to the employer at the place of employment and required to
wait for work to be assigned (section 57 [1});
- when travel is required by the employer (section 57 (3));
~ during any trial period required by the employer (section 57 [4));
- during any training period required by the employer (section 57 [4));
- during break periods granted by the employer (section 57 (2));
- when reporting for work at the place of employment at the express demand of the
employer or in the regular course of employment, if they work fewer than three consecutive hours. They are then entitled to an indemnity equal to three hours’ wages at the
prevailing hourly rate (section 58);
- while on a rest period for meals, if they must remain available to the employer (section 79).
Employees will receive either a monetary compensation for overtime hours or compensatory leave equal to time and a half (section 62). The employer can, at the employee's
request, replace the payment of overtime with leave of equivalent duration, plus 50%.
Annual leave with pay
Each year, the employee progressively acquires the right to take annual leave (vacation).
They can do so at the end of the reference period, which, according to the Act Respecting
Labour Standards, goes from May 1 to April 30 unless otherwise specified by the company.
Consider this example: Martha starts her job on September 3 of Year 1. From this date
until the end of the reference period, April 30 of Year 2, she acquires the right to an annual
vacation. As of May 1, she will be eligible for a leave equal to one day for each month of
service (figure 2.3).
Figure 2.3
Acquiring the right to annual vacation
Employee's starting date
i=
ee
Period of acquisition
ae
——>
Compensation for the leave is determined on the basis of the length of uninterrupted
service provided by the employee, in other words, the length of an uninterrupted employment relationship (table 2.6).
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Table 2.6
Length of vacation and indemnities
Uninterrupted
service
Length
of vacation
Indemnity
Less than 1 year
1 day for each month of uninterrupted service, not exceeding two weeks
4%
From 1 year to less than 3 years
2 uninterrupted weeks
4%
3 years or more
3 uninterrupted weeks
6%
In general, employees express their preferences for vacation dates and the manager
approves the choice of dates. The responsibility for accepting or refusing them lies with
the manager.
Days that mark important dates in history or religious holidays are in addition to annual
leave, and are celebrated by granting a paid holiday.
Statutory holidays
The Act Respecting Labour Standards provides for seven statutory general holidays (sections
60 and 65) for employees, provided that they have not been absent from work without the
employer's authorization or without valid cause on the workday preceding or following
the holiday:
- January 1 (New Year's Day);
- Good Friday or Easter Monday, at the option of the employer;
- the Monday preceding May 25 (Journée nationale des patriotes);
~ July 1, or July 2 where the first falls on a Sunday (Canada Day);
- the first Monday in September (Labour Day);
- the second Monday in October (Thanksgiving);
- December 25 (Christmas Day).
Oo
An addition to the list is June 24, Québec’s National Holiday governed by the National
Holiday Act.
Certain personal events will affect the lives of the people you manage. The Act Respecting
Labour Standards contains several provisions that allow them time to deal with these events.
The following section describes these provisions.
\ A ]
Absences for health or family reasons
Legislation lists several reasons that justify an absence. They fall into three categories
°
eb
Li nks
Labour standards
= cnt.gouv.qc.ca
(See the section
on leaves and
absences)
- Absences owing to sickness, accident, domestic or sexual violence
- Absences and leaves for family reasons
- Paternity leave, maternity leave, parental leave
In practice, it is common for an employee handbook to simply reiterate the list of various
leaves covered by the legislation. Sometimes, the handbook adds to it (for example, paid
leave when an employee moves house) or improves upon it (two days with pay for an
employee's wedding, instead of one, as required by law).
In Robert's case, described in the scenario at the beginning of the chapter, you must grant
him the days he has asked for to look after his spouse, the victim of a serious accident.
Managers must also be attentive to employees who have suffered tragic events, such as
the suicide or disappearance of someone close to them or a criminal offence. The law
provides measures for these kinds of circumstances. In such situations where employees
suffer hardships, managers are expected to play a supporting role.
Managing in compliance with the employment contract
After this analysis of measures under the Act Respecting Labour Standards, we now examine
the manager's role in applying the provisions of the Québec Civil Code.
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A contract of employment made between an employer and employee creates a series of
obligations that come into effect as soon as the contract is concluded. After defining the
employment contract, we will examine each party’s obligations in order to delineate the
manager's role and responsibilities.
The employment contract
A contract can be oral or written — the law imposes no requirement in this regard. A
written text is useful to attest to certain working conditions in case of a dispute.
According to the Québec Civil Code, an employment contract can have a fixed term or an
indeterminate term (with no expiration date). According to the Québec Civil Code, an
employment contract can have a fixed term or an indeterminate term (with no expiration
date). However, one of the two parties may terminate the contract with a “reasonable
notice of termination” (section 2091). Reasonable notice of termination must be at least
equal to that set by the Act Respecting Labour Standards, as we will see later on. In a
fixed-term contract, the termination date may be:
- an exact date, for example October 24, 2022;
- a planned event, such as a return to work after a maternity leave or the end of preparing
an order for a customer.
Imagine the following situation:
In the thick of the action, it is sometimes hard to take
the time to stop and think about the consequences of
what we do, say, or even do not say. Julian's original
fixed-term contract converts to an indeterminate term
contract if, after the expiry of the term indicated, the
employee continues working for at least five days,
without objection from the employer (section 2090
Q.C.C.); this is renewal by tacit agreement. The
fixed-term contract with Julian becomes an indeterminate contract, as shown by Figure 2.4. This change
in the contract has major repercussions on the employer's responsibilities, which a manager must pay special
attention to,
In
the
heart
of
the
H
action
Julian's employment contract expires today, but you still really
need for him for the same tasks for which he was hired. You
think to yourself, “That's fine. We'll save time. Julian can simply
continue working”. Does this new task constitute a second
contract for Julian or an extension of the first one?
Figure 2.4 Fixed-term and indeterminate term contracts and tacit renewal
Indeterminate term contract
>
Fixed-term contract
1-2-3-4-5
ee
Beginning
Indeterminate contract
>
Tacit renewal
En
agreement
A manager’s obligations
As the employer's representative, the manager has certain obligations. According to article
2087 of the Québec Civil Code: “The employer is bound not only to allow the performance of
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the work agreed upon and to pay the remuneration fixed, but also to take any measures
consistent with the nature of the work to protect the health, safety and dignity of the employee.”
This section highlights the following three obligations:
- To allow the performance of the work and pay for it.
- To protect the health and safety of the employee.
- To preserve the dignity of the employee.
Chapter 10 of this book will examine the manager’s obligation to protect the health and
safety of the employee. We will jointly examine points 1 and 3 through the study of a
constructive dismissal. Such a case may touch on the obligations mentioned earlier.
Ce
ctive di
The changing economic picture leads companies to consider restructuring, closing departments, diminishing working conditions or eliminating jobs. These decisions, taken unilaterally by the employer, are part of its management rights, but do not exempt it from
- _ having to compensate employees or giving them notice. However, using ploys to coerce
|
an
employee to resign can be deemed a constructive dismissal by the manager.
An action by which the
ri
—
employer unilaterally makes
| According to the Civil Code, a manager must allow the performance of the work agreed
substantial changesto
monte
—_ upon: he must provide both the quantity and quality of work agreed upon, as well as the
degree of responsibility. However, in certain cases, changes in working conditions are so
harassmentto goad an
‘Major that they effectively equal a dismissal. for example, managers no longer give their
employee into resigning.
employees work to do or ask them to work only on Sundays* or they assign one employee's
responsibilities to another and reduce the first employee's working hours’. The cartoon
on the next page illustrates this type of situation (figure 2.5).
Sometimes, constructive dismissal is accompanied by a lack of respect for an employee's
dignity. In other words, the employee is subject to harassment or malicious or insulting
actions or comments. We will have the opportunity to discuss this again in Chapter 10.
We have seen the meaning of the expression “performance of work” and that it is up to
the manager to preserve the dignity of the employee. However, once the work is done, the
remuneration that has been agreed upon must also be paid. This includes wages and other
benefits: premiums, costs related to employer participation in certain insurance plans,
indemnities for annual vacation and statutory holidays. The manager must also take measures consistent with the nature of the work to protect the health and safety of the employee,
as we will see in Chapter 10.
CH
The following section deals with the obligations employees must honour on a daily basis,
in accordance with the employment contract.
Figure 2.5 Constructive dismissal
They started cut by decreasing
Employee obligations
The Québec Civil Code lists a number of obligations dealing with
employee behaviour within the framework of the employment
relationship. Besides the requirement to perform work under the
supervision and contro] of the employer, the Civil Code sets certain
“requirable qualities” (Morin, Briére, Roux and Villaggi, (2010) 11-95):
to carry out work with prudence and diligence, demonstrate discretion and act faithfully (article 2088). These obligations are
outlined below.
Employees must «perform the work,» that is, fulfill their functions
and be available to do so. They do this «under the direction and
control» of the employer, but to whom must this duty of obedience
be addressed? And in what manner? As the representative of the
employer, the manager must make certain that the directives have
been communicated clearly, precisely and unequivocally if they are
to be binding on employees.
Source: Au bas de échelle (2004). (ABC des personnes non syndiquées,
‘9th ed., illustration by Jacques Goldstyn, Montréal.
6.
Lapointe v. 9074-2321 Québec Inc., 2003] QCCRT 180 (CanLil),
7.
Audyv. 9137-4041 Québec Inc., [2005] QCCRT 392 (CanLIl),
www.canlii.org/fr/
qc/qcert/doc/ 2003/2003 qcert 180/2003qcert 180.pdf.
www.canlil.org/fr/ qe/qoert/doc/2003/2003qcert 180/2003qcert 180. pdf.
44
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Nevertheless, employees are not bound to follow orders blindly. They would have the right
to refuse to adhere to an order if it:
- is contrary to public order or good morals;
- could affect health or safety;
- is unreasonable or discriminatory;
- could not be done properly, given the knowledge or ability of the employee.
Furthermore, the work must be performed with “prudence and diligence”. Employees must
be careful as they carry out their tasks. They must watch out not only for their own safety,
but that of their colleagues and other people as well. The duty of due care also extends to
any material goods employees use or are in charge of in their work. Employees must go
by the rules and not act negligently. As a manager, your role is to see that employees follow
these rules, as we will see in Chapter 10.
Employees must also exercise the duty of diligence. This notion refers to the quantity and
quality of work that employees are expected to perform and that the employer has the
right to require. This obligation is based on the competency of the employee and varies
with the nature of the tasks and the type of position occupied by the employee. Managers
are often in the best position to evaluate work performed by employees (see Chapter 7),
request adjustments if necessary, conduct follow-up, mobilize employees (Chapter 11),
and impose sanctions if need be (Chapter 9). They survey and control the work done in
a more or less strict fashion.
The duty of diligence also includes that of civility, maintaining a harmonious work climate
and serving clients courteously, where applicable. Think back to the case of Mathieu,
described at the beginning of this chapter. Unhappy that he did not get the leave he wanted,
he decided to vent his anger on his colleagues. Such conduct constitutes a breach of his duty
of civility.
The lack of respect for the obligation to work with care and diligence shows up in several
ways: 1) negligence at work (duty of care); 2) lack of regular attendance, unacceptable
quantity and quality of work performed (diligence); 3) incompetence, occupational incapacity; and 4) lack of civility.
Employees are bound to act faithfully and honestly (article 2088, Q.C.C.) and to respect
the confidentiality of information obtained while carrying on their work. This obligation
has many components: honesty, good faith and loyalty (for example, not to enter into
competition with the employer). The duty of discretion deals with the confidentiality of
certain types of information (trade secrets: information on the company’s financial position,
strategy or clientele). These obligations last for a reasonable period of time after the termination of the contract, and are valid at all times when the information deals with the
reputation or private life of another individual.
In Ernesto’s case, described at the beginning of this chapter, falsifying the document may
contribute to violating his relationship of trust with his employer, and is thus a breach of
the duty of loyalty to which he is bound by the Civil Code.
It is time to define the manager's role in terminating an employment relationship. This
phase in the employment relationship need not be only a source of disorder and disturbance; it can also be an appropriate time to review the company’s approaches and examine
its ability to attract and retain candidates and to clarify candidate profiles (see Chapters 4
and 7). In the next section, we will provide some guiding principles for managers on
handling employment relationship terminations,
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2.3.3 Managing the termination of individual employment
relationships
No matter how the employment contract is terminated — through resignation, dismissal
or permanent layoff — managers must respect certain basic principles.
Principles governing the termination of an employment relationship
Breaking the employment relationship is a right enshrined in the Québec Civil Code. The
right to free oneself from an obligation has its origins in history, since it bans lifelong commitments, thus banning slavery. The termination may be by common agreement, may be
initiated by the employee (resignation) or by the employer (dismissal, permanent layoff). In
the latter case, the right to terminate is a compromise between the nights of employees to
keep their jobs and the rights of employers to manage their company in an optimal fashion,
using disciplinary measures (see Chapter 9) or reorganization.
Since the termination of the employment relationship happens at the end of a process, it
is rare for this problem to be managed by only one person. By touching briefly on different
kinds of termination in the next two sections, we will make you, as a manager, aware of
this last stage in the termination of the employment relationship.
Types of termination
Resignation
The termination of the
employment contract at the
employee's initiative.
Permanent layoff
The dissolution of the
employment relationship for
economic or financial reasons .
Dismissal
The termination of the
employment contract at the
employer's initiative for reasons
relating to the competence or
behaviour of the employee.
First, we must establish the various ways an employment contract can be terminated.
Initiation of an action by only one of the two parties could represent a resignation,
permanent layoff or dismissal. In the first case, the employee takes the initiative,
whereas in the other two cases the employer is the instigator. Here are the characteristics
of each of these types of termination.
- In a resignation, the termination of the employment contract is requested by the
employee. Often, a resignation takes the form of a letter stating: “Please accept this letter
of notification of my resignation, effective May 16...”
- When the termination is for economic reasons, the term used is permanent layoff. This
is an act by which the employer ends a contract permanently for internal reasons or
reasons involving the economic life of the company (economic difficulties or for the
proper operation of the company). Note that the employer may also suspend the employment contract temporarily for organizational or economic reasons — called a layoff.
- Dismissal consists of a cancellation of an employment contract at the employer's initiative, because of a disciplinary or administrative fault on the part of the employee (see
Chapter 9).
- In certain cases, the two parties may agree to terminate an employment relationship.
Consider the following example of a termination.
In the heart of the action
Virginia has worked as a designer for a toy manufacturer for
four years. Since the beginning, she has had only modest salary
increases, in spite of all the enthusiasm and professionalism
she puts into her job. One of her friends, who works for a
competitor in the same field, tells her that his salary is 20%
higher than hers.
Armed with this information, she goes to the human resources
department the next day to ask for a salary adjustment to
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reflect what their competitors offer, but she is turned down.
This refusal angers her. She storms out of the human resources
office and leaves for the day. The following day, the security
guard stops her as she heads to her office, and informs her
that she no longer works for the company. Did Virginia in
fact resign? Based on the definition of resignation presented
above, this is not a likely explanation.
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Figure 2.6 illustrates the various types of employment relationship termination.
Figure 2.6
Types of employment relationship termination
Termination of employment rela
Initiated by...
The employer
Relating to the competence or
behaviour of the employee.
Reason
The employee
Relating to technical or
economic reasons
Permanent layoff
Resignation
Requirements for terminating the employment relationship
Termination of the employment relationship usually requires that a notice and the reason
for the termination be provided. These two points are dealt with in the next section.
Notice
To end an employment relationship or proceed with a layoff of six months or more, the
employer must give the employee written notice. The notice must be issued in accordance
with the time periods presented in Table 2.7 (A.L.S.), based on the length of
uninterrupted service.
Table 2.7
Uninterrupted service and time period for notice
Uninterrupted service
e period for notice
3 months to 1 year
1 week
1 to 5S years
2 weeks
-
5 to 10 years
i
i
10 years or more
4 weeks
8 weeks
The Act Respecting Labour Standards sets a basic minimum time for giving notice. Nothing
prevents an employer from being more generous or an employee from asking for a longer
time period. This notice must be combined with the obligation to grant a «reasonable
period of leave» set out in section 2091 of the Civil Code of Québec. The notice, however,
must meet certain conditions.
The employee must: 1) have three months of uninterrupted service; 2) not have committed
a serious fault; 3) not have been permanently laid off or laid off as a result of an uncontrollable act of nature (force majeure), such as a flood ; 4) not have signed a fixed-term
contract that is about to expire.
If you wish to put an end to an employment contract, you must find out how much uninterrupted service the employee has. If your company has a human resources department, it
will usually check this information. If notice is not given or not given within the specified
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time period, the company must pay the departing employee a compensatory indemnity
equal to what he/she would have earned during that time (section 83, A.L.S.).
Reasons
Dismissal is not a trivial matter, It has serious effects on an employee's life, and is carefully
regulated by law. Dismissal must be founded on good and sufficient cause and be based
on law. Here we will simply set down a few guidelines concerning dismissal to
assist managers.
- The expression “good cause” denotes that the employee's alleged breach of contract is
a recognized fact and not a pretext.
- “Good” and “sufficient” go hand in hand. It is necessary to know if the sanction is proportional to the employee's breach of contract (we will come back to this point in
Chapter 9). Since dismissal is the last resort, it is only used when it is no longer possible
to maintain the employment relationship. Could dismissal be considered a premature
decision? To answer that question, it is important to determine whether the sanctions
were applied progressively and fairly and if the employee was offered sufficient assistance
and support.
- At times, employees may find themselves in a particularly vulnerable situation. Lawmakers
have provided additional protection for these instances. The Act Respecting Labour
Standards clearly prohibits employers from dismissing employees or taking other measures against them (suspension, transfer, discrimination or reprisals) in certain situations,
especially when an employee is pregnant or exercises a right, for example, to claim
payment for overtime.
The following example illustrates such a prohibited practice.
In the heart of the action
Nadjah is a packer at Lingerie Padours. After her training, she
performs her work with no comments from anyone about it,
until she learns that she is pregnant. She has a meeting with
her supervisor and the human resources department, and is
dismissed for unsatisfactory performance. However, while the
employer cites Nadjah’s poor performance as justification for
economic reasons the month after dismissing Nadjah These
factors led to the tribunal's conclusion that the unsatisfactory
performance claimed by the employer wasa pretext, and that
the pregnancy constituted the real reason for the dismissal.
The manager thus committed an illegal and prohibited act.
her dismissal, it does not succeed in demonstrating her poor
Source:
Mahamud
v.
Manufcture
de lingerie Chéteau
Inc., [2003] QCCRT
201 (CanLil), par. 46-47, www.canlii.org/fr/qc/qcert/doc/2003/2003qe€1201/2003qccrt201.pdf..
performance satisfactorily. In addition, during the inquiry, the
employer reveals that it had to proceed with more layoffs for
In your opinion, is this practice still common in workplaces?
In summary, the Act Respecting Labour Standards imposes minimum standards that must
absolutely be respected. Any violation can result in a claim or complaint by the employee.
Managers must comply with these standards in the performance of their job. They must
be certain that the stated reasons are not only genuine and sufficient, in accordance with
the Civil Code, but also that they are legal. Otherwise, the law provides several kinds of
recourse (these are outside our scope here, but can be found in specialized reference books).
In the case of a permanent layoff where advance notice has been given, an employer
can end an employment relationship for reasons involving the operations of his company,
provided that the reasons are genuine and that the criteria used by the managers or the
human resources department to determine who is laid off are based on objective factors
(for example, seniority). As soon as a permanent layoff involves at least 10 employees of
the same establishment in the course of two months, the human resources department
must send out notices and comply with a long series of rules related to collective dismissal
under the Act Respecting Labour Standards.
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Ata
Glance
Labour legislation is an important tool for everyone whose activity it governs, not only
those involved in human resources management but also employees. The law offers
employees a certain sense of security in a world characterized by constant change and
increased mobility of capital and technology. Labour legislation lends structure to the job
of human resources management. The challenge is to create a productive and respectful
work environment, for the full duration of an employment relationship, while adhering to
the body of labour regulations, in particular those that relate to both individual rights and
minimal labour standards. To meet this challenge, you must have the knowledge outlined
in this chapter and, when the situation requires it, seek legal advice. Figure 2.7 illustrates
the salient points of this chapter.
Figure 2.7
The manager and labour laws
Essential knowledge
HRM tools available
Fome Bekefs and traps to
— Job regulation (laws and
regulations)
— Employee handbook
— Current labour laws
— Employment contracts
— Company policies
— Everything is spelled outin
the employment contract.
— Company policies are
updated regularly.
— Problematic situations take
care of themselves.
Roles of other players
— Lawyers: legal opinions, legal
proceedings, mediation
— CNESST: information, training,
mediation service
1
The manager and
labour laws
— Updating employees’ file
= COPDJ: information, mediation
service
— Sectoral labour force committees
(SLCs): training
— Community organizations:
assistance with reasonable
accommodation
Roles of HR departments
és
= Presentation and interpretation
A
Rol
d
ibiliti
Pale
ela eda
of the manager
of precedents regarding the
application of company standards
— Legal advice
— Writing of legal documents
— Respect for laws, regulations
and Company policies
— Consistent
and fair application
of standards
— Correcting improper behaviour
and recording of each intervention
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Are You
Ready?
1. How much leeway is there in managing individual
employment relationships?
With regard to individual employment relationships, a manager's leeway will vary from
one company to another. The size of the organization, its hierarchical structure, culture
and rules are all elements that will determine what action you can take in a given case.
See section 2.2
2. How can | choose the resource people that | might need to
consult? When should I plan a meeting with them and how
should | prepare for this meeting?
You are on the front lines in the job, and often act as the eyes, ears and mouth of your
supervisors, For this reason, you must pay close attention to everything that is said and
done. For example, a delay, or an inappropriate attitude among colleagues or towards
clients require that you intervene, but what action should you take? You have to consider
the kind of incident, its consequences, the company’s history and the employee's past
record. You will probably have to seek advice from your superior or the human resources
department. To prepare, collect all the information you have about the employee and the
incident. Have a timeline of the events at hand and gather all the related documents (for
example, employment contract, pay slips, record of hours worked).
®
See section 2.2.1
3. Do | know my legal environment well?
Managers must become familiar with the legal environment of their organizations. They
must first determine whether the company falls under federal legislation or provincial law.
They must also have a thorough knowledge of the rules that are specific to the company,
which they will be responsible for applying in a fair, just and consistent manner, free from
discrimination. In addition, they must learn about any changes made to the rules. The
numerous bodies responsible for applying the laws are part of the legal environment. These
parties are an important source of information, documentation and even training, and
managers must first submit any disputes to them.
See section 2.2.3
4. What kind of behaviour and attitudes can! expect from my
employees? What can they expect from me and the organization?
An individual employment relationship is not always concluded with an official written
employment contract. The manager and the employee are not always aware of each other's
expectations. Although the parties involved in the contract decide on remuneration and
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working hours, the Civil Code sets forth the rights and obligations of each party as well as
the behaviour expected of them (loyalty and diligence from the employee, for example).
See section 2.3
5. What problem situations deserve special attention on my part?
Company managers must pay special attention to many problem situations, show that they
are ready to listen and be creative in finding solutions. Each of the situations outlined in
the introduction, if neglected, can have disastrous repercussions for the organization,
whether through a deterioration in the work climate, the loss of clients, or even legal action.
The manager must, at all times, take the necessary measures and comply with the regulations.
See section 2.3
On Your
Mark,
Get Set...
Review!
ie
The handbook for the employees at Transcript Ltd. provides for the possibility of
being absent from work because of an accident for less than 6 weeks over a
12-month period, whereas the law stipulates a longer period. Does the handbook
take precedence over the law?
What is a public order law? Give an example.
Sylvain hurt himself while working at his machine this morning. What legislation will
Clara, the new manager, have recourse to in dealing with this accident?
Nick showed up at the office this morning with rainbow-coloured hair and a cheek
piercing. Would it be discriminatory to make a comment about it or to give him a
warning?
Saturday morning, you called in the new work team scheduled to start Monday
morning. You kept the employees for an hour and a quarter to have them sign their
contracts and give them instructions about their job. Should you pay them at their
hourly rate for this period?
Micheline did eight hours of overtime. Instead of overtime pay, she intends to take
leave time. Do you have to grant her the time off, and under what conditions?
MyBookshelf > My eLab > Documents.
> Review questions
answer key
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®
Discuss!
For each question, give two reasons to justify a positive answer and two to justify a
negative answer.
1.
Does labour legislation ensure better social justice?
2.
Does the diversity of contractual relationships lead to improved social performance
in companies?
Your Turn!
PlayDo is a leading company that creates, programs and distributes video games in Canada.
The enterprise has enjoyed uninterrupted growth over recent years. Its strategy is based
on well-designed games, careful production, a global distribution network and the recruitment of talented employees who love their work.
For two years now, you have managed the graphic design department with such dynamism
that management has invited you to take on a new challenge. Over the coming six months,
your mandate will be to:
- stabilize the present team, while at the same time overseeing the harmonious integration
of 20 new employees from a variety of backgrounds;
- improve department operations, especially developing closer coordination with the
programming department, in particular for the launch of Prison Forest, a promising new
game scheduled for release in the next two months.
It is almost one o'clock in the afternoon and you are heading to the cafeteria for lunch
when you catch sight of a new series of large-size prints on the wall. They are shots of
heterosexual couples of all ages. Intrigued, you wonder whose idea it was to exhibit the
pictures, but your thoughts quickly go to another big problem. In one hour, you will be
discussing Raoul's case with people in the human resources department.
Raoul has been working in your department as a level artist for 18 months. He is in charge
of the graphic content of one of the levels of the Prison Forest video game, but the quality
and quantity of his work has been falling off over the past two months. Additionally, his
assessment of the priority of tasks and the time required to accomplish them is often wrong,
even though this constitutes part of his responsibilities. The graphic arts and programming
teams are starting to complain. During Raoul’s annual vacation, you had occasion to do
some work at his work station. You inadvertently discovered that he was working for a
small new company, of which he is the principal founder. Continuing to search with the
help of a computer specialist, you traced emails Raoul had exchanged with the cofounders
and clients of his company. The data showed that not only were there many emails every
day, but also that they were sent during his working hours.
You return to your office, very disturbed by what you have just discovered. You gather
together the documents to discuss Raoul’s case with human resources. Draw up a list of
documents that you think it would be useful to send to the HR department to examine Raoul’s
case. What obligation has Raoul contravened?
As you cross the foyer, you see Espérance, the new receptionist. She is sitting at her desk
in tears. Spread out in front of her is a series of photos of her on which someone has written
comments like, “Go back home, black bitch!” From a legal point of view, how would you
describe the situation experienced by this employee? If Espérance decides to file a complaint, what body would she file with?
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Back in your office, you receive an email from Hassan, who is in charge of creating and
applying textures to the objects and the environment in the new game. The usual work
schedule in this section goes from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., but yesterday you asked all the employees in that section to do three hours’ overtime per week for the next month, in order to
finish the game in time. Hassan informs you that he will not be able to stay after 5 p.m.
because he is a Muslim; during Ramadan, he fasts all day, from sunup to sundown, and it
is only at dusk that the family breaks the fast together. You were hoping to accommodate
him every second week. You felt it was the only way to get the game done on time. However,
Hassan says he doesn’t understand your thinking. As far as he is concerned, Melissa, a
recently hired graphic artist who is specialized in textures, could quite easily do an extra
hour's work, and he could come to work earlier. You think for a minute and evaluate the
situation in the light of labour laws. What decision will you make? Justify your answer
based on the pertinent legal rules.
The day is finally over; before heading home, you think about the photos of Espérance and
what Anita, Marc and Steve will think of them. During their job interview, these three
talented new designers, who start work on Monday, didn’t hide the fact that they are
homosexual. Since management has asked you to create a more inclusive environment,
what is your plan of action?
References
Audet, G., Bonhomme, R., Gascon, C., and Le Frangois, M., (1991). Le congédiement en
droit québécois en matiére de contrat individuel de travail, Cowansville, Yvon Blais, updated
annually.
Béliveau, N.-A. (2010). Les normes du travail, 2 ed., Cowansville, Yvon Blais, 1242 p.
Brun, H., Brun, P., and Lafontaine, F. (2018). Charte des droits de la personne : législation,
jurisprudence et doctrine, coll. Alter Ego, 31* ed., Montréal, Wilson & Lafleur, 1650 p.
Brun, H., Tremblay, G., and Brouillet, E. (2014). Droit constitutionnel, 6" ed., Cowansville,
Yvon Blais, 1666 p.
Brunelle, C. (2001). Discrimination et obligation d'accommodement
en milieu de travail
syndiqué, Cowansville, Yvon Blais, 482 p.
Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (2009). www.cdpdj.
qc.ca/fr/formation/accommodement/Pages/html/formes-discrimination.html.
D’Aoust, C., Leclerc, L., et Trudeau, G. (1982). Les mesures disciplinaires : étude jurisprudentielle et arbitrale, monograph no. 13, Université de Montréal, Ecole des relations industrielles, 486 p.
Guillien, R., and Vincent, J. (1988). Lexique des termes juridiques, Paris, Dalloz, 489 p.
Lauzon, I., Bernier, L., Le Corre et al (2004). Manuel d’employés et politiques d'entreprise :
tout ce que I‘employeur doit savoir, Cowansville, Yvon Blais, 165 p.
Morin, F., and Blouin, R. (2000). Droit de l'arbitrage de grief, Cowansville, Yvon Blais, 645 p.
Morin, F., Briére, J.-Y., Roux, D., and Villaggi, J.-P. (2010). Le droit de l'emploi au Québec, 4”
ed., Cowansville, Yvon Blais, 2056 p.
Ouimet, H. (2016). Travail plus : le travail et vos droits,
9 ed., Montréal, Wilson & Lafleur,
$56 p.
Paquin-Boutin, M.-P. (2005). Forét : place aux travailleurs immigrants - De Kaboul a Saint-
Michel-des-Saints, La Presse, Actualités (August 19), p. A2.
Pedneault, J.-F., Fleury, F.N., Rainville, S., and Désilets, M. (1997). Les droits de la personne
et les relations de travail, Cowansville, Yvon Blais, periodic updates.
Verge, P., Trudeau, G., and Vallée, G. (2006). Le droit du travail par ses sources, Montréal,
Thémis, 520 p.
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PART1
Putting HRM in Context
Managing in
a Unionized
Environment
Lucie Morissette and Marc-Antonin Hennebert
p.57_
p.58_
p.64_
p.66_
p.68_
p.72_
p.77_
3.1 Managerial Objectives
3.2 Unionization
3.3 Who Are the Players in a Union?
3.4 The Manager's Role in Collective Bargaining
3.5 The Manager's Role During a Work Stoppage
3.6 Collective Agreements: Union "Shock"
3.7 Labour Relations Models
ON YOUR MARK...
As a manager, if you work in a unionized environment, you must be able to answer
the following questions:
1. Who are the workers who join a union and what steps do they take to unionize?
2. With whom should I share responsibilities in a unionized workplace?
3. What is my role in collective bargaining and labour disputes?
4. How much does the collective agreement influence my work as a manager?
5. Which labour relations model should | choose?
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Work
|
Scenario
Managing in a unionized environment:
Paul’s misadventure
bombarding Paul with questions about the relevance of his
After completing his studies in HR management, Paul Sauvé was
recruited by an engineering firm, Génie Inc. where he decided
to launch a new HR management method. His program, titled
“Best Team,” aimed to make Génie employees
the most prestigious team of software developers in Canada. He proposed:
union representatives put it this way:
~ a dynamic strategy to recruit the best talent graduating
from universities;
~ a flexible work schedule and work-life balance program;
= a promotion system that rewards the best employees;
- a skills development program for the most
deserving employees;
- a strategy for retaining the best employees, involving a
case-by-case review of the working conditions.
Four years after the implementation of this strategic plan, the
results were already being felt: Génie had doubled its workforce
and could boast of having an attraction capacity comparable
to that of major corporations. Proud of his achievements at
Génie Inc. and looking for a new professional challenge, Paul
decided to leave his engineering firm and accept the position
of Vice-President of Human Resources at Aérothéque, a leader
in the Canadian aeronautics industry. The company was headquartered in Montreal and had more than 12,000 employees
worldwide. Aérothéque was growing rapidly and its order book
was full. But while its financial situation seemed favourable and
its prospects promising, it had been experiencing personnel
problems for several years, particularly in its unionized plants
in Québec. The productivity rate of its employees was well
below the industry average, and absenteeism and voluntary
turnover rates were very high. Paul's first task was to address
this situation, which was threatening the company’s growth. [...]
program to the problems faced by the workers. One of the
“We've already been presented with four different human
resources
management
programs
in less than
five years.
The result: four failures. How is your program any different?
The company has been making profits for ten years, yet we
have trouble getting wage increases. It’s not right. For ten
years we've been demanding that they have more trust in the
workers, and that they loosen up the supervision methods and
review the way the work is organized. And what have we got?
Nothing. It’s time upper management understood our situation
and the reasons behind our demands.”
Despite the union’s lack of interest, Paul decided to implement
his program. While the new recruitment strategy seemed to be
bearing fruit, Paul quickly came up against the provisions of
the collective agreement, which prevented him from changing
work hours and conditions on an individual basis while forcing
him to recognize seniority in manpower deployments. In the
face of these obstacles, he decided to meet again with the
union representatives to ask for more flexibility in applying
the collective agreement. They showed very little openness
and stuck to their demands regarding remuneration and
work organization. Paul assured the union that their demands
would be considered but, for the time being, he hoped to
rely on their cooperation. He assured them that his program
would create the necessary financial flexibility to meet the
union's demands.
Despite the two sides holding several negotiating sessions,
the program turned out to be a failure. Since Paul's arrival, the
similar to the one he had implemented at Génie. First, he
contacted the company’s main union representatives to
number of grievances had increased by more than 50% and
the rates of employee productivity, absenteeism and turnover
remained unchanged. Paul was caught off guard and had run
out of new ideas. He was seriously considering resigning...
present his objectives and the changes to be expected. The
union representatives went immiediately on the defensive,
Source: Adapted from "Gérer on milieu syndiqué: la mésaventure de Paul”
Centre de cas 9 30 2010 004.
As soon as he took up his duties, Paul set up a program
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3.1 Managerial Objectives
You are a manager or you aspire to become one. Are you ready to assume your duties in
a unionized environment? Evidently, Paul was not. What does the presence of a union
change in a company? Does it require specific legal obligations and changes to management
practices? In Québec, these issues seem fundamental given the extent of the union presence
in many sectors, including construction, manufacturing and public services, as shown
in Table 3.1.
The manager operates in an environment where there are a number of constraints: growing
competition, new regulations, changing consumer demands, etc. Managers must also deal
with a number of different players: employees, consumers or users, shareholders, local
communities, etc, Each of these groups has its own demands and claims, all of which bring
their different challenges. Shareholders want managers to make decisions that increase
share value, employees want good wages and working conditions, consumers want the
best value for money, and local communities demand commitments from companies on
social issues and environmental responsibility.
In any unionized company, a union is a very important player. Its presence imposes a
certain degree of power-sharing on the company and specific obligations on managers
such as the obligation to negotiate and respect the content of collective agreements.
However, while the presence of a union significantly
changes the manager’s operating environment, itdoes
Table 3.4 Presence of unions in Québec
not necessarily mean that he or she is completely _ by sector in 2016
deprived of decision-making authority or limited in
their achievement of organizational objectives.
5
=
Having a union in place can even bring opportunities.
For example, as the employees’ representative, a
Allof Québec
38.9
union can act as a lever to facilitate change and create
a climate conducive to greater collaboration. It all
Primary sector
37.4
depends on the willingness of the parties to act in
concert, in the interest of the organization and
its employees.
Secondary sector
Construction
Manufacturing
53.7
33.9
In a unionized environment, good managers are
Tertiary sector
recognized for their ability to manage by using infiu-
Private
ence rather than power, Even though the HR departPublic
ment in a large company is responsible for certain
aspects of labour relations (collective bargaining,
grievance arbitration, etc.), it is the manager who has
to oversee the day-to-day application of the collective agreement. It is also the manager
who holds the initial discussions with employees and their union representative to prevent
or settle a grievance, and who may be called upon to work with the union on a joint health
and safety or work reorganization committee.
A
18.5
84.0
Managers who take an approach that respects the well-being of their human resources
and who invest in human capital will send a positive signal to the union that is likely to
foster collaboration rather than confrontation (Pohler et Luchak, 2014). It has been shown
that the profitability of unionized companies where the employer adopts a strategy based
on human resources development is higher than that of non-unionized firms. Given all
this, could Paul have done anything else to convince the union representatives of the merits
of his program? We will return to this issue at the end of the chapter by examining existing
approaches to labour relations.
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3.2 Unionization
There are many reasons for unionization, which depend as much on the employer's practices as on the various situations experienced by the employees in the workplace. The
process leading to the formation of a union is tightly regulated by the Labour Code. During
this period, managers retain their freedom of expression but must be careful of what they
say and do so as not to interfere with employees’ freedom of association, as guaranteed
by the Quebec and Canadian Charters of Human Rights and Freedoms.
3.2.1 Why do workers join unions?
. _
Union
S orove of ernpi yee: whee
p pa develop the con omnle.
It should be specified at the outset that only employees within the meaning of the Labour
Code may participate in the formation of a union’. The Code defines an employee as “a
person who works for an employer and for remuneration” (section 1). This definition
excludes employer representatives (executive, manager, supervisor, superintendent, fore-
;
social and educational
—_ man, etc.). However, it is not so much the title as the function that matters. We have to
ppt
ti ldideenalcoras
look at whether or not in practice “the employee assumes hierarchical authority over other
and application of collective
agreements (section 1aL.C.).
€Mployees (in the case of delegation by the employer of control and management powers,
_in particular) or whether he or she only has functional, technical or professional authority,
the question being resolved on a case-by-case basis” (Coutu et a/., 2013: 248).
There are usually three major factors at the source of unionization, related to management
styles (Gérin-Lajoie, 2004). The first is a feeling of injustice (e. g. imprecise and unjustified
promotion criteria, lack of transparency and of fairness in the allocation of salary increases)
and a sense of powerlessness (inability to express one’s point of view) perceived by
employees with regard to management decisions. The second reason for unionizing is the
insecurity that employees may experience, particularly with regard to their job or working
conditions. The third reason behind unionization is the desire to improve working conditions (higher wages, more flexible hours, better work-life balance, access to a group
insurance plan, pension plan, etc.).
®
In order to understand why some workplaces are unionized or are the target of a unionization campaign, three questions must be considered (Haiven, 2006):
- Do the workers need a union and do they want one?
- To what extent is the employer prepared to resist unionization?
- Can and does a union wish to organize certain groups of employees?
The concept of a “unionization zone” proposed by Haiven (2006) provides an answer to
these questions. This can be illustrated in the form of a graph with two axes. The vertical
axis represents the qualifications and autonomy of workers. It refers to their skills and the
control they have over their work and careers. The horizontal axis refers to the “need for
mutuality in the workplace.” This mutuality is observed when the employer needs the
participation and commitment of employees and when everyone's work depends strongly
on that of others for the production of a good or service. Consider, for example, the
manufacture of an aircraft engine. Engineers and machinists must work together to ensure
that the final product meets the criteria of efficiency and safety. These axes, when they
intersect, allow us to observe the unionization zone, as illustrated in Figure 3.1.
In the unionization zone, there are employees who have recognized qualifications and who
share collective interests, such as improving their working conditions and the need for
protection against arbitrary decisions. These workers do not necessarily have significant
individual bargaining power, but collectively they are able to establish a power relationship
with the employer, who cannot ignore them given their contribution to the production of
goods and services. This is the case of the unionized workers at Aérothéque in the opening
1. The Labour Code uses the term “association
of employees” to refer to a union
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Figure 3.1
Unionization zone
Qualifications and autonomy of workers
an
Self-employed
workers
Highly skilled
workers
Unionization
zone
lifi
nte
Vulnerable and
low-skilled
workers
Mutuality in the workplace
scenario, and of the electronics and robotics technicians at Techno Pointe, as described
below in the section Jn the heart of the action. This category also includes hospital nurses,
construction workers, early childhood educators, police officers, firefighters, etc.
The employer's resistance to the unionization of workers may be strong. While it is generally
accepted that any employer prefers by far to retain full decision-making power, there are
a number of factors that can reduce opposition to a union presence:
- It may be more efficient to negotiate working conditions with a union than with each
employee individually.
- If all other companies in the sector have a union, the impact of the unionization of one
company’s employees is likely to be less damaging to it than if it were the only company
required to negotiate a collective agreement (Coiquaud et al., 2016).
- The “wage effect” of unions (wages, benefits, etc.) is often slight, due, for example, to the
low proportion of labour costs in total production costs (Verma, 2005).
In the heart of the action
Techno Pointe is a manufacturer of electronic equipment
such as printed circuits, cables and harnesses. It also offers
its customers an electromechanical integration service. It has
more than 150 employees divided into four distinct categories. First are the production employees, who have technical
training in electronics and robotics. The company also has a
dozen engineers working on product design. Other workers
are assigned to packaging and shipping products; they do
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not have any specific training, as their tasks do not require
specialized skills. Techno
Pointe uses, as needed,
lawyers
and tax specialists for cases that require the intervention of
such specialists.
Note that only the production employees are unionized. How
can such a situation be explained?
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The unionization zone represents the traditional pool of unions. It is advantageous for
them to organize these types of workers, for various reasons. First, since they are salaried
employees, they can be organized without having to overcome legal obstacles. Second,
these employees share common interests that facilitate collective bargaining for their
working conditions. Third, because of their greater job stability, the employer is usually
less resistant to their being unionized.
Outside the unionization zone, at the top left in Figure 3.1 on page 59, are self-employed
workers, who might be engaged by organizations to perform specific tasks or mandates.
These include lawyers and tax specialists, such as those used by Techno Pointe for specific
needs, The same applies to consultants, web designers and trades people (electricians,
plumbers) who work for themselves. They are only loosely integrated into the organization
and have a high degree of autonomy. Recently, we have seen a proliferation of digital
platforms, such as Upwork, designed to connect self-employed workers (specialists in
marketing, accounting, data management, analytics, etc.) with employers who want to use
a skilled worker for a fixed period. This is a contractual relationship and not an employment
relationship. In fact, self-employed workers do not work for an employer, but for clients
(see Chapter 1 for more details). They are not recognized as employees within the meaning
of the Labour Code and therefore cannot join a union. Indeed, to be an employee within
the meaning of this law, there must be a “legal subordination relationship”: the employer
must have the power to “direct and control the employee's work performance, or to determine the work to be performed according to the directives and methods it has determined”
(Coiquaud et a/., 2016, p. 69).
As a result, it is difficult for unions to organize these workers. Legally, they cannot form a
union and enter into collective bargaining. Even if they are under contract for a unionized
employer, they are excluded from the benefits provided for in the agreement. Moreover,
since these people often work alone, it does not come naturally to them to be part of a group
(Haiven, 2006). As for employers, they may call on self-employed workers in order to access
certain expertise for a given period, and for greater flexibility and to reduce their payroll
taxes. From a union perspective, it could be possible to bring together a group of self-employed
workers working in the same sector or trade to form an association offering them services
(representation with governments and companies, group insurance negotiations, etc.).
However, the costs of recruiting and representing such a model would be significant and
would not necessarily yield the expected benefits.
®
Still outside the unionization zone, at the top right of Figure 3.1, are the highly skilled
workers. They enjoy a high degree of autonomy. Unlike self-employed workers, however,
they are hired by an employer and can therefore be recognized as employees. In order to
ensure the production of a good or service, it may be necessary for an organization to
maintain an employment relationship with these skilled workers rather than using their
services on an ad hoc basis. For example, the engineers at Techno Pointe have to work
with other employees every day. As Haiven (2006) points out, the entirety of the work
done is worth more than the sum of the individual contributions. In addition, the expertise
of highly skilled workers can be crucial for an organization; indeed it may be dependent
on it to some extent.
Since these workers are integrated into the organization, it is legally possible to organize
them as long as they are recognized as employees. However, the desire to join forces is
generally low given their individual bargaining power. They are also more inclined to promote
their personal interests and careers than to defend collective interests. In addition, employers
prefer to negotiate with these workers on an individual basis because of their added value
to the organization. As for the unions, they have little interest in responding to the individual
needs of these employees, as they prefer to negotiate collective working conditions.
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At the bottom of Figure 3.1 are the vulnerable and low-skilled workers. They are more
easily integrated into the organization or more likely to occupy a less strategic position.
Examples include the workers responsible for packaging and shipping at Techno Pointe,
or housekeeping staff, who may be subcontracted or hired by an employer.
These workers are generally in a precarious situation. Being easily replaceable, they have
little individual bargaining power and they could benefit from the protection and advantages
of a union. But some, such as immigrant workers who are unfamiliar with their rights, are
reluctant to take the risk of engaging in a unionization campaign. Others, such as students
who work a few hours a week for a limited time, may have little motivation to make the effort
to unionize (Haiven, 2006). In such a context, it can be dangerous for unions to invest in a
unionization campaign. However, they may do so if the workers in question are truly determined or if the union is aiming to make a breakthrough in an industry that still evades them.
The somewhat successful unionization campaigns conducted in branches of the McDonald's,
Starbucks and Couche-Tard banners provide examples of the inherent difficulties in organizing this type of worker. Such workers are vulnerable to robotization due to technological
advances related to the digitization of production and artificial intelligence. Several studies
have shown that jobs with low added value and minimal skill requirements are especially at
risk of disappearing.
To summarize, unions respond to the needs of some workers who succeed in increasing
their power and improving their working conditions by joining forces. Recent changes in
the labour market provide an opportunity to examine the evolution of unionism. The advent
of new technologies, including artificial intelligence and robotization, will certainly have
an impact on the unionized workforce by eliminating some traditionally unionized jobs.
And there is the growth of self-employment, particularly through digital platforms (Uber,
Upwork, Mechanical Turk). On these sites, “flexible workers” can be “bought” and paid
only for what they do at that time. They are outside the unionization zone because they
are usually recognized as self-employed. While there are undeniable advantages for companies to use these platforms and this type of workforce, particularly in terms of flexibility
and costs, some questions can be raised about the social consequences of such choices.
Without stable remuneration, without access to social benefits (group insurance, pension
schemes) and with limited access to public social protection schemes (employment insurance, compensation in the event of a workplace accident or occupational disease), will
these workers ever have acceptable employment conditions? And will these labour market
trends result in a weakening of the unions or, on the contrary, a comeback for unions and
collective action? These remain open questions.
3.2.2 The unionization process
While not all employees can or want to join a union, the decision to join is theirs to make.
As a manager, you must remember that the decision to form a union is an employee right
guaranteed in the Labour Code (section 3), the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and
the Charter of Hi
Rights and Freedoms
of Québec.
The right of association is thus raised
to the level of a fundamental freedom and protected by a series of legal provisions. As we
will see in the next section, this explains why during the unionization period, managers
must monitor their actions at the risk of being summoned to appear before the administrative labour tribunal (Tribunal administratif du travail or TAT), as will be seen in the next
section. Before we get there, let's have a look at the major steps in the unionization process.
As we mentioned earlier, only employees as defined in the Labour Code can take part in
the formation of a union. If they wish to form a union they must first sign membership
cards and pay union dues ($2 minimum).
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Bargaining unit
A group of workers,
defined in the accreditation
certificate, who will be
represented exclusively by
the certified union, for which
a collective agreement can be
negotiated and concluded.
Union dues
Aweekly, monthly or annual
amount that a union requires
of its members, in order to pay
for its operating expenses and
to maintain their rights and
privileges as members.
The legal status of their union will be recognized once it is certified by the TAT. They must
show that the union represents an absolute majority (50 percent plus one have signed
cards) of an “appropriate” bargaining unit. The TAT can also order a vote to be held by
secret ballot if the labour relations officer finds that between 35% and 50% of the employees
are union members. The bargaining unit most often refers to a group of employees with
similar characteristics (functions, method of remuneration, work schedules, professional
qualifications, interdependent tasks, etc.). Blue-collar workers (manual workers) and
white-collar workers (office workers) are generally grouped together in separate
bargaining units.
Once certified, the union becomes the only representative and exclusive spokesperson
for all the employees concerned by the certification, whether they are members or not.
The employer is then obligated to negotiate a collective agreement with the union diligently
and in good faith, and no longer has the authority to negotiate working conditions (salary,
schedules, vacation, etc.) directly with employees. The employer is also obliged to deduct
union dues from each employee's pay and to confer this amount to the certified union.
This is called the Rand Formula or the “compulsory agency shop.” The principle of this
tule is as follows: because all employees within a bargaining unit benefit from the advantages of the collective agreement, they should all pay union dues.
3.2.3 The manager's role in the unionization campaign
By virtue of the Labour Code, once the process of unionization has begun the employer
and its representatives must act appropriately. Although their right to speak is recognized
to some extent, they cannot say or do whatever they want in order to block an attempt
at unionization.
In the heart of the action
Mélanie has been a cashier at the A bas prix store in
Trois-Riviéres for five years. She works part-time, 26 hours a
week. On May 28, 2018, Roger Dumoulin, the assistant cashier
manager, and Pierre Laterreur, the store manager, called her
into Mr, Laterreur’s office. They admonished her for being
involved in union solicitation in the workplace and threate-
ned her with disciplinary measures if she didn’t stop. Next,
they asked about her reasons for wanting to form a union and
for the names of other people participating in the campaign.
Pierre Laterreur reminded her of a warning he had given her
about her work in 2017; he was tolerant at that time, but he
might change his mind. The two managers ended the meeting,
saying Mélanie’s behaviour cut them to the quick. Mélanie was
shaken as she left the meeting, all the more so because meetings were rarely held behind closed doors with no witnesses.
The following day, contrary to his customary practice, Roger
Dumoulin scrutinized Mélanie’s work and watched her closely
at all times.
According to the Code, an employer cannot prevent its employees from exercising their
right to freedom of association or their freedom of expression in this regard. Nor can it
interfere in workers’ choice to join or leave a union. The Labour Code protects an employee
who is taking part in union activities as well as the union that is being formed by prohibiting
any management interference. These prohibitions can be summarized as follows:
- It is forbidden for a manager or a union to intimidate or threaten workers in order to
induce them to become members, refrain from becoming members or cease to be members of a union (section 13, L.C.).
- Managers are not allowed to refuse to hire employees because of their union activities,
or endeavour fo compel employees to refrain from or cease participating in union
activities (soliciting fellow employees to sign a union membership card, participating in
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a strike, etc.) by intimidation, discrimination, retaliation, threats (e.g. dismissal), sanction
or in any other way, as in the case of Mélanie presented on the previous page (section 14
of the Code).
- It is prohibited for a manager to interview an employee to find out the names of the
people who are participating in the organizing campaign, as in Mélanie’s case. A
person's membership in a union must not be disclosed by anyone during the certification
process. The employer therefore does not have access to this information (section 36 of
the Code).
- Nor can a manager take action against an employee for making union solicitations
in the workplace. This practice is not prohibited by the Code, except during work hours
(section 5 of the Code). Where applicable, employer representatives may ask the person
engaged in such activities while deemed to be working to immediately stop doing so,
without intimidating them. Solicitation is only prohibited when employees are deemed
to be at work. It is allowed at any other time, paid or unpaid (meals, coffee breaks), when
the employees are free to make use of this time at their discretion.
- The employer or any person acting on its behalf shall not in any manner seek to dominate,
hinder or finance the formation or activities of a union or to participate therein
(section 12 of the Code). This prohibition is intended in particular to prevent the establishment of a company union that is dominated and controlled by the employer, thus
preventing the certification of a real union. As a result, any action that would facilitate
setting up a union is prohibited (such as allowing meetings to be held at the workplace,
authorizing membership cards to be signed during work hours).
- In accordance with these same prohibitions, the employer or its representatives are also
forbidden from encouraging workers to join one union rather than another. If there is a
unionization campaign where two unions are fighting over employee membership, a
manager cannot pressure employees to join the union. In addition, any statement or
practice that could interfere with the formation or activities of a union is similarly prohibited. Some examples of prohibited practices are: threatening closure, predicting
doomsday scenarios in the event of union certification and making promises (wage
increases, improved work hours) to induce employees to renounce the union
(Ouimet, 2013).
However, the manager is not obliged to remain silent. Don’t forget that freedom of expression is a right guaranteed to everyone under the charters of Canada and Québec. How
then to maintain a balance between the freedom of association and the freedom of
expression? Some legal rulings, especially the Disque Améric Inc.’ decision, have set
parameters ensuring the employer's right of speech while at the same time protecting
freedom of association. Managers may thus speak to employees about their undertaking
to unionize, but must avoid the forbidden practices described above. They must monitor
the content of its message to employees as well as the context in which it is delivered.
Regarding the content of the message, managers may explain facts without falsehoods or
exaggeration and without undermining the credibility of the union in the workers’ eyes. They
may report on working conditions, offer an objective presentation of the consequences for
the company of a union claim, express their preference for maintaining a work environment
without a collective intermediary, correct inaccurate information in propaganda concerning
them, etc. They may not threaten employees with a reduction in the quality of their working
conditions or with the closure of the company if a union is certified (Coiquaud et a/., 2016).
Promising better wages or benefits in return for declining to join a union is also prohibited
under the law.
The context in which the employer or its representatives express themselves is also to be
taken into consideration. Are the employer's comments being made at a time when the
union and employees are particularly vulnerable (unionization campaign, negotiation of a
2. Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union
of Canada (CEP), local 194¢. Disque Améric Inc., 1996, TT. 451.
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first collective agreement)? On the other hand, it is commonly accepted that employees
must be free to listen to the employer's statements or not. If managers present their point
of view on unionization to workers during a meeting they are paid to attend, it may be
doubtful whether they are in fact free to listen or not. Managers may not use their hierarchical authority, for example by summoning employees to their office to convince them
Not to join a union. In the event of a complaint against the employer to the TAT, the court
will also consider how the communication was transmitted (verbal, letter, email), when
(during or outside work hours) and where (at work, at home). The court will examine
whether the employer's approach is normal or whether it is an unusual means of intervention that can be interpreted as “a negative reaction to the exercise of the right of association” (Coiquaud et a/., 2016:116). For example, is it normal for a meeting to be called with
a few hours’ notice without an agenda? Do employees usually receive letters signed by
senior management at home?
In short, managers have a certain amount of leeway to express their opinions, but they
must remain vigilant that their comments do not fall under the category of forbidden
practices, All the parameters discussed in the preceding paragraphs, which provide a
framework for the employer's right to speak, apply during the unionization period as well
as during collective bargaining, a request for decertification and a work stoppage.
3.3 Who Are the Main Players in a Union?
As we have seen, a union is a group of employees in a company or a plant whose legal
status is sanctioned by certification. Managers interact with this local union in their day-today work. It’s at that level that key decisions are made, “where “it happens” (Gérin-Lajoie,
2004, p. 77).
A local union is made up of various structures and participants, as shown in Figure 3.2.
Routine business is taken care of by an executive committee, which is also the members’
official spokesperson with the employer. The executive committee is composed of a president, one or more vice-presidents (in charge of files or committees such as grievances,
health and safety, women committee), a secretary and a treasurer. These are employees
of the company, members of the union, and elected by their peers. As a manager, especially
in a small company, you may have to speak with representatives of the executive committee,
for example if one of your employees is the victim of work injury. You should meet with
the official union representatives to explain the facts, especially if an inquiry has been
opened (see Chapter 10).
®
In a large company, however, your main union contact will be the union steward. This
is an employee who has been elected or designated by his/her colleagues to represent
them, to accompany them when making claims and to oversee the application of the
collective agreement (Dion, 1986). The union decides how many union delegates are
required: one for each department, for the different shifts, etc. In some unions, the practice
is to elect a steward for each supervisor, foreman or lead hand. Stewards’ main task is to
defend members in dealing with their immediate supervisor. Since they are in the workplace, they can intervene quickly to settle potential problems.
The steward is very familiar with the collective agreement, employees’ rights and union
rights. If employees feel wronged because you, as a manager, have not respected a clause
in the collective agreement or have imposed a disciplinary measure, they will contact their
steward, whose responsibility it is to meet you to discuss the dispute. Your knowledge of the
rules (labour laws and the collective agreement) and the cordial relations you have developed
with the union steward may enable you to avoid conflicts or resolve them as quickly and
efficiently as possible.
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Figure 3.2
Typical structure of a union local
Employees
General
assembly
Members of the local
Union steward
Various committees:
orev
representative
* Health and safety
. Etc.
Executive Committee
President
Secretary
.P.
Treasurer
Other union players may be involved if the local union decides to join a central labour
body’. Table 3.2 on the following page lists the four central labour bodies in the province
of Québec.
Being affiliated with a central labour body offers a local union many advantages. It provides
access to greater expertise (legal resources, information on collective agreements negotiated in other companies within the same sector, etc.), better material resources (larger
strike fund), and increased visibility through various political and social representations,
Another benefit of belonging to a central labour body is the involvement of a union representative. Unlike the union steward, union representatives are not employees paid by the
company, but rather by the central labour body. Their job is to advise and support the local
union in its activities. They may, for example, assist in negotiating a collective agreement,
help with internal settlements and grievance arbitration, as well as participate in preparing
and running a strike. As a manager, you may be in contact with this representative for matters
such as settling a grievance concerning a disciplinary measure you have imposed on
an employee.
However, the supreme authority of the union is the general assembly, held periodically, in
which the members of the union participate (Coiquaud et a/., 2016). This is when the most
important decisions of union life are taken, in particular the decision to strike or to ratify a
collective agreement and the election of union leaders. All these decisions are generally
made via secret ballot.
3. We use the expression “central labour body” in a general manner,
even though the Fédération
des travailleurs et
travailleuses du Québec (FTQ) is a federation of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the primary central labour
Canada. For more details, see in particular Gérin-Lajoie, 2004, p. 97-101.
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Table 3.2
Central labour bodies in Québec
Central
labour body
Logo
Number
of Members
Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ)
Québec Federation of Labour (QFL)
Website: http://www. ftq.qc.ca
600,000
FTO
Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN)
Confederation of National Trade Unions (CNTU)
325,000
Website: http:/Awww.csn.qc.ca
CSN
Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ)
Website: http://www.csq.qc.net
©
csQ
Centrale des syndicats démocratiques (CSD)
Website: http://www.csd.qc.ca
S
cso
200, 000
71,000
Regardless of who the union contact is, it is recommended that the manager establish a
relationship of respect and trust with that person. Good managers do not hesitate to call
on the expertise and assistance of their union counterparts to solve complex and sometimes
sensitive problems.
3.4 The Manager's Role in Collective Bargaining
.
Collective agreement
A rie) Severe ceruee
that sets, for a limited Saiiod
of time, the conditions of
employment applicable to all
employees within aspecific
bargaining unit.
Collective bargaining
Aprocess of free discussion
between anemployerand
iF unoa ts one papers
agreement ‘alate toworking
conditions (Hébert, 1992).
Once the union is certified, the managers will have to prepare for one of the central tasks
_of life in a unionized environment: negotiating a collective agreement. While the responsibility for negotiating such an agreement is generally assigned to negotiation specialists
(HR director, lawyers, labour relations consultants), the manager may be called upon to
contribute in several ways.
.
=
Generally, senior managers define the bargaining mandate of the management party and
_ brief the bargaining committee accordingly. The committee will be composed of one or more
people chosen for their expertise (human resources manager, plant manager, finance manager,
lawyer, actuary). The choice of negotiators depends on the structure and needs of the
company in the negotiation.
Especially in small businesses, a supervisor may be called upon to sit at the bargaining
table. In general that person’s role is to support, assist and advise the negotiating committee,
particularly at the preparatory stage. This step is often considered the most important in
the negotiation process, and the quality and success of the negotiation may depend on it.
Also, it helps in identifying the issues, demands, strategies and tactics to be adopted. In
practice, it involves collecting and analyzing information from a variety of sources. This
information can identify problems and thus help in the preparation of the employer's list
of demands. It is also used to justify those demands. For example, data on the rate of
inflation and wages paid elsewhere in the same sector over the past year may lend weight
—_to the wage increase proposal.
More systematically, the preparation stage of collective bargaining involves, for the
employer, an analysis of many aspects of the organization and its business sector: the
@conomic and legislative environment, collective agreements negotiated among competi_ tors, organizational climate, productivity, etc. In this regard, the supervisor will most likely
be consulted, formally or informally, and called upon to provide information on workplace
issues and the application of the collective agreement, as illustrated in the next section.
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In the heart of the action
Maria has been an operations manager for 2 years ina
food distribution centre. The collective agreement is due to
expire in 6 months and the Director of Human Resources,
Raoul, is consulting with her to prepare for the next round
of negotiations.
Raoul:
Maria:
Maria:
Raoul:
How are things going with the union, Maria?
In general, I'd say relations are pretty good. Sometimes
we have small differences, but we manage to discuss
the problems and resolve them fairly quickly. The joint
committee to study work organization is working well.
We've managed to improve productivity. My problem
is more with the collective agreement.
Right. We're going to start negotiations in three months
and I'd like to know what could or should be changed.
| have a long list. Are you ready?
Go ahead. I'm listening.
Maria:
Okay, first of all we need to add an evening shift.
Raoul:
Maria:
Raoul:
Maria:
Orders keep growing and if we want to stay competitive, we have to be more available so we can offer our
Raoul:
customers better service.
Yeah, well we made that demand to the union at the
last negotiation, but nothing came of it. However, |
agree with you that we absolutely must go back with
that demand.
Raoul:
And by doing that
we could also reduce the amountof
overtime. Just in the last month, I've added over 100
hours. It’s costing us a lot of money. Really, | don’t see
any solution other than adding an evening shift. Maybe
we could convince the union by adding a bonus for
evening work?
Yes... and it could also help us improve our health and
safety performance. I've noticed that after 10 hours of
work, the number of accidents increases. | think these
are all good arguments to put to the union. Anything
else, Maria?
Maybe one more thing. We should increase our
investment in training. We'll soon be implementing a
new technology and increasing the robotization in the
distribution centre, and I'm not sure that the employees
are ready for that. We need to work with the union on
this one. It could help us identify the best ways to train
employees, reduce resistance to new technologies and
smooth the introduction of those technologies. | have
a colleague in the aerospace industry who's worked
with his union in similar circumstances and the results
have been impressive.
That's a very good idea. And I'm sure that, on this issue,
the union will be ready to formalize everything in the
agreement. Thank you, Maria!
As a manager, you have a unique perspective on the operations and the company’s future
needs. For example, is your business considering moving ahead with production digitization
by introducing robotization? What will be the implications for the workers’ tasks? Will new
qualifications be required, particularly in IT and data management? You will have to discuss
these issues with the negotiators since these matters may have an impact on compensation,
task rearrangement and enrichment, etc. In the situation described at the beginning,
perhaps Paul should have waited until the next negotiation with the union to propose his
changes and properly align his demands with those of the union.
In addition, managers must remember that, during negotiations, their freedom of expression
is governed by the same rules as those that apply when a unionization process is undertaken
by employees. They must also take care to maintain as much as possible a healthy working
climate and normal production levels, even if negotiations are long and difficult. The
challenge can be considerable, given the tension and uncertainty that such negotiations
can generate,
The Labour Code specifies that, upon expiry of the agreement and until the right to strike
or lockout is exercised, the employer must maintain normal working conditions and
employees must continue to provide their services under the same conditions. The manager
is therefore entitled to expect normal performance of the work by the employees during
this period. In addition, the parties generally ensure that the collective agreement continues
to apply until a new agreement is signed, as permitted by the Code (section 59).* Thus, in
making any decisions, the manager must be bound by the expired but extended agreement.
4. The term “bridge clause” is sometimes used to refer to these provisions
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®
3.5 The Manager's Role During a Work Stoppage
When collective bargaining drags on or negotiations are deadlocked, one of the parties
may use various pressure tactics to force the other party to accept its demands, Although
rare, these situations can upset company operations, especially in the case of a work
stoppage. When this happens, the manager will be called upon to carry out new tasks.
After discussing various pressure tactics unions may apply, we will take a closer look at
work stoppages — strikes and lockouts. Lastly, we will analyze the recourse that each party
has to resolve the dispute, as well as possible actions to facilitate a return to work.
In the heart of the action
The data available on labour disputes indicates a downward
trend in their numbers in Québec since the early 1980s.
Between 1976 and 1985, there was an average of 320 labour
disputes per year, while the average between 2006 and 2015
was 85 (Coiquaud et al., 2016).
Many theories have been put forward to explain this situation
(Hennebert et Faulkner, 2017). A first explanatory hypothesis relates to the «virtuous pacification» of labour relations.
One example of this is extending the duration of collective
agreements, which reduces the likelihood of conflict since
they cannot occur during the term of an agreement. In some
business sectors, the decline has been attributed to the maturity of collective agreements. Here, renegotiations are often
focussed on updating a few clauses, thereby reducing the
opportunities for discord between management and labour.
Another example is the adoption by employers and unions
of new labour relations models and bargaining practices (see
section 3.7), based on closer cooperation and more fluid and
transparent communication between the parties.
to this theory, the decrease in the number of labour disputes
could be seen primarily as the result of unions’ declining
power and their ability to mobilize. This progressive weakening
could be linked to the advent of a «process of emergence
and consolidation of a neoliberal labour relations regime
[...] dominated by employers» and marked by more hostile
government interventions toward unions (Lapointe, 2016). The
economic environment, characterized in particular by greater
competitive pressures on companies, increased opportunities
for production transfer and the adoption of more «aggressive»
employer strategies at the bargaining tables, would appear to
be putting unions on the defensive and limiting their ability
to strike. The proponents of this hypothesis point out that the
decrease observed in the number of strikes does not necessarily
indicate a parallel decrease in labour conflicts. While strikes
remain the most forceful and symbolic action that can be taken
to express workplace dissatisfaction, there are also other ways
(time theft, increased absenteeism, slowing production rates,
work-to-rule, weakening trust relationships, etc.).
Juxtaposed with this hypothesis is another explanation, that
of the «coercive pacification» of labour relations. According
3.5.1 Pressure tactics in the case of a dispute
In the case of a dispute between parties, in other words a disagreement concerning
negotiations or collective agreement renewal, the union and employees may have recourse
to various pressure tactics going beyond work stoppages. For example, they may decide
to wear clothes that do no comply with the dress code. They may also hand out pamphlets
to customers or the public informing them about negotiations and demands.
As a general rule, pressure tactics designed to express disagreement with negotiations
are neither prohibited nor illegal if they are exercised in compliance with the contractual
obligations provided for by law, the employment contract and the collective agreement,
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if applicable.* A work slowdown (or slowdown strike) is, however, prohibited under any
circumstances by the Labour Code (section 108). The employer has the right to expect
work to be done as usual by its paid employees. When employees apply rules and
regulations to the letter and to the last detail (work-to-rule), the result is the same (a
work slowdown), but they are operating under the legitimate guise of complying exactly
with their employers’ instructions (Gagnon, 2003, p. 453). Following every regulation
strictly to the letter can, after a certain time, bring an organization to its knees.
3.5.2 Work stoppage: strikes and lockouts
A work stoppage will be characterized as a lockout or strike, depending on who initiated
it. A lockout is the employer's refusal to provide work to a group of employees. A strike,
on the other hand, is defined as a concerted cessation of work by a group of employees
(section 1g and th L.C.).
ae
5
ais
In both cases, the objective is to force the other party to accept the working conditions
proposed in collective bargaining.
The refusal by an employer
to give work to a group of
its employees in order to
compel them to accept certain
— conditions of enplontnert or
to similarly compel employees
of another employer (section
Ih)), L.C.).
Preparatory tasks
Managers must prepare for this kind of situation before it occurs. However, they must not
.
ee
ae
¢
a
.
hinder negotiations by giving the impression that the employer is ready to declare alockout
at any moment. In the same vein, a union that asks employees for an unlimited general strike
mandate before negotiations even begin certainly sends a negative signal to the organization
about the possibility of dialogue. If a conflict seems inevitable, though, the employer and
the union must prepare for the work stoppage. As a manager, you may be called on to assume
many responsibilities, summarized in the Toolbox on the following page. Depending on the
size of the company, these responsibilities may be shared among various executive levels or
departments, The human resources department usually has to provide for a communication
plan with its employees and the media during the labour conflict, and look after all questions
concerning salaries and fringe benefits to be paid before, during and after the strike or lockout.
The supervisor may be requested to perform specific tasks: advise clients of an impending
work stoppage, plan inventory, decide what staff is required and who is available to continue
activities, etc.
Strike
.
Aconcerted cessation of work
—_ by a group of employees
_ (section 1{g] L-C.).
Taking anti-scab provisions into account
To ensure adequate preparation while at the same time respecting legislation, the manager must pay careful attention to section 109.1 of the Labour Code, which prohibits
employers from using replacement workers, or strikebreakers, in the event of astrike
or lockout. The objective of Section 109.1 is to ensure that the same balance of power
.
on
.
a
_
.
is maintained between the two parties as at the beginning of the bargaining phase. This
is accomplished by guaranteeing that both parties suffer losses (in particular monetary),
a situation (or threat thereof) which may encourage the employer and the union to find
a solution to their dispute. For their part, employees are deprived of their salaries and
= _
— Strikebreaker
ee
hired specifically to
lo the work of an employee
_ on strike or locked out.
receive, in return, an allowance from the strike fund. The amount received is lower than
a regular salary and depends mainly on what union funds are available. At the same time,
the company’s activities are obviously disrupted, since the employer cannot call on
replacement workers. However, section 109.1 of the Labour Code does not require the
employer to close its establishment during the labour conflict. It can continue its activities
and have the work of striking or locked-out employees done by other people.
5. Think, for example, of bill 133, requiring Lanai Keitel to wear their uniforms while on duty. It was passed on
October
19, 2017 asa
to the pi
d by the City of Mi
J police. The police officers
wore camouflage pants and red ball caps, poker of thelr uniforms, to exert pressure during the course
of collective
bargaining negotiations.
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Toolbox
Managerial tasks in the event of a work stoppage
Tasks
Contact clients and suppl
~ Advise clients of an impending work stoppage.
~ Let clients know the impact a work stoppage will have on the supply of products or services.
~ Cancel or postpone orders from suppliers, or reroute them to another establishment.
Plan steps to take
~ Plan inventory beforea strike or lockout.
~ Determine which activities will continue or cease in an establishment hit by a conflict, based on
available resources.
~ Decide what staff is required and who is availableto continue activities during a work stoppage,
following provisions laid down in the Labour Code (see section below).
~ Determine the competencies required and arrange for the training of people who will do the
work of the striking or locked-out employees.
~ Plan these individuals’ schedules so they do not become exhausted.
~ See that health and safety concems for these people are looked after.
Source: Adapted from C.S. Loughran [2006},
Contract: a Mi
Wi
BNA Books.
Basically, in an organization involved in a conflict, the duties of employees on strike or
locked out may be performed by the following persons:
- Executives working in this organization who were hired before the negotiations began.
The HR person and the manager must ensure that these executives are available, trained
and can perform the tasks under good health and safety conditions, and will not burn
out as a result of working unduly long hours. As a manager, you may therefore be called
upon to work directly in operations to replace striking or locked-out employees.
- Volunteers, people who agree to perform the work of employees on strike or locked out
without receiving any form of compensation. Obviously, the employer must assume
responsibility for their training and health and safety.
- Subcontractors, but they must not work on the premises of the organization affected
by the conflict.
=
- Executives, employees or any other persons, regardless of anti-scab provisions, who take
the necessary measures to avoid the destruction or serious deterioration of the
company’s property.
A group protest Pitts a
When an employer owns several establishments, the other establishments may continue
takes place duringalabour
their work if they are not affected by the conflict.
conflict or a work stoppage,
aimed at informing various
players involved with the
company that there is conflict
and convincing themtostop
doing business with the
company until me one
'
<
Picketing
| During a labour conflict, the manager must also know what rules apply when striking or
Jocked-out employees resort to picketing. This activity is aimed at informing various
players involved with the company (clients, suppliers, other employees, the public) of the
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conflict and convincing them to stop conducting business with it until the conflict is settled.
Picketing also serves to monitor comings and goings at the company, especially to observe
if the employer is using strikebreakers.
Picketing is covered by the Criminal Code, not the Labour Code. The Criminal Code authorizes
picketing for the purpose of getting or giving information, because it is simply exercising
the freedom of expression guaranteed under the Canadian and Québec charters of rights
and freedoms. However, the Criminal Code prohibits picketing that threatens, intimidates
or involves violence to a person or a person's property, or is defamatory. It also forbids
blocking access to the company for employees who are not on a work stoppage, suppliers
and clients. Picketing cannot take place on the employer's property, but must be restricted
to the area around it.
3.5.3 Dispute settlement and return to work
And what if negotiating reaches a dead end? Pressure tactics aside, the parties can resort
to conciliation or dispute arbitration. And should a work stoppage occur before a collective
agreement is reached, then it will be crucial to plan for an orderly return to work.
Conciliation and dispute arbitration
In the event of a dispute, there are two procedures management and union parties can resort
to for help in their negotiations: conciliation and dispute arbitration. Conciliation aims to help
the employer and the union negotiate their collective agreement. At any stage of the negotiations, either of the parties may request that the Ministére du Travail appoint a conciliation
officer. This officer's mission is to find common ground and bring the parties together, leading
them to conclude their collective agreement. However, the parties are not required to accept
the conciliator’s recommendations.
Dispute arbitration provides for the intervention of a third party, an arbitrator appointed
by the Minister of Labour, whose role is to submit an arbitration award in lieu of a collective
agreement for a period of one to three years. The arbitrator renders his award after having
heard the claims of each party about the points of the collective agreement that are the
subject of the dispute. In the case of the renewal of a collective agreement, the parties must
make a joint request before an arbitrator may intervene. However, during the negotiation of
a first collective agreement, one party may request the Minister to submit the dispute to an
arbitrator, after the intervention of a conciliator has been unsuccessful. Once the arbitration
process has begun, the parties must, if the case arises, put an end to the strike or lockout.
Return to work
Conciliation
A procedure involving the
intervention of a third party,
who has no coercive power,
to bring the parties at conflict
together, facilitate dialogue
among them and help them
to agree (Dion, 1986).
Dispute arbitration
A procedure by which the
parties call on a third party
to settle a disagreement
dealing with the negotiation
of a collective agreement.
The assigned arbitrator, after
holding a hearing, will render
an arbitration award that is
binding on the parties and will
have the effect of a collective
agreement signed by the
parties.
At the end of a labour conflict, even if there is no agreement, management and union
parties usually negotiate a return-to-work protocol. It must be remembered that all employees who have been on strike or locked out have the right to return to their employment
once the call to go back to work is issued. In fact, a work stoppage, whether a strike or
lockout, does not break the employment relationship unless an employer cites just and
sufficient cause such as serious acts of vandalism.
The return to work protocol generally covers the following topics: employee return to work
procedures (date of re-opening of the company, employee recall procedures); employee
working conditions during the work stoppage (calculation of seniority, payment of benefits,
resumption of vacation); waiver of any action by the parties, injunctions and grievance
proceeding, and any other provision deemed necessary to ensure the normal resumption
of the company’s activities.
To facilitate a return to work, managers must be certain that they understand the reasons
for the conflict and the tensions it generated, and plan for any reactions the employees
might have. Even if they weren't at the negotiating table and didn’t participate in the
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decisions, they remain the management figures most accessible to employees. They may
also be the target of some dissatisfaction. They might be asked to manage differences
among workers, in particular if production requires close collaboration among various
positions. In this context, fastidious disciplinary management is not advised as it might
rekindle tensions.
In order to facilitate a return to work, it is necessary to lay the groundwork for closer
relations between the union and managers, to disseminate clear and shared information
(for example, on management's plans, especially if there has been a threat of closure), and
above all to maintain communication with the employees and their union.
3.6 Collective Agreements: Union “Shock”
Once negotiations are complete, a new collective agreement binds the employer and its
representatives, as well as the union and the employees. All parties will have to comply
with the new rules that have been jointly defined. Indeed, once ratified, the agreement has
a legal status that obliges its signatories to respect its terms. In addition, to be valid, a
collective agreement must meet the four conditions set out in Table 3.3.
Table 3.3 Conditions for the validity of an agreement under the Labour Code
The conditions for the validity of a collective agreement
1. The agreement must be negotiated between an employer and a certified union as per the Labour Code.
2. The agreement must be written in French as per the Charter of the French Language.
®
3. The agreement must be filed with the Ministry of Labour within 60 days of its signature.
4. The agreement must be for a fixed term of at least one year. There are no restrictions on its maximum
duration. However, in the case of a first collective agreement or an agreement imposed by a dispute
arbitrator, the maximum duration is three years.
In the following sections, we will first discuss the scope and impact of the agreement on
managers, and then look at how it can change HRM in organizations. Finally, we will discuss
grievances as a means for the parties to enforce the agreement.
3.6.1 The collective agreement: management tool or
manager's constraint?
The arrival of a union causes a genuine “shock” for an organization (Verma 2005). The
union, with which the employer must now negotiate working conditions for employees,
will force the management to thoroughly review its policies and practices, Let us look at
how this shock manifests itself, particularly through the introduction of a collective agreement.
First, the newly formed union will make its demands during negotiations to improve
working conditions for employees. These will likely result in higher labour costs: higher
wages, benefits, new job security measures, etc. To preserve the company’s competitiveness,
managers will seek to formalize and standardize their policies and practices to improve
management efficiency. In addition, they will most likely look at ways to improve productivity. For example, efforts may be made to improve the quality of products or services,
reduce losses or complaints, modernize the company through the introduction of new
technologies, etc. In short, they will seek to optimize operational management. The arrival
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of a union can force managers to review their way of doing things and introduce management innovations in order to recover labour cost increases.
Once the initial shock is over, there will be other impacts, both positive and negative, associated with a union’s presence and a collective agreement. On the positive side, there are
four impacts that are frequently cited (Verma 2005). First, in a unionized environment, discriminatory practices are constrained by the setting of rules and standards that limit
employer arbitrariness. Examples include no dismissal without just and sufficient cause,
and meeting specific criteria for compensation, promotions, layoffs, etc. Among other things,
these measures reduce a company’s legal and reputational risks. Second, unionized employees
have the opportunity to express themselves more often and freely (having a “voice”) through
various mechanisms such as joint committees on occupational health and safety, work
organization and grievance settlement. These measures can promote employee involvement
and participation. Third, unionized companies are more likely to invest in training and
employee skills development. Finally, a union can increase the likelihood of labour practices being adopted that will contribute to productivity.
On the negative side, unions can potentially reduce the flexibility of companies by limiting,
for example, subcontracting or the hiring of people with precarious employment status. The
different forms of variable pay are also less likely to be accepted by unions, while management's flexibility in staffing is often restricted by the requirement to recruit first from within
and according to specific criteria, including seniority. There also tends to be
less direct communication between managers and employees, since unions position
themselves as the sole representative of the employees. In addition, when a union is in place,
there is less use of formal performance appraisal systems.
In short, both negative and positive effects can ensue from the presence of a union. It will
largely depend on how the relationship with the union is managed. In the situation described
earlier, Paul wanted to impose rather than negotiate; he tried to get around the collective
agreement. As a result, he encountered difficulties with the union and was unable to
convince it of the potential benefits to both parties of the changes he proposed.
Collective agreements and HRM practices
As we have just seen, unions can, through the negotiation of a collective agreement, have
an impact on an employer's policies and practices. In the initial situation, Paul encountered
difficulties when implementing his human resources management program. Why? One of
the fundamental errors he made was to ignore the collective agreement, which codifies
the working conditions that will apply to employees for a given period.
The manager must keep in mind two important principles related to collective agreements:
respect for public policy laws and the assertion of residual management rights. As per the
first principle, the parties are free to negotiate all provisions relating to employees’ working
conditions, but the agreement may not include clauses that are contrary to public policy or
prohibited by law. It cannot include conditions inferior to those provided for by the Act
Respecting Labour Standards, for example, fewer statutory holidays. It cannot give rise to forms
of discrimination prohibited by Québec's Charterof Human Rights and Freedoms. It cannot
prohibit an employee from refusing to perform work if he or she considers that its performance
exposes him or her to danger, as permitted by the Act Respecting Occupational Health and
Safety. In this way, the collective agreement reiterates, supplements or improves the minimum
conditions provided for by these laws, but it does not replace them.
With regard to the second principle, it is generally accepted that anything not regulated
and provided for in the collective agreement may be the subject of a unilateral decision
by the employer. In other words, the employer possesses all the rights related to the
management of the company, except those limited by the agreement. This principle
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corresponds to what is known as the “residual management rights theory.” For example,
if there is no provision dealing with subcontracting in an agreement, the employer may
choose to use subcontractors to perform a task (housekeeping, equipment repair) or part
of the production (mould making, dashboards). These residual rights are enshrined in the
agreement by a clause called “management rights” or “stewardship rights.” This is one of
the reasons why unions sometimes want to negotiate down to the smallest detail the
employees’ working conditions: salary, workload management, definition of the skills
required to perform a job, etc.
Thus, the agreement will include conditions specific to each workplace that will define the
manager's room to manoeuvre in leading a team of unionized employees. In general, all
HRM practices will be governed, in whole or in part, by the provisions of the collective
agreement. For instance, if you want to hire someone, you will need to follow a specific
method for staffing, as illustrated in the Toolbox below. You will most likely have to post
the position internally, following a well-established procedure regarding the duration of
the posting, who is eligible and the selection criteria. In a non-unionized environment, you
could have offered the position internally or recruited externally using a social network ad.
Toolbox
Example of a clause on staffing in a unionized environment
5.08 a) Before posting a full-time employee job that has become vacant, the Employer
shall, where applicable, offer the available work schedule to less senior employees
who have not had the opportunity to access this work schedule as provided in
®
section 9.02 (a).
For the purpose of applying the preceding paragraph, the employee must give
a response within a maximum of twelve (12) hours following the time when the
Employer gave verbal and direct notice to the employee concerned. The vacant
position, with the newly available work schedule, shall then be posted in accordance
with the procedure in section 5.08 b).
b) The Employer shall post in the charts provided for this purpose, any regular
employee position it wishes to fill. The posting period is eight (8) consecutive days.
The posting indicates the job title, status, location, schedule and number of hours
worked (for information purposes), a summary of the job, the normal requirements
of the job, the regular salary and the deadline for the posting period (date and time).
When a full-time job is posted, a part-time employee or a casual employee who has
completed the probationary period may apply in accordance with the terms and
conditions set out in the posting. When a part-time job is posted, a full-time employee
or a casual employee who has completed the probationary period may apply in
accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the posting.
[...]
5.11 The Employer shall select, from among the candidates who have applied, the
candidate with the most seniority, in the following order:
- regular employees, in order of seniority, by status;
- casual employees in order of seniority.
Source: Collective agreement: Socidté des casinos du Québec for its establishenent Casino de Charlevoix and the United Food
and Commercial Workers, Local 503, Dealers Unit, 2012-2019.
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With regard to compensation, in non-unionized environments, the employer can adjust
salary conditions and benefits according to the profile of its employees. Performance
bonuses based on specific objectives as well as annual performance evaluations based on
development potential can easily be implemented based on organizational objectives. In
a unionized environment, however, it must be said that there is far less flexibility. Agreements
generally provide for classes and salary scales that take into account training and seniority.
But, as mentioned above, various bonuses have emerged in collective agreements, in
particular to encourage productivity. However, these are generally of a collective nature,
as the union philosophy is always to defend the interests of their members according to a
collective logic.
Table 3.4 presents a non-exhaustive list of certain HRM practices that are governed by
collective agreement clauses.
As a rule, in a unionized environment, the manager’s first reflex should always be to consult
the collective agreement or the HRM specialist before making decisions regarding working
conditions (training, occupational health and safety, conflict and discipline management,
work organization). Otherwise, there may be many grievances to deal with!
Grievances
What happens when a manager fails to respect the collective agreement? When an action
taken contravenes the agreement, employees and their union may file a grievance, the
settlement of which will incur costs. Non-adherence to the agreement thereby risks harming
company performance as well as the quality of work relations.
Table 3.4
HRM
Relationship between HRM practices and collective agreement clauses
practices
Example
of collective agreement
~ Clauses relating to labour
clauses associated
: hiring,p
ion,
with HRM
practices
fer, dismissal, layoffs
Staffing
~ Clauses relating to seniority (definition, calculation, accumulation, loss, maintenance, selection criteria)
Skills management and
~ Clauses relating to vocational training
training
~ Clauses relating to salaries, bonuses, expense reimbursement
Remuneration
~ Clauses relating to overtime
~ Clauses relating to social security schemes (group insurance, pension plans, etc.)
Occupational health and
safety, and healthy business
operation
- Clauses relating to health and safety committees
~ Clauses relating to personal protective equipment
~ Clauses relating to leave and occupational health and safety benefits
~ Clauses relating to work-family balance
~ Clauses relating to vacations, leave, ete.
Conflict management
Managing difficult employees
and performance
Work organization
~ Clauses relating to grievance procedures and arbitration
| - Clauses relating to disciplinary management
~ Clauses relating to hours of work
~ Clauses relating to workload
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®
Grievance
The Labour Code, as well as most collective agreements, defines a grievance as any dis-
Pear Saueanen bar iehe
agreement respecting the interpretation or application of a collective agreement. According
interpretation or
aj
ication
rH i collective fereamnar
(section 1[fLL.C.).
.
tes
.
z
5
5
to this definition, only a complaint based on clauses in the collective agreement constitutes
a grievance.
The definition of what constitutes a grievance is important because it determines which
disputes can be submitted for arbitration. The Labour Code stipulates that any grievance that
cannot be settled by the parties must be submitted to a grievance arbitrator (section 100).
Grievance arbitrators are third parties, from outside the company, who are acknowledged
for their competencies and neutrality in the conflict. They have the power to interpret and
apply the collective agreement and the laws and to decide on disputes, but they may not
modify or amend the provisions of the agreement. Their decision is final and binding on all
parties. In matters of disciplinary measures, arbitrators have even broader powers; they can
confirm, modify or cancel the employer’s decision and, if need be, substitute the decision
they deem to be just and reasonable.
Grievance arbitration
- . berg ae
sereornene calluponathird
party to make afinal settlement
of any disagreement relative to
the interpretation or application
ofthe agreement.
Table 3.5
Causes
The terms of the Labour Code dealing with grievance arbitration arise from the fact that
strikes and lockouts are forbidden while the collective agreement is in effect. Arbitration
thus allows for the resolution of a disagreement when the employer and the union have not
—_ succeeded in finding a way to settle the grievance internally.
-
-
-
oo
_
_ Filing a grievance and, if necessary, arbitration, can help to clarify a provision of the
—_ agreement or the conduct to adopt in order to conform to it. Employees (or the union
acting on their behalf) can also use these steps to redress a complaint (concerning overtime
pay due by virtue of the agreement, disciplinary measures, refusal of a promotion, etc.).
There are many explanations why grievances exist and why there are so many in certain
work environments. Table 3.5 presents examples of the attitudes and actions of various
players that give rise to grievances.
Causes for grievances
relating to
Causes
relating to employees
Causes
relating to
management
and the union
both parties
~- Managers who do not understand or are
unfamiliar
with the collective agreement
- Insufficient involvement of line managers in
managing labour relations problems
- Issues of health and safety in the workplace
~ Need to be heard; feeling on the part of
employees that they have no other way of
making themselves heard
~ Employees’ increased awareness of
their rights
~ Using grievances as a pressure tactic
~ Mediocre organizational climate
~ Extremely poor-quality relationships
between management representatives and
union representatives
~ Inaccurate and confusing formulation of
collective agreement clauses
Managers have a certain power over some of the reasons cited just above. They can ensure
that the agreement is applied properly by having a good understanding of its provisions.
They can also become actively involved in managing problems, especially at the start of
the internal grievance settlement process. All collective agreements allow for this kind of
procedure. Most of the time, a preliminary step allows for discussion between employees
and their supervisor. Depending on the characteristics of the organization and the union,
the steps may vary.
The human resources department is generally in charge of the final steps in the internal
procedure for settling grievances. Supervisors, for their part, can play an important role
during the first stages, when the preliminary discussions take place and the grievance is
submitted in writing, They can attempt to resolve the dispute and stop a grievance from
going further by being attentive to their environment and their employees, spotting problems and being proactive. A vigilant foreman who is a good communicator can even avert
or avoid grievances, for example by being the first to talk about the problem rather than
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waiting for a foreseeable disagreement to blow up (Gérin-Lajoie, 2004, p. 45). How people
behave with regard to grievances can influence the quality of labour relations. Thus it is
in the best interests of the manager to show concern for any disagreements that crop up
in order to maintain a healthy and productive climate.
Obviously, the ability of managers to foresee and resolve disagreements also depends on
the support and authority they are given: “a foreman’s ineffectiveness is observed in his
inability to make decisions, to solve problems or supply the information requested. [...]
An employee will attribute this inability to indifference. It will create hostility and undermine
trust.” (Gérin-Lajoie, 2004. p. 255). However, a grievance to contest a decision or an order
doesn’t undermine the supervisor's authority, inasmuch as employees must respect their
duty to obey. This obligation comes from the “obey now, grieve later” principle. “Refusing
to obey, without a serious reason, is considered an act of insubordination and could result
in serious disciplinary measures.” (Hébert et a/., 2003, p. 119)
It must be remembered that a grievance, especially if it goes to arbitration, results in costs
for the organization in terms of time and resources. In the private sector, these costs are
shared equally by the union and the employer. If, as in the example at the beginning of
this section, the arbitrator decides that the employer is in the wrong, there will be additional
costs: overtime payment, awarding a position to a worker who was originally denied it,
etc. There are also indirect costs relating to lost productivity. It is normal procedure to use
grievance settlement to solve the most serious disagreements between the organization,
the union and employees. Disagreements exist in a unionized environment because the
parties do not always share the same point of view. However, when grievances paralyze
management and labour relations, there is cause for concern and questions must be raised.
In a unionized environment, nothing is immutable. All matters can be negotiated with the
union and the constraints can change over time, from the company’s financial situation to
relations between the parties. Tomorrow may be a different story, especially if the parties
commit to reviewing their labour relations model.
3.7 Labour Relations Models
At the beginning of this chapter, we discussed the positive impact that a collaborative labour
relations approach can have on organizational results. However, while collaboration is desirable, it remains demanding and requires a willingness on the part of the parties to build
harmonious relationships. As a result, it is not observed in all workplaces. Thus, different
approaches to labour relations can be built between an employer and a union: the traditional,
rather confrontational approach; the collaborative approach; and the realistic approach
(Coiquaud et a/., 2016; see Table 3.6).
Table 3.6
Different approach
Characteristics
in labour
relati
Collaborative approach
Realistic approach
Dominant strategy
Conflict
Cooperation
Conflict and cooperation
Interests of the parties
Divergent
Convergent
Pluralistic
.
Exercise of the balance of power
ai
‘
Building common solutions
Variable according to the nature of
the problem to be solved
Distrust
Trust and confidence
Understanding of distinct roles
Tight control
Required transparency
Limited transparency
‘onal approach
Methods of conflict
facolution
B
f
lationshi|
pissed peering
P
Information management
Source: Henmebert (2014).
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The traditional approach is often characterized by mistrust and a certain tension between
the management and union sides. Each defends its own interests and seeks to extract the
maximum benefit for itself. With this dynamic, a win-lose or even lose-lose discussion is
inevitable. The exercise of the balance of power (threat of closure, lockout, strike) will
resolve a dispute and determine the outcome of collective bargaining or labour conflicts.
Such a dynamic is less and less desirable in situations where the employer has a strong
interest in working with its employees and the union to overcome the many challenges of
a constantly changing economy. The collaborative approach then becomes an option to
be seriously considered.
As its name suggests, this approach focuses on collaboration between parties working
together to broaden the sphere of their converging interests: the survival and profitability
of the company, improving occupational health and safety conditions, creating conditions
that will foster attraction and retention of the best candidates, etc. This relationship is
characterized by trust and transparency. The union and the employer do not seek to impose
their views or interests, but to have discussions on a regular, open and honest basis. No
more bluffing or “winning” at the other's expense, Obviously, for such a model to emerge,
certain conditions must be met, mainly the willingness of management and the union to
change their relational dynamics and establish a climate of mutual trust. The benefits of
collaboration are many: improved working climate and conditions, reduced conflicts
between managers and employees, increased productivity and staff mobilization (Coiquaud
etal., 2016).
However, the collaborative approach is difficult to sustain over time and is not always
realistic, depending on the organizational situation and the state of the employer-union
relations. For this reason, Hennebert (2014) also points to the importance of a realistic
approach to labour relations, which tends to prevail in workplaces. It must be said that not
all the interests of the employer and the union can converge. Consider, for example, salaries
and benefits. A salary increase or a pension or insurance plan can generate costs for the
employer. While there are indirect benefits (attracting and retaining talent), there are few
cases where the agreed terms are perfectly satisfactory for both parties. On the other hand,
other subjects lend themselves well to collaboration, such as the requalification and training
of workers, the adoption of practices promoting employee participation, etc. The solution
lies in an approach that focuses on understanding roles and interests that are sometimes
convergent, but sometimes divergent and pluralistic. Then it can be possible to bring collaboration into confrontational relationships by proposing the setting up of committees and
mechanisms to manage disputes that are recognized as legitimate. In this way, the negative
organizational effects of conflict are mitigated. It is also possible to propose discussion
structures aimed at establishing a culture of dialogue on strategic HRM issues, work organization, etc. By promoting these discussions on an ongoing basis, it is possible for the parties
to “cultivate a long-term vision of labour relations” (Coiquaud et a/., 2016, p. 278).
®
In short, various approaches are possible in managing labour relations. While a collaborative
approach is desirable, it is a choice that must be shared between management and the
union. Paul, in the initial situation, might have benefited from adopting this approach.
Although it requires more time, particularly to build a relationship of trust, it would probably
have allowed him to achieve his objectives and implement his “Best Team” program.
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Ata
Glance
Differences of interest between employer and employees are an integral part of the employment relationship, whether or not the workplace is unionized. It is the manager's ability to
manage disagreements and to encourage collaboration among the various actors (employees
and unions) that can change the situation in labour relations. Managing in a unionized
environment can be challenging and frustrating. But it is also an opportunity to exercise
your management skills and create a stimulating work environment, especially when new
forms of cooperation are implemented. Figure 3.3 provides a summary of the chapter
according to the different facets of unionized management.
Figure 3.3
The manager ina unionized environment
Essential knowledge
Available HRM tools
Pitfalls or mistakes to avoid
— Labour laws
— Collective agreement
— Company policies
— Collective agreement
— Regarding the union as an adversary
on principle
— Using your hierarchical power rather
than your influence
— Believing it is not possible to
Manager's
roles an
respons
es
— Assists in collective bargaining
— Applies the collective agreement
— Maintains operations in the eventof
Ne
The manager
in a unionized
cc
environment
a work stoppage
— Establishes a climate of
innovate in a unionized environment
Roles of the HR department
— Provides legal advice during periods
of unionization or negotiation
— Assists
in the understanding
collaboration with the union
and application of the collective
Roles of other players
— Conciliator: assists in resolving
conflicts with the union
agreement
— Contributesto the resolution and
arbitration of grievances
— Assists in HRM planning in the event
of a work stoppage
— Dispute arbitrator: uses the
collective agreement as a basis in
the event of a deadlock
— Grievance arbitrator: resolves
disagreements related to
interpretation of the agreement
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Are You
Ready?
1. Who are the workers who join a union and what steps do they
take to unionize?
Employees as defined by the Labour Code. To unionize, they must sign a membership card
to a union and file a petition for certification to the Administrative Labour Tribunal. If the
Tribunal finds that 50% + 1 of the employees of a group (accreditation unit) wish to join
a union, the latter will be officially recognized.
See sections 3.2.1 and 3.2.2.
2. With whom do | share certain responsibilities in a unionized
workplace?
In a unionized labour environment, managers must be aware of the fact that the union is
the spokesperson for the employees it represents. During their work activities, they are in
contact with employees who occupy official functions within their association: union
president, grievance representative, union stewards.
®
See section 3.3.
3. What is my role in collective bargaining and labour disputes?
During collective bargaining or conflict, managers will usually play a supporting role: they
identify problems related to the application of the collective agreement, they make demands
to improve productivity, they provide management, and, if necessary, they ensure the
continuation of activities in the event of a work stoppage (they plan the management of
operations, and provide the necessary manpower while respecting the anti-scab provisions).
See sections 3.4 and 3.5.
4. How much does the collective agreement influence my work as a
manager?
It specifically defines the manager's parameters for human resources management. For
instance, it will specify whether it is possible to use subcontractors, the procedure to follow
to fill a position, to lay off an employee, to allow for overtime, etc.
See section 3.6.
5. Which labour relations model should | choose?
There is no good answer. It all depends on the context and the relations with the union.
Sometimes the traditional approach will prevail because of the context of mistrust between
the employer and the union. Relationships built on trust are conducive to a collaborative
approach. But more often than not, the process is realistically punctuated by moments of
cooperation and conflict.
See section 3.7.
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. Which workers have the right to organize? Which of these are most likely to do so?
. If aunion is accredited, can the employer comply with the demands of employees
who were strongly against unionization and who have never signed their union
membership card to deduct union dues from their wages?
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3. During an organizing campaign, an employer speaks to employees to tell them that
a joint committee to discuss employees’ working conditions and problems will be
set up if the union is not accredited. Is the employer acting legally?
AZ
. What is the difference between a union delegate and a union representative?
. When the collective agreement is over, can the manager change the working
conditions of the employees since this is no longer in effect?
. In the event of a strike at a large retail establishment, can the employer ask his
accountant and his operations manager to work as cashiers to maintain
the business?
. How does the conciliator’s power differ from that of the arbitrator?
. Explain what the residual rights thesis is. Give two examples of HRM practices that
could be modified following the arrival of a union in an organization.
. Can the employer file a grievance?
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MyBookshelf » My eLab » Documents
10. What are the advantages and limitations of a collaborative approach to
working relationships?
> Review questions answer key
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Discuss!
For each of the following statements, give two favourable and two unfavourable arguments.
1.
The presence of a union improves fairness in the workplace.
2.
Unionization by card signing is preferable to unionization by secret ballot.
3.
The collective agreement affects flexibility in the workplace.
Your Turn!
During an organizing campaign, an employer sends the following letter to his employees
at their home. In accordance with the applicable legal provisions, is this acceptable?
Sir / Madam
You are probably aware of the recent moves to unionizee our company. This issue
is important to us and we would like the information you have to be as clear and
accurate as possible.
Unions generally want their organizing campaign to be done in secret. We do not
believe it is democratic. We believe it is important that you have all the facts.
®
The union organizers have made good promises about improving pay conditions
and working hours. Know that no union has the right to guarantee changes to salary
conditions and working hours. If the union is accredited, it will only have the right
to negotiate with the company. If the employer and the union do not come to an
agreement, there is always the possibility of a strike or lockout; which would be a
bad situation for us and for you.
One thing is certain, if the union is recognized as your bargaining agent, all employees, without exception, will be required to pay the union dues, in addition to the
initial membership fees.
What is my opinion of a union? I firmly believe that we can continue to solve our
problems by working together. I do not think it is necessary or preferable for you
to pay union dues to a union. | do not want our financial resources used to pay
lawyers to negotiate a collective agreement.
We believe that by continuing an honest and direct discussion, we will be able to
better meet the challenges of the future, in a climate that is healthy and enjoyable
for all. This is the solution we favour. We believe that in this way everyone will find
maximum benefit: the employees and the company.
It should also be noted that in the past years, we have been able to respond to the
demands of employees and settle a large number of situations. Here are some
examples: developing and improving the employee manual; establishing a recall list
for temporary employees on the basis of seniority; ongoing discussions to implement
a group insurance plan.
Also, be aware that it is unlawful for anyone, including union organizers and members, to make threats or intimidate anyone to sign a union membership card. In
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addition, no one is allowed to talk to you about a union or have you sign a union
membership card during working hours. If you feel threatened, do not hesitate to
talk to the director or one of the executives of the company.
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Regards,
Vincent Guay, General Manager
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References
Coiquaud, U., Hennebert, M.-A., and Morissette, L. (2016). Relations de travail, Montreal,
Cheneliére Education.
A
Coutu, M., Fontaine, L.-L., Marceau, G., and Coiquaud, U. (2013). Droit des rapports collectifs
du travail au Québec, 2” ed., Cowansville, Yvon Blais.
Dion, G. (1986). Dictionnaire canadien des relations du travail, Quebec, Presses de I'Uni-
versité Laval.
.
.
.
AZZ
Gagnon, R. P. (2003). Le droit du travail du Québec, Cowansville, Yvon Blais.
AZ7
AZ
AF
AZ
Gérin-Lajoie, J. (2004). Les relations du travail au Québec, Montreal, Gaétan Morin.
Haiven, L. (2006). Expanding the union zone: Union renewal through alternative forms of
worker organization, Labor Studies Journal, 31 (3), 85-116.
AA
Hennebert, M.-A., and Faulkner, M. (2017). La décision de faire gréve : déterminants théori-
ques et perceptions syndicales, Revue multidisciplinaire sur l’emploi, le syndicalisme et le
travail (REMEST), 11 (1), 60-85.
AZ
AZZ
AZ
Hennebert, M.-A. (2014). Entre les méandres de la conflictualité et I'idéal collaboratif : gérer
ses relations du travail de maniére réaliste!, Effectif, 17 (2), 14-19.
Lapointe, P.-A. (2016). Quasi-disparition de la gréve et régime néolibéral de relations de
AG
AZ
travail. Le cas du Québec, 1960-2014. In P.-A. Lapointe (dir.), Dialogue social, relations du
travail et syndicalisme. Perspectives historiques et internationales, Quebec, Presses de
l'Université Laval, p. 201-256.
Ministére du Travail (2010-2013). Les arréts de travail au Québec, Quebec, gouvernement
du Québec.
AZA
A
Ouimet, H. (2013). Travail Plus : le travail et vos droits, Montreal, Wilson & Lafleur.
AZ
Pohler, D., and Luchak, A. A. (2014). Balancing efficiency, equity, and voice: The impact
of unions and high-involvement work practices on work outcomes, ILR Review, 67 (4),
Aw
AZ
1063-1094.
Secrétariat du travail (2014-2017). Les arréts de travail au Québec, Quebec, ministére du
Travail, de I'Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale.
AZ7
Verma, A. (2005). What do unions do to the workplace? Union effects on management and
HRM policies, Journal of Labor Research, 26 (3), 415-449.
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PART2
Finding the Best Employees
CHAPTER 4
Attracting Good
Candidates
Anne Bourhis
p.88_
p.89_
p.94_
p.102_
4.1 The Manager's Staffing Goals
4.2 Quantitative Personnel Planning
4.3 Qualitative Personnel Planning
4.4 Recruiting Candidates
ON YOUR MARK...
As a manager, you will probably take part in putting together your team. This
chapter will attempt to answer some of the questions you should think about:
1. What will | base my decision to hire new staff on?
2. What competencies should I require of candidates?
3. How will | proceed to find candidates?
4. How will | attract quality candidates?
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Work
|
Scenario
Two years ago, Phuong Nguyen, a young chemical engineering graduate from McGill University, saw his dream of starting
his own company come true. Phuong had won several prizes
for the part he played in designing an innovative electronic
chip for an odour detection and analysis system, an “electronic
nose" that has many industrial applications. With the help of a
grant for young entrepreneurs, he founded a small company
Six months
Luckily for him, Phuong Nguyen didn’t have to look long
before finding the perfect person. His best friend's older
Nguyen
makes a disappointing
— “I'm discouraged, he tells his manager. Sales revenue are
only up 12%. Wasn't that supposed to be your priority? How
do you explain that?”
— “Look, | had to put your accounts in order and we've reduced
the number of bad debts. At the moment, all invoices are
called Captodor to market his invention.
sent out on time and | follow up on payments closely, so I'm
sure we receive all the money owed us. That explains most
of the increase in revenue.”
'
But his dream hit a snag. Right from the first year of operations,
Mr. Nguyen had to face reality — sales were much lower than
expected. Even worse, he had hoped to devote his time to
researching ways to improve his product, but soon realized
that marketing his invention took up over 80% of his time,
without producing any satisfactory results. Phuong’s analysis of
the situation left no room for doubt: he couldn't make a go of
it on his own. He needed an assistant to look after the marketing, while he took care of research and development. But the
young entrepreneur hesitated: could he find an associate he
would get along well enough with to share the responsibility
for part of his company?
later, Phuong
appraisal of the collaboration between the two men.
“What about new customers? Have you met potential customers? Have you gone out and done demonstrations?”
— “Demonstrations? No way! I'm not a salesman, I'm an administrator. If you want someone to do prospecting, you'll have
to hire a sales representative!”
Phuong Nguyen thinks about what Philippe has said. The
young
entrepreneur, who
had
high hopes for his general
manager, wonders if he has made an error in judgment. Could
it be that Philippe, in spite of all his qualities, is not the right
person for this task? On the other hand, should Philippe keep
his job and the company hire a sales representative?
brother, a chartered accountant, offered his services. Philippe
Comtois and Phuong have known each other for a long time.
The accountant appreciates the young entrepreneur's hard
work and, with a few years’ experience in the business world
himself, is ready to take on a new challenge. Mr. Comptois’s
CA certification and his rational personality reassure Phuong
Nguyen. He thinks he will get along well with Philippe because
he has known him for a long time, so he hires Philippe Comtois
as general manager.
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This short scenario illustrates one of the difficulties many managers run up against: choosing associates carefully. Mr. Nguyen’s mistake consisted of skipping two essential steps
when he decided to hire Philippe. He should first have determined his company’s needs,
and then drawn up a profile of the person best able to get the job done. In fact, Philippe
and Phuong had different ideas of a general manager's responsibilities and Philippe did
not meet the president's expectations. Over the course of your career as a manager, you
will often have to solve problems of this kind
As we saw in Chapter 1, human resources management constitutes one of your main
_
responsibilities as a manager. The first step in human resources management is staffing.
Thisi: process has four components.
_Staffi ing
of filling a
The process
vacant
BoaMlOR:
- Personnel planning — determining how many positions and how may people acompany
—
needs to successfully carry out its activities, as well as drawing up their competency profiles;
Sampinoeal ge ya saline
- Recruitment — attracting good candidates to apply for positions in the company.
oer sinaid 3 Se all Ele
Recruiting may be done internally or externally;
competency profiles.
- Selection — choosing the one person among all the candidates who best fits the profile
Recruitment
of the person required for the position;
The activities undertaken to
attract qualified candidates.
- Orientation — making sure the new employee quickly becomes efficient in his/herjob.
As shown in the case of Phuong Nguyen presented at the beginning of the chapter, attracting and selecting the right candidates, in sufficient number, is a crucial activity for the
i
abs
sil
i
bai
is
caviey)
company. A bad recruitment decision can have disastrous consequences for both the
organization and the people involved. For example, not hiring enough people to do the
work that is required may increase the risk of your employees becoming overworked; this
could lead to health problems such as burnout, workplace accidents or reduced quality of
customer service.
.
Selection
The activities undertaken to
Choose the one person among
all the candidates who best fits
_ the competency profile.
Orientation
The activities undertaken to
— make sure the new employee
quickly becomes efficient in
his/her job.
In an organization, staffing activities are part of the mandate of the human resources
department, or that of its manager. In SMEs (small and medium businesses) where there
is no HR department, the manager or the company president will usually assume these
responsibilities, As a manager, you will be called on to participate in this process in several
ways. For example, you will be asked to plan human resources needs for your department,
analyze positions, draw up a list of qualities you are looking for in a candidate, and even
take part in selection interviews. However, many strategic decisions that affect human
resources needs, such as the decision to offer new services or, on the contrary, to reduce
activities, are the responsibility of the company’s management.
Staffing is therefore an activity for which responsibilities are
shared between senior management, the human resources
department and managers.
Too | box
This chapter and the following one deal with managers’ roles
and responsibilities regarding staffing for their departments.
Human resources tools for planning
and recruiting
More specifically, this chapter deals with human resource
planning and recruitment. Candidate selection and recruit
~ Organizational strategic planning
- Directory of staff employees
integration activities are discussed in Chapter 5.
~ Projections for staff movements
To be successful in planning needs and recruiting candidates,
- Competency profile
you need a certain number of tools, which you will learn to
design yourself in this chapter. However, if you work for an
organization that has its own human resources department,
= Selection criteria
- Job postings
- Job descriptions
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some of these tools will be provided for you. In addition (as is always the case in human
resources management), you must at all times respect laws that apply to a given situation,
as well as provisions in collective agreements if you are in a unionized environment.
Rereading Chapters 1 and 2 could be useful in this regard.
4.1 The Manager's Staffing Goals
Personnel needs
The number of full-time
positions and competency
profiles required to successfully
carry out the organization's
activities:
Right from the start of the process, it is up to you to see that your department's personnel
needs are adequately defined, both on the quantitative and the qualitative level. Consider
the following example.
In the heart of the action
Aline, manager of a childcare centre whose employees are not
unionized, obtained a grant to expand her premises and thus
For infants, the Regulation states that the ratio must be 1 staff
member per group of 5 children present; for children under
4 years of age, the ratio should be 1 to 8; and for children over
4 years of age, 1 to 10. However, although all the staff members
work 35 hours a week, the centre itself is open 50 hours a week.
increase the number of available places.At present, 22 children,
divided into four groups, attend her centre. After renovations,
she hopes to have space for 41 children. The table below summarizes the situation.
It's not enough to know how many staff members are required.
Aline must also follow government standards concerning her
Besides the concerns caused by the expansion work, Aline
must make certain she has enough personnel to look after
employees’ qualifications. So, besides deciding on the number
of staff members she needs, she will also have to establish a
profile of what she is looking for in the applicants.
the children. Before the centre can accept more children, she
has to decide how many childcare workers she will need to
comply with the standards set by the Regulation Respecting
Childcare Centres concerning the ratio between childcare
workers and children.
woe
Infants
Toddlers
Junior Pre-schoolers
Senior Pre-schoolers
(Under 18 months of age)
| (18 months to 3 years of age)
(3-and 4- year-olds)
(4-and 5-year-olds)
Present premises
5
5
6
6
Renovated premises
7
10
12
12
Aline’s example illustrates clearly the two aspects of human resources planning a manager
must take into account when assessing personnel needs:
- Quantitative planning, which allows managers to be certain they have enough people
at the right time.
- Qualitative planning.which assures managers that they will have the right people, with
the necessary competencies to do their jobs. The results from the qualitative planning
will help establish the candidate profiles, as well as the selection criteria.
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4.2 Quantitative Personnel Planning
Quantitative personnel planning aims, on the one hand, to determine the number of people
the organization requires to carry out its activities successfully and, on the other, to assess
the number of people who will actually be available (Bourhis, 2018).
4.2.1 Determining personnel needs
Your first task as manager is to determine your department's human resources demands.
To do so, you must take the following factors into account:
- Expected changes in activity within your department. For example, do you foresee
an increase in activities, a growth in sales, or a decrease in sales volume because of
a recession?
- Structural changes expected for your department. For instance, do you have expansion
projects that would require additional personnel? Do you plan to merge with another
department, which would result in a decrease in the number of positions?
- Constraints you have to deal with or opportunities that arise, within the company or
from outside. Do you know if competitors have made plans to enter your target market?
Do you think your staff is sufficiently diversified to respond to a varied clientele or meet
the conditions of equal access to employment?
The example below shows how human resources demands are determined in a non-profit
organization dedicated to economic development.
In the heart of the action
Abdellah is the manager of the Community Futures
Development Centre, a non-profit organization financed by
the Québec government. Its mandate is to allocate subsidies
aimed at promoting entrepreneurship.
These subsidies come
from various government levels and are to be distributed
according to criteria established by the financial backers. For
example, the goal of the Young Entrepreneur Assistance Fund
is to help entrepreneurs under the age of 35 create their own
business. The Women Entrepreneurs’ Fund offers subsidies to
women who wish to start up a business.
The Community Futures Development Centre employs eight
people. Besides the manager, a secretary/receptionist and an
to help these people develop their business plan and prepare
their application for a subsidy. The financial analyst reviews
all the subsidy requests, regardless of where the candidates’
interests lie, to make certain that their financial projections are
realistic and their projects viable.
At the beginning of this year, Abdellah is looking at his operating budget, where salaries and benefits make up the biggest
item. He is trying to get a clear idea of his human resources
demands for the coming year. He has received confirmation that, as of April 1, the Centre will manage a new fund
intended to encourage members of cultural communities to
create businesses. Abdellah thinks he will have to add another
accountant, the Centre provides the services of a financial ana-
economic development advisor position. Also, with an expec-
lyst and four economic development advisors, each of whom
is in charge of one fund. Their mission is twofold: to promote
the subsidy program in order to find people in the targeted
clienteles who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs; and
ted increase in the number of requests, he is afraid that the
financial analyst may become overworked. For this reason, he
feels that he will need two additional people: an economic
development advisor and a financial analyst.
Determining human resources demands is more complex than it looks. The following
Toolbox presents advice that can make your job easier.
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Toolbox
Tips on predicting human resources demands
- Identify trends in the environment that could affect your department.
- Analyze possible repercussions of each trend on human resources demands.
- Review strategic decisions and determine their repercussions on human
resources demands.
- Put a number, inasmuch as possible, on the human resources demands resulting
from these repercussions.
- Evaluate, to the degree possible, the probability of these repercussions
happening.
= Stick to forecasts that reflect a realistic timeline.
As in the previous example of Abdellah, once you have planned human resources demands
for your department, you will know the following:
- The number of positions required in your department, calculated on the basis of
full-time employment;
- The general responsibilities involved in these positions;
- The time when these positions will be required.
However, your planning work is not yet finished. Even if you have determined that your
department needs additional staff, this doesn’t necessarily mean you will have to hire the
number of people you have calculated. Going back to the previous example, suppose that
Abdellah learns that the financial analyst employed by the Community Futures Development
Centre has decided to retire on June 1. Now Abdellah needs two new analysts instead of
just one.
Oy
Rarsaanal availability
4.2.2 Determining personnel availability
5 aoe paoltnerfaedaeotrdis
Having determined your department's human resources demands, you must assess per-
the organization and their
competency profiles.
| sonnel availability in order to project how many people will actually be free and able to
i}] positions in your department. As shown in Figure 4.1, to forecast human resources
Figure 4.1
Projection of available human resources
List of
employed
personnel
Projected
departures
Resignations
Retirements
On leave
Promotions
Demotions
Dismissals
Permanent layoffs
Layoffs
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Projected
arrivals
5
Promotions
Demotions
Returns from leave
List of
available
personnel
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Table 4.1
Staff movements
Staff movement
Description
Entry in availability projections
Resignation
An employee leaves the organization voluntarily and
permanently.
Decrease in labour force: projecting resignations is done on
the basis of personnel turnover observed in the company
over preceding years.
An employee leaves the organization voluntarily and
permanently, as well as the labour market, because of his/
her age and years of service.
Retirement
Decrease in labour force: projection is based on age and
| seniority of employees.
An employee leaves his/her position temporarily; departure | Decrease in labour force when the person goes on leave,
can be either voluntary (for example, training leave or
but increase in labour force when the person returns to his/
On leave
parental leave) or involuntary (for example, sick leave).
her position.
Promotion
An employee moves up one or more job category in the
organization.
Decrease in labour force in the category the employee leaves
and increase in the category the employee is promoted to.
Demotion
An employee moves down one or more job category inthe
organization.
| Decrease in labour force in the category the employee leaves
and increase in the category the employee is demoted to,
An employee leaves the organization permanently because | Decrease in labour force: it is difficult to predict dismissals,
of his/her lack of competency or disobedience.
but it can be done based on data from previous years.
Dismissal
An employee leaves the organization involuntarily and
Decrease in labour force: some layoffs can be scheduled
Permanent layoff | permanently for economic or structural reasons (for example, | several months in advance, but many occur abruptly.
plant closed, position abolished).
An employee leaves the organization involuntarily and
temporarily for economic or structural reasons (forexample,
temporary reduction in orders, abolition of position).
Layoff
Decrease in labour force: forecasting is often difficult to do
| since the economic situation may change rapidly.
availability, you will need to: first, draw up a list of actual employees on the job; then,
deduct the people who plan on leaving the company or their position; and finally, add the
people who plan on filling the position.
Table 4.1 details various staff movements that must be factored in when planning human
resources availability. As shown in the table, some movements in personnel, such as resignations, are hard to predict. Managers must therefore base their projections on their
department average over the preceding years.
As can be seen, predicting personnel availability depends to a great extent on projections
or trends. In some cases, managers may have precise information allowing them to foresee
staff movements, for example if an employee announces that she is taking maternity leave
or that he is planning to retire at the end of the year. It is relatively easy to put a number
on these staff movements. However, other cases, such as resignations or dismissals, are
hard to predict. As a result, any attempt to ascertain personnel availability involves a certain
margin of error. The advice in the Toolbox on the next page can help to reduce it.
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Toolbox
Advice on predicting human resources availability
- Make a list of the human resources available for each position.
- Listen to employees when they reveal their future intentions concerning the
department or the organization.
- Use the evaluation interview for performance reviews to find out about employee
aspirations (for example, their desire to be promoted).
- Use the results of performance reviews to predict possible dismissals.
- Use information about the company’s strategy to predict possible layoffs or
permanent layoffs.
- Modify projections when the environment changes (for example, plan for more
resignations if the workplace climate deteriorates).
4.2.3 Balancing demands and availability
Once you have established both your human resources demands and availability, you have
in hand everything you need to ascertain what steps to take to reduce the gap between
demands and availability, as shown in Figure 4.2.
Frequently, staffing is not the only foreseeable or even the most desirable solution that results
from the planning exercise. Other decisions are possible, such as to implement layoffs or
training programs.
To illustrate this, let's have another look at the example of Abdellah, the manager of the
Community Futures Development Centre. Suppose he learns that the Centre been granted
another fund to manage — the Entrepreneurial Development Fund for Cultural Communities
— and also, that the Local Initiatives Fund is going to be withdrawn. In this case, his human
resources planning can be summed up as follows:
®
- Economic development advisor specialized in local initiatives; subtract one position;
- Economic development advisor specialized in entrepreneurs from cultural communities;
add one position.
Figure 4.2
Balancing personnel demands and availability
Projected
personnel
demands
Projected
personnel
availability
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Action plan
« Staffing
+ Training
+ Permanent layoff
+ Layoff
+ Reorganization
+ Etc,
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Two possibilities are open to Abdellah. He can:
- Permanently lay off the advisor specialized in local initiatives and hire an advisor specialized in entrepreneurs from cultural communities; or
- Train the current advisor in local initiatives to fill the position of advisor specialized in
entrepreneurs from cultural communities.
Your role as a manager is to envisage possible solutions to reconcile human resources
demands and availabilities within your department. Since the personnel planning exercise
involves the entire company, reducing the gap between needs and availability may affect
several departments. In this type of situation, the human resources department oversees
the decisions, as shown in the following example of Paul.
In the heart of the action
Paul is marketing manager in an SME that specializes in making
wooden furniture for children. For some years now, the fur-
niture sector has experienced serious difficulties in Canada
because of strong market competition from China. For this
reason, the company has decided to concentrate on making
high-end custom-built furniture and abandon mid-range furniture production. Gérard, the production manager, has already
said that this change in strategy will mean abolishing six positions for assembly-line workers and creating three positions for
specialized cabinetmakers. He also plans on getting rid of one
of the two secretarial positions in the production department.
nalized relationships with customers, which will mean creating
at least two more sales representative positions. In addition,
Paul believes that the marketing department should have two
secretaries rather than one.
Now that Gérard and Paul have assessed their staffing needs,
it is up to the company director, who is in charge of human
resources, to decide if transferring personnel from one department to another is feasible. Although itis difficult to make sales
representatives out of workmen, the production department
secretary who is losing her job could probably be transferred
to the marketing department.
This strategy will also have repercussions on the marketing
department. Selling high-end products requires more perso-
We should also note that, if employees are unionized, certain clauses in the collective
agreement may apply to measures proposed to reduce the gap. For example, a job minimum
clause does require management to keep a minimum number of employees in a given
division of the company.
Quantitative personnel planning is not an easy task, since it is based on a number of
hypotheses or presuppositions. For example, to estimate the number of upcoming resignations, a manager must often make projections based on data from the previous year.
However, the context may have evolved and a projection of this kind may produce unrealistic results. When beginning the planning process, you must avoid certain potential pitfalls
presented in the Toolbox on the next page.
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Toolbox
Pitfalls to avoid in quantitative human resources planning
Pitfalls
Ways to avoid them
Presuming all employees work
full-time
Calculate human resources demands and availability as
full-time equivalent (FTE) numbers. For example, if a person
works half-time, count this as an FTE of 0.5.
Presuming future demands will be
similar to past demands
Past demands represent a starting point, but, when
managers determine future demands, they must take
changes occurring in the internal and external environment
into account.
Presuming personnel currently
available will continue to be in the
future
Presently available human resources may not necessarily be
available in the future. Managers must take expected staff
Presuming staffing is the only
way to deal with an anticipated
shortage of personnel
Staffing is only one solution among many (training,
anticipated shortage of personnel.
Presuming planning cannot be
modified
Planning can be modified as anticipated trends are
confirmed or rejected.
movements into account.
overtime, reorganization of work) to compensate for an
Forecasting human resources demands and availability is the quantitative component of
planning. At the end of this process, managers will know:
- The number of people they need to successfully carry out their departments’ activities;
- When they will need them; and
- The steps to take to ensure that these people are actually on the job at the right time and
at the least possible cost.
So far, however, nothing has been decided about the profile of these people. What tasks
and responsibilities will they have? What competencies should they possess in order to
be able to perform their duties? To answer these questions, the manager must proceed
with qualitative human resources planning to establish the desired profile.
4.3 Qualitative Personnel Planning
Job analysis
The gathering information
on tasks and responsibilities
involved in a position, as well
as the work context.
Job description
The synthesis of the
information collected
during the job analysis.
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The first step in qualitative personnel planning is to describe the tasks performed by the
person who holds the position (the incumbent). One can then determine the competencies
required to perform the activities successfully.
4.3.1 Job analysis and job description
Ajob analysis consists of gathering information on the tasks and responsibilities involved
in a position as well as the work context, especially the physical working conditions, the
materials used or the hierarchical level. The Toolbox on the next page summarizes the
questions a job analysis will attempt to answer. This information is then synthesized into
a document called a job description.
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Job analysis is a fundamental human resources management activity, and it is useful for
much more than simply staffing. As we will see in subsequent chapters, the information
collected can be used, for example, to determine performance expectations, specify training
needs or evaluate the position in order to establish compensation.
The responsibility for job analysis and job descriptions does not always lie with the manager.
In companies where a human resources department exists, HR personnel are often the
ones who analyze positions, write up job descriptions and update them. This type of
procedure ensures a certain uniformity within the organization. In this situation, the human
resources department consults the supervisor in charge of the position, who acts as a
resource person and approves the final version of the document. However, in smaller
organizations, each manager may be called upon to write job analyses and job descriptions.
This work can also be performed by an outside resource, such as a trainee hired for
this purpose.
Toolbox
Analyzing the position
- Where is the position situated in the
organizational flowchart?
- Who is the immediate supervisor?
- What are the general objectives of the position?
- What are the employee's main responsibilities?
- What responsibilities require the most time?
- When and how often is each responsibility or task
performed?
- What is the justification for each activity?
- What are the main decisions the employee
must make?
- What issues must the employee inform his/her
immediate supervisor about before taking action?
- In this position within the organization, what other
staff is the employee in contact with?
- Does the employee supervise personnel?
- What are the main responsibilities of the employee's
subordinates (answer briefly)?
- Does the employee have any financial
responsibilities?
- Does the employee have budgets to manage?
If so, how large?
- Is the employee responsible for materials?
- Does the employee have any responsibilities
concerning the health and safety of others?
- What material does the employee use for
each activity?
- What movements are carried out?
- Who does the employee perform each activity with?
- Who does the employee perform each activity for?
- How is each activity performed? What steps
are involved?
- What physical or mental effort is required to perform
these responsibilities?
- What are the potential risks?
- Is any protective equipment required?
- What scheduling restrictions are necessary?
- What are the expected results?
- Do certain aspects of the job pose problems?
- What knowledge is required to perform each activity?
- What experience is required to perform each activity?
- What abilities are required to perform each activity?
- Is there other information that would be useful in
completing the picture of this position?
If, as a manager, you are asked to draw up a job description, you will first have to collect
the necessary information. For example, if you are describing the position of a worker on
an assembly line, you can decide to observe the work of these employees. Since the tasks
are rather repetitive, a short period of observation should give you enough information to
describe the tasks involved. If, on the other hand, you have to describe the work of a dozen
sales representatives, you may find that observation alone is insufficient. You will have to
take the time to follow each of the employees over the course of a normal workday,
including during their contacts with customers. You might consider using another method,
for example handing out questionnaires to the representatives.
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As we can see, there are many ways of analyzing positions, each with its own advantages
and disadvantages depending on the circumstances. Table 4.2 gives an overview of these
various methods and when they would be used.
Table 4.2
Methods for performing a job analysis
Method
Definition
Company
aacunents
When used
Documents available within the company, such as
Documents are a starting point for the analysis, but it is important
Job descriptions, the business plan and the strategic | to ensure that they are up to date; you should otherwise finish
plan
collecting information using a more appropriate method.
Ss
dary
sources of
information
Generic job descriptions, such as the National
Occup
! Classification
Generic descriptions do not correspond very accuratelyto the specific
jobs of any one company. They can bea starting point, but they must
www.hrde-drhe.ge.ca
be adapted as necessary.
Observation
Observing employees at work by noting actions
performed, the way they are performed, their
frequency and their duration
While this is an objective and thorough method, it can modify
employees’ behaviour if they know they are being observed.
You
must allow for an observation period that is sufficiently long. This
method, often used for manual jobs, is not useful for monitoring
tasks that are performed infrequently or are difficult to observe.
Meeting with employees, who answer precise
questions about the tasks they perform
Interview
This is an interesting method for describing positions that are not
easy to observe. It is subjective since it is based on the employee's
perceptions.
Structured questionnaire asking employees to check | This method is used when there are many jobs to analyze, or
boxes or circle answers on a predetermined scori ing
when they y are spread out geog
geographically. y: It is not very ry efficient for
sale
unstructured jobs.
Questionnaire
Notes taken by
incumbents
Notes taken by people who hold positions
This method works for positions that are difficult to observe and
where employees are accustomed to writing. It demands a great deal
of time and discipline on the part of the incumbent.
Toolbox
Elements of a job description
= Title of the position
- Name of the organization or enterprise
= Unit or division
= Title of line supervisor
- Supervision: number of employees to supervise and their job titles
- Purpose of position: brief description and rationale of position or summary of
main responsibilities
- Main responsibilities: list of responsibilities essential to reaching job goals,
presented in order of importance
~ Detailed tasks: list of tasks to be performed for each responsibility and method
used, each statement starting with an action verb
- Other information about tasks and responsibilities: scope or scale, physical
working conditions
- Working hours
- Salaries/wages and benefits: not essential information therefore it may be
included in the job description, especially if pay is variable
- Date written and the name of the person who wrote the description.
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Once the information has been collected, all that is left to do is summarize the information
and write up the job description. The human resources department, if your company has
one, can supply you with a template or even draft the entire job description. The following
Toolbox summarizes the content of a job description. An example is found in Appendix 4.1.
Although conducting the job analysis and composing the job description are not extremely
complex tasks, it is essential to perform them well since, as we have seen, the job description will then be used in many human resources management activities. The Toolbox on
the previous page lists a number of pitfalls that must be avoided.
4.3.2 Definition of required competencies
You now know how to determine your quantitative personnel needs, as well as how to write
a description of the tasks and responsibilities for the position you need to fill. With this
information, you are ready to draw up a profile of the ideal candidate. A competency profile,
is usually added to the list of tasks and responsibilities found in the job description as is the
_
| Competency profile
{s1.0f characteristics
that wil
case of the sample job description appended.
A competency profile lists qualities that are favourable to work performance. They generally
include three categories — knowledge, skills and attitudes, to which a category of “other”
job requirements is sometimes added (Pettersen, 2000). Table 4.3 presents a summary of
these categories. Remember that only skills required to perform the work can be part of the
competency profile; this will prevent any discrimination based on reasons other than performance. These bona fide occupational requirements were discussed in Chapter 1.
As a manager, it is up to you to determine the competencies required to perform the tasks
and responsibilities involved in the position you wish to fill. However, you can consult
people holding the position to help you do this. First, go back to the list of responsibilities
in the job description. For each task, describe the required competencies in as much detail
as possible. Are they essential, important or not very important in performing a given
responsibility? If a competency is crucial to most of the responsibilities, it will be considered
essential for holding the job. On the other hand, if a competency is important for performing
one of the responsibilities but not necessary for the rest, having that competency will be
considered an asset, but not a requirement.
Table 4.3
Competency categories
Competency
Definition
Knowledge
Information acquired through mental activity; this refers to a rather theoretical competency.
(learning)
Skills
(ability)
Apractical competency resulting from applying knowledge to an occupational activity. These abilities may be manual
(for example, dexterity), intellectual (for
ple, the ability to
analyze) or relational
(for
ple, the ability to
communicate in writing).
Attitudes
Intrinsic qualities or personal conduct appropriate to the position (for example, empathy and patience).
(behaviour)
Other job
requirements
Other elements that are indispensable to an occupation but do not stem from knowledge, skills, abilities or attitudes
(for example, the obligation of having a driver's permit or belonging to a professional order).
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Toolbox
Pitfalls to avoid when analyzing and describing jobs
Pitfalls
Ways to avoid them
Describing a position the way you would
like itto be
Describe the position as itis.
Describing tasks performed bya particular
individual
| Describe the position as generally performed by employees holding this position.To do so,
analyze positions held by several employees having similar responsibilities.
Using only one source of data to analyze
the job
Since no one source is perfect, it is preferable to use several (for example, available
documents as well as observation).
Asking incumbents to write theirownjob
description
| Incumbents may lack objectivity. Even if they can provide a source of information, itis
preferable that they not write their own job description.
Asking supervisors to describe the
positions they are in charge of
Like incumbents, supervisors may lack objectivity. It is preferable for them to review job
descriptions rather than write them.
Writing a very general description of
the job
Although a certain amount of flexibilityis acceptable (for example, one could add “any
other related duties” to the list of tasks), the job description should be precise and
complete.
The following “In the heart of the action” box on the next page shows you an example of
how to create a competency profile.
Far from being restrictive, this kind of table will allow you to establish the required competencies in a systematic manner. This will avoid creating an incomplete profile of the
skills that employees should possess or giving too much importance to one in particular.
Managers frequently require candidates to have more competencies than are actually
necessary to perform the tasks — perhaps in an attempt to get “more for their money.”
For example, although a position may simply call for an employee to get by in English, the
competency profile will often demand that the person be perfectly bilingual. This way of
thinking gives rise to several problems. First, the more competencies you require, the more
difficult it is to find candidates. Second, a candidate with more qualifications will expect
a higher salary than a less-skilled person. In addition, if employees accept a position based
on an unrealistic profile, they may feel frustrated when they realize that their skills are not
being fully used. It is important that the proficiency level of competencies required for
a position truly corresponds to what is needed to perform the tasks adequately.
The definition of the competencies is equally crucial, It may be relatively easy to define
knowledge and skills, but describing attitudes is more of a challenge. There are many ways
to define leadership or the ability to listen. Let's have a closer look at the latter. The kind
of listening required of a customer service clerk differs from that of a personal care attendant in a seniors’ assisted-living residence. Managers must thus carefully define the competencies they require of their employees, using behavioural examples.
In summary, certain pitfalls must be avoided when drawing up the competency profile in
order to ensure that it actually corresponds to the essential competencies the job requires.
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In the heart of the action
Marilyn has just been putin charge of customer service in a furniture store in Québec City. This is a major challenge since this
department has a bad reputation. Because most of the work
involves receiving complaints from dissatisfied customers,
employees don’t feel very appreciated; turnover in this departmentis the highest in the company. On top of that, one week
after starting the job, Marilyn learns that the customer service
To her great surprise, Marilyn realizes that there is no competency profile for this position. She decides to make a list of
the tasks a customer service clerk must perform, as well as the
competencies required. After asking the employees to help
her, she assesses, for each responsibility, the importance of
each competency. She obtains the following table.
clerk with the most seniority (three years) has just resigned.
eee
wotson | |
scomedge | "rogues,
Answer telephone
4
4
1
1
Greet customers in person
4
a
1
1
Listen to customer complaints
4
Q
3
1
Ask questionsto understand the nature of the problem
4
4
4
1
Verify warranties and procedure for taking back goods
1
1
3
4
Propose solution (for example, taking merchandise back or offering a refund)
4
4
4
4
Fill out the appropriate forms
1
1
4
4
Ensure that the customer is satisfied
Total
4
“
1
1
26
26
21
17
* Importance of competencies:
1 - Competency not very important for carrying out the responsibility
2 - Competency moderately important for carrying out the responsibility
3 - Competency important for carrying out the responsibility
4 - Competency essential for carrying out the responsibility
Two competencies stand out clearly: courtesy and the ability to
listen are indispensable in almost all aspects of the customer
service clerk position. Product knowledge is important, but to
a lesser extent. Knowledge of company regulations appears
to be an asset for a customer service clerk, but the table shows
Marilyn that this skill is less essential than courtesy and the
ability to listen.
The competency profile for the position of customer service
clerk would thus read as follows:
- Essential competencies: “Courtesy and ability to listen”;
- Important competency: “Product knowledge”;
- Asset: “Knowledge of regulations”.
Once this process is completed, you will be left with a list of competencies ranked in order
of importance. From a qualitative point of view, you now have a good idea of the profile
you are looking for in potential candidates. The only thing left to do is determine the
competencies you will use to select the candidates.
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Toolbox
Pitfalls to avoid when creating a competency profile
Pitfalls
Ways to avoid them
Forgetting to include some of the required | In this case, the profile would be incomplete. Analyzing each of the tasks in the job
competencies in the profile
description helps to avoid this pitfall.
Including unnecessary
the profile
competencies in
Paying too much attention to marginal
competencies
This is a diluted profile. Reread the job description to make certain all the requirements are
pertinent.
Consider the competencies on the basis of each of the tasksto perform.
Having unrealistic expectations concerning | Make sure the level of mastery corresponds to the tasks and responsibilities detailed in the
the mastery of competencies
Job description.
Writing vague definitions of competencies
Give an example of a situation where the competency would be used or a behaviour
expected of a person with this skill.
4.3.3 Choosing selection criteria
The competency profile will provide a complete list of the knowledge, skills, attitudes and
other characteristics required of employees so that they can perform the tasks involved in
their job adequately. However, some of the competencies will be acquired through experience in the position or the company, meaning that they will not be required of candidates
before they start working.
®
Let’s go back to the example of Marilyn. Her analysis enabled her to observe that knowledge
of company regulations is an essential competency for customer service clerks. However,
these regulations are specific to this company and would not be known to candidates from
outside the company. In addition, once on the job, an employee could easily learn these
regulations. Consequently, Marilyn does not have to take this competency into account
when choosing the ideal candidate, keeping in mind that the chosen candidate will have
to become familiar with these regulations once hired.
Selection criterion
Preparing the list of selection criterion means deciding, based on the competency profile,
Acomperency
screen
candidates used
during©
Which criteria to use in the selection process and how to measure them. To establish the
the selection process.
—_ selection criteria, we must ask three questions about each of the competencies:
- Is the competency important?
- Is the competency necessary at the beginning of the job?
- Does the competency allow us to evaluate applications?
If a competency is not very important, not at all important or not required at the beginning
of the job, it is not absolutely necessary to include it in the list of selection criteria, because
candidates can be trained at a later date. If it is essential from the outset, you must decide
if the competency can be evaluated during the selection process. If it cannot be assessed,
the recruit will have to be trained as soon as he/she has been hired. On the other hand, if
the competency is required as soon as the candidate starts working and can be evaluated
during the selection process, it should be one of the selection criteria. Figure 4.3 summarizes this reasoning.
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Figure 4.3
Competencies that make up selection criteria
No
Yes
Necessary
for beginning
of job
7
Importance of
the competency
>
v
No
Asset
Immediate
a
training
|)
|
Mandatory selection
criterion
Can be used
to evaluate
applications
Important or
essential
~
Yes
Training provided
=|
later or possible
selectioncriterion
|
|
Training provided
later or possible
selection criterion
The selection criteria are therefore a subset of the competencies required for the position:
competencies that employees must hold when taking up their duties and which allow you to
differentiate among candidates. Let's have a look at how this decision tree can be used in the
case of the customer service clerk position that Marilyn needed to fill in the preceding example.
In the heart of the action
Two of the competencies in Marilyn's profile pertain to an
in-depth knowledge of how the store operates: product knowledge and knowledge of regulations. However, Marilyn could
not expect external candidates to have this knowledge. Since
it is impossible to screen candidates using this criterion, it is
Importance
Con
patency
in
performing tasks
not appropriate to include it in the selection criteria. On the
other hand, courtesy and the ability to listen can be evaluated
during the selection process. Marilyn can thus use these two
competencies as deciding factors.
Is this competency
essential at the
beginning of the
job?
Can this competency
be used to evaluate
applications for this
Decision
position?
Ability to listen
ssential
Yes
Yes
Selection criterion
Courtesy
ssential
Yes
Yes
Selection criterion
Product knowledge
Important
Yes
No
Immediate training
| Not essential,
butan asset
Yes
No
Immediate training
Knowledge of regulations
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You have no doubt noticed that our definitions of competencies and selection criteria include
neither degrees and diplomas nor experience. Nevertheless, almost every job posting you
see stipulates a degree, diploma or certain number of years of experience that candidates
must possess. Can degrees and experience be considered competencies or selection criteria?
Let us take the example of a secretarial position. Clearly, mastery of word processing
software is an essential skill for this position. Since candidates are required to possess this
skill, it is considered a selection criterion. Recruiters have several ways of measuring this
competency, for example by designing an exercise or test using the program. Or, they may
decide that having a secretarial studies diploma or experience working as a secretary are
good indicators of mastery of this software. In this case, knowledge of word processing
software will not appear in the list of selection criteria; it will be replaced by a secretarial
studies diploma.
_
Competency indicator
ee
hee
agiven competency.
Although a specific degree or diploma and experience do not in themselves constitute
competencies, they are competency indicators, in other words ways of ensuring that
the candidate does possess certain skills. These indicators usually appear as part of the
__ list of selection criteria. For example, Marilyn can specify on her list of selection criteria
“courtesy” and “ability to listen,” or she can insist on “at least one year’s experience in a
position requiring courtesy and the ability to listen with regard to a demanding clientele.”
By choosing selection criteria to screen candidates, the following three elements can be
accomplished during the selection process:
- Compare candidates fairly with each other;
- Match candidates with the job profile;
- Measure, as objectively as possible, the competencies required for the position.
Once these criteria are established, what remains to do is attract candidates with the
desired profile.
4.4
Recruiting Candidates
As a manager, you are the person best suited to determine what selection criteria to use
to fill a position. On the other hand, your role in recruiting candidates is more discreet.
Remember that recruitment is the part of the staffing process that consists of making
potential candidates aware that a position is available in the organization and inviting them
to apply. This step is usually the responsibility of the human resources department, if the
organization has one. If it doesn’t, the task may be outsourced to a consulting firm. However,
you can be consulted on the choice of recruiting methods, either as a specialist or as the
supervisor of the position to be filled, since you are generally up to date on approaches
currently used in the industry. Thus, it is in your interest to become familiar with all the
decisions made at this stage.
The objective of these recruiting activities is to attract a sufficient number of quality
candidates, in other words who meet your chosen selection criteria, within a short time
frame and at a reasonable cost. The person in charge of staffing must consider two types
of questions:
- How do I find candidates or what are the recruitment sources?
- How do I contact these candidates or what are the recruitment methods?
The choice of sources as well as of methods depends on previous personnel planning, the
nature of the position and the desired competency profile. For example, if personnel
planning indicates that redundant staff in one department can meet the personnel needs
of another department, the preference will be for in-house recruiting. As we saw in
Chapter 3, this condition often appears in collective agreements and provides improved
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job security for unionized workers. However, when the required competencies are not
available internally, candidates must be attracted from outside the organization.
There are many recruitment methods, especially when recruiting externally. Imagine that
you are in charge of recruiting candidates for a position within your team. We'll have a
look at the advantages and disadvantages of various methods and how to apply them.
4.4.1 Websites
Due to the rise in Internet use, companies are increasingly turning to online recruitment
since it offers easy access to many candidates at a relatively low cost. However, its ease
of use also represents its main disadvantage: running an ad on the Internet can attract too
many applications that may not correspond to the required qualifications. This is why you
should use the Web in a targeted way.
There are several forms of online recruitment:
- Private recruitment websites — Thousands of private sites, of which the main ones
are listed in the section on the right, specialize in personnel recruitement. The cost of
posting an ad is generally low specialize in recruiting personnel. The cost of placing an
ad on one of these job boards is usually relatively low (a few hundred dollars), and job
seekers can post their resumes for free. The advertisements, usually quite short, some-
Wi eb
Li nks
The main general
recruitment websites
times provide a link to the organization’s website. Some of these sites are specialized
in Canada
according to profession or sector of activity, which ensures better targeting of candidates.
-jobboom.com
- The organization’s website — The use of the company website to advertise vacancies is
becoming more widespread, as it promotes the organization's image as an employer. This
: peso
- careerbuilder.ca
is also a rich medium in which images or videos can be included, as shown in the example
~jobs.ca
in Figure 4.4. In addition to posting available positions, the organization can use its site
to collect applications, which can then be immediately integrated into a computerized
database. The main disadvantage of using the organizational site to recruit is that ad placement is limited to people who know the company.
- Government websites — The federal and provincial
governments offer companies and individuals free
access to Internet job banks. The jobs posted are
generally aimed at lower-qualified workers. Thus,
this is an excellent recruitment method for filling
low-skilled positions.
Figure 4.4 Example of an organizational
website: Parks Canada
The Internet boom has transformed the way organizations recruit. While many recruitment sites have
emerged in recent years, they are increasingly challenged by social media, a very popular job search tool
among candidates. This is a good method to consider,
especially if you are looking for young people or people
who are not actively looking for a job.
4.4.2 Social media
Sas
Unlike advertisements on websites, which are only read
by job seekers or targeted to a specific company, social
media permits the sharing of news, so people will see
employment advertisements regardless of whether or
not they are actively looking for a job.
103
> Pay
Source: Image taken from Parks Canada website and reproduced with their permission.
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Figure 4.5 Example
on Linkedin
Noweses canary ot Canta
VN
Networking sites such as Facebook or LinkedIn are
the most widely used in recruitment, even if they were
not designed for this purpose. They are great tools for
contacting potential candidates. Moreover, social
networks now offer employers paid accounts to post
of a job posting
ne
aie
Paty yma
advertisements or to search for candidates among
Tht National Gallery of Canad is hiring: Digital Asset Manager
their users. The strategy then is to bring Internet users
to the organization's website where they can apply, as
shown in the example in Figure 4.5.
Beyond job postings, these networks allow organizations to showcase themselves, communicate information and thus promote their image as potential
employers. However, a strategy like this requires a
certain investment of time and resources to produce
content that can then be distributed and shared.
Despite the advantages of combining the Internet and
social media in a recruitment strategy, some companies and sectors still depend heavily on more traditional
methods, such as print advertising.
Career Opportunities - Digital Asset Manager | National Gallery of Canada
—
Source: Image taken from the National Gallery of Canada Linkedin page and reproduced with
their permission,
4.4.3 Job postings in print media
The publication of job vacancies in the print media is
a declining recruitment method, but it continues to be used in some business sectors. Since
there are a great number of media, from large national dailies to local weekly newspapers
and specialized magazines, you must choose the publication you intend to advertise in
carefully. Your choice should be based on the following criteria:
®
- Candidate profile. This profile will determine the size and geographic area of the pool
of candidates to contact. For example, for low-skilled positions that can be filled by local
labour force, regional weeklies will suit your purposes quite well. On the other hand,
advertising more specialized positions is better suited to large national dailies or
specialty magazines.
- Job location. Choosing a local, national or international publication to advertise in will
depend on the geographic location of the job.
- Recruitment budget. Placing an advertisement in a large daily newspaper is obviously
much more expensive than in a newspaper with a smaller circulation. To illustrate, running
a one-day quarter-page ad in the career section of a city newspaper would typically cost
about $1200.
- Lead time required to fill the position. The frequency of publication of a periodical may
prolong the recruitment process unduly.
- Type of advertisement. Some newspapers offer two kinds of advertising: classified
ads, which suit positions requiring little specialization, and career ads, published in the
Careers Section, which offer specialized positions. Obviously, career ads are much more
costly than classified ads.
The main disadvantage of advertising in the print media or on a recruitment site is that,
in many cases, these advertisements are only read by candidates seeking employment.
The use of a private recruitment agency can help to overcome this obstacle. It can also be
a good strategy for organizations that do not have a human resources department and
wish to outsource their recruitment.
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4.4.4 Private recruitment agencies
Private agencies act as intermediaries between employers and people looking for a job.
They supply their clients with a bank of applicants, but they can also seek out particular
candidates and screen them on the basis of clearly defined criteria. Private recruitment
agencies can thus make direct contact with people who are not actively looking for work.
However, their services are very costly. Since contract specifications and service costs
vary from one agency to another, you must closely examine the different types of agencies
and what they offer.
- Employment agencies. An employment agency will supply a client company (which
you represent) with names of candidates from its bank of applicants. Depending on your
needs, the agency can also look after part of the candidate selection process, but it’s the
company that makes the final hiring decision. Fees are paid to the agency based on the
type of position and its hierarchical level; they usually run about 10% to 30% of the chosen
candidate's basic annual salary.
- Temporary employment agencies. As their name suggests, these agencies help organizations fill positions that are temporarily vacant. Any candidates they suggest will remain
part of the agency personnel rather than of your organization. You will receive an invoice
periodically for the employee's salary and service fees, usually amounting to 40% to 100%
of the employee's salary. This recruiting method is quite costly and can also lead to issues
of equity among employees if not used wisely. You should only resort to temporary
e
Web
Li nks
Principal permanent
and temporary
employment agencies in situations where there is a specific, limited need for labour.
agencies in Québec
- Executive search firms. Sometimes known as head-hunters, these firms specialize in
~randstad.ca
recruiting executives or professionals who have specific types of expertise. Because these
. ——
positions are highly specialized, these agencies do not have a bank of candidates. Instead,
= quantum.ca
they use their networks to go out and find potential candidates. An executive recruitment
agency contacts potential candidates in complete confidence. In most cases, they are
already employed and are not actively seeking a new position. Since these are very
specialized services, executive recruitment agencies are expensive, They generally bill
around 30% of the recruited candidate's annual salary.
= manpower.ca
We see that private recruiting agencies provide quality personalized service, but they can
be costly — this is their main disadvantage. They also deal mainly with skilled candidates.
If you are seeking to fill a lower-skilled position, public placement agencies and bureaus
are interesting avenues to explore.
4.4.5 Public agencies and bureaus
In order to help people looking for work, the Québec government has set up a network of
local employment centres where employers can post job openings. In addition, there are
also “Carrefours jeunesse-emploi,” whose mandate is to help navigate young people in their
job search. These public bureaus can provide fast, free access to relatively low-skilled labour.
4.4.6 Job fairs
Of all recruiting methods used, job fairs are the only ones that allow you, within a few
days, to establish a direct contact with a large number of potential candidates. Since
participating in these fairs requires considerably more effort than posting a job on the
Internet or advertising in newspapers, it is important to choose the fair based on your
specific needs, We can distinguish four main types of job fairs:
- Campus job fairs. This is the best strategy if you are offering student training sessions
or entry-level jobs, summer or part-time work, or recruiting personnel for co-op
teaching programs.
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- Open job fairs. These are fairs of a general nature that target no particular skill or
profession. Companies located in the same geographic sector take part in them to recruit
local, usually low-skilled labour.
- Specialized job fairs. As the name suggests, these fairs are directed at specific groups
of people. Examples include technical job fairs and health profession fairs. This type of
recruitment tool targets a precise group.
- Virtual lounges. These online platforms replicate the environment of a traditional career
fair and connect employers and candidates. The technology makes it possible to erase
geographical and temporal barriers, since the show is accessible from anywhere in the world,
at any time. Chat rooms are usually organized for real-time contact between recruiters
and candidates.
No matter which fair you choose, participating will greatly enhance your visibility. However,
taking part in a fair involves a good deal of effort on the part of many full-time people. It
can only be justified if you have a certain number of positions to fill.
4.4.7 Educational institutions
To recruit students, trainees, seasonal employees or young graduates, educational institutions
offer an ideal solution, since they usually have a placement office with services ranging from
posting job to screening candidates. Job postings cost very little or are free.
4.4.8 Professional associations and unions
If you are looking for candidates with a specific professional qualification, then trades, associations, professional orders and unions may make interesting partners. Most of the time
these organizations offer a placement service, post job openings on their website, or distribute
a newsletter to their members. But keep in mind that advertising in a newsletter, although
targeted and inexpensive, does depend on publishing deadlines.
®
4.4.9 Networking
In spite of the many methods used to post a position (newspapers, Internet, associations,
agencies, etc.), many available jobs are not advertised. Rather, they get filled through
networking — an inexpensive approach because there is no intermediary. However, this
method presents risks if it does not succeed in attracting quality candidates. Two practices
can help you enhance your network to improve both the quantity and quality of
recruited candidates.
- Recommendations made by personnel. This recruitment method consists of informing
your employees that there are positions to be filled and inviting them to recommend candidates. Employees usually receive some kind of compensation, a bonus or gift, if one of the
candidates they propose is hired by the company and stays a certain length of time. This is
an efficient way to recruit quality candidates that doesn’t cost a lot of money.
- Unsolicited applications. If your company has a good reputation as an employer, you
will receive a large quantity of unsolicited applications, whether you have jobs available
or not. Although spontaneous applications appear to be an inexpensive way to recruit,
checking hundreds or even thousands of applications may well turn out to be a long,
tedious and costly task for the company. This method should be used mainly to fill
entry-level positions quickly.
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As can be seen, there are a great variety of recruiting methods. Unfortunately, none of
them is perfect. When you choose one or more of these means, you will have to consider
a range of criteria, for example the type of position and the desired competencies, the size
of the staffing pool, the labour market, the company’s reputation, the budget available and
the time factors involved. The example below illustrates these choices.
In the heart of the action
Pharmateq, a pharmaceutical company located in the West
End of Montréal, wishes to fill two positions:
- Research director, with a PhD in biochemistry or molecular
biology and 10 years’ experience in coordinating medical
research,
- Validation technician, with
a DEC (Cégep diploma) in che-
mical engineering and two years’ experience in a similar job
in the pharmaceutical industry.
Reynald, Director of Human
Resources, knows there is a shor-
tage of specialized pharmaceutical workers in Québec. Since
Pharmateg is relatively unknown, it may not be enough to simply post jobs on the company’s website or Facebook account.
To improve his chances of attracting promising candidates for
the position of research director, he has several options:
- He could advertise the position on a recruitment site specializing in pharmaceutical jobs, such as Pharmajob.
- Reynald is aware that he will have to expand his research
internationally since the number of people with a doctorate
in biochemistry or molecular biology in Quebec is very
small. He could run his advertisement in the newsletter of
the Intemational Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
an association that brings together researchers and specialists
in this field.
- In addition, Reynald could participate in the annual conference organized by this association to inform potential
candidates that there is a position to be filled.
- Using a specialized international recruitment firm would also
be an effective, but expensive, option.
At first glance, the position of validation technician seems
easier to fill:
- As with the position of director, an advertisement could be
placed on a specialized site.
= Since many Montreal educational institutions offer DECs
(Diplomas of College Studies) in chemical engineering,
Reynald would do well to contact them in order to reach
recent graduates.
- As he is recruiting locally, he could also publish an advertisement in a newspaper such as The Gazette or Le Journal
de Montréal.
Some of these methods, such as online postings and advertising in Cégeps, can be used immediately and at little cost.
This is definitely where Reynald should start. Since the position
of research director requires competencies that are rare, he
should probably allocate a sizeable budget for this recruiting
task and contact the International Union of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology. Using the services of an executive recruiting
agency should be a last resort.
As a supervisor, you will sometimes be consulted on the choice of the job recruiting source
(internal or external), but you will mainly be called on when the time comes to examine
recruitment methods, especially for specialized positions. Even if companies have their own
human resources divisions, human resources specialists will usually call on managers to find
out what recruitment methods are generally used for that position.
4.4.10 Writing a job posting
Whatever recruitment method you choose, you will usually have to advertise a job opening,
whether it be on a website, in a newspaper or on a bulletin board in a community centre
or a school placement agency.
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In many cases, this advertisement is your first contact with candidates. It is your opportunity
to create a good first impression, catch the candidates’ attention and stand out from the
competition. To do that, your ad must follow the AIDA model:
- Attract the attention of potential candidates;
- Spark their interest by clearly identifying the ideal candidate
industry involved;
- Create a desire for them to apply;
- And give them the information they need to take action.
profile and the
Before going over what should be in your job posting, here is a reminder of what must not
be in it. Under no circumstances should it contain any information or requirement involving
one of the illegal grounds for discrimination, especially regarding age or sex (see Chapter 2).
Your advertisement must include certain basic information as shown in Figure 4.6:
- Overview of the organization or industry. A general description of your organization
will allow potential candidates to target the kind of company they wish to apply to. If you
do not want to identify your company, you should at least indicate the industry it is
involved in or its competitive position.
Figure 4.6
Sample job posting
Job Description
Bilingual Senior
Admin
[tack |
- Digital Operations (Contract) - Offer No 21431
Location 1
Full Tame:
Povting
End Date »
TORONTO
Yes
2OIWDed/06
201W/Dev/23
Ne
Expected start Date:
Permanent 1
Job Description »
Ji
Slingadl Sealer Aduiaisteston
Oflcut wil be sepoortng
Cighel Castine
Cperetene
sittin 628 Genk
Us reagan or aevesunng ead wpeiing reprty sad snewerin wesrnal sad exert chases mnparis ropurt the peodect edmacisred witin a eprint nie
providing a consistent level of superice customer service.
Responuibilities :
Review all documents and applications for completeness, accuracy,
and ambiguity.
Administers and processes product speofic financial and non-francal trarsactors, according to B2B Bank's standards, polces and procedures.
Researches, prepares, processes, balances, reconciles, and ensures quality corral of all financial and non-financial transactions for clients.
Matas dient Hes, ensures efficency 10 retrieving documents and arches dosed files for easy accessibility.
Researches and answers iequicies from internal and external cients, such as customer service oF fieancial advisers, regarding products and processing issues and maintains good
working relationships with internal and external cherts.
Escalates and makes recommendatons to the appropriste authority about any inquines oF issues that are beyond their scope,
\Veribes um work and the work of fellow team members in the department foe accuracy, clarity and completeness and ensures compliance mith internal and external audit and
fegulatory requremerts.
Completes daily workioad within strict timeframes set by B2B Bark and addresses any esues with the supervisar,
in
meetings and
to the planning process of achieving departmental and persoral goals, as well as communicates any problems or concerns.
Subenits recommendatices to imerove work processes to the superviser.
Keeps abreast of lepsiation, poloes and procedures, which relate to products and services,
Particpates in special projects and carries cut amy cther similar or general task at the request of their superice or that may be required by their functions.
Qualifications :
Post-secondary degree or diptoms in Business or in a related field in progress.
2 to 2 years of work
related to
ca
preferably
with a financial institution.
Bilingual (French) verbal and written communscation skclls are mandatory,
Source: Image taken from the Laurentian Bank website and repeoduced with their permission.
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- Job title. Since a person looking at job openings is first interested in the job title, make
sure it is clear and well-defined so it catches the candidate's attention. If the official job
title is somewhat vague, add a short description of the position.
- Job description. In a few lines, describe the general nature of the work and its objectives.
- Competency requirements. Present the essential selection criteria in a clear manner
in order to attract qualified candidates and dissuade those who are not.
- Job location. The location of the job is a vital factor for job seekers. It is important to
state it clearly and precisely in the ad. If your company is located in a remote region,
including this information will discourage applications from people who are not ready
to move,
- How to apply. List the documents to be sent (cover letter, résumé, letters of recommendation, etc.). Indicate the deadline for submitting applications, as well as the address or fax
number where documents should be sent.
- Particular working conditions. If your company’s working conditions or environment
help make it stand out from its competition, mention this in your advertisement.
This essential information can be supplemented by information that you may or may not
decide to include in the job offer, depending on the circumstances. For example:
- Name of the company. If your company has a reputation as a good employer, it is an
excellent idea to name the company to help ensure the postings are read and attract
job seekers.
- Compensation and benefits. [t is not necessary to include salary information, since
this could compromise future wage negotiations with the hired candidate. Instead of
indicating a salary, it might be helpful to provide general compensation information, for
example whether commission is paid.
- Commitment to employment equity. If your company’s employment equity program
targets a particular population group, this information must be clearly indicated in the
advertisement in order to attract candidates from this group. On the other hand, if the
newspaper or website clearly states that all advertisements apply to both women and
men equally, you do not need to say that positions respect this principle of equality.
As you can see, there is a great deal of leeway as to what information you can incorporate
in your job posting, Your decision on what to include and what to leave out will be based
on these factors:
- The interest the information has for potential candidates;
- The visibility of the information and the selective charac-
ter of the advertisement;
Toolbox
- The clarity and conciseness of the advertisement.
Mistakes to avoid when writing a job posting
To attract potential candidates, the content of the advertisement
is not the only element to consider. Its appearance can also help
make your company stand out from the competition, especially
if their advertisements appear just beside yours in the newspaper!
- Overuse of certain punctuation marks, especially
exclamation marks
- Too many symbols
- Overuse of capital letters
To be effective, your ad must be different from the others but
still send a clear message to your target audience. You need to
~ Repetition
- Spelling and grammar errors
use a dynamic style that reflects the company’s image and avoid
the pitfalls listed on the right. Using pictures or the company
- Illogical sentence order
- Incorrect typography
logo, like the advertisements shown in this chapter do, can also
~ Excessive length
help create a distinctive job posting.
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Ata
Glance
At the end of this process, you will know how many and what kind of positions your
department needs to fill. Using the competency profile you have prepared, you can help
the human resources department target the recruitment sources and methods that are
most appropriate to attract quality candidates. As we will see in the next chapter, your
managerial knowledge will again be put to use during the selection of candidates.
Figure 4.7 summarizes the main points covered in this chapter and highlights the role of
the manager in recruiting candidates.
Figure 4.7
®
The manager and recruitment
Essential knowledge
HRM tools used
Pitfalls or mistakes to avoid
— HR planning methods
— Job description
— Hiring before you have planned
— Desired competencies
— Competency profiles
— Job posting
your workforce
— Believing that thejob description
is up to date
— Neglecting to establish the
competency profile
Role of other players
— Search for candidates
The manager and
= Choosing recruitment methods
by habit
— Imagining that a job
advertisement is enough to
attract good candidates
recruitment
Roles and responsibilities
Support from HR
department
— Plan staff movements
— Write job descriptions
— Predict personnel needs
— Write competency profiles
— Choice of recruitment pools
— Know position and requirements
— Know job market for this position
and methods
— Writejob description
— Have advertisement placed
— Receive applications
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Are you
Ready?
1. On what basis will | decide to hire personnel?
Ideally, before deciding to hire staff, personnel planning should be done. The goal is to
determine the organization's personnel needs and availability, as well as the competencies
required of candidates. The decision to recruit outside the organization is only one possibility. Other avenues can be explored, such as upgrading the competencies of present
employees or reorganizing work. Of course, unexpected events can modify planning
operations. For example, a key person may suddenly resign and a replacement must be
found as quickly as possible.
See sections 4.1 and 4.4.1.
2. What competencies should | require of candidates?
You must conduct an analysis of the position to be filled in order to determine the competencies that candidates will require. But exercise caution: sometimes, skills that are useful
in performing tasks are not in fact essential at the start of the job or may only be acquired
on the job. It is necessary to ascertain which of the competencies listed as job requirements
will actually be used to select candidates.
See sections 4.3, 4.3.1, 4.3.2, 4.3.3.
3. How will | proceed to find candidates?
The choice of recruitment sources and methods is based on numerous criteria. The most
important element is the candidate profile, since your main objective is to attract candidates
who correspond as closely as possible to your needs. This profile will assist you in choosing
the recruitment sources and methods best suited to reaching your target candidates. To a
lesser extent, you also need to take into account the company’s location, the budget
available and any deadlines involved when you choose your recruiting strategy.
See section 4.4.
4. How will | attract quality candidates?
To attract quality candidates, job requirements and qualifications must be carefully and
precisely formulated at every stage of the process. A job posting must be written to highlight
the qualities the company is looking for and at the same be attractive to candidates. The
choice of pertinent sources and methods will also help.
See sections 4.4 and 4.4.10.
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On
Your
Mark,
Get Set...
_
Review!
. Which people should be in charge of the following activities in an SME with no
human resources department:
-The decision to expand company activities?
- Quantitative personnel planning in a department?
- Writing up a job description?
- List of competencies required for a position?
IS
o
What is the difference between human resources recruitment and human
resources selection?
3 . How do you calculate human resources availability in a given department?
4 . What is a job minimum clause and how does it influence human resources planning?
5. What solutions are available when a personnel shortage is expected?
6. What is the difference between a job analysis and a job description?
tf . What is a competency profile? How does it differ from a list of selection criteria or
of competency indicators? ?
&
8. What are the most appropriate selection methods for recruiting a recent university
graduate in computer science?
MyBookshelf > My eLab > Documents
> Review questions
answer key
9. What are the main criteria to factor in when choosing a recruitment method?
;
a
;
,
10. What information must absolutely appear in a job posting advertised in the media?
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Discuss!
1.
One sometimes hears that it is useless to prepare a competency profile before filling
a position because the required competencies are constantly changing. In that case,
it would be preferable to choose candidates based on their personality rather than
on their competencies. What do you think?
2.
Given the growing labour shortage, companies have to be satisfied with whatever
candidates they are able to attract. This implies that it’s useless to draw up a portrait
of the ideal candidate. What do you think?
3.
It is sometimes said that 80% of available jobs are not advertised but are filled
through networking connections. What are the possible consequences for you as
a manager?
Your Turn!
You are the marketing manager for a manufacturing SME located in Beauce. Founded 25
years ago, your business is quite successful, especially because of its reputation for quality
customer service. One of your pet projects is to improve the company website. The computer services department is in charge of the site, which at the moment essentially only
provides information. You would like it to become transactional so customers can place
online orders. For this to happen, the site must be more visually attractive and richer in
content, and needs to be reorganized.
The company president has given you the green light to transfer responsibility for designing
and maintaining the website to the marketing department. Since there is no one on staff
with the skills necessary to manage the site, you have to hire a webmaster. He/she will
work closely on the layout with the company’s computer graphics designer, and the other
members of the marketing department will look after writing the content.
To recruit candidates for the position, you have to compose a job description and a list of
required competencies. How will you do this?
References
Bourhis, A. (2018). Recrutement et sélection du personnel, 3
ed., Montréal, Cheneliére
Education, 592 p.
Pettersen, N. (2000). Evaluation du potentiel humain dans les organisations, Sainte-Foy,
Presses de I'Université du Québec, 374 p.
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Appendix 4.1
Job Description and
Competency Profile
1. Job Title
Title: Human Resources Coordinator
Department: Immediate superior
Corporate Services: Director of Finance and Corporate Services
Hierarchical level: Date of job description
First-line manager: September 5, 2008
2. Job description
The human resources coordinator works with the management team to ensure the provision
of the human resources department, particularly: staffing coordination, staff retention, maintenance of employment records and human resources systems, compensation and benefits
administration, policy and procedure development and implementation, core training and
development coordination, as well as performance management coordination. The coordinator
also ensures compliance with labour legislation.
®
3. Duties and responsibilities
a) Coordinate staffing
- Coordinates the preparation and development of job descriptions and ensures that
they are up to date.
- In collaboration with the management team, develops and implements a
recruitment strategy.
- In collaboration with the manager, prepares calls for applications, interview guides,
questions and assessment methods, rating guides and other materials necessary for
the selection process.
- Assists in the screening of applicants as required.
- ls responsible for all employment contracts and updates HR files.
- Conducts voluntary exit interviews.
b) Develop and update policy and procedures
- Keeps up to date on human resources legislation and practices and undertakes
regular reviews of human resources policy to ensure that it complies with
pertinent laws.
- Identifies a new policy and recommends adopting it as required.
- Provides advice, support and policy and legislation interpretation to the management
team and staff.
c) Develop and implement compensation and performance management policy
- Assists in the development of compensation systems and responds to
employee questions.
- Acts as a resource person to managers and staff for conflict resolution and
performance management issues.
- Assists in the development of the employee performance evaluation process and
oversees the schedule for performance reviews.
- Administers the benefits plan and assists in developing the plan.
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d) Develop and implement training management policy
- Assists in developing the staff training and development program and ensures
its implementation.
- Assists in planning the schedule and tracks the core training sessions for staff.
- Collects and distributes information on in-house seminars and workshops for
staff training.
- Supports managers to ensure that staff understand and respect the commitment to
diversity as it relates to human resources practices.
e) Document programs
- Ensures the creation and maintenance of administrative systems and databases
required for efficient operations.
- Ensures that all staff files, forms and documents are completed and stored ina
safe place.
- Analyzes the organization's human resources statistics as part of ongoing program
evaluation, as required.
f)
Other responsibilities and duties
- Other responsibilities and duties
4. Competency profile
a)
Education and experience
- Undergraduate degree in human resources or a related field or equivalent
- Minimum two years’ comparable human resources experience
b) Knowledge
- Advanced knowledge of word processing and spreadsheets
- Basic knowledge of databases
2°
c
Skills
- Ability to communicate fluently in spoken and written English
- Ability to communicate fluently in spoken and written French an asset
- Strong organization skills
- Analytical and writing skills
- Good interpersonal relations
d)
Attitudes
- Autonomy
- Demonstrated flexibility and effectiveness within a rapidly changing environment and
tight deadlines.
5. Working conditions
Permanent employment
Work schedule: 35 hours a week
Workplace: Sherbrooke
| certify that all the information contained in this job description accurately represents the
work done in this position.
Signature:
Date:
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PART2
Finding the Best Employees
Choosing the
Right People
and Integrating
Them
Anne Bourhis
p.119_
p.119_
p.121_
p.125_
p.139_
p.140_
5.1 Manager's Recruitment Goals
5.2 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities
5.3 Screening Process
5.4 Selection Process
5.5 Hiring
5.6 New Employee Orientation
ON YOUR MARK...
Once you have succeeded in attracting quality candidates for an available position
in your company, you need to choose the best candidate and integrate that person
effectively into your team. To do so, you will have to answer the following questions:
1, What are the best tools for evaluating candidate competencies?
2. How can | get the most out of a selection interview?
3. Should | test candidates? If so, what tests should | use?
4, What terms and conditions of employment can | negotiate with a candidate?
5. How should I prepare for the new employee's arrival?
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Work
|
Scenario
You have just been hired as marketing manager for Planevent,
a small business created by Sebastian McDonald five years
ago that specializes in events planning. Sebastian, an entre-
In planning for the selection interviews, you decide to meet
with the accountant who has just resigned. He tells you that
he just can’t get used to the lack of structure at Planevent.
preneur, is the heart and soul of Planevent and provides all the
creative ideas. Fifteen people work for him, most of them in
the artistic field. In order to continue expanding his business,
Sebastian needs someone like you. Your mission is to find new
markets and maintain client contacts.
to assign them to. And he’s always making different payment
arrangements with clients, so no two contracts are the same.
I'm used to working in a very organized way. That doesn’t
After two months, you have become used to the sometimes
chaotic world of Planevent. For example, when designers
are working on an event, they may stay at the office late into
the night and not come to work the next day until noon. In
You realize that selecting that person probably wasn’t the
right choice. To learn how Sebastian made his decision, you
ask him a few questions. He answers with a laugh: “How did
| pick the accountant?” The same way | selected you! | meet
addition, client files are quite disorganized. Still, Sebastian
the candidates; talk about this and that ... it's important for
knows every client really well and remembers every event he
me to get to know each person. As far as I'm concerned, an
interview shouldn't turn into an interrogation session. | can
tell pretty quickly if things click or not. | get a sense about a
person. | don’t think | was wrong about you, but maybe my
feeling for accountants is a little off!"
has ever organized. To work at Planevent, you have to love
the unexpected, be autonomous and have somewhat of an
entrepreneurial bent.
This morning, Sebastian comes to see you, a little preoccu-
“Sebastian shows up with bills and | don’t know what account
seem to be an option here.”
pied because the accountant, who was hired at the same time
as you, has just resigned. He greets you with: “Hi. You're in
marketing, right? So you must know about people.” Ignoring
your perplexed air, he continues, “So you're going to meet the
candidates and choose the new accountant. | guess | just don't
have the knack for it. That's the third accountant I've hired in
two years, and they've all quit!”
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Although this scenario is fictitious, the situation at Planevent is far from unique. The truth
is, many managers follow their gut feelings when they select a candidate. However, relying
on intuition alone is rarely a good idea. Choosing a candidate should be based on an assessment of the selection criteria seen in the previous chapter, and it must be done as objectively
as possible, The best way to pick the most qualified candidate for a position is to follow a
structured selection process, as we will see in the coming pages.
Remember that the selection process is part of the planning and recruitment process
described previously. For example, the list of selection criteria used to recruit quality candidates can also serve to compare candidates as objectively as possible. Recruitment and
selection procedures go hand in hand. A recruitment process that doesn’t result in quality
applications will make it extremely difficult for you to select a candidate who meets
your requirements,
5.1 Manager's Recruitment Goals
As a manager, you have the final say in who is hired. It is then up to you to integrate the
employee into your team. Thus, your goal is to ensure that the selection process will allow
you to choose the candidate who can most quickly reach the expected level of performance.
Apart from this objective, you must ensure a certain level of quality in the selection process
itself: candidates must be treated fairly and professionally, even if it becomes clear that
they don’t meet the desired profile. Treating your candidates with respect at all stages of
the selection process will help you develop a good reputation, which will enable you to
attract the best potential employees.
The main purpose of the selection process is to predict how well a candidate will
perform on the job and integrate into the company. Managers have a range of testing
and interviewing tools at their disposal to provide information about candidates’ future
performance. There are also legal or functional questions involved, summarized in the
Toolbox below.
5.2 Considerations for the
Selection Process
The manager seldom assumes the entire responsibility for the
selection process. When a company has an HR department,
this will handle a large part of the selection work, but a number
of other people can also play a role, including external resources
such as consultants. There may also be an internal selection
committee, which usually includes the manager of the position
Toolbox
Managerial roles and responsibilities
= Compliance with legislation, especially the Québec
Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Compliance with collective agreement, as required
to be filled, a person from the HR department and someone
~ Equitable treatment of candidates
who is particularly familiar with the tasks of the position to be
~ Objective assessment of candidates’ competencies
filled, Table 5.1 summarizes the roles and responsibilities of
~ Comparison of candidates with one another
- Matching candidates with the desired job profile
~ Professional treatment of candidates, especially
those who are turned down
~ Fast processing of applications to avoid best
candidates accepting a competitor's offer
- Search for balance between flexibility in the job
posting and equity within the company
the actors in this process. In organizations that do not have an
HR department, it is often the manager of the position to be
filled or the administrative directorate that assumes
the responsibilities.
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Table 5.1
Players in the selection process
Player
Responsibilities
~ Determines the selection criteria in collaboration with the HR department (see Chapter 4, section 4.4.3)
Manager of the position
HR department (in
collaboration with the
manager)
~ Assists the HR department in drafting the screening and selection grids
~ Attends selection interviews
~ Evaluates candidates
~ Makes the final hiring decision
~ Develops the screening grids
~ Develops the interview guides
~ Performs
the initial selection of applications (screening)
~ Chooses appropriate selection tools
~ Chooses the members of the selection committee, if any
~ Trains the members of the selection committee
~ Calls in and receives candidates
~ Attends interviews
~ Performs or subcontracts tests
~ Performs or subcontracts background checks
~ Drafts and negotiates the job offer
~ Writes letter of engagement
~ Communicates with candidates throughout
the process
Selection Committee*
~ Conducts interviews
~ Conducts tests or reviews their results
~ Evaluates candidates
~ Makes the final hiring decision
Consultant or external
~ Carries out tests (in particular personality tests)
resource
Company management
~ Accepts the terms of the job offer
“The manager of the position to be filled is usually a member of the Selection Committee.
Screening
The initial sorting of
applications based on résumés
and occasionally phone
interviews.
Selection
The choice of a candidate after
an interview, and sometimes
testing and conducting a
background check.
Hiring
The making of an offer of
employment to the chosen
candidate and signing an
employment contract.
A structured process increases your chances of making a successful selection. The Toolbox
on the next page presents some tools to help you. At this point, you should be familiar with
some of them, especially the job description, competency profile and list of selection criteria
dealt with in the preceding chapter. You will learn to devise other tools in this chapter.
A selection process is usually composed of three major steps. Each of these will be detailed
in the following sections.
1. The application screening begins as soon as candidates apply, narrowing down the
selection to those who will be invited to the next stages of the process.
2, Next comes the actual selection, which can itself be broken down into several phases.
3. The last stage consists of hiring a candidate and signing an individual employment contract
containing the terms negotiated with the employee.
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Staff selection decisions are all the more important because a mistake could end up being
enormously costly. From a financial point of view, a bad hiring decision means you will
have to find a replacement and pay for that person's recruitment, selection, orientation
and training. This mistake can also cause a drop in productivity and eventually in clientele
as well. From a moral and psychological standpoint, there are also subjective costs involving
Stress and decreased motivation in the other employees.
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Before we go into greater detail for each of these steps, remember that at no time in the selection process can you ask appli-
cants questions involving any of the grounds for discrimination,
Tool b ox
for example, their age or civil status (see Chapter 2). Table 5.2
presents certain questions that are considered illegal in the
selection process. It also suggests ways of reformulating ques-
Humanirecources tools reduced
for|planning/and recruttment
tions to obtain information that may be of assistance in the
- Job description
selection process, However, once you reach the hiring stage,
- Competency profile
you are allowed to gather any information necessary to open
an employee file, such as date of birth or person to contact in
~ Selection criteria
~ Initial screening grid
~ Screening interview grid
~ Selection interview guide
- Candidate assessment grid
- Consent form for background check
case of an emergency.
;
5.3 The Screening Process
- Reference check interview grid
During the recruitment stage, you invited interested candidates to submit their applications. As a result, you have
received a number of résumés, or CVs, some accompanied by
a cover letter. Candidates may also have applied directly to
Table 5.2
Main questions to avoid during the selection process
Subject
Examples of illegal questions
Possible reformulations
Address
- Do you have an address outside of Canada?
- What is your present address?
Age
~ When were you born? How old are you?
~ What is your health insurance number? Your driver's
licence number?
~ Could you please attach a birth certificate or a baptismal
certificate to your job application?
~ None, except for bona fide
occupational requirement.
~ Are you eligible to work under Canadian laws
regarding age restrictions?
Civil status/ marital
~ Should | call you "Mrs" or "Miss"?
~ What is your maiden name?
| ~ —. oe
aa
status/family status
| ~ "et !S
eee
Ethnic or national
origin
eH
Your
widowed?
ala
- Will you be able to work the number of required
hours and do overtime if necessary?
~ What nationality are you?
~ Where were you bom? Were you born in Canada?
~ Where was your spouse born? Where were your parents born?
~ Can you supply proof of citizenship? Permanent resident
status? A work permit?
~ What is your social insurance number?
- Are you legally entitled to work in Canada?
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Could your spouse obtain a transfer?
~ How many children or dependentsdo you have?
~ What arrangements have you made for child care?
~ How is your health?
~ Doyou have any disabilities, health problems or handicaps?
~ Have you ever been hospitalizedor received medical treatment?
Handicap/ disability/ | ~ Whatis the name
of your family doctor?
~ Have you ever taken part in a drug treatment program?
medical information
~ Do you drink alcohol? Do you take drugs?
~ Are you receiving therapy?
~ Have you ever received compensation fora
work-related accident?
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~ Could you travel for your job?
~ Are there any circumstances that would prevent
_
working for a minimum number
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- Is there anything that could limit your ability to
perform the work required by the job?
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Table 5.2
Main questions to avoid during the selection process (continued)
Subject
Examples of illegal questions
Possible reformulations
Language
~ Whatis your mother tongue?
~ Where did you learn English?
~ Gan you understand, speak, read and write in the
language required for this job?
Military service
~ Did you do your military service in another country?
~ None, unless employment preference is given to
veteransby law.
Name
~ Was your name changed by a court order, through marriage
or for another reason?
Pardoned conviction | ~ Have you ever been convicted? Arrested?
~ Do you have a criminal record?
| ~ None
~ None, except for bona fide
occupational requirement.
~ Whatis your political affiliation?
~ None, unless belonging to a political party is a
Political convictions | - Are you involved in any political activities?
requirement justified by the particular nature of
the non-profit institution.
~ Are you pregnant?
~ Do you intend to have children?
~ Have you ever had pregnancy-related health problems?
~ How long do you plan to remain in the labour market?
~ None, except for bona fide
occupational requirement.
. Could you please attach a photograph to your
application form?
~ None, except for bona fide
occupational requirement.
= What religion do you belong to? Do you attend
~ None, unless belonging to a given religion is
services regularly?
a factor justified by the particular nature of the
Religion
~ Are you available to work on Christmas Day?
~ Could | have a reference from a clergy member ora
religious leader?
non-profit institution.
~ Would this work schedule be a problem for you?
Sex
= Should | call you siror madam?
- None
Sexual orientation
- What is your sexual orientation?
- None
Social condition
~ Do you own
a car?
~ Do you rent or own your home?
~ Could you have the use of a car if the
job required?
- How much do you weigh?
~ How tall are you?
- Do you have a healthy body weight?
~ None, except for bona fide
occupational requirement.
Pregnancy
Race/colour
&
Weight and height
Source: Adapted from the C
des drosde la pe
des decits
de j
[1996] Les formulaires de demande demploi et les entrevues relatives 3 un employ, Québer, 33 p.
your company's Career site by completing an online application form. Your first task is to
read these documents and eliminate the ones that do not meet the basic requirements you
are looking for. This is the screening process.
5.3.1 Sorting applications
Screening is based on the selection criteria you have determined for the position. However,
some criteria such as attitude or personal qualities are difficult, if not impossible, to assess
from simply reading a résumé. For example, you cannot tell if a candidate has good communication skills from a CV. It is thus impossible to use attitudes and skills as screening
criteria. This first sorting is based solely on concrete elements that are found in a résumé:
education, length and nature of work experience, language mastery, etc.
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Even before you read the application files, you should decide what criteria you will apply to
classify the applications. Then, create a screening grid to analyze and sort the applications.
A sample grid is found in the following Toolbox.
Toolbox
Sample résumé screening grid
Position
Screening criteria
Candidate
.
J. Kasparian
Education
Requirements
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P. Sousa de Lima
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C. Saint-Amour
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Job
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French
(written)
| Requirements
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Needs ts be
raw,
Needs to be
mae
Application
ame
Requirements | R
nol mot
Recusé:
(spoken)
English
.
Decision
experience
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Requirements | Requirements
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| Requirements
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a
The following example illustrates the choice of screening criteria.
In the heart of the action
Nabila Khalil is an independent bookstore owner looking for
a full-time sales clerk. Client focus is one of her main selection criteria. Nabila cannot run competitive pricing with large
bookstore chains and knows that she can only stand out by
offering her customers quality service. She is looking for a
person who is very familiar with literature, has already worked
for at least two years in retail sales, speaks perfect English and
can get by in French.
For two weeks, Nabila has posted a sign on her store window
that all the candidates stress the quality of their customer service. “At least they understood what | was looking for,” she
observes. “But, how can | evaluate that competency from their
résumé? | can assess their mastery of English a little bit from the
quality of their résumé, but what about the rest?” She decides
to use the following screening criteria:
- Knowledge of literature
- Two years’ experience in retail sales
- Quality of written English
listing these selection criteria and has received more than 20
applications. As she reads through the résumés, she notices
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Using your screening grid, you can now divide the résumés into three groups:
- Group A — Candidates who closely resemble the desired profile. They will be invited for
an interview. This group is sometimes referred to as the “yes” pile. Ideally, there should
be three to six candidates for each position to fill in this group.
- Group B — Candidates who are close enough to the desired profile. They will be invited
for an interview if there are not enough candidates in Group A, or if Group A candidates
don’t work out. This is the “maybe” pile.
- Group C — Candidates who are not qualified for the job. These go in the “no” pile.
Suppose that, after the first sort, Group A does not contain enough applications. You now
have three possibilities:
- You can continue looking for candidates, for example by extending the deadline for
applications or using other media;
- You can review your screening or selection criteria to see if they are appropriate. For
instance, some qualifications could be acquired after being hired;
- You can go over the applications in Group B to make certain none of the candidates has
been under-evaluated.
On the other hand, if Group A has too many résumés, you can have another look at each
one and apply the screening criteria more strictly. Or, you could set up a telephone interview
with all the shortlisted candidates in order to evaluate certain aspects that cannot be
assessed on paper.
Going back to Nabila’s example, suppose that she eliminates 11 résumés after applying
her three screening criteria. She still has nine candidates left, but doesn’t have time to do
nine interviews in person, Instead, she could use telephone interviews to test the candidates’ ability to express themselves clearly in English and French. She hopes this will
reduce the number of people to be interviewed to four or five.
®
If candidates have applied by completing an online computerized form, it will facilitate
this screening step. The information gets recorded in an application tracking software
(commonly called Applicant Tracking System, or ATS) which you can consult to isolate the
candidates who meet the criteria. However, the approach remains the same: you must
choose the tangible criteria on which you will select candidates, and you must ensure that
this first screening has generated enough applications. Otherwise, it may be necessary to
broaden the search criteria.
5.3.2 The screening interview
The screening interview consists of a short conversation that allows you to check certain
of the candidate's qualifications, such as education, work experience, language ability,
motivation and availability. If the answers are satisfactory, you will be able to invite the
candidate to take part in the rest of the selection process.
Even though it’s only a short conversation, it will be in your best interests to prepare a
screening interview grid. The Toolbox contains a sample grid. Using a grid will help ensure
that you don’t forget any items you want to verify with the candidate.
Managers often wonder at this stage if they should contact candidates they have not
accepted. There is no right answer to this question. Obviously, informing people that their
application has not been accepted is a sign of professionalism. But since it also involves
time and cost, it’s the manager's call. Note that the use of tracking software facilitates this
step since the software can automatically generate emails.
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Toolbox
Sample screening interview grid
Position:
Candidate's name:
Telephone number:
Recruiter’s name:
Interview date:
Introduction
- Introduce yourself: name, position, company.
- Give the reason for your call and how long you expect it to last.
- If necessary, mention that there will be questions in another language to assess
the candidate's mastery of that language.
- I'd like to check some information in your résumé: education, technical knowledge, etc.
- Could you give me some more specific information about your experience in ...?
- Could you describe in more detail exactly what your responsibilities are in your
present position?
- What made you apply for a position with us?
- What software do you use on a regular basis?
= What is your availability for work in the evening or on weekends? Would there be
any restrictions on travelling for your job?
= Do you have any questions about us? About the position?
Conclusion
I'd like to thank you for the information. If we decide to consider your application further,
you should be invited for an interview in the next ____ days.
Recommendation
O Invite for interview
O Reject
Comments
5.4 The Selection Process
After the screening stage, you should be left with only a small number of candidates who
a priori have the qualifications you are looking for. Now you have to start the actual
selection process, where you will verify the competencies of the candidates still in the
running. You have three tools to help you accomplish this task successfully: the interview,
tests and a background check.
We should note that in a unionized environment, collective agreements at times specify
conditions on the use of certain selection tools. For example, a clause may stipulate that
a written exam is to be used to verify a candidate’s competencies for a promotion. As a
manager, it is your responsibility to see that the selection process complies with all the
provisions of the collective agreement.
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5.4.1 The selection interview
The face-to-face interview is the tool companies use most often to select candidates.
However, like Sebastian in the scenario at the beginning of this chapter, many managers
have little knowledge of interview techniques and rely mainly on their instincts. The results
are alarming: 86% of people hired on the basis of only one interview don’t work out
(Bourhis, 2018).
The selection interview is not an informal chat to get to know the candidate better. It has
a clear aim — to verify whether the person has the competencies required to occupy the
position you wish to fill. The best way to reach this goal is to prepare a structured
interview that has the following characteristics:
- Questions are similar for all candidates and based on the tasks and responsibilities
described in the job analysis;
- Questions are developed systematically to target the specific competencies required for
the job (selection criteria);
- Candidates’ answers are evaluated against pre-established criteria.
Questions to ask during the interview
During an interview, you can ask several types of questions. Depending on the competencies you wish to assess, some questions are more appropriate than others, as we will see
in the coming pages.
Behavioural questions
If you have ever gone through a selection interview, you have probably had to answer
questions like: “What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?”; “Where do you see
yourself five years from now?”; “What would your best friend say about you?”; “Could you
describe your ideal boss?” These types of questions don't help in truly evaluating an
applicant's competencies. They are theoretical or abstract, and not directly related to the
skills required for the job you are filling. Since you will only get well-rehearsed, ready-made
responses, you should avoid these types of questions. You must also be careful of asking
leading questions, which give away the answer. Obviously, no candidate will answer no if
asked, “I imagine you are a self-sufficient person, aren’t you?”
®
Behavioural question
Aspecific question about
past behaviour.
| However, behavioural questions, referring to past behaviour actually allow you to verify
the competencies of your candidates. These questions are designed to discover how
a
z
=
=
=
==
P
-
candidates behaved in previous situations, contexts and tasks similar to those involved in
the job they are applying for. For example, instead of asking a theoretical question like,
“What would you do with an employee who is creating a problem?”, ask the candidate to
describe a situation where he had to deal with a difficult employee. Behavioural questions
are better because they get candidates talking about what they have already accomplished,
rather than responding to vague generalities. Although there are no absolute guarantees
that candidates will act the same way once they are hired, the fact that they have already
demonstrated the required competencies increases the chances that they will again.
It is not always easy to formulate behavioural questions. You will have to base them on the
duties and responsibilities of the position as well as the selection criteria. For each criterion,
list the situations where a person might have demonstrated the required quality — these
are the starting point for your behavioural interview questions. If you decide to create a
selection committee, some of the members who know what the position involves can help
you write up questions. The Toolbox on the next page contains some sample
behavioural questions.
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Toolbox
Sample behavioural questions
- Describe an actual case where you had to help
a client deal with a particularly difficult situation.
How did you handle it?
- No one is perfect. Tell me about a situation where
you felt you were not reaching your goals. How did
you react?
- Tell me about a time when you had to deal with
opposing points of view concerning a course of
action to be taken by your organization. How did
you react?
- Tell me about a team project you participated in.
Describe the project, your role, what exactly you
- What accomplishments are you most proud of in
your last job?
- Tell me about a time when you had to use your
persuasive skills to convince someone that your
opinion was right.
- You said that you have had to cut back on staff. Could
you explain what led you to make that decision?
- Describe a situation where you had to follow a
regulation (or policy) you did not agree with.
- You say in your résumé that you were vice-president
of a student association.
What exactly were
your responsibilities?
accomplished, what succeeded and what failed.
- Could you describe a time when you had to truly
listen and understand another person's point of
view in order to solve a problem or deal with a
sensitive issue?
Now, let's go back to Nabila, who has used
her candidates.
In the heart of the ac
icreening
Loading...
After checking language competency and can
bility by phone, Nabila has retained four applicnnwemnnenen
she is writing an interview guide. It’s easy for her to formulate
questions about candidates’ literary knowledge. She will ask
them to talk about the last books they have read, recent winners of literary prizes, etc. She knows enough about the subject
to trust herself in this field.
However, she is worried about how to go about measuring
client focus. She is trying to imagine different situations in
which a sales clerk has to use this competency: answering a
customer's complicated question, dealing with a difficult customer, making service a priority even when other tasks are
waiting to be done, and reacting appropriately when faced
with unacceptable behaviour such as damage to goods
or shoplifting.
put it for half an hour, Nabila feels satisfied
areneninnnnenqnerewrerensS ShE has written:
- Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an impolite
customer.
- Could you describe a situation where you were unable to
satisfy a customer?
- Has a customer ever made a request that was difficult to
satisfy? What did you do?
- Have you ever caughta
handle the situation?
shoplifter red-handed? How did you
- Has a customer ever brought back merchandise that had
obviously been used and asked you to refund the purchase?
How did you respond?
=
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Toolbox
Sample behavioural questions
- Describe an actual case where you had to help
a client deal with a particularly difficult situation.
How did you handle it?
- No one is perfect. Tell me about a situation where
you felt you were not reaching your goals. How did
you react?
- Tell me about a time when you had to deal with
opposing points of view concerning a course of
action to be taken by your organization. How did
you react?
- Tell me about a team project you participated in.
Describe the project, your role, what exactly you
- What accomplishments are you most proud of in
your last job?
- Tell me about a time when you had to use your
persuasive skills to convince someone that your
opinion was right.
- You said that you have had to cut back on staff. Could
you explain what led you to make that decision?
- Describe a situation where you had to follow a
regulation (or policy) you did not agree with.
- You say in your résumé that you were vice-president
of a student association.
What exactly were
your responsibilities?
accomplished, what succeeded and what failed.
- Could you describe a time when you had to truly
listen and understand another person's point of
view in order to solve a problem or deal with a
sensitive issue?
Now, let's go back to Nabila, who has used telephone interviews to finish screening
her candidates.
In the heart of the action
After checking language competency and candidate availa-
After thinking about it for half an hour, Nabila feels satisfied
bility by phone, Nabila has retained four applications. Now
with the questions she has written:
she is writing an interview guide. It’s easy for her to formulate
questions about candidates’ literary knowledge. She will ask
them to talk about the last books they have read, recent winners of literary prizes, etc. She knows enough about the subject
to trust herself in this field.
However, she is worried about how to go about measuring
client focus. She is trying to imagine different situations in
which a sales clerk has to use this competency: answering a
customer's complicated question, dealing with a difficult customer, making service a priority even when other tasks are
waiting to be done, and reacting appropriately when faced
with unacceptable behaviour such as damage to goods
or shoplifting.
- Tell me about a time when you had to deal with an impolite
customer.
- Could you describe a situation where you were unable to
satisfy a customer?
- Has a customer ever made a request that was difficult to
satisfy? What did you do?
- Have you ever caughta
handle the situation?
shoplifter red-handed? How did you
- Has a customer ever brought back merchandise that had
obviously been used and asked you to refund the purchase?
How did you respond?
=
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Toolbox
Sample follow-up questions
Situation
~ What exactly was the situation?
~ Was that when you worked for XYZ?
~ What was the context?
- When did that take place?
~ Was that when you were in Japan?
Task
~ What was your role?
~ What were your responsibilities in the project?
~ What exactly was the problem?
~ How was that task problematic?
~ What goals had you set?
~ Could you be more specific about what you did?
~ What was your basis for making that decision?
Action
~ How did you overcome that obstacle?
~ How did you manage the situation?
~ How did you go about doing that?
~ What was the result?
~ How did things tum out?
~ What consequences did your action have?
~ Did you reach your objectives?
Result
~ What did you leam?
~ If you could go back in time, would you do
the same thing?
~ What effect did your reaction have on
other people?
Follow-up questions
Just asking behavioural questions is not enough to allow you to measure a candidate's
competencies; you also need to get satisfactory answers, i.e, answers that will allow you
to assess the situation referred to, the candidate's task, the action taken and the result
achieved. This is referred to as a STAR answer:
Oo
- S- situation
- T = task, what needed to be done
- A- actions, what was or has been done
- R-results of actions or lessons learned
Imagine, for example, that you ask a candidate to tell you about a time he/she had to work
under pressure. The candidate responds: “I often have to work under pressure, but | usually
deal with it just fine. | know how to manage pressure.” This general answer does nothing
to help you assess how he/she deals with pressure. You need to ask follow-up questions
to get a precise answer, for example: “Could you give me a concrete example?” or “Could
you tell specifically what you do to manage pressure?” The Toolbox above offers some
examples of follow-up questions.
—
:
Scenario
Adescription of a hypothetical
job-related situation used to
assess the candidate's reaction,
Scenarios
Another method for ascertaining how a candidate will behave on the job is to ask about
_ hypothetical situations, using scenarios. They involve describing a realistic work situation
that targets one or more competencies, and asking candidates to explain what they would
=
5
A
a
.
| 40 in those circumstances. Contrary to a behavioural question, where the candidate chooses
the experience he or she relates, a scenario conforms to the specific context of the position
to be filled, presenting candidates with an example of the type of incident they might
encounter at work.
In designing scenarios, you should proceed the same way you did for behavioural questions.
Draw up a list of situations where the employee would have to apply the competencies.
This will give you the information you need, Let's come back to Nabila.
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In the heart of the action
When she rereads the questions she has composed, Nabila
realizes that her method of assessing literary knowledge is a
little vague. She's afraid of getting sidetracked into a discussion
of favourite authors, whereas she really wants to know if the
candidates’ knowledge of literature is broad enough to enable
them to give advice to a variety of customers. In addition, she
has noticed that none of her questions will help her assess
the degree to which candidates will make customer service
a priority.
Since she cannot find any good behavioural questions for
these two aspects, she decides to write up some scenarios.
= Scenario 1: Christmas is just a week away and the store is
very busy. A customer asks you for help. She is looking for a
book for her teenage daughter and one for her mother, who
loves historical fiction. What would you suggest?
= Scenario 2: You are the only employee in the store because
your colleague is unpacking a big order in the back. The
merchandise must be placed on the shelves as quickly as
possible. An elderly woman enters, obviously lost. She has
a blank look on her face and is wearing only a nightgown.
As you go towards her, you see that a customer is waiting at
the cash register. What would you do?
After a few fruitless attempts, she feels satisfied with the following two scenarios.
Role plays
Although they have many advantages, scenarios remain abstract in that candidates simply
answer what they would do, but don’t actually do it. However, certain real-life situations
can be devised that encourage candidates to simulate attitudes and act on the spot —
referred to as role plays. Candidates are expected to become characters in the role play
and act as they would in a real situation. Since role play is the type of interview method
that comes closest to the workplace reality, it is easy to transfer the candidate's answers
or reactions to the real context of the position.
Role play
Atype of scenario in which the
candidate “becomes” one of
the characters,
Just like behavioural questions and scenarios, role-playing stems from actual situations
experienced by the person holding that job. When you write up interview questions, you
must decide which method to use. Note that not all competencies lend themselves to
role-playing. But customer service is one that does so readily — let's see what our bookseller, Nabila Khalil, has come up with.
In the heart of the action
Not content with having created two scenarios, Nabila would
mind. In addition, she will claim to have read most of the books
like to have a more realistic way of testing her candidates’ qualities as sales clerks.To do so, she has invented a role play: “You
are going to play the role of a sales clerk in a bookstore and |
am going to be a customer.”
the salesperson suggests. Nabila wants to use this situation to
see if candidates take the time to listen to what this woman
wants, inquire about her literary tastes and suggest a broad
range of titles.
Without revealing as much to her candidates, Nabila is going
to play the role of a customer who has trouble making up her
Role-playing can be a complement to the array of questions you might ask in an interview.
Remember that each question must allow you to measure one or more of the competencies
indicated in the list of selection criteria. The Toolbox table on the next page summarizes
the pitfalls to avoid when formulating questions.
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Interview guide
Toolbox
Pitfalls to avoid when formulating questions
- Asking abstract or theoretical questions
- Formulating leading questions that contain
the answer
- Asking questions that have nothing to do with the
required competencies
- Asking several questions at the same time
- Writing questions using obscure or
unclear language
- Using company jargon
- Formulating overly long questions
Once you have prepared your questions, scenarios and role
plays, you need to organize them so they will be easy to use
during the interview. Interviews are, in fact, as stressful for
the beginner recruiter as they are for the candidates. During
the interview, you have to ask questions, listen to the answers,
use follow-up questions if the answers aren't precise enough,
encourage the candidate to be open, take notes and think
about the next question, all the while making sure that the
person feels at ease and observing non-verbal cues. That's a
lot to do, especially if you don’t have much experience with
the interviewing process. A good interview guide will
help greatly.
Set up your guide to follow the steps in the interview process.
A guide usually includes:
- A cover page — listing the job to be filled, date, and names
of the candidates and selection committee members.
- An introduction — a reminder of what to do at the beginning of the interview: welcome
the candidate, introduce the members of the selection committee if necessary, explain
what will happen during the interview, mention that the recruiter will take notes, etc.
- The list of questions, possible reformulations and follow-up questions, with space to write
the answers in note form for each question.
- Acopy of the instructions for the role plays and scenarios on a separate piece of paper
to give the candidates.
®
- Aconclusion — a reminder of what to do at the end of the interview: thank the candidates,
invite them to ask any questions they may have and tell them what happens next in the
selection process.
- If necessary, a list of answers for the questions a candidate might ask about the position,
working conditions and the company.
In companies with an HR department, it will usually write up the questions and prepare
the guide. However, the guide is your tool during the interviews. It is important that you
become completely familiar with it. If you didn’t write it, don’t hesitate to add whatever
information you feel will help you when you meet the candidates.
Evaluating candidates
As we saw earlier, a structured interview is the kind that allows you to evaluate all the
candidates in the same way, using pre-established criteria. When you compose your questions, you should think about how you are going to assess the answers. You have to consider
the following elements:
- What scale will be used to evaluate the answers?
~ What answer or behaviour earns the highest rating on the scale?
~ What answer or behaviour earns the lowest rating?
The following Toolbox presents an example of a scale for evaluating the competency of
“client focus.”
Along with the interview guide, you should prepare an evaluation grid to assess the
candidates on each of the questions, scenarios and role-playing exercices planned, to be
completed after each interview. It will allow you to compare the candidates’ answers and
to avoid being influenced by a general impression, positive or negative.
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Toolbox
Sample evaluation scale
Competency
Competency
Competency
Competency
not
demonstrated
partially
demonstrated
ae
clearly
demonstrated
Makes no extra
effort to satisfy the
customer
0
d
2
3
Askssks nono followfollow-up
0
f
2
3
Is impolite or
impatient with the
customer
0
7
2
3
Remains polite and
courteous with the
customer
Gives an opinion or
makes a judgment
about the customer
0
7
2
3
+t
Dostntjinoe Ue
customer
nears
questions
Considers all the
arguments made by
the customer
Asks th e customer
questions
Preparing interview logistics
You have selected the people you want to interview, written the questions and prepared
your interview guide and evaluation grid. Now you are almost ready to meet your candidates. The Toolbox below has some practical advice for conducting effective interviews.
Toolbox
Advice on preparing interviews
- Confirm the date and time of the interview with each
candidate. Allow for at least 15 minutes between
- Provide a comfortable area where candidates can wait
interviews. You can use the time to catch up in the
for their interview.
- Choose a private area for the interview, like a meeting
event that an interview takes longer than expected.
~ Make certain that the candidate knows the company
address and how to get there. Provide any practical
information that could be useful, such as parking
- If the interview is to take place in your office, make
sure that you will not be disturbed.
- Send official notice to the members of the committee,
space or public transport.
room, with enough space for all participants.
if there is one. Forward résumés, the job description,
attendant, security guard, receptionist, secretary) that
selection criteria, interview guide and evaluation grid.
- If there is a selection committee, decide with the
other members how you will share the questions so
candidates will be coming.
each person speaks in turn.
- Make sure someone is available to greet the
candidates. Advise the appropriate people (parking
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Conducting the interview
Remember that skill in conducting selection interviews comes with experience. It is normal
to be nervous during your first interviews. The preparation outlined in the preceding
sections is your best guarantee of success.
You will make your first contact with candidates when you show them to the interview
room. Take advantage of this time to welcome them and thank them for coming, and
engage in a little small talk to put them at ease.
The interview will follow the guide you have prepared. Ask the questions you have drawn
up and use follow-up questions when needed. Don’t make any hasty judgments about the
the candidate, Encourage their responses, but maintain control of the interview — this is
one of the biggest challenges. Some candidates don’t say enough and need to be constantly
prompted. Others talk non-stop and try, consciously or unconsciously, to control the
interview, Some candidates are nervous and need reassurance. Others appear very sure
of themselves. The Toolbox on the next page offers some hints for maintaining control of
the interview.
When you have asked all your questions and once you are satisfied with the answers you
have obtained, it is the candidate’s turn to speak. Encourage candidates to ask all the
questions they may have about the company and the position they have applied for.
Finally, it is time to end the interview. Thank the candidate again for having come to meet
you and give details about the next steps in the selection process: the date the person can
expect to receive an answer, how the answer will be delivered and subsequent steps. Ask
for contact information for the people who will be used as references and have the candidate
sign the necessary consent form. We will deal with this subject again a little further on.
As we saw earlier, a well-prepared interview allows us to assess several competencies.
However, certain criteria are difficult to verify. Take the example of a job that requires a
certain level of physical fitness; an interview will not provide information to verify this
aspect. To assess competencies that are hard to evaluate in an interview, you can use
various tests, which are presented in the following section.
Oy
5.4.2 Selection tests
Selectiontests
| Selection tests are generally used to provide additional information to what is gathered
Atest that can take avariety
during the interview. There are a multitude of tests that can assess the aspects you wish
of forms, aimed at assessing
certain competencies
or qualities.
al
to evaluate,
based on th
bas
onthe competency
file
prohie
developed. Th
developed.
je purpose of
fusi
using one or more
selection tests is to see how closely the candidate's competencies match the job profile.
Several of the more popular tests are found below. You should note, however, that some
of the more complex selection tests, especially personality tests, are designed and administered by companies that specialize in that field. If you intend to use these tests, it is
preferable to contract this work out to one of these companies.
Achievement tests
Achievement tests, such as certification exams for professional orders, are designed to
measure what a candidate knows about a particular field. In the context of a selection
process, they are useful when the competency profile includes specific knowledge that
cannot be guaranteed by the simple fact of having a diploma.
Imagine that you are looking for someone to fill the position of secretary and one of the
requirements is perfect mastery of English grammar and spelling. The candidates’ résumés
alone don't allow you to evaluate this competency, because they contain very little complex
sentence structure. Although the interview gives you an opportunity to assess candidates’
spoken English, it tells you nothing about their spelling ability. An English test would be
the best solution to measure this competency.
There are as many tests as there are fields of knowledge. Some tests are designed by
organizations or private companies who sell them; others are custom designed by
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Toolbox
Hints and advice for controlling the interview
If the candidate is ...
You can...
= take a few minutes for some informal conversation;
very nervous
very talkative
mot very talkative
not qualified for the
position
~ explain to the candidate that being a little nervous is par for the course;
~ show empathy;
~ emphasize that the purpose of the interview is to get to know, not trick, him/her;
~ give the candidate time to think before answering;
~ offer reassurance.
~ use expressions such as “a specific example” and “brief description”;
- indicate that you want only one example;
~ retake control by moving on to the next question;
~ direct the answers using follow-up questions;
~ ask the candidate to be more concise in his/her answers.
~ give the candidate timeto think before answering;
~ remain quiet and don't look at the candidate;
- avoid interrupting the candidate;
~ encourage the candidate:
* by nodding your head,
© with words of encouragement
(for example, “That's interesting.”).
- remain professional throughout
the remainder of the interview;
~ shorten some questions or scenarios, especially if it seems clear to you that the candidate will not
know how to answer;
~ verify whether the candidate is qualified for other positions, by asking questions that were not part of
the planned procedure.
companies for their own needs. Whatever test you decide to use, make certain that it
measures the specific aspects in your competency profile. Let's go back to the example of
the English test. Depending on the candidates, the test you choose to administer will vary.
You wouldn't give the same English test to candidates applying for a position as medical
secretary as you would to a legal secretary, because the vocabulary required is not the same,
Since they supply objective data, usually a score expressed as a number, achievement tests
are generally quite well accepted by candidates and decisions based on them are easily
justified. In addition, they are relatively simple to design and administer and some are
available free of charge. Their main shortcoming is that they only measure theoretical
knowledge. They remain relatively abstract and supply no information on how a candidate
applies this knowledge, as opposed to performance tests.
Performance tests
Performance tests require a candidate to do part of the actual work done in the position
to be filled. Let's go back to the secretary's job. Besides the English test, you could test
keyboarding skills. This would put candidates in exactly the same position they would
experience once hired and on the job, and allow you to assess the actual quality of
their work.
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Performance tests usually involve manual skills required for a job, which are easily observable. Since they are specific to a given company, it is preferable to design them in-house
rather than purchasing them from an outside firm. This permits you to model them very
closely on actual working conditions, while keeping costs down. However, administrative
costs are often high because, for example, they might require equipment usually used for
other purposes.
Performance tests are very realistic and faithfully predict candidate performance on the
job. Candidates are receptive to these tests because they provide a clear idea of what
awaits them if they are hired. Results are easy to justify and the risk of discrimination or
cheating is low. However, performance tests can only be used for specific tasks that have
observable and measurable results over a short period of time.
Achievement tests measure knowledge while performance tests measure skills, but neither
can measure attitudes. If the competency profile for the job includes essential attitudes,
you can turn to personality tests for help.
Personality tests
As their name indicates, Personality tests, assess the characteristics or personality of
the candidates. They are usually reserved for professional or executive positions, where
personal characteristics form an important part of the desired competencies,
There are many kinds of personality tests, measuring various aspects of a candidate's
character. If you wish to use this kind of test in a selection process, you must first carefully
define the traits and characteristics you are looking for. These tests are quite expensive
— an important consideration — because they are usually administered and interpreted
by external industrial psychology firms.
Itis often reassuring for a recruiter to use a personality test to confirm certain impressions
formed during the interview. However, you should realize that this kind of test is not
infallible. Personality assessment is relative to job performance only if it is based on a
thorough job analysis and if it is done properly. Also, the relationship between the test and
the competencies required for the job is not always evident, meaning the results and
decisions based on them are sometimes difficult to justify. Furthermore, since some personality tests have been called discriminatory, you must exercise caution when using them.
o
Physical fitness tests
Sometimes the competency profile for a job includes certain physical abilities. It is impossible to verify these in a résumé or selection interview. In this case, only physical fitness
tests will give you the information you need. However, these tests may have a negative
effect on people belonging to groups that are protected by anti-discrimination legislation,
especially women and persons with disabilities. It is thus of the utmost importance that,
before using physical fitness tests, you make certain that passing them truly constitutes a
bona fide occupational requirement (see Chapter 2).
The types of physical fitness tests vary with the job requirements. They may test speed,
endurance, vision, carrying ability, coordination, etc. Organizations usually design these
tests in-house. They are readily accepted by candidates and effectively predict future
job performance.
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To summarize, you have at your disposal several tests to assess candidates’ competencies.
Table 5.3 summarizes the conditions of use for each test category.
Note that each of the tests described before only measures one particular facet of the
candidates and none is perfect. That is why companies will sometimes conduct a combination of selection tests at an assessment centre.
Table 5.3
Conditions of use for the tests
You may use the
=
following test:
When...
Achievement test
= you want to measure theoretical knowledge;
~ you want to ensure that the assessment will be readily accepted by the candidates;
~ you want an objective numerical score;
~ you have a limited budget;
= you want to use tests that are easy to interpret.
Performance test
~ you want to ensure that the assessment will be readily accepted by the candidates;
~ you have a limited budget;
a
~ you want to use tests with easily justifiable results;
- you want to limit the risk of discrimination and cheating.
Personality test
Physical fitness test
~ you want to confirm your impressions from the interview;
- you have made certain that there really is a relationship between personality and performance in the job.
~ you can demonstrate that physical fitness is a bona fide occupational requirement for the position;
~ you want to ensure that the assessment will be readily accepted by the candidates;
~ you have a moderate budget for designing the test.
Choosing tests
As we have seen, many different tests or combinations of tests can successfully assess
candidates, However, some tests are expensive. As a manager, you must weigh the pros
and cons before deciding which test(s) to use. You should start with the desired job competency profile. When an interview doesn’t measure all the competencies, consider using
one or more tests. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What are the required competencies?
- Can these competencies be measured during one or several interviews?
- Can these competencies be measured using one or more tests?
To illustrate how different tests are used, let's take the example of Michel Denault, owner
of a private security company.
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In the heart of the action
A former policeman with the Sdreté du Québec, Michel
Denault has just started his own security company. He has
identified his mission as helping organizations improve their
security. His main activity is to provide the services of security
guards, for long-term contracts and specific events.
Choosing security guards is extremely important for Michel.
Over the years he worked with the Sdreté du Québec, he
observed that a guard has to have a lot more than just policing and law enforcement knowledge. He also has to be able
to analyze a situation and decide whether to intervene or not,
tolerate stressful situations, show initiative to intervene quickly and be physically fit. In addition, since Michel's clients are
mainly located in the Montréal area, he is looking for guards
who can speak both French and English. He has come up with
the following list of competencies:
- Policing knowledge;
- Functional knowledge of French;
Michel can be sure that candidates possess policing knowledge by requiring a diploma (DEC) in police studies and asking
appropriate questions during the interview. As for proficiency
in French and English, he can ask questions in both languages
during the interview to evaluate functional knowledge. Having
taken the SGreté du Québec Physical Fitness Test, he feels he
can adapt it for his own purposes to assess the physical fitness
of his future agents.
However, when it comes to assessing skills and attitudes like
analysis and judgment, self-sufficiency and initiative, and stress
tolerance, Michel isn’t sure what to do. While police forces
can afford to send their candidates to assessment centres,
he doesn’t have the same financial resources. But a psychometric test does seem indispensable, in spite of the cost of
approximately $1,500 per candidate. To keep costs down, he
decides to send only candidates who have successfully passed
the interview and the fitness test.
- Functional knowledge of English;
- Excellent physical shape;
- Excellent analytical and judgment skills;
~ Self-sufficiency and initiative;
- Tolerance to stress;
= No criminal record.
This example shows that financial means are a second important consideration when deciding
whether to use selection tests. As a manager, you have to ask yourself if the additional
information the tests will provide is worth the cost. In the case of Michel Denault, there is
no doubt that assessing candidates’ personality traits is of utmost importance. Hiring a
candidate who can’t handle stress, for example, could have dramatic consequences for his
security services. Michel cannot afford to misjudge this aspect.
5.4.3 Background check
Once the interviews and tests have been done, you have gathered a certain amount of
information about the candidates, However, are you sure the information is accurate?
Given that up to 75 % of candidates provide misleading or even false information in their
résumés or during interviews, it is easy to see why verification is necessary (Douyere et
al., 2016).
A candidate’s employment history is the element that is most often checked during the
selection process, but you can also look into other aspects. For example, does the candidate
have a criminal record? No matter what information you want to verify, you must comply
with legal provisions protecting candidates:
- First, in compliance with the Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the
Private Sector, you must obtain written consent from the candidate for a background
check (see Chapter 2). Ideally, you should have candidates sign the consent form when
they leave the interview, so you have all the documents you need when you are ready to
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proceed with the background check. The appendix to this chapter provides an example
of a consent form.
~ You may only verify information that is clearly and reasonably a bona fide occupational
requirement. Let's take an example of a judicial record. While this requirement is justified
for the position of a child care worker, to avoid hiring a convicted pedophile, it is not
justified when hiring a grocery store clerk.
Employment history
Checking employment history doesn’t take very long and enables you to greatly reduce
the chances of making an error in the selection process, It is strongly recommended that
you take the time to do this kind of screening. The ideal situation is to ask candidates to
supply contact information for two or three people, supervisors if possible, who can evaluate
their occupational competencies and serve as references,
Before contacting the references, take the time to think about what exactly you want to know:
Do you have any doubts about a specific competency? Is there a competency you had trouble
evaluating during the interview? Are there competencies for which you have conflicting
information? Would you like to check the reasons why the candidate left his/her previous
job? Once you have drawn up a list of information you want to check, write the questions
you want to ask the reference in a grid. A sample is found in the Toolbox on the next page.
Once the grid has been finalized, the next step is to telephone the references. Don’t forget,
however, that people who have been supplied as references are not always trustworthy or
unbiased. Therefore, although they will provide a certain amount of information about the
candidate, they should not be your only source of information.
Other checks
Although you can easily check a candidate's employment history yourself, it is not so easy
to do other background checks that necessitate more time and often require specific
knowledge. So, if you want to check a criminal record or a credit rating, it is better to hire
a specialized company. It will cost you a few hundred dollars, but you can be certain about
the quality of the results.
Let's go back to the example of Michel Denault and his security guard business.
In the heart of the action
For security guards, not having a judicial record is a bona
fide occupational requirement. As a former police officer,
Michel Denault feels he is able to do this kind of check himself. He knows he can contact the Service de police de la Ville
de Montréal, which has a special unit dealing with this kind
of request.
_2. Interviewto check language skills and knowledge of policing.
3. Physical fitness test to verify the physical condition
of candidates.
4. Psychometric test for all candidates who have successfully
passed the preceding steps.
The candidate evaluation process set up by Michel Denault _ 5. Judicial record check.
involves the following steps:
1. Verification of résumés to eliminate applicants who do not
have a police studies diploma.
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Toolbox
Sample interview grid for checking employment history
Position:
Candidate's name:
led:
Name and title of person
Relationship
to
candid.
Company contacted for reference:
Recruiter’s name:
Interview date:
Introduction
- Introduce yourself: name, title, company.
- Give the reason for your call and how long you expect it to last.
- Ensure that the reference has the time to answer your questions; if necessary,
make an appointment.
- If requested, forward the consent form signed by the candidate.
Questions
- Mr. So-and-so told us that he worked for your company from ___ to_.
Are those dates accurate?
- What exactly was the title of his position?
- What were his main responsibilities?
- What are Mr. So-and-so’s main strengths? Could you give me some examples of behaviour
that demonstrates these strengths?
- In your opinion, what should Mr. So-and-so work on improving? Could you give me some
specific examples of things he should do?
- During his interview, Mr. So-and-so said that he had participated in a projecton__What exactly were his responsibilities related to this project?
- The position Mr, So-and-so has applied for requires __. Did Mr. So-and-so show
this competency when he worked for you? Could you give me an example?
= Why did Mr. So-and-so leave your company?
- If you had the opportunity to do so, would you hire this person again?
-O Yes O No.Whynot?.
- Is there any other information you would like to pass along about Mr. So-and-so?
®
Conclusion
Thank the reference person.
Recommendation about candidate
O Positive feedback
O Mixed feedback, continue checking
Remarques
You may also be tempted to check your candidate's presence on social networks. Although
this type of check is a widespread practice, it raises many legal and ethical issues, Remember
that you must obtain the candidate’s permission to collect information about him or her
that is not in the public domain. Moreover, information on social networks often contains
personal details that are protected by the charters of rights and freedoms. For example, a
Facebook page may reveal the fact that a candidate has children, Before entering a candidate’s name in a search engine, ask yourself this question: Is the information you are
going to collect really relevant to assessing their skills for the job?
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5.4.4 The final decision
Once the entire candidate evaluation process has been completed, you have all the information needed to classify the candidates and make your final decision. As a manager, the
final choice is yours. You are the one who will have to work most closely with candidates
and be responsible for training and guiding them in their career.
Some of the information you have collected may be contradictory. For example, the interview may have gone very well, but the candidate only got average scores on the tests.
Once again, it is up to you as the supervisor of the vacant position to weigh the importance
of the various sources of information. Note, however, that an application revealing too
many contradictions is a risky one. Sometimes it is better not to fill a position than to hire
the wrong candidate.
What happens if, in your view, none of the candidates appears to meet the job requirements? You have several options:
- You can take a chance and hire a candidate who doesn't exactly meet your expectations.
This is a risky choice. Generally, it is preferable to hire no one rather than add a team
member who might find it hard to integrate, who might create conflicts or resign, or who
may have to be dismissed after only a few weeks on the job. If you are not sure about the
applicant, you can hire him/her on probation. That way, you can unilaterally terminate
the contract if you find that the candidate does not meet your expectations (see
Chapter 2). Although this is not the ideal situation, it does allow you to quickly correct
a selection mistake.
- You can review the applications that were rejected during the process, to determine if
some of them could be reconsidered. However, this can be a delicate procedure if applicants have already been told that they have not been selected.
- You can start the whole process over again, reviewing the decisions made and trying to
improve on them. Now is the time, for example, to determine whether the recruitment
strategy was the right one.
5.5 Hiring
Once you have chosen a candidate, the next step is to inform him/her of the decision and
make an employment offer. This telephone call should be followed up with a letter that
contains the employment contract and indicates the deadline for accepting the offer, the
start date and any prerequisites, such as a medical examination or membership in
an association.
As an employer, you have the right to make certain that employees do not suffer from a
medical condition that would prevent them from performing their job. However, to avoid
eliminating candidates from the selection process for a medical reason unrelated to the job,
it is preferable to ask for the medical exam after the final choice has been made. You should
send the candidate to a medical clinic that specializes in pre-employment testing. This exam
is done at the company’s expense. When you are certain that the chosen candidate is indeed
medically fit to perform the tasks required, the next step is to finalize the offer.
If the position is part of a bargaining unit, hiring and working conditions are part of the
collective agreement negotiated by the union on behalf of the employees (see Chapter 3).
A copy of the collective agreement must accompany the employment offer. No individual
negotiation can take place on the clauses covered by the agreement.
If the position is not unionized, the contents of the employment contract may be negotiated individually; otherwise, the letter of employment may serve as the employment
contract. As we saw in Chapter 2, various laws cover the contract. Legal provisions
stipulate minimum hiring conditions, but do not provide complete details on what an
individual employment contract contains. The parties can conclude an employment
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contract as long as it does not contravene public order or any prevailing legal provisions.
As a general rule, a letter of employment or employment contract should include, as a
minimum: the title of the position and its main responsibilities; remuneration; start date
of employment; hours to be worked; and the duration of the contract. If you are not used
to drawing up individual employment contracts, consult a lawyer to help you write a
standard contract.
Making an employment offer doesn’t mean the selection process is over. Candidates may
wish to negotiate their employment contract. To do so, you need four kinds of information:
- About the job: Since negotiations usually deal with compensation, working hours and
holidays, it is in your interests to be familiar with: the salary range for this as well as
comparable positions within the company; the previous incumbent's direct and indirect
compensation; non-monetary hiring conditions the company has offered other candidates;
and current salary and other conditions offered in the labour market for a similar position
(see Chapter 6 for more on this topic).
- About the candidate: During the selection process, you have no doubt obtained information about candidates’ salary expectations and the reasons why they left their
previous job.
- About the selection process: The specific staffing context, such as a shortage of manpower or urgency to fill the position, may influence your negotiating power. The possibility
of finding a second candidate who is almost as qualified can also influence your decision.
- About your negotiation mandate: You cannot negotiate without having received a
mandate from management, with precise instructions detailing how much leeway you
have. If you are the company director, this flexibility will depend on your organization's
financial resources, the urgency to fill the position and the respect for internal equity, in
other words among employees (see Chapter 6).
Armed with this information, you are now ready to meet the candidate and negotiate his/
her hiring conditions. You can negotiate any hiring conditions, as long as you remain
within what is prescribed by law. As an employer, it is in your best interests not to limit
negotiations to salary issues, but to expand them to offer other benefits that a candidate
values. For example, if candidates must relocate for the position, offering to pay their
moving expenses may tip the scales in your favour. Signing the employment contract
makes the agreement official and transforms the candidate into a full-fiedged employee.
The next step is to provide a good orientation.
Oo
5.6 New Employee Orientation
Starting a new job gives rise to positive feelings as well as apprehension in recruits. As the
manager, you have the weighty task of ensuring that all the time and effort that went into
recruiting and selecting this person don’t end up in a hasty resignation. You must do
everything in your power to see that the organization lives up to the new employee's often
high expectations.
Orienting a new recruit doesn't just happen by itself. It starts well before the first day of
work and can involve many people. Generally, the HR department will take care of the
administrative aspects, such as writing the hiring documents or preparing a workspace
and tools. For your part, as the manager, it is your responsibility to welcome the new
employee and, above all, to explain what is expected of him/her.
5.6.1 Preparing for the new employee’s arrival
As soon as recruits have signed their employment contract, you know what the start date
is and can start planning their integration; ensure that their office or workstation is available
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the day they arrive; order equipment such as a computer, set up a telephone extension
and voice mail; purchase their safety equipment, if required; have business cards printed, etc.
New employees always receive a pile of documents on their first day: group insurance
contract, company regulations, collective agreement, employee handbook, etc. To give
them time to consult them all, you can make the documents available to them before they
start working.
You should also let the various departments within the company know that a new employee
is starting work. It is even more important to let his/her future co-workers know. You can
also ask one of them to act as a “buddy” for the new employee to help him/her learn the
ropes, give advice and serve as a model.
Last, you need to free up some time to spend with the workers on their first day. As their
supervisor, you will have the most to do when they start work.
5.6.2
Anew employee's first days
During the first days new recruits are on the job, you have a threefold objective: to make
certain they feel welcome; give them the necessary information to understand the organization and their job; and complete the administrative elements of their hiring.
It is a good idea for the supervisor to orient the new employee by talking about the
organization. A tour of the premises can be an enjoyable opportunity to talk about the
company and introduce co-workers. They can take advantage of this opportunity to help
integrate newcomers and invite them to go for coffee or have lunch with the rest of the team.
Besides the organization, you should also introduce recruits to their actual job. You can
give them their job descriptions or a copy of the performance assessment form, if there is
one. Also inform them what resources are available to help them to perform their job and
the names of people who can assist when necessary. Depending on the context, you may
have to explain how certain equipment works, safety rules, etc.
The first day of work is the time to open or complete the employee's administrative file.
This will be done by the human resources department, if one exists, or, in smaller organizations, the person in charge of personnel files. At times, in very small companies, the
manager looks after this. Main tasks that need to be done include: obtain the employee's
personal information to complete the file (address, social insurance number, date of birth,
person to contact in case of emergency, etc.); explain benefits, if appropriate; gather pertinent information for benefits (for example, name of life insurance beneficiary); point out,
if necessary, certain organizational procedures such as pay frequency; hand out documents
such as the employee handbook, collective agreement and internal regulations,
If the company is unionized, the union steward will meet new employees on their first day
of work to welcome them, have them sign their membership card, provide a copy of the
collective agreement if they haven't received it yet, tell them about information sessions
offered in their job sector and encourage them to participate in union organizations or
committees. The Toolbox on the next page summarizes what needs to be done on the new
employee's first day of work.
5.6.3 Follow-up
An orientation program doesn’t end with a recruit’s first day of work. Over the ensuing
weeks, you need to follow up to make certain that the new employee is integrating well
into his/her work environment. This also provides an opportunity to see whether he/she
is experiencing any difficulty on the job. Don’t forget that a new employee is on probation;
at the end of the probationary period, you can unilaterally and without notice terminate
the employment contract. For this reason, it is especially important that you do a thorough
follow-up so you can determine eventual training and supervision needs. As we will see
in Chapter 7, a formal performance review at the end of the probationary period marks
the conclusion of the employee's orientation and integration phase.
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Toolbox
Task checklist for a new employee's first day
First day
- Keep your schedule as free as possible for the first day
Getting started
- Welcome the new employee
- Outline the orientation process for the day
~ Introduce the new employee to his/her co-workers
~ Introduce the new employee to his/her “buddy”
- Give the employee a tour of his/her workspace, the rest of the office/facilities,
including:
- Where to safely put belongings
(if not in the office)
- Where to hang coat, store lunch; location of the washrooms
- Location of the photocopier, fax machine, supplies, etc.
Organizational overview
- Overview of the organization
- Organizational chart
Duties and responsibilities
- Review the employee's job description and expected outcomes
- Explain how the job is related to the other jobs in the organization
- Give specific outcomes for the first day, such as looking at the company’s
website, reviewing a specific document, etc.
- Identify the work to be accomplished in the first week
- Give the employee reports and information needed for the job and explain
what each item is
Work expectations
®
= Start and finish times
- Lunchtime
- Probationary period
- Safety procedures, as appropriate
Administration
- Complete the necessary paperwork for pay and benefits
- Complete other paperwork as required
- Identify options for parking
- Provide passwords for equipment, as appropriate
Other
- Review health and safety procedures
- Allow for time for the new employee to set up his/her workspace, review the materials
you have given, etc.
- Take the employee out for lunch
- Have a task planned for the first day
Source: HR Council for the Voluntary& Non-profit Sector. Orienting a New Employee: Checklist, hroouncil.ca/docs/Modele_Liste_de_controle_de_
lori
jon.doc (page
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le 16
2018).
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Ata
Glance
Orientation activities are the last step in the staffing process and conclude Part 2 of this
book, “Finding the Best Employees.” Other human resources management activities will
ensure that the new employee makes a long-term contribution to the growth of the organization. These activities will be dealt with in the following chapters. However, none of them
can be done effectively if the people hired are not suitable. That is why it is indispensable
to be methodical and thorough when planning staff, recruiting candidates, and selecting
and hiring recruits. A variety of tools are available to help you make your decisions.
Figure 5.1 summarizes the various aspects of selecting and hiring new employees presented in this chapter.
Figure 5.1
The manager and candidate selection
Pitfalls or mistakes to avoid
HRM tools available
Essential knowledge
— Required competencies
— Questions to avoid in the
selection process
— How to conduct
an interview
— How to choose a selection test
— Content of standard
employment contract
— Job description
— Competency profile
— List of selection criteria
—
—
—
—
Screening interview grid
Selection interview guide
Consent form for reference checks
Reference check interview grid
The manager
and candidate
selection
— Choose the most appropriate
selection methods
— Participate
in the selection interview
— Make the final hiring decision
— Perform orientation and follow-up
for the new employee
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143
of a candidate, such as personality,
cannot be assessed during the
selection process.
The manager’
and responsib
82021491-ERPL_AVMPG_05_ChS_EN.indd
impression, during an interview.
— Viewing a selection interview simply
as a chance to get a feeling about
the candidate.
— Assuming that subjective aspects
— Assuming the selection process
to be over as soon as an offer of
employment is made toa candidate.
Roles of other players
— Participating in interviews
— Administering selection tests
— Performing background checks
— Turning a selection interview into an
informal chat.
— Judging a candidate by your first
Support from HR department
— Screen candidates
— Write interview grids
— Invite candidates
— Participatein interviews
— Administer selection tests
— Perform background checks
— Write or negotiate offer
of employment
— Prepare administrative formalities
for hiring
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Are You
Ready?
1. What are the best tools for evaluating candidate competencies?
Many tools enable you to assess a candidate’s competencies. In absolute terms, no one
test is better than the others. The choice depends on what competencies you wish to
measure. For example, if a job requires physical abilities, a physical fitness test is probably
the best tool. Since jobs usually require more than one competency, if it often necessary
to use a combination of tools to assess a candidate.
See section 5.4.
2. How can | get the most out of a selection interview?
The selection interview is the tool most often used to evaluate applicants for a position.
However, if you do not know what questions to ask, you will have trouble assessing candidates. To get the most out of the interview, you need first to draw up a list of the selection
criteria you want to measure. For each of the criteria, prepare questions that deal with the
candidate's past behaviour. Be sure that the candidate answers with precise examples of
situations in which he/she had to demonstrate the competencies you are interested in. If
®
necessary, use follow-up questions to obtain specifics. You can also involve candidates in
scenarios or role plays to glean specific information about their reaction in a given context.
See section 5.4.1.
3. Should | test candidates? If so, what tests should | use?
The decision to test candidates depends on the competencies you want to measure. There
are many types of tests: achievement tests, performance tests, personality tests and physical
fitness tests. Each of them is adapted to a particular type of competency. If you wish to
use more than one test and measure several aspects of a candidate, you may consider
using an assessment centre, which will combine several selection tests. External firms can
design and administer tests for you. What you gain in time and accuracy is worth the
money spent. However, the choice depends on the type of job you have to fill and the
company’s financial resources.
See section 5.4.2.
4. What terms and conditions of employment can I negotiate with a
candidate?
Almost all hiring conditions can be negotiated, as long as you stay within the legal parameters (see Chapters 2 and 3). Don't stop at salary negotiations. Consider offering benefits
that are important to the candidate to make the position at your company more attractive.
For example, if candidates have to relocate to come and work for your company, paying
their moving expenses can tip the scales in your favour, without upsetting pay equity within
your organization (see Chapter 6). Be flexible about the start date as well. Sometimes it
is better to wait a week or two than to lose the ideal recruit.
See section 5.5.
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5. How should | prepare for the new employee’s arrival?
As a manager, you must accomplish several tasks before the recruit’s start date: inform
other people who need to know, ensure that a workspace and equipment are available,
and gather together all the necessary information for the first day. The new employee's
start date is a busy day for you because you have to welcome the person, introduce the
organization, describe the job and your specific expectations, and help him/her complete
all administrative formalities. However, orientation doesn't stop there; as a supervisor, you
have to follow up to see that the employee adapts to the job and integrates suitably into
the company.
See section 5.6.
On
Your
Mark,
Get Set...
Review!
Nv
1, What legal text has most influenced the selection process, for a company under
provincial jurisdiction in Québec? How has it influenced this process?
. What people should be responsible for the following activities, in a non-unionized
SME having a human resources advisor?
. After sorting the applications you have received for the position of receptionist, you
realize that you have chosen only one for an interview. However, according to the
résumé, this is an excellent application. Is that enough?
a)
. What are a manager's goals when he/she conducts a selection interview?
. What constitutes a good question for a selection interview?
a
>
w
~Receiving and sorting applications
- Inviting shortlisted candidates for a selection interview
- Writing up an interview grid
~ Designing a test to check mastery of MS Office software
- Writing up the individual employment contract
- Welcoming new employees on their first day
. If a candidate you are interviewing gives vague answers to your questions, what can
you do?
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7. Describe the various categories of selection tests available.
8. Why do you have to do a background check on a candidate?
9. What legal precaution must you take before doing a background check?
©
10. What are the principal clauses found in an individual employment contract?
MyBookshelf > My eLab > Documents
> Review questions answer key
Discuss!
®
1.
You have invited one of your colleagues to join you for selection interviews to find a
new secretary. After speaking with the candidate for a short time, during which you
have asked your prepared questions, your colleague asks the young woman if she
has any children. How do you react?
2.
You have just started working as sales manager for an SME that specializes in
manufacturing medical equipment. Knowing that you are looking for sales
representatives, the finance director, whom everyone admires and who has devoted
his entire career to the company, gives you his nephew's résumé, complete with a
glowing cover letter. Unfortunately, there is nothing in the résumé that matches the
profile you have drawn up for the position. What do you do?
3.
You have finally found the ideal candidate: he meets all the selection criteria, was
charming during the interview and got excellent results on the tests he took.
However, when you look over the results of the routine medical examination, you
notice that he tested positive for marijuana. What do you do?
Your Turn!
The Beldan Dental Clinic is looking for a receptionist. It is a full-time position, with working
hours from Monday to Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Based on the job description and
the list of selection criteria on the next page, decide how you are going to measure the
required competencies and make up a selection interview grid with a scale or an evaluation
grid for each question.
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Job description
Beldan Dental Clinic
Job title: Receptionist
Employees supervised: None
Supervisor: Dr. Beldan
Date revised: July 2008
Summary:
At the clinic, the receptionist greets patients, opens and manages files, makes appointments,
answers the phone and collects amounts due.
Main
responsibilities
Nn
=
Duties and responsibilities
Percentage of time
. Greeting patients:
~ Welcomes patients that come to the dinic;
- Writes down information given by patients;
~ Checks the accuracy of the appointment time;
~ Informs dentist when patients have arrived;
~ Directs patients to the consulting room or the waiting room;
~ Informs patients of unexpected delays.
35%
. Managing patient files:
~ Opens files for new patients and enters appropriate data on computer;
~ Creates a hard-copy file;
~ Prints general information sheets and places them in the files;
- Issues invoices as per dentist's instructions;
25%
~ Requests payments from patients’ insurance company, as appropriate;
~ Collects amounts due;
~ Files documents.
15%
. Managing appointments:
~- Makes appointments based on patients’ requests and dentist's availability;
~ Enters appointments into the computer program;
~ Sends reminder letters four weeks before appointments that have been set up for annual checkups;
~ Reminds patients by phone two days before their appointments.
20%
>
3. Answering the phone:
~ Takes phone calls;
~ Supplies requested information or transfers call to dentist;
~ Writes down messages.
5. Carries out any other related tasks at the request of the supervisor.
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List of selection criteria
Definition and justification
Criterion
Relevant work experience
Rating
Must be familiar with the general operations of a retail business or the
position of receptionist, especially involving greeting clients and billing.
Knowledge of how a clinic operates an asset.
| Since this knowledge can be acquired over time, the requirement for
this position is at least six months of experience in a retail business or
Important
as a receptionist.
Experience in a medical or dental clinic an asset.
Must be able to enter data and prepare invoices.
Computer skills
Although the clinic’s system is relatively easy to learn to use, general
Important
knowledge of computer systems is required.
Judgment and initiative
Must show judgment in detecting situations that could be dangerous to
the health of patients and act quickly.
;
7
Must be able to deal with patients’ requests without disrupting the clinic's
Essential
routine operations.
Listeni|
Must listen carefully to all the details given by a patient so they can be
accurately conveyed to the dentist.
i
;
Essential
ilies
Must be courteous and efficient when serving customers, no matter
Customer service
Organizational skills
hat they request.
i
Must remain calm and patient in all situations.
Must endeavour to offer patients the best service possible,
.
Essential
Must demonstrate organizational skills in managing appointments and
Important
reminders, as well as files and records.
Working knowledge of
Must be able to address our clients, who are both francophone and
French and English
anglophone, in English and French.
Essential
References
Bourhis, Anne (2018). Recrutement et sélection du personnel, 3rd edition, Montreal,
Cheneliére Education, 592 p.
Douyere, L., Mantione,
F. and Valero, A. (2016). 7* étude sur les CV trompeurs, Flo-rian
Mantione Institut, 33 p. Online at http://www.florianmantione.com/images/files/documents_commerciaux_FMl/etude_cv_trompeurs_7_fmi.pdf (page consulted on September
16, 2018).
148
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PART3
Making the Most of Employee Potential
CHAPTER 6
Compensating
Employees
Fairly
Denis Chénevert
SUMMARY
p.153_
p.154_
p.158_
p.164_
p.167_
p.169_
6.1 A Manager's Goals in Matters of Compensation
6.2 Respecting Internal Equity
6.3 Respecting External Equity
6.4 Respecting Individual Equity
6.5 Respecting Collective Equity
6.6 Indirect Compensation
ON YOUR MARK...
As a manager, you will have to be able to answer various questions dealing with
employee compensation, in particular:
1. What are the possible repercussions of good employee
compensation management?
2. What is my role in job evaluation?
3. What are the stakes involved in good base-salary positioning?
4. Why should | inform my employees about their benefits package?
5. How can variable pay affect team dynamics?
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Work
Scenario
now, Claudia, Executive Director of the
In order to put the new strategic plan into action and sustain
Ovation Theatre, has been wondering about the implemen-
For several weeks
the theatre's rapid growth — accompanied by an increase in
both unionized and non-unionized employees — Claudia is
looking for a marketing and communications manager. She
started looking almost six months ago but has found no one
so far. It’s true that the labour pool has been fairly limited
ever since Quebec saw a labour shortage that hasn't spared
tation of her new strategic plan. So far, the theatre has built
its reputation on presenting classic repertory theatre and
contemporary plays, especially Québec productions. The goal
of her new strategic plan is to attract a younger audience
by offering a program that targets theatre-goers aged
15
to 35. It must also adapt to new social realities, such as an
the metropolis, making
aging population and the growing number of single-parent
experience required to meet the challenge of increasing the
theatre's visibility.
families, which have upset the way people go out. Finally,
the theatre must take into account the changes in Montreal's
economic fabric as a result of the exodus of young families
to the suburbs.
with the
“What kind of salary should | offer to attract this kind of person?” Claudia wonders.
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it difficult to find someone
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This initial scenario presents the reality that confronts many CEOs and general managers,
mainly in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). After the recruitment and selection of
candidates, as explained in Chapters 4 and 5, we will explore another important step in
the staffing process: determining an employee's salary. This aligns with the objective of
equitable treatment of employees, which is the subject of this chapter. As shown in
:
5
ae
:
Figure 6.1, the following three basic principles should be applied.
= _
—_ Equity
A principle advocating equal
compensation for employees
- Internal job consistency: Compensation must reflect the value of a job compared to —_ ‘for oa work or job
other jobs within the organization, in terms of required qualifications, responsibilities,
effort and working conditions;
aan
- External salary competitiveness: Salaries a company offers must be comparable to
those offered by its competitors;
- Employee motivation and mobilization: Compensation must be motivating in order
to encourage performance and loyalty.
In general, compensation activities are the responsibility of the human resources department, sometimes in association with an outside advisor from a compensation management
firm. However, in an SME, the general manager, accountant or person in charge of finances
often takes over this responsibility. As a manager, you may be involved in one or more of
the steps that lead to setting salaries because of your knowledge of the positions under
your responsibility. You could be asked to sit on a job evaluation committee or to appora ebevalesion
tion the budget allowance for salary increases in your team. This chapter will deal with
4 process that assigns a relative
the manager's compensation roles and responsibilities, from the perspective of fair treat- _ value to jobs based on their
ment of employees.
worth to the organization.
6.1 A Manager's Goals in
Matters of Compensation
.
Sooner or later, all managers have to deal with
questions involving compensation management.
Whether your responsibilities include marketing,
finance or some other company function, you need
to know the principal objectives that compensation
addresses. The aim is to attract, motivate and retain
employees to meet your needs, while at the same
time creating an enjoyable work climate. The manager's non-monetary recognition of employees is one
of the motivational strategies essential to a good
work environment. This form of reward, which is
also considered a lever in motivating staff, will be
Figure 6.1
Equitable treatment of employees
Internal consistency
between positions
Basic
principles
discussed in Chapter 11. Let's go back to the example of Claudia.
Employee
External wage
motivation and
competitiveness
mobilization
CHAPTER 6 COMPENSATING EMPLOYEES FAIRLY
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In the heart of the action
Claudia, Executive Director of the Ovation Theatre, hasn't
received very many applications that meet the requirements
for the marketing and communications manager position
she wants to fill. She decides to increase the salary offer by
a considerable amount. As a result, she succeeds in catching
the attention of Claire, the marketing and communications
manager of one of the theatre’s main competitors, who sees
— Claudia, I've been production manager here for almost 15
years now. | think I've always been loyal to the theatre and committed to its mission. My job plays a major role in its success
and | think the way I'm treated should reflect this.
this as the perfect opportunity to earn a higher salary.
—Well, if my job is so important, how come the new marketing
and communications manager makes 15% more than | do and
25% more than the other managers?
Claudia is thrilled and hires Claire immediately. A few months
later, however, Claudia has the feeling that her management
team is less dynamic than it used to be. There doesn't seem
to be as much fun and camaraderie as before. One morning,
Alan, the production manager, asks to meet her to talk about
— lagree with you completely, Alan. | think I've always told you
that your work is at the very heart of our success.
Claudia doesn’t know what to say. Alan is right, but market
conditions made her increase the salary offer. It sure is hard
to be fair!
something that is upsetting him.
Internal equity
The equity between salaries
and requirements for similar
or different jobs within the
organization.
___
Externalequity
Oo
The equity among salaries
for similar jobs in different
This scenario shows the importance of a consistent approach to how jobs are valued within
a company, as well as the impact this has on the work climate and the perception of
employee equity. To attract competent manpower, Claudia’s intention was to offer a salary
that was clearly above what the market was offering. However, she didn’t think about the
imbalance this would create in job ranking within her own organization. There are four
_ important objectives in setting salaries: internal equity, external equity, individual
— equity and collective equity.
organizations.
-
Individual equity
Equity between the wages of
individuals in the same job in
the same organization.
Collective equity
Equity in recognizing
collective efforts to achieve the
organization's objectives.
6.2 Respecting
P
9
Internal Equi
q
ty
For a manager, the goal of internal equity is the one that involves the most responsibility
in compensation management. How equity is perceived internally can influence an
employee's desire to stay with the organization, participate in further training and development, or assume added responsibilities. The following section outlines a manager's
roles and responsibilities concerning internal equity; more specifically, it deals with job
analysis, job description,
job evaluation and pay equity legislation.
6.2.1 Managerial roles and responsibilities in internal equity
The quality of a company’s work climate depends on many factors that often have little to
do with compensation. However, when workers feel they are being treated fairly compared
to their colleagues, they enjoy better relationships among themselves and the work environment is better (Adams, 1963, 1965). To achieve such consistency among jobs, from an
equity point of view, you need to apply a series of steps or techniques:
- Job analysis involves gathering information about tasks and requirements, as well as
about work conditions (see Chapter 4).
- Job description brings together the information collected during the job analysis (see
Chapter 4).
- Job evaluation attributes a relative worth or value to jobs based on various factors such
as qualifications and effort required, responsibilities and working conditions.
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A manager whose organization has a human resources department may be asked to contribute to one or another of the steps mentioned (or all three) as required. However, in an
organization with no HR — such as you will certainly encounter at some point in your
career — a manager will be called on to take an active role in these three steps and must
therefore be adequately prepared to do so.
6.2.2 Job description and competency profile
As shown in Chapter 4 on staffing, a job description is an important tool that benefits
many human resources management activities, among them compensation management.
A job description and competency profile that faithfully reflect the position’s tasks and
requirements provide the basis for making a sound judgment on the relative value of a
given job, As a manager, you must ensure that the job descriptions under your responsibility
are accurate.
Let's get back to Claudia and her theatre.
In the heart of the action
After her discussion with Alan, her production manager,
Claudia thinks over what could be at the root of her team’s dissatisfaction.
When she offered such an enticing salary to attract
anew marketing and communications manager, little did she
expect the fallout that her decision would lead to. Several of
her managers feel that the informal equity that used to exist
among jobs in the organization has been destroyed. However,
Claudia muses, Alan has always earned more than the other
managers at the theatre, and that never seemed to create a
problem. So why has the equilibrium become disrupted this
time? To help find some answers, Claudia decides to draw up
a job description for each of the managerial positions in order
to compare them. (See Appendices 6.1 and 6.2).
Once Claudia has written the job descriptions, how will she go about comparing them? On
what basis will one job be judged to have more, less or the same value for the company as
another? The process that allows you to rank one job in comparison with another is called a
“job evaluation.”
6.2.3 Job evaluation
Job evaluation attributes a relative value to jobs based on their worth to the organization.
It is a systematic procedure aimed at ranking jobs within a company in order to establish
fair salary differentials between them. To clarify the underlying reasoning, let's compare
an apple and an orange. Intuitively, we would say the two fruits have nothing in common.
However, upon closer examination, we can find characteristics that make it possible to
compare them: their vitamin C content, the number of calories they contain, sugar level
and amount of dietary fibre. These criteria would enable us to classify them and make the
most favourable selection. The process is similar for jobs: it's mainly a matter of choosing
common factors that allow us to give jobs a relative value. To do this, organizations usually
set up an evaluation committee composed of human resources professionals, managers
and employee representatives. As a manager, you have a very important role to play in
this process, since you are the one with the best overall picture of the characteristics of
various jobs, especially those under your responsibility.
CHAPTER
6 COMPENSATING EMPLOYEES FAIRLY
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155
Salary differential
The difference in salary
between jobs of various
hierarchical levels.
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®
Following the recommendations of the Québec Pay Equity Act, job evaluation generally
takes into account the following factors:
- Qualifications and experience required;
- Responsibilities;
- Intellectual and physical effort;
- Working conditions.
Thus, in terms of qualifications and experience, there are the obvious the criteria of «education» and «work experience.» Tables 6.1 and 6.2 provide an example of how they can
be used to evaluate and classify positions in a company. In general, evaluation committees
base their work on a number of factors (between 8 and 15). However, for educational purposes, we will limit ourselves to the following factors: “education” and “work experience.”
When you participate in a job evaluation committee, you can use the definitions of the
various levels associated with the factors to evaluate the jobs, based on their requirements.
As an example, take the job descriptions presented in Appendices 6.1 and 6.2 respectively,
for the positions of marketing and communications manager and production manager.
Let's have a closer look at the “Competency profile” section and check the minimum level
of education and experience required. If we were doing a full job evaluation, we would
have to do the same analysis for each of the criteria chosen by the evaluation committee.
For the “education” factor, we can conclude that the marketing and communications
manager position requires a BA, corresponding to Level 4 in Table 6.1. The competency
profile for the production manager indicates a diploma in production from a recognized
school of dramatic art. Level 3 in Table 6.1 corresponds to this requirement of a
collegial-technical diploma. For the “experience” factor, the marketing and communications
manager competency profile indicates three years (Level 4, Table 6.2). The production
Table 6.1
“Education” factor
Table 6.2
This qualification is the minimum
level of general knowledge and
specialized training required for a
SEIESSED
P
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Diploma of Collegial or Technical Studies
Level 4
BA
Level 5
Member of a professional corporation
Level 6
Postgraduate degree (Master's)
Table 6.3
Job rating
Job
This qualification is the number of
years of work required to perform
the tasks related to this job.
Experience
osition.
High school diploma
9
Vocational studies diploma
“Experience” factor
Level 1
No experience
Level 2
less than 6 months
Level 3
From 6 months to 1 year
Level 4
201 3 years
Level 5
4orSyears
Level 6
6017 years
Table 6.4 Weighting for “education”
and “experience”
Education
Experience
Communications
manager
4
4
Production manager
3
°
Education (40%)
6
2
3
0
8
16 | 24 | 32 | 40
4
5
6
Experience (60%) | 0 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 48 | 60
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manager profile requires six years (Level 6, Table 6.2). Table
6.3 presents a synthesis of this first analysis, leading to the
conclusion that the marketing and communications manager
position calls for more education than that of the production
manager, but less experience.
Using this information, how do we know which of the two
positions has a higher relative value for the company?
;
‘
.
:
Evaluation committees will ask you, as the manager, which of
the two criteria has more weight in the company’s success. In
the case of the Ovation Theatre, let's say that the managers
consider experience more important to the organization's
success than education. They could then make the following
evaluation: 60% of the success is attributed to work experience and 40% to education. Based on this evaluation, a point
system could be drawn up for the levels in Tables 6.1 and 6.2.
The results are shown in Table 6.4.
Since the managers attributed a weight of 40% to education,
we have spread this percentage over the six levels in order to
maintain the same difference between one level and the next.’
Toolbox
A manager's job evaluation tasks
- Have a thorough knowledge of jobs under
his/hi
ibili
ley nenresponsDiny,
- Update job descriptions
= Inform employees of evaluation
procedure followed
- Respond to employee concerns
- Participate in job evaluation committee
Toolbox
HRM tools for job evaluation
—
- Job descriptions
Level 1 has zero points because some jobs have no education
- Description of criteria and sub-criteria
requirement. Level 6 gets the most points — 40. For work
- Job evaluation grid, with weightings
experience, we have spread the points in the same way, based
- Specialized training on job evaluation process
on 60%. Level 1 again has zero points because some jobs have
- Website of the Commission de l’équité salariale
no work experience requirement. Level 6 gets the maximum
number of points — 60. Using this weighting, the position of
marketing and communications manager receives a total of
60 points (24 for education and 36 for experience) and the
position of production manager receives a total of 76 points (16 for education and 60 for
experience), Based on the competency profile for each of the positions and the weight the
managers assigned to the two criteria, we can conclude that the position of production
manager has a higher relative value than that of marketing and communications manager.
Important to note, job evaluation permits the company to let employees know what it
values. The criteria chosen to compare employees with one another are signals reinforcing
organizational values and goals. In our example, the fact that work experience had more
worth than education shows employees that the theatre values jobs requiring experience
more than jobs requiring a certain level of education. Compensation specialists advise
managers to be meticulous, methodical and objective. Critical thinking is another sine qua
non (essential characteristic); it must be applied to ensure that the evaluation reflects
everyday realities and not exceptional circumstances.
Job evaluation also enables employees to learn about various jobs and what their requirements are. This will help them in their career planning and point them in the right
direction for any job advancement they may be thinking about. Last, by assigning a relative
value to jobs, evaluation reduces bias and favouritism in salary allocation, since managers
must respect the agreed-upon structure. Evaluation also allows managers to comply with
provisions in the Québec Pay Equity Act, passed in November 1997.
6.2.4 Pay Equity Act
Basically, the Pay Equity Act stipulates that an organization must correct salary differences
due to systemic discrimination based on gender in female-dominated jobs. A job is considered female-dominated when 60% or more of the incumbents are female. An organization
1.
In actual fact, the difference between one level and the next is not always the same and must reflect different level
requirements,
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must list female-dominated jobs and male-dominated jobs. If it has more than 50 employees,
it must proceed with an evaluation of these jobs before comparing salaries. If
female-dominated
jobs have an equivalent value to male-dominated jobs, salaries must be
equivalent. If any gaps are noted, adjustments must be made. The website for the
Commission des norms, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) offers
explanations and comments on the Québec Pay Equity Act.
Web Links
The website ace
eee
rene
dela parks etdela sécurité du travail
(CNESST)
It is important to understand that the purpose of job evaluation is not to set salaries. It is
simply to rank jobs in comparison with one another. An evaluation identifies the jobs that
contribute the most to the organization and those whose contribution is secondary. In
order to determine salaries, the next essential step after job evaluation is to refer to the
labour market. Jobs in your company that are comparable to those in the marketplace in
terms of tasks and requirements can serve as reference points for obtaining salary information and establishing salaries. Taking into account the salaries offered in the market
enables us to respect another objective of a compensation plan — external equity.
ces.gouv.qc.ca
Toolbox
Pitfalls to avoid when evaluating jobs
Potential pitfalls
Ways to avoid them
Taking it for granted that job descriptions are
up to date
In most organizations, job descriptions are out of date and do not reflect
current tasks and requirements. It is important to check them thoroughly.
Thinking job evaluation is an objective
process
To remain objective, an evaluation committee must be made up of
people who are well acquainted with the jobs involved.
Thinking it is useless to give a relative value
to a job since the market itself dictates what
salaries to offer
Job evaluation allows you to take into account specifics of your company
that the salary market does not.
hold them
When evaluating jobs, you should not consider the individuals holding
the jobs; their personality and personal performance should not interfere
with the value of the position.
Believing a job title indicates its value
Don't trust
job titles - for certain positions, titles do not give a good
indication of their value within the company.
Evaluating jobs based on the people who
Believing jobs are
dominated
mal
oe
dorf
1
Avoid referring to jobs as male- or female-oriented so as not to bias your
judgment during the evaluation process.
6.3 Respecting External Equity
External equity, while less significant, deserves a compensation manager's full attention,
because it can help him/her to ensure internal equity — the first step towards reaching
his/her goals.
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6.3.1 Managerial roles and responsibilities in external equity
External salary competition is a determining factor in the company’s ability to attract and
retain a sufficient number of quality employees; if an organization does not succeed, it will
have trouble competing in its goods and services market. Attracting and retaining employees
obviously depends on many factors besides compensation. However, employees who feel
they are treated fairly by their organization compared to other organizations are more
likely to be loyal. There are several steps to consider when creating a compensation package:
- Choosing benchmark (or reference) markets;
- Salary surveys;
- Salary positioning (set policy);
- Salary ranges;
- Indirect compensation.
Your role as a manager with regard to external equity may vary depending on your position,
as shown in the adjacent Toolbox. During the various stages, the company’s director plays
a strategic role, since the company’s financial situation is at stake. If you are a supervisor
of a work team in finance, marketing or another field, you will play a support role, whether
or not there is an HR department. In any case, it is important that you understand the
scope of the various stages, as the corresponding decisions are crucial to achieving your
team’s objectives.
So as to guarantee the relevance of the compensation data
obtained, you must make sure that the selected benchmark
market is appropriate for your company.
6.3.2 Choosing benchmark markets
.
A benchmark market represents a group of companies an
organization wishes to compare itself with in order to
determine salaries.
In order to set the base salary, human resources advisors,
along with immediate supervisors and management, consider
what type of company might compete with their organization
for the vacant position.
Toolbox
The manager's tasks with regard to respecting
external equity
= Know your direct competitors well.
- Undertake a salary survey.
- Inform your employees of the procedure to follow
to fully understand their benefits.
- Raise employee awareness of the costs of
the various components that make up their
indirect compensation.
In the heart of the action
After evaluating all the management positions, Claudia comes
to the conclusion that the position of marketing and communications manager is not a high-value job. In fact, its value is lower
than that of the production manager position. Now that this has
been established, what kind of salary should she offer? When
Claudia set the starting salary during the recruiting process,
she relied on information supplied by a friend who works for
the Cirque de Montréal, a major private enterprise working
around the globe. Why didn’t this comparison work out? Was
the choice of the benchmark company pertinent?
Claudia probably did not make a wise choice for the benchmark market. While it is true
that the person required for that position needed both experience in communications and
marketing as well as knowledge of the Québec cultural scene, the more important
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requirement was theatre experience. In addition, the size of the organizations in the benchmark market should be comparable to the Ovation Theatre. Size and sector are two good
determining factors of what salary level to offer. Non-profit organizations like the Ovation
Theatre do not have the same financial resources (for example to pay its employees) as a
huge private company. At the Cirque de Montréal, the position of marketing and communications manager also requires international experience. The relevance of the salary data
depends on what benchmark market is chosen.
On the other hand, if the vacant position — such as that of administrative assistant or clerk
— requires more general competencies, the sector candidates come from matters little.
This kind of competency is easily transferable from one sector to another.
At this point, your role as a manager is to help identify your company’s immediate competitors, to ensure that there are no major omissions that might compromise the quality
of the salary information compiled. Once the benchmark market is clearly identified, the
salary survey can begin.
6.3.3 Salary surveys
A salary survey collects information about wages offered by companies in the benchmark
market. This information deals with various aspects of compensation. We will first describe
the various components in a compensation package, then study an example of survey
results and discuss sources where these may be obtained.
Components in overall compensation
As shown in Figure 6.2, direct and indirect compensation are the two major categories
of overall compensation. Direct compensation refers to monetary components, money
that is given directly to the employee by the employer. Indirect compensation refers to
non-monetary components; while this is not money paid out directly by the employer, it
does represent an outlay on the part of the employer. Let's have a brief look at the various
components of these two compensation categories.
®
Direct compensation is composed of the base salary, salary increases, cost-of-living and
market adjustments, and incentives and profit-sharing. The base salary is the amount of
money the employer pays an employee for providing a service. It corresponds to the initial
hourly wage or annual salary, and must comply with the minimum dictated by the Act
Respecting Labour Standards (see Chapter 2). Other amounts of money may be added for
overtime, non-standard schedules, isolation allowance or availability pay.
~
Salary increases assigned yearly on an individual basis acknowledge the seniority, competencies and performance of each employee. The seniority rule, studied in Chapter 3,
stipulates that the start date for a new job marks the starting point for calculating seniority.
Every year after being hired, an employee receives a salary increase so that the most senior
employees’ salaries are higher than those of new arrivals. Employees can also increase
their salary by acquiring new competencies related to their job. The more new skills they
acquire, the higher their salary rises, Although the seniority rule is not excluded in a
non-unionized environment, merit and individual performance are the criteria often used
for annual salary increases. At the end of each year, the manager assesses employees’
performance in order to assign salary increases. Chapter 7 will present a more detailed
study of performance evaluation.
An index that measures
— Some employers afford annual cost-of-living and market adjustments in order to guarantee
Consumer price index
theand average
services price
purchased
of goodsby
households.
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82021491-ERPLAVMPG_06_Ch6_EN.indd 160
vehP
thatat theirtheir employees
empl
maintain
intain theirtheir purchasing
purchasi power. These These adjustments
adjustments are
are calcula
calculated
_ on the basis of the consumer price index (CPI) or rate of inflation.
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Figure 6.2
Components of an overall compensation package
Overall compensation
v
¥.
Indirect
Direct
>
ka
“|
?
Base salary
(job, competencies)
A
»
Salary increases
|
(seniority, merit, etc.)
?
|
Cost-of-living and market
Al
|
adjustments
>
|
Incentives and profitsharing
?
Benefits
_
Paid time off
,
Employee services
‘Source: Adapted from J. M. Newman, B. Gerhart and G. 1. Milkovich (2016). Compensation, 12th ed., Boston, McGeaw-Hillftrwin.
Finally, incentive and profit-sharing plans are usually bonus plans based on performance
— Bonus
goals, which range from individual and team goals, to production unit or business unit
ecraceaipnabte A
objectives and global goals for the entire organization. Contrary to salary increases, bonuses
are not integrated into the base salary and are not carried over from year to year.
yer oral salary.
: ii
As shown in Figure 6.1, indirect compensation is composed of benefits, paid time off and
employee services. Benefits are protection measures to help employees deal with life’s
uncertainties. These measures, which can amount to more than 50% of the base salary,
include life insurance, salary insurance, health insurance and pension plans.
Paid time off refers to holidays paid by the employer that employees are entitled to:
annual vacation, statutory holidays, parental leave and sick days. According to the institut
de la statistique du Québec, the overall cost can exceed 15% of the base salary. The
government legislates some of this time off, such as statutory holidays, whereas other
types of leave, for example sick days, are at the employer's discretion.
Employee services consist of various types of assistance offered to support employees
in their work and their personal life. Some examples are membership in a sports centre,
daycare services, loans, financial advice, and rest or entertainment areas at work.
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Sample survey results
By obtaining information about the various compensation components, we can calculate
a company’s overall compensation. However, most salary surveys deal only with data
relating to the base salary, since this is essentially what influences the perception of external
equity. Human resources advisors can conduct the survey themselves, entrust it to an
external consultant or acquire the results of a previous survey.
While supervisors play a rather limited role in the salary survey process, they are capable
of evaluating and analyzing the results. Table 6.5 gives an example of results from a salary
survey for the positions of production manager and marketing and communications manager.
In this survey, we can see that the information has been broken down by position. The
breakdown of the salary information depends on the client's needs. It can also be broken
down by company size, sector or geographic region. In Table 6.5, the six salary categories,
the ones usually found in surveys, refer to a base salary. The first column shows the average
salary paid. The next two present minimum and maximum averages, which indicate the
lowest and highest salaries companies in this sector offer for the given positions. The last
three columns supply statistics on positioning for the 25th, 50th and 75th percentiles. This
means, for example, that 25% of the companies pay less than $63,700 for the position of
production manager.
Table 6.5
Sample data included in a salary survey
Average
moked
average
=
average
Production manager
$80,325
$69,065
$103,732
$63,700
$76,700
$99,790
Marketing and
communications manager
$74,927
$64,157
$93, 158
$57,720
$66,853
$91,000
®
25° percentile | 50* percentile | 75* percentile
Survey result sources
Salary surveys are the most common source of wage information; compensation consulting
firms can supply you with these results. In addition, public websites of a general or specific
nature provide organizations access to salary data. Nor should one forget various professional associations and corporations. For example, the Ordre des conseillers en ressources
humaines et en relations industrielles agréés du Québec (ORHRI) regularly produces a
salary survey for their human resources and industrial relations professional members.
Also, the Ordre des ingénieurs and the Ordre des comptables agréés conduct salary surveys
for their members.
When survey data is available, the organization must decide which salary position is preferable compared to the chosen benchmark market. In a large company, the human resources
department rather than managers makes this decision. Nevertheless, if you work for an SME
or own your own business, making this kind of decision will be of major importance for the
success of the enterprise.
6.3.4 Salary positioning
Company management has three options when it comes to wage positioning — lead, lag
or match.
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- Paying above the market level — a lead pay policy
- Paying below the market level — a lag pay policy
- Paying equal to the market reference point — a match pay policy
Studies suggest that a company’s pay policy — its salary positioning relative to the market
— can be a determining factor in achieving its goal to attract and retain employees. If
company management decides to pay more than the benchmark market, it increases its
chances of attracting quality candidates. However, this type of policy will necessarily result
in a higher payroll, which must be compensated for by cost savings, mainly in the form
of increased productivity (Long, 2018). When management adopts a lag policy and decides
to pay less than its competitors, it has trouble attracting and keeping employees, especially
when available manpower is limited. The consequences of this type of policy are rather
negative. On the other hand, deciding to match the market and offer a salary comparable
to what your competitors are paying will not produce a negative effect on your ability to
attract and retain employees or on your competitiveness. This match pay policy is by far
the most common.
Payroll
The total amount spent by
an organization to pay its
personnel.
Responsibility for salary positioning really belongs to HR in collaboration with the finance
department, which assesses the financial consequences of each possible strategy. However,
if managers feel that a position is strategic for a company’s development, they can suggest
offering a salary above the market level in order to attract better candidates. In an SME
or in your own company, you will sooner or later have to consider the need to attract
competent manpower while at the same time accounting for your ability to pay and internal
equity. Let's go back to the example of the Ovation Theatre.
In the heart of the action
After analyzing the data from the salary survey, Claudia wonders what to do to make the marketing and communications
manager's salary attractive without compromising internal
equity. This position, now vacant after Claire’s departure, is
an important strategic element in the theatre’s new business
plan and she has to attract the best available candidates in
offer a salary that is 10% higher than the market. Since the
median salary for this position is $66,853, she is going to offer
$73,538.30 ($66,853
x 10 %). This is less than the produc-
tion manager's present salary and comparable to that of the
other managers. This situation should not create any internal
equity problems.
the sector. Thus, she decides to adopt a lead pay policy and
Once company management has established a salary position based on the benchmark
market, human resources advisors establish pay categories and a salary structure to allow
employees to increase their salaries.
6.3.5 Pay structure and ranges
Setting up wage ranges allows you to recognize the varied requirements in employee
experience and involvement. It also means you can distinguish among people based on
their seniority, performance or competencies. A pay range is created by setting a minimum
and maximum salary, based on salary survey results. To do this, human resources advisors
can use the average minimums and maximums, or the 25° and 75" percentiles provided
by the survey. Let's go back to the example of the marketing and communications manager
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and the survey in Table 6.5. The salary range for this position is $54,157-$93,158.
Figure 6.3 illustrates two salary ranges. A set of salary ranges and grades constitutes a
pay structure.
Each grade in a pay structure includes a certain number of jobs with similar evaluation
results, For example, the position of marketing and communications manager would be put
in Range 1 (Figure 6.2), with other management positions having a similar value. New recruits
with little experience would begin in the job at the minimum salary of $54,157. They could
hope to move up by $29,001 in this salary range to reach the maximum of $93,158. Increases
can be achieved based on three principles:
Figure 6.3
- Merit — advancement within a salary range
based on annual performance;
Pay structure
- Seniority — advancement within a salary
range based on years of service with the
company;
Salary
$107,658
:
- Competencies — advancement based on
the number and complexity of competencies
acquired and mastered.
7
However, to continue advancing past the
maximum in Range 1 ($93,158), employees
would have to be promoted into Range 2.
They could then hope to reach the maximum
salary in this new range, $107,658.
93,158
Toolbox
A wage range affords you, as a manager, a
certain leeway in determining a new
employee's salary. When you decide that a
300
candidate's profile constitutes a strategic
asset for your team, you can suggest that the
human resources department assign a salary
that is higher than the minimum for that
salary range, in order to convince the person
to accept the position. The flexibility afforded
by a salary range can also allow you to make a salary adjustment to retain an employee regarded as strategic for the
HRM tools for external equity
company’s development.
$64,157
®
100
200
Value attributed to jobs
- Pay structure interpretation handbook (in the
The box on the left summarizes the tools that help the mana-
handbook for new employees)
ger respect external equity.
~ Salary surveys
a
_
The roles and responsibilities managers are called on to
= Company Sane!) Positioning within ee
assume will depend on the various stages related to external
-Websites of specialized compensation firms
- Websites of various government agencies
equity and on the size of the company. Despite the undeniable
A
ae
A
importance of respecting internal and external equity, organizations must also consider the different ways of ensuring
individual and collective equity.
6.4 Respecting Individual Equity
This scenario presents the case of an employee who has contributed more than the others
to the success of the company but, in spite of this, has not received any extra reward.
Motivating and mobilizing personnel, as well as encouraging employee contribution and
loyalty, are essential concerns for an organization. Companies have long understood that
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it is in their best interests to tie employee salaries to their loyalty and their individual
performance. There are several ways to do this:
- Annual salary increases, based on seniority, merit or competency acquisition;
- Annual bonuses, based on individual performance or output;
- Piece rate pay, based on individual productivity;
- Commission, based on sales.
In the heart of the action
At the Ovation Theatre, Claudia is wondering why the marketing and communications manager she hired three years
ago seems to be showing less motivation and a lower level
of performance. In the first two years at the theatre, she stood
out from the other managers. Her innovative ideas and hard
6.4.1 Managerial roles and responsibilities in
individual and collective equity
In matters dealing with individual and collective equity, a manager definitely plays an important role, as shown by the adjacent
Toolbox. When employees feel they are being treated fairly in
relation to their contribution, they are more motivated and more
satisfied with their work. A manager can use various individual
performance pay plans and group variable pay plans.
Your role as a manager varies with your position and the plan
being considered. Immediate supervisors play a major role in
individual plans, mainly salary increases and individual bonuses.
However, they are not as involved in managing other individual
and group pay plans. Naturally, the director assumes more
responsibilities if the company does not have a human resources
department. The supervisor's role in administering short-term
and long-term group variable pay plans is mainly as a support
for the experts. Whatever your situation, it is important that you
become familiar with the various plans, since they concern you
both as a manager and as an employee.
work took the company to heights never seen before in terms
of the number of theatre-goers and annual subscriptions.
Claudia has given the same percentage salary increase to all
her managers equally. Why is this manager, who used to be
so effective, suddenly less motivated and effective in her job?
Toolbox
Managerial role and responsibilities in
maintaining individual and collective equity
~ Set annual objectives for each employee.
- Evaluate employee effort and performance.
- Give continuous feedback.
- Apportion salary increase budget
among employees.
- Inform employees of the salary increase they are
entitled to.
- Manage dissatisfaction.
- Forward all necessary information about
salary increases.
- Encourage participation and communication
among employees.
6.4.2 Salary increases and individual bonuses
Salary increases can be granted in different ways. The most common applications are seniority,
merit and competencies. When the seniority rule is applied, as is often the case in a unionized
environment, a manager has no responsibility, as it is simply the number of years of service
that dictates the increase each employee is entitled to,
When merit is a criterion, the manager is more involved. The company grants employees
an annual pay increase based on their performance. For this, it is absolutely necessary to
conduct a performance evaluation (see Chapter 7). This is wher e the immediate supervisor
intervenes, giving employees a ranking that determines the salary increase they are
entitled to.
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Evaluation can be done using several criteria: achievement of objectives set at the beginning
of the year, employee behaviour during the year, personality characteristics such as initiative, punctuality and team spirit, etc. Human resources professionals usually supply immediate supervisors with the tools they need to carry out this task. However, the manager is
responsible for doing a performance follow-up for each employee and providing feedback,
so that the compensation system works smoothly. Since budgets for salary increases are
usually fixed amounts, the manager must come up with various scenarios to assign costs
on the basis of the evaluation results.
Today, more than 80% of organizations still use merit pay as a salary increase mechanism
for at least one category of employees (St-Onge, 2014). Although research on this topic is
not conclusive, it appears that merit pay has an important influence on employee attitudes,
especially regarding satisfaction with their salary and their job. The perception of a positive
relationship between effort and reward seems to have more impact on motivation and
feeling of fairness than a salary increase based on seniority or cost of living. In spite of the
growing importance of the work team model, individuals still want to be recognized for
their personal contribution,
We should note, however, that differences between performance levels are often so small
in companies that employees are not interested in achieving and maintaining exceptional
results. For example, improving from superior performance to exceptional performance
often results in only a 1% pay increase. Studies conducted in the United States and Canada
suggest that 30% of organizations are considering dropping this type of salary increase
practice and replacing it with a lump-sum bonus plan.
Salary scale
The salary differences between
the minimum and maximum
offered for a position.
®
Some companies have opted for a lump-sum bonus plan that reduces demands on the
payroll because it is not integrated into the salary scale. As a result, contrary to merit
pay increases, lump-sum bonuses have no lasting effect. They are not paid when performance dips below the required standard (Long, 2018). This method allows a company to
reward productive employees more generously, without endangering its ability to pay in
the medium term. The section below allows you to compare the two methods.
Managers have the same role and responsibilities in lump-sum bonuses as in merit pay
increases. They have to conduct performance reviews and follow the budget allocation
for bonuses.
Finally, some organizations base their salary increases on the acquisition and mastery of
new competencies. In this context, employees see their salaries increase as they acquire
more and increasingly complex skills. Usually, the company identifies beforehand which
competencies qualify for salary increases. Chapter 8 provides an in-depth study of competency management and development.
In the heart of the action
Take the example of an accountant making $50,000 a year. If he
receives a merit pay increase of 5%, his salary will be $52,500
($50,000 x 1.05) spread over the following year. This amount
will be the basis for a future increase. The increase becomes
a permanent part of his base salary and is carried over year
after year. If he receives a lump-sum bonus of 5%, he is paid an
amount of $2,500 at the beginning of the year, for that specific
year. For the period of the following year, that gives him the
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same amountas in the first case — $50,000; however, at the end
of that year, his base salary used to calculate a new increase
is still $50,000. The lump-sum bonus does not become part
of his salary. In addition, it is not systematic. If the accountant
does not perform well the second year, his salary remains at
$50,000, which will also have an impact on his benefits, since
they represent a percentage of the base salary.
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6.4.3 Piece rate pay and commission plans
Much less common than salary increases based on seniority and individual performance,
some organizations use piece rate pay and commission plan for certain categories of
employees. It is worth considering them briefly, even if they require limited input from the
immediate supervisor to set up and manage.
Piece rate pay is a very old form of compensation that originated with unskilled workers
in manufacturing companies at the end of the 19" century. Standards for individual performance are set by the number of units to be produced within a given period of time.
These are not only quantity but also quality standards. The textile sector regularly uses
this type of system to increase the pace of garment workers, who are paid by the number
of flawless garments produced. Service companies such as translation bureaus also use
this system, paying their translators by the number of words translated. Also, hospitals
work on a fee-for-service system, where doctors are paid for each service they provide
(Long, 2018). Naturally, operations vary considerably from one sector to another. In the
manufacturing sector, the general principle is as follows: for each hour worked, a worker
receives a bonus for each unit produced over a set number. Usually, workers receive a
guaranteed hourly wage no matter how many units they produce, thus ensuring a certain
security (Martocchio, 2015).
In sales, another system plays a major role in organizations: commission plans. Sales
personnel, whose work is often isolated and autonomous, appear to appreciate this kind
of compensation. Since they cannot observe behaviour, companies have realized how
useful this kind of simple system is to control their sales representatives’ performance. For
example, a representative who makes sales of $150,000 in a given month can receive 5%
of this amount — $7,500. However, compensation is generally a combination of fixed and
variable factors, with a base salary to which a commission is added.
Since the beginning of the 1980s, individual performance pay plans have slowly lost popularity in favour of group variable pay plans. This is partially explained by the problems
many Western countries have experienced in productivity. Many companies realized that
their future lay in cooperation and team work rather than individuals.
6.5 Respecting Collective Equity
Collective equity refers to respect for the collective efforts of employees in achieving
organizational objectives. This means ensuring that employee compensation varies according to the performance of the team, the business unit and/or the organization as a whole.
The manager must therefore aim to match the organizational objectives with those of the
employees in order to guide behaviours toward the achievement of collective results,
Although your responsibility as a manager is limited with regard to group variable play
plans, which are managed by compensation specialists, it is important to have an overview
of how they work.
Over half of Canadian companies have group variable pay plans, What is special about
them is that they are based on the performance of a team of employees, a group or the
entire company. They are usually divided into two broad categories: short-term and
long-term plans.
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6.5.1 Short-term group variable pay plans
Short-term group variable pay plans are gaining ground quickly in companies across
Canada (Conference Board of Canada, 2017). They enable employees to receive a bonus
based on the short-term performance of the group, work team, division or entire organization. The bonus is usually paid on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis. The main types of
plans are team bonuses, gain-sharing plans and profit-sharing plans. Table 6.6 shows what
differentiates these three plans: mainly, the size of the groups they apply to, the personnel
involved, the performance criteria and the objectives.
The immediate supervisor is not really responsible for managing these various plans.
However, to be efficient, the plans require a certain amount of employee participation in
decision making and good communication between team members and various hierarchical
levels. Thus, the supervisor can encourage information sharing among employees, which
will drive change in work methods and spark innovative measures to increase productivity.
For the benefit of the company, the supervisor should promote dialogue and be attentive
to employees’ suggestions.
6.5.2 Long-term group variable pay plans
When organizations make increasing employee retention in strategic positions one of their
objectives, they can consider implementing long-term group variable pay plans. These
plans, usually based on stock market performance, are mainly stock purchase plans and
stock option plans. Once again, the immediate supervisor has a very limited role to play.
Only compensation and taxation specialists can look after the management of these plans,
which are complex to set up and operate. But it is good to know that they exist, if only
because they may show up on employee pay sheets. Table 6.7 details the distinctive
characteristics of the most popular plans.
Oy
This important series of tools that we have just studied allows you to achieve one of the
objectives of a compensation plan: to attract and retain talent. However, to attract and
retain talent, you should consider the overall compensation package, including indirect
compensation, rather than just the base salary.
Table 6.6
Principal short-term group variable pay plans
Plan
Size of group
Personnel
iauchved
Performance
eaita
Objectives
Team bonus
~ Small team
~ Allmembers of a
work team
~ Customer satisfaction
~ Productivity
~ Quality
~ Accident rate
~ Etc,
Gain-sharing
~ Plant
- Department
- Workers
~ Sales - (returns + inventory)/
Labour costs
~ Subsidiary
~ Managers
~ Annual profits
Profit-sharing
~ Company
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~ Encourage collaboration
and cooperation
| - Make employees aware of
operating costs
~ Make employees aware of
economic imperatives
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Table 6.7
Principal long-term group variable pay plans
Plan
Stock
purchase
Personnel
involved
Risk assumed
by employee
All employees
Yes
Stock
Seaien
options
on
management
No
Accessibility
How long
to hold
Type of
company
price
1or 2 years
Publicly listed
identification with company
Exercise price
5 to 10 years
Publicly listed
Increase market value of stocks
Preferential
Objectives
—
6.6 Indirect Compensation
Encourage employee
a reretomiel
price
price lower than market price
Managers are obviously not responsible for the quality of the benefits, various leaves and,
or advantageous conditions
offered to employees wishing
purchase shares in the
other services offered employees. However, they must be aware of the importance of
offering competitive benefits to attract and retain competent employees. Although candidates will not base their decision mainly on indirect compensation when deciding to accept
a job, it is an important career consideration if they have several offers.
— company.
= —
_—_Exerelse price
For the employer, offering a benefits package is one way of showing the importance of
social protection for the company. By ensuring protection for its employees, it looks after
some of the unforeseen events that may affect them.
option date.
The market price of a share on
the purchase date or the stock
Indirect compensation is a major expense for a company. According to a 2017 report by
the Institut de la statistique du Québec, total indirect compensation costs (benefits and
paid leave) can amount to as much as 54.64% of the base salary in certain sectors. In
Québec, these costs are estimated to average approximately 41.01% of the base salary.
Managers thus have a rather limited role to play in indirect remuneration. People in human
resources department often prefer that they not get involved in this component of the
compensation package, because the technical implications can become quite complex.
However, managers can inform employees about benefits they are entitled to, making them
aware of the corresponding costs to the company. Figure 6.4 presents examples of
indirect compensation.
Figure 6.4
Indirect compensation
Paid time off
— Pension plans
— Insurance plans
— Government plans
— Vacations
— Parental leave
— Sick days
— Rest and entertainment areas
— Gymnasium
— Employee Assistance
— Special leave
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Programs (EAPs)
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Miscellaneous services
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6.6.1 Benefits
Benefits are made up of private and public government plans. Private plans, different from
one company to another, are mainly composed of retirement plans and insurance plans.
Retirement plans
Retirement plans offered by the employer may be registered or unregistered, When they
are registered, they allow employers to contribute without tax consequences for the
employee. Investments made with the contributions are also not taxable. When they are
not registered, they are Registered Retirement Savings Plans or RRSPs, People can contribute to this type of plan on an individual basis, or an employer may decide to set up a
group RRSP so the company is not subject to registered pension plan legislation. The
Institut de la statistique du Québec indicates that retirement plans account for an average
of 9.07% of indirect compensation costs in the province.
Insurance plans
Insurance plans offering employees various forms of protection in case of illness, accident
or for medical care make up the second major category of private plans in a benefits
package. Many employers offer their employees life insurance coverage, usually based on
a multiple of their annual salary. If they wish, employees can make their own financial
contribution in order to increase their coverage or include their family (Long, 2018). Some
employers also offer health insurance plans to improve on the plan offered by the government. They include hospital fees, prescription drugs and paramedical services (dental care,
optometry, physiotherapy, etc.) (Saint-Onge, 2014). Two final types of insurance related to
salaries concern accidents that occur outside the workplace. In Québec, the Commission
des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) covers workplace
accidents. For accidents that happen outside the workplace not covered by the CNESST,
insurance enables injured employees to receive between 60% and 70% of their regular
salary. Salary insurance applies when the inability to work lasts for a short time, less than
a year, whereas disability insurance applies for a period longer than one year.
®
Government plans
Government plans
_ All employers must contribute to the following government plans: Québec Pension Plan,
The protection plans offered ~~ Employment Insurance, Québec Health Insurance Plan and CNESST occupational and
by governments, to which
.
employers must make financial
contributions.
.
7
health safety plan. The Québec government offers its citizens a pension plan equal to
— 33,33% of their average annual salary. This plan is financed by contributions from
employers and employees and is available starting at age 65. Employment Insurance,
often referred to as “unemployment insurance,” is available under certain conditions to
employees who have lost their job; it provides a minimum
income until they find another job. Employers and employees
bear the cost of this plan and the federal government manages
W.
b Li
k
it. The Québec government offers all residents health insue
INKS
rance that provides free medical care. Health insurance plans,
Websites for government plans
financed by employers and citizens, vary from province to
province
but are all based on the principle of universality.
- Québec Pension Plan: rrq.gouv.qc.ca/en
.
:
Finally, the CNESST plan ensures that employees will have a
- Employment Insurance Canada:
https://www.canada.ca/en/employmentcertain level of income when there is a workplace accident.
social-development/programs/ei.html
This is entirely paid for by employer contributions, based on
- Québec Health Insurance Plan:
ramq.gouv.qc.ca/index_en.shtml
payroll, sector and accident record (see Chapter 10). On
average in Québec, government plans amount to 11.33% of
HONESE Gabi se
indirect compensation costs. You can consult the websites on
the left for more information on these plans.
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6.6.2 Paid time off
Paid time off covers all paid leave offered to employees by the employer, mainly: annual
leave (vacation), statutory holidays (e.g. Canada Day), sick days (short-term absence),
parental leave (e.g. maternity) and special leave (e.g. death, marriage, union activities).
The number of days varies from one employer to another. Across the province of Québec,
paid leave represents 15.52% of indirect compensation costs, Chapter 2 covers the topic
of paid leave in Québec in more depth.
If you decide to start your own business, you must comply with certain regulations concerning benefits and contributions. To find out what deductions to make from an employee's
pay, visit the Canada and Québec websites.
Canada: Search for the terms «payroll deductions» on canada.ca.
Québec: Search for the terms «deductions and contributions» on revenuquebec.ca.
6.6.3 Other services
An employer can also offer a range of additional services to make life easier on and off
the job. Employers can provide areas for rest, entertainment and fitness training for
employees. They can offer parents a daycare centre. They can also offer employee assistance programs (EAP) to address personal problems (e.g. substance abuse, mental health).
Attraction and retention are two major issues that any good compensation plan must
address. The race among organizations to acquire the best talent necessitates a good
understanding of the role that compensation management can play, mainly in the goal of
external equity. If a company offers fair wages compared to its competitors, it reduces the
risk of experiencing problems in attracting and retaining the talent it wishes to hire. By
further offering a suitable benefits package that provides good protection for employees,
it avoids departures that can turn out to be costly for its development. However, it must
be taken into consideration that the setting of wages and benefits is not always the result
of a deliberate decision by the company’s management, but may be dictated by the presence
of a union.
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Ata
Glance
A manager's role and responsibilities in compensation are not always easy to determine.
They will naturally vary considerably from one type of company to another. If you work for
an SME that doesn't have a human resources department, you will probably assume many
more responsibilities relating to compensation than if you were working for a larger company.
Whatever the case, the important point is to have an overall view of a manager’s responsibilities, so that compensation can play its strategic role in attracting and retaining talent,
maintaining a good work climate and rewarding participation in organizational performance.
Figure 6.5 summarizes the manager's situation relevant to compensation.
Figure 6.5
®
}
The manager and compensation
Essential knowledge
HRM tools available
Pitfalls or mistakes to avoid
- Organizational fairness
— Job descriptions
— Assuming that job descriptions are
— Internal equity
— External equity
— Individual equity
— Benefits
— Variable pay
—
—
—
—
up to date
— Relying on the title ofthe position
rather than on its actual value
— Believing that youshouldgive all
employees the same salary increases
to avoid dissatisfaction
— Judging
the value of ajob basedon
the person who holds it
Job evaluation grids
Salary surveys
Pay structure
Merit pay grid
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The manager's roles and
responsibilities
— Know positions under his/her
responsibility
The manager
and compensation
Support from the
HR department
— Know immediate competitors
— Inform employees about various
procedures used to set their salaries
— Give information about benefits
— Set annual objectives for each
employee
- —increases
and individual
}
Roles of otherplayers
— Write job descriptions
— Develop job evaluation grid and
coordinate evaluation process
— Determine pay structure
— Develop and manage variable pay
programs
|
|
|
|
— Manage dissatisfaction
— Conduct salary survey
— Develop and manage
benefits program
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1. What are the possible repercussions of good employee
compensation management?
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Through good compensation management, managers can attract the staff they need and
achieve their operational goals. They can also motivate their team members to make the
effort required for the company to stand out from the competition and reach its objectives.
A competitive pay package with interesting benefits helps to retain the best and brightest
staff and assists in reducing employee turnover costs. All in all, good compensation management sustains employees’ sense of justice and equity, a feeling that is prerequisite to the
quality of the work climate.
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See section 6.3.3.
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the quality of the work climate.
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See section 6.2.3.
3. What are the stakes involved in good base salary positioning?
The base salary is mainly arrived at by using salary surveys, conducted in a market of
organizations that are comparable to the company. Good base salary positioning in relation
to the market increases the company’s ability to attract and retain employees, while at the
same time respecting its financial situation. For example, for certain strategic positions
and those you are having trouble filling, you can suggest that the company offer
above-market salaries.
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See section 6.3.4.
4. Why should | inform my employees about their benefits package?
Some organizations offer their employees a long list of protection possibilities to help them
deal with life’s uncertainties. The quality of the coverage they offer can influence whether
an employee wants to stay with the company or not. However, most employees are unaware
of the effort organizations put into creating a benefits package. This is why it is in your
best interest to make your team aware of what their company is doing. In addition,
employees who don’t have to worry about their family’s financial security if something
happens to them can concentrate more on their work. A good understanding of company
benefits can also improve your ability to retain employees and help you ensure your
team’s stability.
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5. How can variable pay affect team dynamics?
Variable pay is a factor in both motivation and the reinforcement of desired behaviours.
Tying part of compensation to output or group performance encourages employee performance and participation in reaching organizational goals. To be effective, group variable
pay plans must also provide discussion forums to initiate change aimed at improving
productivity gains.
See section 6.5.
On
Your
Mark,
Get Set...
Review!
1. What is job evaluation?
2. What is a salary survey?
3. What are the advantages of external equity?
4. What is merit pay?
&
5. What are the main elements in indirect compensation?
MyBookshelf
> My eLab > Documents
> Review questions answer key
6. What differentiates the various short-term group variable pay plans?
ae
;
7. What conditions are necessary for short-term variable pay plans to be successful?
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Discuss!
1.
ZZ
Is individual salary transparency always desirable?
oN
Does compensation motivate employees?
-
Are unions a deterrent to the application of a variable pay policy?
Can one say that offering above-market compensation is always a guarantee
of productivity?
Your Turn!
Laurentian SPA
Veronica Ducharme is the plant manager at Laurentian SPA, a manufacturing plant that
makes hot tubs for the Montréal region. She has held this position for nearly three years,
having previously been in charge of sales and production. She has acquired solid experience
with the company and knows its employees’ needs. One of management's current priorities
is to study and review the salary structure, to make it as fair as possible and to attract and
retain good employees. Meetings have been planned with various managers to elicit their
comments and views on the present structure and compensation policies.
The first meeting, with the controller, goes quite well as this employee is generally satisfied
with present pay policies. The second, with the person in charge of sales and customer service,
does not go as well. Olivier explains to Veronica that, overall, the compensation system appears
deficient to him; several people in his department are underpaid and he can do nothing about
it because there is no flexibility in the pay structure, Veronica asks him to explain why he feels
that these employees are underpaid. He replies that the pay system doesn’t take into account
several important characteristics of the jobs he supervises. For example, in customer service,
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employees regularly find themselves in stressful situations dealing with dissatisfied customers.
In addition, they are required to have certain technical competencies to be able to offer quality
after-sales service for a wide range of products. In his opinion, their salary is not fair compared
to what the competition is offering. Since his department is very different from other departments, it should have its own salary structure. However, Veronica doesn't think that is feasible
ZA
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because of the issue of equity with other departments. Anyhow, Olivier must know that the
company has always tried to meet his department's needs. The standardization of compensation policies is an important value for the organization and the present system was set up
by one of the most prestigious consulting firms in Canada. Frustrated by her response, Olivier
retorts that Veronica just doesn’t want to listen and doesn’t understand how rigid the current
compensation system is.
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The last meeting is with the production manager. Héléne tells Veronica how happy she is
to have an opportunity to talk about the salary structure, because she sees serious problems
down the road when the next employment contract is negotiated. It appears that the union
wants a substantial increase (10%) in the base salary, as well as indexation of the pension
plan to the cost of living. This could mean a lot of money for the company and lead to
similar demands from employees in other departments. However, in Héléne’s opinion, the
company really has no choice, because the union will easily get a strike mandate. As far
as Veronica is concerned, this doesn’t make any sense. The salary structure was not
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designed to support such increases. Besides, that would be bad for internal equity. Some
production employees would earn more than both their supervisor and company executives.
There would also be repercussions on the job evaluation system and job classification.
Nevertheless, Héléne maintains that the company certainly cannot afford a strike in the
spring, when production is at its peak.
After these meetings, Veronica reflects on the various questions raised by the managers.
She expects Olivier will use the results of the next collective agreement to exert more
pressure on the issue of salaries paid to customer service employees.
Questions
1. What problems is Veronica facing?
2. How is each of these problems tied to the current compensation system?
3. What recommendations would you make to help Veronica solve these problems?
References
Conference Board of Canada (2017). Compensation Planning Outlook 2018, prepared by
Heather McAteer, Ottawa.
Institut de la Statistiques du Québec (2017), http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/statistiques/travail-remuneration/avantages-sociaux/index.html
Long, R. J. , Singh, P., (2018). Strategic Compensation in Canada, 6" Canadian Edition,
Scarborough, Nelson Education.
Martocchio,
J. J. (2015). Strategic Compensation:
A Human
Resource
Management
Approach, 8" ed., Pearson.
J.M. Newman, B. Gerhart and G. T. Milkovich (2016), Compensation, 12” ed., Boston,
McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Boston, McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Saint-Onge, Sylvie (2014). Gestion de la rémunération: Théorie et pratique, 3" ed., Montréal,
Gaétan Morin / Cheneliére Education.
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Appendix 6.1
Job Description and
Competency Profile
Marketing and Communications Manager
1. Job designation
Job title: Marketing and Communications Manager and development
Department: Communications, marketing
Immediate supervisor: Executive Director
Hierarchical level: Manager
Supervisory responsibilities: 15 people
Date of job description: September 19, 2019
2. Summary
Reporting to senior management, the Marketing and Communications Manager performs
strategic planning for marketing and communications and coordinates the design and
production of promotional and advertising tools.
3. Duties and responsibilities
Core duties and responsibilities
a) Implement strategic market and communications planning for each season
- Participate in assessing the season and each of the productions and analyze
the assessment
- Develop communication and marketing objectives and strategies
b) Supervise implementation of communication plans (subscriptions and shows)
- Set budget
- Participate in writing and distribution of communication plans
¢) Coordinate design and production of promotional and advertising tools and supervise quality of tools (subscriptions, shows and tours)
- Choose suppliers and set up a production schedule with each supplier
- Ensure the production of promotional and advertising materials
- Buy media advertising and do follow-up (production, deadlines, budget)
- Coordinate release and distribution of promotional and advertising materials
- Supervise promotional and advertising operations, as well as press relations, and
evaluate results
- Coordinate promotions and contests and do follow-up
- Update theatre's website and make necessary changes
- Ensure budget follow-up
d) Participate in publication and distribution of event programs
- Write content, supervise publishing and advertising, supervise program coordinator’s
work, work in collaboration with press agent
- Ensure production, quality control and budget follow-up
- Coordinate mailings to subscribers
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e) Additional duties and responsibilities
- Participate in smooth operation of public relations activities and press relations,
as required
- Perform any other duties related to the job
4. Competency profile and selection criteria (job qualification, requirements)
a)
Knowledge
- Mastery of Word, Excel, Outlook
- Good knowledge of software related to Internet
- Excellent spoken and written French and English
- Excellent knowledge of document printing processes
- Excellent knowledge of production stages and tools used in advertising and
publicity campaigns
- Knowledge of cultural milieu mandatory
b) Education/experience
- BAin communications or business administration (marketing option)
- At least three (3) years of pertinent experience
¢) Technical skills and professional abilities
- Interpersonal relationship skills and communications skills
- Rigorous attention to minute detail
- Teamwork
- Attention to aesthetics
d)
Attitudes
- Self-sufficiency, resourcefulness, excellent sense of organization
- Strong interest in culture, especially in the performing arts
| certify that all the information contained in this job description accurately represents the
work done in this position.
Immediate supervisor's name, title and signature:
Date:
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Appendix 6.2
Job Description and
Competency Profile
—
1. Job designation
Job title: Production Manager
Department: Production
Immediate supervisor: Executive director
Hierarchical level: Manager
Supervisory responsibilities: 25 people
Date of job description: September 19, 2019
2. Summary
Reporting to senior management, the Production Manager plans, coordinates, supervises
and directs activities involved in producing an artistic project. He/she also coordinates and
directs the production service staff, as well as the stage crew.
3. Duties and responsibilities
Core duties and responsibilities
a) Analyze and plan artistic projects
- Study the artistic project and provide a breakdown of the project
- Design possible production scenarios
- Evaluate technical and financial feasibility of production scenarios and prepare
advice and recommendations for designers and director
- Supervise adaption of plans and formulation of specifications
b) Determine the manpower and resources required to produce the artistic project and
negotiate costs
- Set production budget
- Negotiate fees for performers and designers
- Prepare and distribute calls for tenders to various scene shops and evaluate bids
- Negotiate prices and contracts with the winning scene shop
¢
Coordinate and supervise production activities, costs and schedules for the
artistic project
- Plan a calendar for the various production steps and tasks and ensure follow-up
- Inform production staff of budget parameters and ensure budget supervision
- Provide the accounting department with payments to be made and do regular
follow-up with accounting department
- Update production budgets on a regular basis
- Coordinate rental and purchase of materials
- Ensure coordination and follow-up with everyone involved in the production to keep
information moving
- In conjunction with the creative and production teams, solve problems that arise
during production
- After each production, conduct an assessment with the production team and learn
from it
CHAPTER
6 COMPENSATING EMPLOYEES FAIRLY
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d) Coordinate, direct and follow up on production of touring artistic project
- Set and supervise touring budgets
- Recruit members of tour crew and evaluate their performance
- Set up schedules and deadlines for tour
- Ensure that production concepts are appropriate for tour venues
- Provide follow-up for tour production activities (set up and strike, travel
and hospitality)
@) Direct, plan and coordinate Production Department and stage crew activities
- Plan and lead production department meetings
- Coordinate and plan department personnel activities
- Evaluate training needs for department and for stage crew
- Plan production department growth and increase in needs
- Evaluate production department staff performance and stage crew performance and
hold annual assessment meetings
- Proceed with staff recruitment for production department
f)
Additional duties and responsibilities
- Participate with union representatives in negotiation of collective agreements
- Apply provisions of collective agreements and other agreements involving
production employees and freelancers
- Ensure compliance with workplace health and safety standards during production
- Prepare daily report on stage equipment and plan purchasing and maintenance
of same
- Ensure storage of sets and other reusable stage effects
- Participate in certain organizational strategic management activities such as
management committees, assistance in public or private grant requests
- Perform any other duties related to the job
4. Competency profile and selection criteria (job qualification, requirements)
a)
Knowledge
- Excellent knowledge of production processes leading to the execution of the
artistic project
- Excellent knowledge of technical procedures involving stagecraft
- Very good knowledge of Word, Excel and Outlook
b) Education/experience
- Diploma in production from a recognized school of dramatic art
- At least six (6) years’ experience in a technical stagecraft position, including at least
three (3) years’ experience managing a production department
¢
Technical skills and professional abilities
- Recognized ability to mobilize a work team
~ Directing skills
- Recognized negotiating skills
- Recognized management qualities
- People skills and recognized ability as communicator
- Ability to work under pressure and to multitask
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PART3
Making the Most of Employee Potential
CHAPTER 7
Managing
Employee
Performance
Olivier Doucet and Alain Gosselin
p.185_ 7.1 A Manager's Performance Management Goals
p.187_ 7.2 Performance Management Process
ON YOUR MARK...
As a manager, you will observe that you are able to achieve your results thanks to
the work of your employees. You should therefore ask yourself the following
questions, which this chapter will attempt to answer:
1. Why is employee performance management a crucial activity for managers?
2. Why is a manager's work often compared to that of a sports coach?
3. What are the principal stages in performance management?
4. Why is feedback an indispensable tool to optimize staff performance?
5. What factors ensure a successful performance appraisal?
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Work
Scenario
When Maude has to make important decisions and too much
pressure has built up, she sometimes goes in to the office on
a Sunday morning, when everything is peaceful and quiet.
Today, she has “negotiated” a few hours away from her family.
She feels it is crucial to review the past five weeks and come
up with an action plan for the months ahead.
Just over a month ago,
Maude was appointed managing part-
ner for a four-year term — she was the first managing partner
chosen by her colleagues. After working for this chartered
accounting firm for 12 years, she was made junior partner 5
years ago. The company, which employs 105 people including 12 junior partners, is at a crossroads. Joe Martin had
run the company since its creation in 1986 until his recent
sudden death. Under Joe’s management, junior partners
enjoyed a great deal of autonomy. In fact, the firm seemed
more like a group of independent accountants, all managing
their own clientele composed
of small businesses, than an
integrated small company offering complementary
leading-edge services.
and
But Maude is not cut from the same cloth. The firm’s interests really matter to her — that is why her colleagues chose
her. After assuming various supervisory
responsibilities in
the audit division, she set up a consulting service for SME
owners, which has become quite successful. After spending
more than an entire month responding to requests from other
members of the firm, while at the same time running her team
of consultants, Maude felt it was time to take a step back to
gain some perspective. An improvised meeting with Kim, a
young accountant whose opinion Maude values, made her
The list of disturbing subjects Maude has drawn up this mor-
ning includes five other elements. The firm is facing much
stronger competition, especially from international firms offering more specialized services and greater expertise. Over the
last three years, there has been a marked decrease in revenue
growth, accompanied by a reduction in each partner's earning
power. In addition, the firm's growth has not kept pace with its
major clients’ needs. In fact, a large part of its staff is unable
to meet these demands. The present situation doesn't allow
ambitious young professionals to put their talents to good
use and improve their skills and competencies. Questions
have been raised as to how they can be convinced to stay
on with the firm. Even within the firm, competition among
partners has become stronger and there seem to be more
and more conflicts. Maude would have liked to convince her
colleagues to undertake a strategic review of the firm with
her, but it strikes her as obvious that the partners are not very
concerned about the overall situation of the company. Instead,
they all seem to be looking out for themselves.
As she goes over her list, Maude feels somewhat isolated in
her position as managing partner. It is up to her to develop a
turnaround plan. She should be able to do this; after all, hasn’t
she advised SME owners who have found themselves in similar
situations? Fortunately, Maude doesn't only have worries in
her work life. At the beginning of the afternoon, she will be
at the municipal stadium with her daughter's soccer team, as
their coach. The whole team has worked hard to make it to
the regional final. Today it’s the decider...
realize how necessary this was. On Friday, Kim confided that
she is dissatisfied at work because the firm is not as dynamic
as it could be. Another group of accountants has made her
an interesting offer and she is supposed to make a decision
over the weekend. She is wondering about her chances of
promotion, because over the past two years no new partners
have been named. Has revenue reached its maximum level?
Maude responded by asking her not to make any definite
decision over the weekend. She wants to see Kim again on
Monday morning to talk about her future with the firm.
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In the preceding scenario, Maude must learn to adapt quickly to her new managerial role.
At the moment, she feels overwhelmed by the extent of the challenges she must meet.
The firm's very poor performance requires fast, decisive action. But how can the company
move from its present mediocre results to the excellent results it hopes to achieve in the
future? Where to begin?
Any manager who has been faced with this kind of situation would be able to anticipate
some steps Maude will have to take. First, she will have to do some research on the firm’s
past performance and its personnel in order to ascertain the problems that need to be
solved and weak points that need to be improved. Next, she will have to uncover the
strengths she can build on to reverse the situation. This new managing partner will also
have to decide the direction the firm is headed in, thereby orienting the work of people
under her leadership. She needs to get them behind her, and fully committed. Then, she
will have to define expectations both for the firm and for each category of employee, so
they are part of the turnaround. Maude will also have to be available to follow up and
support everyone's efforts. She will have to evaluate the work of the firm's members and
be able to recognize those whose contribution stands out from that of the others. As for
those whose performance is unsatisfactory, the managing partner may have to take action
to ensure that it does not happen again. In fact, the situation Maude finds herselfin is not
much different from what most people who manage personnel face, Let's have a closer
look at what we mean by “managing employee performance.”
7.1 A Manager's Performance Management Goals
Based on Maude's experience, it is readily understood that managing job performance
is a process aimed at achieving desired results and behaviours from one or many individuals
.
7
i
7
in their work. However, the notion has a much broader scope — managing employee
performance also means attaining at least five objectives involving various players.
. For top-level managers, it is essential that the organization have a management system
that facilitates the implementation of strategic priorities. For example, a business enterprise that wants to stand out from the competition by offering exceptional customer
service must be able to define the behaviours it expects from employees who are in
contact with customers, and concentrate all its efforts on the quality of the service
offered, Also, good leaders emphasize the importance of building a strong culture within
the organization. They want to ensure consistency between the values promoted by the
company and the way employee performance is managed on a daily basis.
—_Job performance
The contribution of an
employee through results or
_pehaviours corresponding to
the expectations of his/her
superiors.
2. Managers are the people primarily responsible for performance in an organization. They
must adopt performance management practices that create an atmosphere conducive to
optimal performance. On a daily basis, they must specify their expectations in terms of
the organization's strategic priorities, provide ongoing feedback (whether positive or
corrective), assign staff to projects based on their strengths or development needs, and
recognize - privately or publicly - the outstanding contribution of an employee in finding
a solution to a problem. They may ask an employee to document their performance in
preparation for an annual work review meeting. Managing the performance of your staff
is at the heart of the exercise of authority, a responsibility that cannot be ignored by any
manager, but which can be a problem for many.
3. Human resources professionals also have a role to play in good performance management. Even in a company that does not have this type of professional, for example a small
or medium enterprise (SME), these kinds of decisions are based in whole or in part on
employee performance. For example, one cannot promote an employee without first asking
oneself whether he/she performs well in his/her present position. In addition, bonuses
must be awarded on the basis of performance that exceeds expectations. In order for such
decisions to be recognized as fair by both employees and their co-workers, they must feel
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that the judgment on their performance is based on complete and relevant information. It
is the job of HR professionals to manage the performance evaluation process and ensure
that it is rigorous and free of bias. It is also the responsibility of these professionals to train
and support managers so they can manage their employees’ performance in a healthy and
effective manner.
4. Employees are directly affected by the management of their work performance. They
expect a lot from their managers and are concerned about how they will support them
and evaluate their job performance. In particular, employees need feedback from their
manager on what they are doing well and what they need to improve, since feeling
adequate and effective at work is an important source of motivation that reinforces a
sense of accomplishment. Employees also want a chance to express their opinion about
their strengths and to request resources to help them perform better and develop within
the company.
5. Legislators and organizations mandated to develop and apply laws and regulations pay
careful attention to how employee performance is managed, especially in the case of
dismissals. Authorities almost always refuse to grant a dismissal in the following cases: if
employees were not informed of the company’s expectations, both realistic and in compliance with organizational standards; if they were not informed of the supervisor's dissatisfaction with their performance; if they were not given a real opportunity to improve.
Remember that although there are many players involved in managing job performance,
this responsibility essentially falls to managers and is, in fact, one of their main duties,
7.1.1 Managerial roles and responsibilities
Going back briefly to Maude, she is getting ready to settle in on the sidelines with her
daughter's soccer team. At the beginning of the chapter, we pointed out the many similarities between her roles as managing partner and as coach. Let's look at this idea
more closely.
CH
The situation described above leads us to this question: How does the coach contribute
to the team's success? In other words, how do the coach's responsibilities affect the outcome
of the game? Maude would do well to ask herself this question. As a good exercise, why
Not try to answer the question yourself? You will discover many very different responsibilities.
In 2010 Google questioned whether its managers were really making a positive difference
in the attitudes and behaviours of their employees. Intuitively, we are tempted to answer
“yes”, but Google is a flexible company with a very flat structure (few management levels)
In the heart of the action
Imagine you are in Maude’s shoes. The stakes are high for
both you and your players. The game that is about to start
in a few minutes could be the highlight of the season. You
know your players are counting on you. However, you are well
aware that once they are on the field, they will have to do
without you. They must form a truly autonomous team, made
up of members with complementary skills and precise roles
that everyone is aware of. Once the game starts, they won't
consult you about what to do. Because everything happens so
fast, they have to go it alone and support one another.
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In fact, there is little you can say that they don’t already know.
They know the game schedule, the rules, their position and the
opposing team’s strengths. When you think about it, they could
play the entire game without you standing on the sideline. After
all, they do have a captain! But you also know quite well that
the players and their parents wouldn't like it if you weren't on
the sidelines, especially for this important game. This thought
comforts you as you realize that the role you play as coach can
make all the difference.
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Table 7.1
Good
Winning behaviours of managers
managers...
Definition
Act as a coach
Give advice to employees. Provide them with regular, quality support and feedback.
Empower their team
Trust their employees. Do not manage for them, but remain available when they need them.
Are interested in their employees
Are authentic and caring. Value their employees and strive to ensure that everyone achieves their
goals.
Ave results-oriented
Are always in the thick of things and seeking to overcome obstacles. Conduct team meetings
effectively.
Communicate clearly
Promote open dialogue with employees, encouraging them to give their opinion and share
proposals.
Support skills development
Support employees in their short- and medium-term development.
Offer a clear and motivating vision _| Allow employees to collectively build a clear vision of the team and the objectives to be achieved.
Are technically credible
Have considerable expertise and support their team in solving problems.
Source: Adapted from Garvin
et al. (2013).
and a culture of high-performing engineers who value a great degree of autonomy. In such
a situation, minimal supervision is perceived as a positive factor. Between 2010 and 2012,
an HR analytics team set up the Oxygen Project to rigorously answer the questions: how do
managers make a difference, to what extent, and on which issues?
The team was able to demonstrate that the best managers consistently achieve superior
employee results in terms of satisfaction, retention, performance, collaboration and inno-
vation. By taking their observations further, they identified eight behaviours that make a
real difference (Table 7.1). Interestingly, each of these behaviours can be repeated by the
manager in any of the steps of the performance management process.
7.2 Performance Management Process
The performance management process, shown in figure 7.1, is generally composed of
five steps that will lead managers to work with their employees as a team and pool resources
= _
Performance
to support and constantly improve each person's contribution. This is why employee per-
pepe neliciilebonerem
formance management should not be limited to an annual performance review. Rather, it _ includes defining expectations,
should be viewed as an ongoing, proactive process, where skipping steps can compromise —_ observing behaviours, giving
its success.
feedback on, assessing and
improving employee and team
What could explain this situation? In the past, many companies have focused on the assessment
stage in order to make good human resources decisions, neglecting to express clear and
on-strategy expectations or to provide sufficient support during the year to the employees
who are contributing most to the strategic objectives, However, in order to achieve these
results from your employees, you as a manager will need to master each step of this process
and will constantly need to keep these three main objectives in mind. In the following section,
we will present an overview of the manager’s responsibilities at each step of the process and
provide relevant suggestions for optimizing the effects of performance management.
P@"formance.
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Figure 7.1
Performance management process
Take ownership
of the strategic
context
on
Define
expectations
5
3.
Propose an
Support
action plan
performance
4.
Evaluate
performance
Companies generally adopt a process like this to meet
three main objectives. First, performance management
aims to set a strategic objective by ensuring that the
performance expectations of employees are aligned
with the organization's priorities.
The focus here will be
to ensure that employees have a clear understanding
of the priorities set for them and how these priorities
will help the organization. Second, performance
management aims for an administrative objective
in that many human resources decisions are based in
whole or in part on annual performance evaluations.
For example, in many companies, salary increases
and bonuses will be linked to employee performance
ratings. Decisions regarding development, promotion
and, to some extent, dismissal will also be based on
annual employee evaluations. Third, performance
management has the motivational objective of
mobilizing employees and encouraging them to perform better. However, in practice, many organizations
struggle to be fully effective in all of these objectives.
7.2.1 Master strategic goals
One of the goals of performance management is to concentrate all employee effort on
implementing the organization's strategic priorities. As a manager, you play a crucial role
in reaching this goal. You are the indispensable channel
of communication between management, which plans
strategy, and the employees, who implement it. Let's
have a closer look at what a manager can do to carry
out this responsibility.
In the heart of the action
In a recent survey conducted by Accenture, only 34% of
companies considered their performance management
process to be very effective in supporting the achievement
of the organization's strategic objectives. The situation wasn't
much better in terms of the motivational objective, where only
40% of organizations felt their process was helping to engage
their employees. Finally, on the administrative objective,
40% of companies believe that performance management
helps employees develop and progress, while 37% believe
the process is effectively linked to recognition and incentive
compensation practices.
Source: Brecher
et af. (2016).
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For managers, the first step is to know their company’s
strategic environment (its mission, vision, values,
priorities and goals). To understand this context, they
must reflect, inquire and learn about it. Too often, managers are satisfied with telling employees what to do, as
well as how, when and with whom, and they forget about
the why. Explanations supplied by the manager are fundamentally responsible for employees’ adherence or
resistance to a project. The answer to the question “why”
is found in the company’s business plan, which is based
on an analysis of market conditions, competition, ete. In
other words, you must adhere to the strategic goals and
communicate them to employees to help them understand the urgency of the issues, threats and opportunities
that arise.
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As a second step, the manager must communicate these objectives and explain them
to employees. The scenario below illustrates the necessity for senior management to communicate its strategic goals (projects, changes) to employees — at all levels. This is usually
done by first creating operational unit goals and then goals for managers. The expectations
are then conveyed to the employees. It somewhat resembles a relay race, where the winning
team is the one that crosses the finish line first holding the baton. If the strategy has any
hopes of being successful, the message must make its way from the top down to the very
first organizational levels. Yet, this flow of objectives sometimes seems to dry up before
reaching the employees. A survey by the WorldatWork organization revealed that 70% of
senior managers in organizations saw a clear link between their company’s priorities and
their performance objectives. This percentage dropped to 45% for middle managers and
17% for employees.
In the heart of the action
Lyne works for Ventco, the leader in residential air conditioning
systems in Québec. She is on her way back from a meeting
with her boss, the operations manager. He has just given her
information about the meeting with the new president, who
has finally revealed his vision for company growth over the
coming years. This vision will result in major change for the
company because of the cost pressures being applied by
new Asian competitors. Up to now, Ventco’s reputation has
been built on quality and its market has been restricted to the
province of Québec. The new director wants the company to
become a leader across Canada, a company with a reputation
for innovation. Lyne was recently mandated by management
to handle this change in vision and now wonders exactly what
changes will be generated by this new vision. Since one of
her roles is to advise the supervisors who work in the various
production departments, she knows very well that they are
going to bombard her with questions about the effect this
new orientation will have on projects already underway and
others that are planned.
To really excel, employees must be able to make the connection between their employer's
strategic priorities and the mandates given them. At Ventco, for example, the increased
importance assigned to innovation will have to be supported by effectively communicating
the necessity for the company to reorient its priorities based on the new business context.
In the preceding example, Lyne will have to take every possible opportunity to share
pertinent information: staff meetings, meetings about current projects, training, etc.
Supervisors and employees will certainly ask her tons of questions. She will have to explain
why certain choices were made, possibilities considered and then discarded, etc. Finally,
she will have to help supervisors transform this information into precise expectations for
the employees. In this way, each team and each employee will be able to play a role in
implementing the strategic priorities set by the new management.
In the scenario presented at the beginning of the chapter, the firm will succeed in getting
ahead of the competition if the employees adopt Maude’s ideas and apply them on a
day-to-day basis. She will have to devote a great deal of effort to clarifying the new orientation, explaining and re-explaining it. She will have to make the consequences of this
innovation clear. She needs to convince all the employees to share in the responsibility for
this change and to do what it takes to get back on the road to success. However, she cannot
do all this on her own. She will have to rely on her managers and team leaders to get across
a consistent, motivating message, and to reinforce it over a long period.
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7.2.2 Define expectations
Performance expectations
Pi lnpronsahnaaetisrag
obtain from anemployee;
these elements willenable
Biches
| Formulating performance expectations constitutes a decisive step in the performance
management process, and establishes a foundation on which to build the following steps.
| A manager who tries to direct an employee's performance without first setting clear expec_ tations will not be effective in supporting this individual. This manager would certainly
petetmeryom
find himself in a precarious Position when the time came to evaluate the employee's
performed well,
Performance and present the evaluation to the employee.
Unfortunately, many organizations do not formulate precise performance expectations,
either for the team or for individual employees. Likewise, managers too often presume that
employees know exactly what is expected of them; they take it for granted that, like their
superior, employees can consult two documents that should provide the information they
need on the subject.
1, The first document is the job description, which was explained in detail in Chapter 4.
However, this document often does no more than list the responsibilities and tasks to
be accomplished. It often affords little information on the desired results and behaviours
as tasks are accomplished,
2. The second document is the form used for the performance review and the meeting
conducted with the employee at the end of the year. However, this evaluation form is
generally used for many categories of employees who often have little in common with
each other. The form makes no mention of specific expectations for the team or its
individual members.
Information contained in these two documents can only be used as an outline or to provide
guidelines for employees on their work. It is of little use when employees want to know
what their boss really expects of them or on what basis their performance will be evaluated
in a few months. To avoid any misunderstanding, you should work with your employee to
write down a clear, stimulating mandate. The job description and the evaluation form can
be good starting points for this discussion. In addition, if you have done a good job as
manager in formulating the company’s strategic priorities and informing your employees
of these, they should be able to make an overall assessment of their personal contribution
to achieving the business plan goals. They are thus able to participate in defining the
performance expectations that concern them. For the manager, having employees participate in this step of the process is the best way to inform them of the company’s expectations, to explain them and have them accepted. If necessary, managers may also consult
with the HR business partner to assist them in this task.
Oy
Determine the type of performance expectations
To perform their job, employees must know what is expected of them. In actual fact, most
employees do not have an accurate idea of what these parameters are. Worse still, managers
don’t always succeed in clearly defining what they expect from their staff, at least at the
beginning of the performance evaluation process, It is often only from observing performance over time that managers are able to define the type and level of expectations, which
had previously remained implicit. Such performance expectations can be grouped into
two broad categories: results and behaviours.
1. Results represent the outputs of an employee's work: they are targets to be achieved
that can be translated into number of sales, units produced, or quality levels to be
achieved. Often expressed in the form of objectives, they may, for example, be associated
with tasks performed regularly, inherent to an established position held for an indeterminate period. For a manager, this could involve meetings with employees, budget
reports or employee performance evaluation. For an employee, these results could be
sales reports, time required to accomplish an activity or time between customer follow-up
tasks. Performance expectations might also be linked to one-time projects, i.e. projects
that are only carried out once and not repeated. If the manager asks an employee to
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define his or her expectations for the coming year, it is likely that the employee will
propose objectives to innovate or experiment, or to improve work methods, systems or
situations that affect him or her personally. The employee may also have to set a
development objective.
2. Observable behaviours are those that employees must present in their work. They
are used to describe how employees should go about achieving their work goals or the
recurring results expected of them. This category is gaining more and more importance
in the performance management process. For a growing number of organizations, respecting management values, collaborating within work teams and providing customer
service, for example, have become strategic performance criteria used to empower,
support, evaluate and reward employees. This category also includes skills to be developed or mastered, such as leadership, initiative and communication skills.
Set quality expectations
Whether you set expectations in terms of results or behaviours, they must be understood
by the employee. It is therefore important that the expectations set by you and your
employee are of high quality. The acronym SMART is frequently used in the literature to
help managers achieve this objective, meaning that the performance expectation should
be Specific, Measurable, Aligned, Realistic and Time-based. Let us examine each of
these characteristics:
- Specific: Motivation theories tell us that for an expectation to be motivating, it must be
personalized to everyone. Since employees on a team rarely have the same strengths and
motivations, nor the same seniority in their positions, it would be ineffectual to set similar
expectations for all of them. Unfortunately, often due to a lack of time, managers will
simply set the same expectation for each of their employees.
~ Measurable: In order to properly evaluate whether the target has been met at the end of
the period, it is important to specify how it will be measured. In the case of work results,
this information is often easy to obtain, since it may be formulated, for example, as a 10%
reduction in inventory, a 2-week reduction in the time required to complete the project
or a $10,000 budget ceiling for a project. On the other hand, it is sometimes harder to
determine the measurability of behaviours or skills. For example, trying to understand
the client's needs before proposing a product or solution will require a good discussion
between the manager and the employee to ensure that everyone understands what
is expected.
- Aligned: As discussed in section 7.2.1, managers need to take the time to explain to an
employee why they are being set such a performance expectation. Linking each of the
expectations to the priorities of their team, their department and more broadly to the
organization's strategic priorities will help employees understand their role in the organization and how they can contribute to its success.
Realistic: A motivating expectation will encourage employees to excel, but it must remain
realistic. If employees perceive that, despite all their skills and goodwill, the performance
expectation remains out of reach, this can lead to a loss of motivation and even to the
adoption of counterproductive or unethical behaviours. For example, increasing the
average sales per hour target for employees of a clothing store, without any other form
of support from the company, could induce some to steal sales from their colleagues or
try to thwart the system by offering additional discounts.
Time-based: In addition to the above-mentioned characteristics of a good expectation,
the manager must be sure to specify the expected time frame, such as conducting a
feasibility study within three months of the client's meeting. Too often managers will
implicitly set their expectations over the year to fit into the evaluation cycle. But it may
well be that the employee reaches one of them during the year, or that another expectation
becomes irrelevant as a result of a change in the organization or in the employee's duties.
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To delegate
prec ene person ior
7.2.3 Support performance
Once you have established expectations and performance levels for your employees, you
part or all of a task or project,
will find it much easier to help them work effectively and in a manner that conforms to the
ora goal the delegatoris | company’s orientation, all year long. As a manager, you can accomplish this by delegating
responsible for.
certain tasks to your employees and encouraging constructive dialogue, while at the same
time improving your ability to listen and offer feedback and providing follow-up on various
mandates. The following sections will give more information on three measures used to
support employee performance.
In the heart of the action
Farouk's supervisor, Kelvin, asks him to write a report onthe
market analysis done a week ago for a new client. Farouk says
there will be no problem doing it. When Kelvin hasn't received
the report the next morning, he goes back to see Farouk:
- Farouk, | haven't received your report yet and I'm meeting
the client at two o'clock this afternoon. How am | going to
look in front of the director?
| -When | ask you to do something, | don't expect it to take a
week.
-
1]
i
i
Well, | did start it yesterday, but Maude asked me to do
something urgent for the end of the day. | was counting on
finishing your report this afternoon. If | had known that you
wanted it today, | would have planned otherwise.
- I'm sorry, but | didn’t think you needed it that fast.
®
Delegate effectively
This kind of situation suggests why some managers are often reticent to delegate. The
main reasons cited are lack of time, insecurity or what one could call the “perfectionist
syndrome.” The following comments illustrate each of these three reasons: “Anyhow, it
will take too much time to explain everything to him, so I might as well do it right away
myself.” “If | delegate too many responsibilities, my employees will think they can do my
work for me.” “Nobody can do it as well as I can.”
Nevertheless, you should remember that knowing how to delegate effectively offers many
advantages that are indispensable to your success as a manager.
- Delegating reduces stress. A manager has many tasks, responsibilities and projects to
deal with, each one just as important and urgent as the next. There is only so much time
in a day, and you cannot do everything yourself.
- Delegating allows you to concentrate on the really strategic files that cannot be entrusted
to other people.
- Delegating is an opportunity to take advantage of your employees’ skills and competencies. Assigning them different tasks and responsibilities can provide them with new
challenges, the chance to show what they can do, and the opportunity for increased
satisfaction and motivation.
- Delegating is an opportunity for employees to learn and improve. By showing that you
trust them, it helps to solidify your relationship with them and reinforces team spirit.
Managers who hesitate to delegate often do so because they feel insecure or do not know
how to delegate effectively. Without creating an official process, it is important to consider
certain elements in order to maximize the benefits of delegation. These derive from asking
three questions: what, how and who.
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What to delegate? Managers should first specify exactly what they wish to delegate, so
their employees know what tasks or responsibilities are theirs. To achieve this, you could
make a table that lists your tasks, putting the ones you can delegate in one column and
those you cannot in a second column. For example, a manager should keep such tasks as
“setting team goals” and “determining employee rewards,” whereas customer follow-up
and inventory management can easily be delegated.
How to delegate? Don't forget to state work goals or expected outcomes clearly. This will
decrease the risk of error and make it much easier for you to evaluate your employee's work.
You also need to set the priority level of each assignment, in other words, explain the
importance of this activity in the employee's overall workload, and, if applicable, a precise
schedule. This will ensure that the work is done on time. It is best to start with a calculated
risk by delegating non-essential tasks. Even if they are not done right, there will be few
consequences for you, the employee or the work team, In the preceding situation, for example,
Kelvin could have told Farouk that the report was urgent because he was meeting the client
the following day.
Delegate to whom? As a manager, you must treat your employees fairly. Some managers
trust some members of their team more than others and make an unfortunate habit of
delegating tasks to their group of “favourites.” This situation not only overloads your best
resources, but also creates envy and dissatisfaction among the other employees. To maintain
a positive work climate, it is preferable to spread the tasks you wish to delegate among all
the employees in your team. However, keep in mind that not all employees may have the
competencies required to accomplish a task and that some may not wish, or may not be
available, to take on more responsibilities. Before you delegate, it is often a good idea to
speak with employees, to avoid unnecessarily overloading them or even upsetting them even
though you may think you are rewarding them.
Take a minute to think things over before you entrust new assignments or responsibilities
to your employees. Your message will be clearer and the chances of an employee completing the assignment successfully will be increased. Let's go back to the example of Kelvin
and see what he could have done to delegate effectively.
In the heart of the action
Here's how the conversation between Kelvin, the supervisor,
and Farouk, his employee, might have gone.
- Farouk, could your write up a report on the market analysis
that was done a week ago? I'd like it to include tables that
provide a synthesis of the five major trends that came out
of the study and show the two scenarios we are going to
propose to our client.
= I'm meeting the client tomorrow at two o'clock. I’d like to
read over the report before lunch. Could | have it around
ten o'clock?
_- That sounds a little tight. | absolutely have to finish something
for Maude, but | think | could get it to you before noon.
Would that be OK?
- That's fine. Thanks, Farouk.
- No problem. When do you need it?
In this fruitful exchange, Kelvin explains clearly what he needs and Farouk asks Kelvin to
clarify the deadline for submitting the report. So, when you are asked to take on a new file,
don’t hesitate to adopt a proactive attitude and ask for additional information to help you
complete the job satisfactorily.
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Encourage constructive dialogue
In the field of performance management, employees often criticize their supervisor for not
—
giving them feedback on their work. Generally, it is difficult for employees to do their job
Feedback
confidently and effectively when their supervisor's only feedback comes during the annual
The information an individual —_ performance review. How do you think employees must feel when they only find out at the
receives concerning other
Fs
.
’
A
.
.
people’s appraisal or evaluation
@Nd of the year that one of their behaviours has been judged inadequate by their supervisor
of the quality of his/her —_ and that, to top it off, it is going to be recorded in their evaluation file? Through frequent
work performance.
interactions with employees throughout the year, managers can avoid this kind of situation
by making assignments and goals less ambiguous. In addition, these exchanges offer precious
support to employees who are working hard to improve their performance. While there is
no magic recipe for building a climate for constructive dialogue, listening and providing
positive and corrective feedback will certainly go a long way towards creating and maintaining
such an environment.
Know how to listen
In terms of communicating with their employees, managers have every reason to improve
their listening skills in order to learn more about the employees’ situations, and also to
avoid misunderstandings and quickly defuse situations that could become problematic.
But what are the characteristics of active listening?
First, it means that you really listen to what your employee wants to communicate. That
may appear simple, but if you try to listen actively for a few minutes without intervening,
you will understand just how difficult it can be. By the very nature of their job, managers
have a tendency to frequently interrupt employees or quickly suggest solutions. An
employee will feel that you are really paying attention if you show signs of agreement.
Nodding and expressing interest with comments like “I understand,” “I see” and “That’s
interesting” will usually make employees feel confident and encourage them to continue
the conversation.
®
In addition to listening actively, you sometimes need to encourage employees to talk more
if you want to understand their message better or if you are dealing with a shy person. To
do this, you can ask questions. One type is the open-ended question (for example: “What
do you think is the cause of this problem?"), which will encourage the employee to say
more, The other type is the closed question (for example: “How much time do you think
it will take to make that repair?”), which will allow the employee to give details about
certain elements. David Rock (2006) proposes a model based on questions and solutions
for managers (Figure 7.2). In his research he observed that managers often spend too
much time on problems rather than on solutions (left side of the matrix) and that most of
the time they propose or impose their own solutions (bottom of the matrix) when dealing
with employees’ work problems. But active listening can lead to effective feedback; it
requires that employees be asked about the causes of the problem and then consulted on
possible solutions before a manager proposes their own. Most of the time, employees
already have ideas for solutions; this increases their sense of accomplishment, and motivates and empowers them.
Provide positive or corrective feedback
Giving feedback means providing information about a specific action or behaviour (for
example, expressing satisfaction about a job well done). Whether it is positive or negative,
the feedback you provide to your employee on a regular basis is an opportunity to reinforce
your relationship. It enables employees to better understand what is expected of them and
to maintain or improve their performance.
Supervisors too seldom use positive feedback, but it is a powerful motivational tool that
can be expressed by a simple thank-you, letter of congratulations or recommendation for
a promotion. Remember how you felt the last time you received this kind of recognition
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Figure 7.2
Lead Matrix - Ask questions
Question
How can we solve
this problem?
Your problem is...
You should...
Solutions
What is the problem and
why did it occur?
an
Problems
an
Source: Adapted from David Rock, Quiet Leadership, 2006, Harper Collins
from your superior, and what he/she said. In general, feedback is effective when it leads
to a feeling of pride in one’s work, knowing one has done a good job, or increased
self-esteem. Comments like “You are really doing a great job!” or “I really like your work!”
are obviously flattering, but since they offer nothing tangible, they unfortunately are not
likely be very successful. To be effective, positive feedback should be:
- Precise— You should base your message on observable facts so employees understand
why they are being congratulated (for example: “You succeeded in staying calm even
though that customer was upset.”). If, in addition, you are specific about the positive
effects of their attitude or behaviour on their supervisor, co-workers or department, the
feedback will have even more positive repercussions (for example: “I am really pleased
with your proposal; thanks to your suggestion, the number of complaints in our unit has
gone down 50%.”).
- Immediate — Feedback loses a lot of its effectiveness when it comes too long after the
event or the behaviour. It can then appear less sincere, too planned or even calculated.
Furthermore, if a lot of time passes before feedback is given, employees may think that
their success has been ignored. There is an even greater chance that the manager may
forget certain elements when the feedback is finally given.
- Public — Although some employees may be embarrassed by public recognition, giving
an employee positive feedback in front of the person’s co-workers, during an information
meeting for example, generally adds weight to the message and indicates to the other
employees which behaviours the manager values.
Corrective feedback, or negative feedback, is more common than positive feedback. It
usually comes as criticism from a supervisor, a complaint letter written by a customer or
refusal for a project you want to undertake. Negative feedback can be valuable for an
employee, but it is often misused, Some managers hesitate to make negative comments,
either because they are afraid of reprisals or quite simply because it is a disagreeable task.
Even worse, certain managers have a tendency, during the annual review, to give employees
who are not performing well a better evaluation than they deserve, or to consciously omit
what has been criticized to avoid having to reprimand them. This lax behaviour on the part
of the manager not only prevents the person from improving, but could also have negative
repercussions on the other team members who find it unfair. As with positive feedback,
corrective feedback must be precise and immediate to be effective. By contrast, private rather
than public feedback is preferable. While it may seem acceptable for a manager to reprimand
an employee in front of colleagues, this can be perceived as a form of humiliation for the
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Toolbox
Pitfalls
Judging the employee
Getting carried away
Ways to avoid them
Stick to describing the behaviour rather than judging the person, although sometimes the difference
between the two is slight. Which would you rather hear your supervisor say: “You are much too
impulsive.
You got up on your high horse again at the meeting,” or “I understand that
you don't agree
with me, but! didn't like it when you raised your voice at me ina meeting.”
It is easy to get carried away by your emotions, especially because people receiving negative feedback
often try to justify their actions or deny what happened.
This kind of reaction is understandable,
because people regard negative feedback as a personal insult. Remaining neutral and calm is a sure
road to success.
You need to
Stressing
th:
ii
id Don't forget that the purpose of the intervention is always to help the employee improve.
Tossing
te reprimanc | tess the idea of learning, and focus on the future and solutions that will lead to changes in behaviour.
Some managers, who mistakenly think they can moderate employees’ reactions, preface their
Not taking
responsibility
feedback with expressions such as, “You know, it doesn't bother me, but some of your co-workers
have complained,” or “I heard that ..." On the contrary; this kind of comment often intensifies the
employee's emotions and mistrust towards co-workers. Whether the message originates from you or
other employees, it is your responsibility to try to remedy the situation.
employee as well as for other team members. If these actions are repeated over time, it can
quickly lead to a climate of mistrust and resistance on the part of employees. To summarize,
giving and receiving negative feedback can be a very trying experience. But if you are careful
to avoid various pitfalls presented in the Toolbox above, you can learn to provide more
effective corrective feedback.
®
Provide ongoing follow-up
Although some employees are very self-motivating and appear to be able to manage their
work and verify their own results on an ongoing basis, managers still need to assume their
responsibilities for follow-up and feedback. Since this step is essential for employee motivation and performance, organizations are planning more and more formal meetings during
the year between managers and their employees to discuss employee performance. Some
companies have even gone so far as to abandon the annual evaluation in favour of focusing
solely on these types of meetings.
Although the manager’s monitoring should be ongoing — in other words, on a day-to-day
basis — organizations can schedule a number of formal manager-employee meetings as
part of their performance management cycle. The number of follow-up meetings may vary
from one or two per year to more than a dozen, as in the case of Adobe, outlined in the
section «In the heart of the action» on the next page.
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In the heart of the action
Abandoning the evaluation: The Adobe case
In the wake of a major organizational shift to cloud computing,
Adobe recently abolished its annual performance evaluations,
which were a source of stress and demotivation for employees,
and began instead to develop a «check-in» approach. Ata rate
of just over one meeting per month, the company wanted to
initiate informal performance discussions between its managers and employees on a continuous basis, rather than earlyand late-cycle exchanges. One of the goals was for employees
to focus more on how to improve and develop themselves
rather than on their ranking or the performance rating they
might achieve at the end of the year. As for managers, the aim
was that they take on more of a coaching role by supporting
their employees, discussing in real time the short-term objectives to be achieved, and discussing the obstacles and issues
that were preventing employees from performing.
Source: Adapted from Doucet (2016).
The frequency with which these meetings take place depends on several factors, including
the position held (work cycle, project complexity) and the individual employee (experience,
past performance). During these meetings, you should help your employee identify the
gaps to be filled and the problems to be solved so they can optimize their performance.
These meetings will also be an excellent opportunity to show your appreciation of the
employee. The Toolbox below provides a preparation checklist for your follow-up meetings.
Toolbox
Conducting a follow-up meeting
1. Plan for the follow-up meeting.
- Schedule the meeting at an appropriate time and collect precise details on
the employee's performance, using all the resources at your disposal.
- Note any significant information (positive and negative) about the
employee's performance.
2. Using factual information gathered before the meeting, talk with your
employee about progress made in the action plans that have been set up.
- Verify whether the progress made meets the stated expectations and
whether they are still realistic and appropriate.
- Ask your employee questions about potential past and future issues in
relation to their next deliverables.
- Ask your employee how you can support him/her.
3. Make necessary changes.
- Jointly determine what steps are required to stay the course or to improve
performance, if necessary.
- Reformulate performance expectations or action plans.
4. Recap d
1s made by r
ing deadlines and priorities in order to verify
if the employee has made any commitment to them.
5. Write down the results of the meeting. They will be the basis for the
next evaluation.
6. Decide on the date of the next follow-up meeting.
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7.2.4 Appraise performance
A performance appraisal provides an occasion for employees to take stock of their strengths
as well as aspects of their work activity that need to be improved in order for them to be
successful in their job. This review is of major importance for managers, since it can have
direct repercussions on their team’s performance. In addition, it is sometimes used to award
salary increases, individual bonuses or promotions. The next section will discuss the evaluation tools at a manager's disposal and who the possible evaluators are. It will then explain
how an employee’s performance should be evaluated and how to conduct the
evaluation meeting.
Use effective tools
Many evaluation tools are available for measuring employee performance, but we will
concentrate on two main types in this section: rating scales and management by objectives,
which represent the methods most commonly used in companies. Although these tools
are generally accessible online (on the company’s intranet, for instance), in some organizations they are still available as dynamic Excel files or paper documents. In a large
company, these tools are generally created by the human resources department, but in an
organization without one, as is often the case in an SME, the manager may have to develop
evaluation tools. Certain factors presented in Table 7.2 can help to maximize the effectiveness of these tools.
Rating scales represent the most common of evaluation tools used by organizations.
Managers evaluate every employee under their supervision using a grid that has predefined
criteria related to the job (quality of customer service, for example). These criteria may
correspond to behaviour, competencies, or even tasks to be performed, which are usually
measured using a scale with four to seven performance levels. Each rating can, for example,
be described as a judgment on performance (for example, 1 equals unsatisfactory performance and 7 equals excellent performance). Another way to illustrate these ratings is to
use a frequency of behaviours. For instance, you could assess an employee’s punctuality
on a scale from «very rarely» to «always.» A sample rating scale evaluation form is shown
in Appendix 7.1.
®
A rating scale appraisal has the advantage of being very simple and quick to fill out. It also
supplies precise information on the employee's performance. By consulting their forms,
employees can readily discover their strengths as well as aspects they will have to correct
in order to improve their performance. Another advantage of this tool is the uniformity of
the evaluation criteria, which makes it easier to compare employee performance. However,
certain criteria are sometimes difficult to apply to every job in the company. For example,
managerial positions often require the ability to exercise leadership or assume responsibilities not needed in other types of jobs.
Table 7.2 Characteristics of a good tool
A good tool is...
Easy
ay
to
ses
Quick to
Justification
An overly complex tool will lead to more evaluation errors in results
use
interpretation, and misunderstandings or confusion.
complete
Overly long forms may encourage managersto complete them too quickly,
thereby reducing the quality of the results.
The value of an evaluation tool depends on the quality of the performance
criteria it contains. These should be related to the employee's position and
consistent with the organization's strategy and values. They should focus on
the key elements of the employee's position without being too numerous.
Pertinent
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Thus, this tool’s effectiveness depends on the balance between criteria uniformity from
one job to another and their pertinence for each position. This problem can be solved
using one evaluation form and adding appendices for particular job categories. The second
drawback stems from the sometimes subjective way managers interpret the various performance levels. Managers do not always agree on the same definition of adequate performance. This can result in unfortunate consequences when the time comes to award
salary raises or promotions. For example, one manager might think that 4 (on a scale of
7) represents satisfactory performance, whereas another manager would give 5 for the
same level of performance. In cases where employees are applying for the same position
under different managers, the employee evaluated by the stricter manager could be at a
disadvantage. To avoid this problem, some companies set up a committee that reviews
the evaluations done by all the managers, to compare how strictly they appraise employee
performance and correct any differences that are not justified. Performance calibration is
used to refer to this type of activity.
Management by Objectives (MBO) establishes goals to be reached before the next evaluation. This second type of tool is used more often in evaluating management, since their
work consists mainly of coordinating activities and completing projects rather than carrying
out precise tasks. Objectives are generally set jointly by the manager and the employee.
The form should consist of a small number of general objectives formulated to indicate
clearly whether they have been met or not. You will find a sample management by objectives
form in Appendix 7.2. It is usually filled out in two stages: at the beginning of the evaluation period, objectives are formulated and written down; at the end of the period, an
assessment is made as to whether the objectives have been met or not. The employee and
the evaluator write down comments to explain the outcome. Some forms also contain a
section for monitoring the progress of the objectives, where comments are written less
formally, to analyze progress made towards meeting the objectives and to highlight measures that will maximize the chance of reaching them.
Document and evaluate performance
Good performance evaluation depends above all on concrete, observable facts, which
explains why employee performance must be documented. This is a fundamental step as
it helps managers to be prepared. In order to have as much information as possible at their
disposal, it is strongly recommended that managers take notes throughout the year on any
critical incidents affecting the employee. This includes noteworthy behaviours, attitudes
and reactions, whether they involve good or bad performance. Examples include an
employee who has landed a major contract or succeeded in solving an important problem
for a client, or who has been the source of a lot of conflict within his/her unit. Notes don’t
have to be lengthy. It is sufficient to write one sentence describing the situation, the time
and the negative or positive consequences of what happened. This procedure will be of
great help to managers when it is time to get ready for an evaluation meeting. They won't
have to try to remember events that might have taken place weeks or even months ago at
the last minute. In this way, they will avoid forgetting information that could have an
important bearing on their evaluation.
When managers evaluate an employee, they should check several elements so they will
be able to provide a proper evaluation and justify the various aspects. First, they should
consult the performance expectations that came out of the previous evaluation to see if
the employee has met them. Then, they need to gather the most relevant information from
what they have collected over the year, in order to back up their comments with
concrete examples,
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Use a variety of evaluation sources
As a manager, you do not always have complete information on the performance of your
employees. In addition, you may not be the best person to assess certain dimensions of your
employee's performance, such as team management skills. You may also lack the expertise to
evaluate aspects of the performance of specialized employees such as lawyers or engineers.
In other cases, you may simply not be able to observe their performance, as with representatives
working on the road, employees in regional offices, or consultants assigned to projects with
clients over a long period. In these situations, you will need to use other sources to arrive at
an accurate and precise assessment of your employees’ performance.
The principal advantage of using several sources of evaluation is, without a doubt, the
diversity and wealth of the various points of view it offers on an employee's performance.
The accuracy and credibility of the evaluation are augmented; for example, a negative
evaluation from your supervisor about your level of collaboration with your co-workers
will carry more weight and be more difficult to refute if your colleagues express the same
opinion. This increases the accuracy and credibility of the evaluation. There are five main
sources of evaluation, which are presented in Figure 7.3 and described below.
Figure 7.3
Main sources of evaluation
V
Co-workers
=>
Employee
S
all Customers and suppliers
1
Subordinates
Employees - Self-evaluation is useful mainly in placing value on an
employee's work and motivating them in relation to their performance.
When they participate in the process, employees generally have a more
positive attitude towards their annual evaluation and are more engaged. By
taking the time to reflect on their successes and failures, they can bring more
to discussions with their manager on their needs and future development.
Colleagues - Peer evaluation is particularly relevant when working in teams,
as well as for evaluating mutual assistance and collaborative behaviours.
A manager who uses this source might, for example, determine that an
employee who is far exceeding their sales objectives may also be harming
the work climate by their overly competitive spirit; the manager may therefore modify their final evaluation.
The main advantage of this source is its
multiplicity, each employee having a number of colleagues. Itis, therefore,
advisable not to survey a single colleague in order to avoid any potential
bias and instead to combine the evaluations and comments of several peers.
Subordinates - This assessment source is described in the literature as bottom-up assessment. Itis particularly useful for appraising managerial skills,
Gent (recommended minimum of five), otherwise the manager could, in the
case of negative evaluations, trace it back to those who gave the evaluation.
Managers - As the most frequent source of evaluation in organizations,
the supervisory role is essential in appraising employee performance.
The
hierarchical status of managers gives them responsibility for this activity
as one of their work tasks. In addition, this source of evaluation is generally
accepted and even desired by employees.
Clients - Whenever a job requires frequent and repeated contact with
clients, either inside or outside the organization, they should be called
upon for evaluation purposes. Although costly, this type of evaluation gives
direct assurance of the quality of service delivery. On the other hand, itis
important to ensure that a representative number of clients is surveyed to
gain a true picture of the employee's performance.
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as it involves the employees who are directly affected by the manager's
skills. However, you need to ensure that the numberof subordinates is suffi-
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Evaluating every employee in a company using all possible sources would obviously require
an enormous amount of time, money and physical resources. Even if it is undertaken only
once a year, you would certainly agree that evaluating five colleagues, a dozen subordinates
and a supervisor on the basis of several criteria could quickly become a tedious task for
one person. As a result, you must choose your appraisal sources carefully. This decision
should be made after you select the sources that are most likely to directly observe
employee performance or skills and are thus able to provide a fair and pertinent evaluation.
For each source, you must also determine which elements will be appraised. While each
source can assess multiple factors that supplement the evaluation, you must consider the
possibility that only certain aspects of performance will be evaluated by any one source.
For example, a customer or even in certain cases a supervisor, would find it difficult to
evaluate a computer technician on his/her level of collaboration with team members. To
conclude, the Toolbox below presents some tips that may help you to choose suitable
evaluation sources.
Toolbox
Tips for selecting evaluation sources
- Use this kind of evaluation to help employees
improve, rather than to make job-related decisions. If
evaluating a co-worker in any way influences a salary
increase or promotion, it can create tension and
trigger embarrassment or even resistance on the part
of employees.
- Tell employees how the information being gathered
will be used. This will give them a better understanding
of why they should evaluate other employees.
- Ensure that the identities of the evaluation sources
remain confidential. In this way, you will obtain more
representative results; when evaluators’ identities
are known, they have a tendency to embellish
their comments.
- Use a small number of sources. If evaluators are
overloaded with evaluations to carry out, they might
take the job less seriously, which could produce the
opposite to desired effect.
Consider the work context
In order to conduct a good evaluation, you must definitely take into account any recent
changes in the employee’s functions (for example, new responsibilities or a temporary
work overload) and other contextual factors (such as company restructuring, budget cuts
or decreased resources) that could have repercussions on his/her performance. All too
often, managers neglect the role these factors play. Differences in performance among
employees in similar positions can often be explained largely by factors which are beyond
their control but that can have a negative or positive influence on their work performance.
While evaluators frequently attribute employees’ performance solely to their motivation
or skills, they may simply have benefited from positive factors (for example, help from a
colleague or a deadline extension from a customer) or, on the other hand, had to deal with
negative factors (for example, they were given data that contained errors, or a key employee
left the company and was not replaced).
By taking these contextual aspects into account, regularly documenting your employees’
performance and seeking information from other sources of evaluation, you will avoid
under- or over-evaluating your employees for the wrong reasons. The Toolbox on the next
page lists several errors or biases that can arise when you evaluate an employee's performance.
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Toolbox
Assessment biases
- The halo effect appears when one specific
performance criterion strongly influences your
appraisal of an employee's overall performance. For
instance, a manager might give a high-performing
employee a negative evaluation simply because he/
she was not punctual.
- The contrast effect is sometimes present when you
evaluate two employees — one immediately after
the other — who exhibit very different performance
profiles. A manager who has just evaluated an
employee with remarkable performance might
be too severe in evaluating the second employee,
whose performance is unsatisfactory. The reverse
could also be true: the manager could be more
lenient when evaluating a high-performing employee
who comes after an employee whose performance
is unsatisfactory.
- The similarity effect can be noticed when a manager
involuntarily overrates an employee's performance
because they share personal characteristics or are
attracted to the same things. An employee who is
an extrovert like the manager might receive a more
favourable evaluation.
- The restriction-of-range effect happens when all of
a manager's evaluations reflect the team average. In
other words, the manager hesitates to give very good
or very bad evaluations in order to avoid having to
make a judgment.
- The tendency-to-extremes effect happens when
managers are too generous or too strict in evaluating
employees. To protect their reputation, they could, for
example, give all their staff excellent evaluations.
- The last-impression effect appears when you evaluate
an employee on the basis of recent behaviour, for
example in the last few weeks rather than over the
entire evaluation period.
Prepare for the evaluation meeting and conduct it properly
Evaluation meeting
A periodic meeting during
which the supervisor presents
employees with their
performance evaluation — and
explains it to them — with
the aim of developing an
appropriate action plan.
Once you have completed satisfactory employee evaluations, you must conduct proper
evaluation meetings following certain guidelines. Although these guidelines apply to most
employees, they are particularly useful to keep in mind when meeting with employees who
do not want to, or cannot, improve (see Chapter 9 dealing with the subject of
difficult employees).
First, we recommend that you choose a neutral and secluded place where the interview
will take place (e. g. a meeting room) so that the employee feels comfortable. Second,
reserve enough time for in-depth discussion. You should allow from 45 to 90 minutes for
an annual review. The meeting can be shorter if there are more frequent evaluations.
The evaluation meeting should not be an occasion for the manager to simply dictate his/
her appraisal, good or bad, to the employee. It should be seen as an opportunity for
constructive exchanges with an interlocutor. Both the manager and the employee should
adopt an attitude of openness and respect towards the opinions expressed by the other.
In addition, it is of the utmost importance that the employees be able to prepare for this
meeting. As a manager, you should ask them to evaluate their own performance, review
previous goals and set themselves new objectives. Employees should also have enough
time to be adequately prepared.
The manager usually begins the evaluation meeting
by telling the employee what the objectives
of the meeting are and how it will be conducted. To create a favourable climate, you must
make sure that there are as few distractions as possible; for example, close the door and turn
off the ringer on your phone. It is also a good idea to encourage employees to contribute their
comments, ideas and suggestions throughout the meeting. You could also suggest that they
give their own evaluation first, as it is often easier to react to the employee's comments than
to start with your evaluation. In the event that their appraisal is lower than yours in certain
respects, you can take advantage of the opportunity to reassure them by expressing your
satisfaction with their performance. During the conversation, take care to apply the principles
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of active listening and feedback described on p. 194 to 195.
When you discuss employees’ performance with them, it is
important to draw attention to points you agree on. These
Toolbox
elements are revealing, as they will allow you to emphasize
the stronger points and the ones the employee has to work
on improving.
Before concluding the meeting, it is generally useful to take
a few minutes to summarize the main positive and negative
elements that have come out of the evaluation and to verify
whether the employee has drawn the same conclusions as
you. You can then write all this information down on the
eran meeting
- Choose an appropriate location.
- Schedule a suitable time and set aside a sufficient
length of time.
- Explain to the employee the purpose of the meeting
and how it will be conducted.
- Let the employee speak first.
= Highlight the main points where you agree.
evaluation form and give the employee a copy of the document. This will make the conclusions of the appraisal
official. The Toolbox on the right lists the elements
- Discuss elements where there is disagreement.
~ Summarize the evaluation before the meeting ends
and suggest a plan of action.
- Write down the conclusions.
described above.
7.2.5 Suggest an action plan
This is the final step in the performance management cycle. Once the manager has evaluated
and met with the employee to present the results, he/she must determine the appropriate
rewards for the efforts made and find ways to help the employee develop and improve. These
two elements are often discussed at the time of the annual evaluation interview, but increasingly organizations tend to separate monetary issues from development issues. Thus, while
questions of remuneration and bonuses will generally be discussed during the interview, the
development plan that results from it will sometimes be finalized a few days or weeks
afterwards. Employees are usually more open to discussing the future once the past performance review has been discussed.
As discussed in Chapter 6, in many organizations individual bonuses and salary increases
often depend on the performance of employees. Once the evaluations are completed, the
manager will have to categorize the employees according to their respective performances
to determine who deserves the biggest bonuses and who does not. To this end, the human
resources department can provide somewhat flexible guides to support managers by indicating, for example, the minimum and maximum bonuses for the year, as well as the percentages of team employees that will correspond to the different bonus categories. The notion
of individual equity mentioned in Chapter 6 is essential here. Indeed, managers should be
able to defend their decisions both to their superiors and to potential employees who are
dissatisfied with their bonuses. This is in large part why good preparation for fair and accurate
assessments is so crucial.
With regard to development issues, you should, during the discussion of the action plan,
put the accent firmly on the future. Here, you are abandoning your role as a judge, which
took precedence at the evaluation stage, to assume the role of coach. Being the person
most affected by the action plan, the employee should be particularly active during the
discussion. In some cases, the HR business partner may also take part in the discussions,
particularly for high-potential employees, in order to set out a more ambitious plan with
career prospects. The manager has two responsibilities during this stage.
1. Depending on the performance level and the issues, it will be up to the manager to work
with the employee to set up a performance maintenance plan or a performance
improvement plan. A decision might be made to rebalance the workload to lighten
areas where weaknesses were observed, to team the employee with a more experienced
colleague, to provide closer follow-up to prevent the employee from getting bogged
down, or perhaps to show your trust by asking him/her to take on new, more demanding
responsibilities. This plan must be as clear as possible so that the employee and the
supervisor feel committed to applying it.
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2. Drawing up a competency development plan is central to the action plan, just as
succession planning is a crucial responsibility for managers. At this stage, training and
developing new competencies could be seen as a reward. It is standard practice to offer
training as a way of thanking employees who have met performance expectations. The
catalogue approach (each person chooses training from a list of possible topics), in which
everyone gets his share of the cake, results in disconnected professional development
plans that have little chance of having any lasting effect on the employees’ future performance. (We will come back to this in Chapter 8 (section 8.4.2).
A good professional development plan should be based on an in-depth analysis of performance factors (motivation, competency, resources and constraints). Here we should note
that unsatisfactory performance may be caused by a lack of knowledge or skills that could
be remedied by targeted training. In addition, high performance may be a sign that the
employee has unexplored potential that is worth developing. In this case, the manager
should discuss the employee's professional projects with him/her to determine how he
can help him/her advance,
In this respect, it is always a good idea to remember that employees develop largely on
their own, through experience. The manager's role is to provide those who have the potential with opportunities to step outside their comfort zone, to put themselves in situations
(for example, taking part in a stimulating project) where they may succeed or fail, thus
providing them with lessons that will be useful in the continuation of their careers. Like
any good coach, the manager must support this learning by helping employees think about
their experience and understand what they can learn from it for the future.
The action plan stage completes the performance management process. It enables the
manager to set up conditions for maintaining high-level performance or for improving
deficient performance based on observations carried out during the evaluation period that
has just finished. This crucial step is a springboard for the employee's next evaluation
period. The action plan will serve as the basis for developing new performance expectations, leading to another performance management cycle.
®
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Ata
Glance
As soon as high-performing professionals decide to move into a management position, they
commit to tying their own performance to that of their employees. As they move up the
organizational ladder, the number of people affected by this interdependent relationship will
continue to increase. Securing optimal contribution from the team they supervise and from
each individual member is perhaps the most decisive responsibility that managers have to
assume. It is a complex and often trying task, since it is impossible to please everybody. In
performance management, over and above the process itself, we should remember that
certain principles must take precedence. The first principle is respect: it is up to managers
to show their employees respect if they want to receive respect. Next comes reciprocity:
although managers may be demanding, they must, in return, also be generous by offering
support and feedback. The third principle, recognition, stems directly from the first two:
there is no doubt that managers must be totally aware that they can only achieve results
through the efforts of their employees.
The following diagram (Figure 7.4) summarizes the relationships between the manager and
employee performance.
Figure 7.4 The manager and employee performance
Essential knowledge
— Performance management process
— Company's strategic priorities
am
oP expectations
— Types Lake
of performance
The manager
performance
andmanagement
— Different sources of evaluation
HR department support
;
:
— Creation of quality assessment tools
— Data collection from different
evaluation sources
Roles and responsibilities
-
|
hing
of
Coaching 9 managers and
development of their management
skills
— Role as coach for personnel
— Formulation of clear, demanding
HRM tools available
expectations
— Participation in employee
Job descriptions
Business plan
Evaluation form
Grid used for evaluation meeting
— Continuous feedback and
recognition
— Fair and precise performance
evaluation
—
—
—
—
— Development of an action plan to
— Means used to recognize employee
Support and improve performance
205
development plans
contribution
— Development plan
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— Support
in the coaching of underperforming employees
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Are You
Ready?
1. Why is employee performance management a crucial activity
for managers?
First of all, company management must have a system to translate their vision and strategic
priorities into action and concrete results, so that employees at every level of the company
know what they are responsible and accountable for. Then, it is up to managers who
supervise employees in the various departments to create a stimulating work environment
so that each person can make an optimal contribution. Employees are also affected by the
way their performance is managed; they want to see their strengths put to the best use in
their jobs and, in return, receive the feedback and recognition they deserve.
See section 7.1.
2. Why is a manager's work often compared to that of a
sports coach?
Just like coaches who have to win the game even if they aren’t on the field, managers
achieve results through their employees’ performance. They must thus adopt behaviours
and attitudes that can motivate their team and each one of their employees. If you analyze
the responsibilities of a coach and a manager, you will find many similarities. Both of them
are out to “win.” Managers try to do so by encouraging employees to give their best effort
to their work.
&
See section 7.1.1.
3. What are the principal stages in performance management?
The performance management process can be seen as a sequence of four steps. The
process begins with the manager, who must set out expectations for each individual that
are both clear and demanding, and derived from the strategic priorities. They must then
support employees’ performance through actions such as follow-up meetings, which provide continuous feedback and help to refocus work efforts according to the situation. The
next stage is evaluation to assess an employee's contribution. In the final stage, managers
must compensate performance and suggest an action plan, thus preparing the next
performance cycle.
See section 7.2.
4. Why is feedback an indispensable tool for optimizing staff
performance?
Employees need to know if they are meeting the performance expectations formulated by
management and if their expectations compare with those of their colleagues. They are
looking for reliable, complete information about their strengths, weaknesses and achievements, as well as for ways to improve. Whether feedback is positive or corrective, it
constitutes an important motivational lever and is most effective when it comes from
several sources.
See section 7.2.3.
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5. What factors ensure a successful performance appraisal?
The success of a performance evaluation depends, to a great extent, on the stages that
precede it. Clear expectations that are compatible with the strategic priorities, constant
follow-up that provides support at difficult times, and continuous feedback that maintains
a high level of motivation are all elements that will make the evaluation less subjective and
less emotional and, at the same time, easier to conduct. In addition, if the evaluation form
has been developed with the manager's assistance and it allows for tailoring certain evaluation criteria to the individual (work goals, for example), the evaluation is more likely to
be perceived as useful by both the manager and the employee.
See sections 7.2.1 to 7.2.5.
On
Your
Mark,
Get Set...
-_
. Why is mastering the art of delegation so important and, at the same time, so
difficult for managers?
Nn
. What are the main roles and responsibilities of a manager in
performance management?
wo
Review!
. What are the principal evaluation tools available to managers?
">
. Is it advantageous to diversify evaluation sources? Why?
&
MyBookshelf >My eLab > Documents
> Review Questions Answer Key
. What kinds of bias do managers have to take into account when evaluating
their employees?
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Discuss!
1,
Why is performance evaluation often the responsibility that managers appreciate
the least?
2.
Some organizations have chosen to abolish annual performance evaluations and
replace them with multiple performance discussions between manager and
employee during the year. Is this a model that could be applied to a large proportion
of organizations? Explain why.
3.
To what extent does the success of performance management depend on managers’
behaviour or the relevance of the evaluation tools?
4.
Is self-appraisal or peer appraisal appropriate in all work environments?
5.
How do you manage the performance of remote employees such as representatives
on the road or employees working in remote offices?
Your Turn!
Maude, the chartered accounting firm’s new managing partner referred to at the beginning
of the chapter, has just finished an in-depth performance review of the company’s 50 key
employees, including the 12 junior partners. She decided it was essential to devote herself
to this lengthy task because, if she wants to reverse the situation, each employee's optimal
contribution is essential.
®
Based on the data contained in the files and her personal experience, she made four piles
based on her assessment of the people involved. On the top of each pile, she placed the
file of someone with characteristics typical of the people in that category.
1. Simon is in charge of a team of auditors. He is the perfect example of an outstanding
auditor. A relentless worker, he doesn’t count the hours he puts in at work. He has been
a junior partner for 12 years and is one of the pillars of the firm. He is a good trainer
— many auditors, even partners younger than himself, learned their trade under his
wing. In spite of his heavy workload, he has no hesitation in taking on new files or
working with other people on accounts that are not his. On the other hand, he demands
a lot from his staff and expects other people to work as hard as he does. A little strict,
he is not known for easily establishing or maintaining client contacts. Apart from his
great capacity for work, Simon has made little contribution to the company’s expansion,
for example by proposing new markets or new services. In Maude’s opinion, some 35%
of the partners and professionals in the firm belong to the same type as Simon.
2. Ariane is a real rising star. At 33, she has been a team leader for five years. Among the
professionals in the office, she is perhaps the most versatile. She is especially at ease
with complex files, and many clients have been impressed by the quality of the solutions
she proposes. Her overall performance makes her stand out from the other auditors. She
often comes up with business opportunities. However, she is impatient because of her
high goals. When things don’t go the way she would like, she doesn’t mind shaking other
people up. Over the past little while, people have felt that she is a little dissatisfied with
the way things are going at the firm. It is obvious that a conflict is about to break out
between her and Bernard, since they are both participating in a project to create new
services for corporate governance. After her visit last Friday (see the opening scenario),
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you know that she is at a crossroads in both her career and her personal life. She doesn’t
have children yet, although she has always wanted to. In addition, for the time being,
the current situation in the office prevents her from making partner, and she is thinking
about moving to a competing firm. The chances of her going to work elsewhere are thus
quite high, and her departure would be a catastrophe. Maude feels that about 10% of
the partners and associates in the firm fall into the same category as Ariane.
3. Bernard is 54 years old and has been a junior partner for 19 years. He has always gone
about his work without bothering anyone. He refuses to work under pressure, and it
appears he has reached a certain comfort zone. He keeps up the same clientele, made
up mostly of small, not very dynamic companies. However, some of his clients have
recently asked to have their files transferred to another partner. In the past, the previous
managing partner always protected Bernard and the 15% of professionals — some of
whom have never been certified as chartered accountants (CA) but have continued to
work for the firm — found themselves along with him in the third category pile. Younger
employees hesitate to work with them. You have heard that the recent departures of
some employees were partly attributable to the attitude and resistance of people who,
like Bernard, stood in the way of their advancement.
4. Mark is the youngest junior partner. He works in the business consulting department,
dealing particularly with strategic planning issues. He is very competent and has moved
up in the company quickly, thanks to his ability to attract new clients and create value
added services. However, since making partner, it seems that his pace of work has
definitely slowed down. You have the impression he is resting on his laurels. Recently,
some of his colleagues have been irritated by what they consider arrogance on his part.
Unfortunately, it now becomes only too obvious to you — this last pile is the biggest.
Almost 40% of the employees you have analyzed fall in this category. In general, they
perform their work quite competently, but they are only using part of the potential you
see in them.
5. Maude leans back in her chair. She sighs as she thinks about the task ahead. The coming
weeks, if not months, will be quite demanding. She wonders in what order the piles
should be dealt with and what kind of action plan she needs for each subgroup.
References
Brecher, D., et al. (2016). Is Performance Management Performing? Accenture strategy.
Online:
www.accenture.com/t00010101T000000Z__w__/de-de/_acnmedia/PDF-13/
Accenture-Strategy-Is-Performance-Management-Performing.pdf
Doucet, O. (2016). Labandon de I'évaluation annuelle de performance: Mode passagére
ou approche novatrice, Gestion, vol. 41, no 2.
Garvin, D., Berkley Wagonfeld, A., and Kind, L. (2013). Google’s Project Oxygen: Do
Managers Matter? Harvard Business School, case no. 9-313-110, 23pp.
Rock, D. (2006) Quiet Leadership, Harper Collins
WorldatWork (2010), Study on the State of Performance Management.
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®
Appendix 7.1
Rating Scale Evaluation Form
2
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1
Sales aptitudes
~ Presents products in an attractive manner.
- Offers solutions that suit customers best.
Customer service
~ Provides customers with courteous service and sees that they are completely satisfied.
Product and service knowledge
~ Knows the characteristics of products and services offered by the company.
~ Provides accurate answers to customers’ questions about products and services.
Communication
~ Listens to customers attentively.
~ Gives customers precise and concise information.
~ Respects established performance standards concerning the number and length of
calls answered.
Comments:
Employee's signature
Manager's signature
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Appendix 7.2
Evaluation by Objectives Form
Name of the employee
Date objectives set
Position
Date of evaluation
Name of the evaluator
Description of expected results:
In his/her efforts to support company growth, the employee will, over the coming year, increase his/her clientele by 20% and sales to current
customers by 10%.
Employee's comments
My accomplishments
Next time
Manager's comments
Employee's accomplishments
| Next time
Objective 2: Development of management skills
Description of expected results:
Based on his/her objective to obtain the position of regional manager, the employee makes a commitment thatin the coming quarter he/she will take
the three management training sessions offered by the company.
Employee’s comments
My accomplishments
| Nexttime
Employee's accomplishments
| Next time
This tool can be an important motivational factor if objectives are tailored to the individual and defined in part by the employee. It is also very useful for
training purposes, since the objectives may target learning or competencies that need to be acquired. Used on its own, this technique cannot serve as
2 basis for comparing employees, since it sets objectives specific to each employee. This is why evaluation by objectives is often combined with rating
scales. These two complementary tools provide a wealth of information on employee performance and ways to improve performance. They also allow
you to integrate performance expectations in terms of results and observable behaviours, as described in section 7.2.2.
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\\ \ \\\\I \\\
\
\
Dominique Bouteiller
p.215_
p.216_
p.218_
p.222_
p.227_
p.231_
p.234_
8.1 A Manager's Goals
8.2 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities in Developing Competencies
8.3 Competency in All its Forms
8.4 Determining which Competencies to Develop
8.5 Choosing Learning Strategies
8.6 Supporting the Transfer of Learning
8.7 The Manager, a Central Player
ON YOUR MARK...
As a manager concerned about mobilizing your employees around performance
goals, you will have to be alert to their ability to live up to your expectations. This
will quickly lead you to ask yourself the following questions:
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\\
1. What are my responsibilities for my employees’ professional development?
2. How does my department's performance depend on the competencies of
my employees?
3. How can | make certain that! will always have the right employees, at the right
time and with the requisite competencies, to run my department properly?
4. How can | choose the best learning strategy based on the competencies to be
acquired or developed, the work situations and the employees?
5. Why is the “transfer of learning” that occurs following a training activity such an
important phase in the process?
\\ \\\\\\\ \ \
Competencies
\\ \
\
Developing
\
Making the Most of Employee Potential
\\
PART3
Work
|
Scenario
aa
Alain Brisson started working as an operator at Mecanexpro
25 years ago. He has been foreman in the machine shop for
seven years now and things are going really well. He has a
nN
A foreman with his back up against the wall
good team. His people are qualified and trustworthy. There is
quite a bit. All the processes have been digitized and the shop
had to be reorganized around small teams made up of three
or four operators.
However, things aren't working out the way he thought. Alain
has just finished his sixth annual performance evaluation
interview, and is beginning to think it would be a good idea
to take some time to think things over before continuing with
the other 18 interviews that still need to be done. It’s true
that this year’s meetings are quite different. Because of the
major organizational changes senior management intends
to implement, it has decided to triple the training budget for
the next three years. To comply with this new HRD directive,
the second part of the interview must now deal exclusively
with the creation of an individual professional training plan.
Training has always been important for Alain, so he had no
trouble playing it open and above board. All the information
was there for everyone to see: each employee's individual
strengths and weaknesses, links to performance, department
evolution, personal expectations, etc. The following is a list of
what he observed:
1. All his employees, except one, think that developing their competencies is not seen as a priority in
w
a nice mix of younger and older team members and everyone
gets along well. Over the past years, work tasks have changed
. In general, they think that most of the problems relating
to non-compliance with production standards, which
results in a considerable decrease in department performance, stem from the fact that they haven't mastered the
new software.
. Half of them feel that the company is not putting their
competencies to the best use and they could easily take
on more responsibilities.
4. The best sheet metal worker on his team made it clear
that it is essential for him to stay on the cutting edge of
what is happening in his field.
5. The level of the last technical course given by the main
service supplier was too high.
4, Two employees told him they were dissatisfied with what
they saw as favouritism in the way he allocated certain
training activities.
The last observation hit him especially hard, because he felt
that he had really made an effort to share the money in his
budgets fairly. These comments, almost demands, left him
feeling a little bewildered. Alain thought he was doing a good
job of training, but it appears such was not the case. It is true
that he had never talked so openly about training before. So,
what is going wrong? What exactly do you have to do to look
after employee
competencies?
Is the problem
a question
of resources or attitude? How can the situation be turned
around? And where to start? Alain Brisson is beginning to
get a little worried about the remaining evaluations.
their department.
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Alain’s situation is nothing unusual. Lots of managers like him have been promoted because
of their technical know-how and their professional dedication. As far as they are concerned,
competency is a given. They have worked hard, never stopped increasing their knowledge,
and had to acquire a great deal of management skills in order to take on the responsibilities
of a unit or production shop.
The comments above suggest that Alain has perhaps not realized how important his staff's
competencies are in the attainment of his own performance goals. On the one hand,
employees don’t have all the competencies required to do their job effectively; on the other,
the competencies they do possess are not being put to their best use. In addition, Alain
doesn’t appear to always make good decisions when he chooses development activities,
and the way he allocates training is not based on objective criteria. In other words, heis
not properly managing his department's competency capital and, in spite of his present
success, he may well have trouble working with upcoming organizational changes.
Furthermore, there is a chance that he may lose some of his best employees along the way.
_
| Competency capital
The sum of competencies
i
Sian thier senee se
In fact, managers too often take a polarized approach to this question. Either they think
that developing competencies is a matter for the employer alone, who must provide
employees with budgets and specialized services, or they feel it’s primarily up to employees
to safeguard their own interests. Managers who don’t adhere to either of these two points
of view define their own role poorly and may greatly underestimate the power of the levers
at their disposal and the effectiveness of their interventions in this field. In practice, competency depends on all the players involved — it doesn’t just happen. It needs to be
moulded, strengthened and reinforced on a regular basis. A manager's position and function
put him/her at the heart of the process.
In this chapter, we will be using the expression competency development activity
rather that the more restrictive term “training activity.” Training, in the classical sense of
the term (courses and seminars often given by a specialized instructor), is only one of
several strategies than can be used in competency development. We will come back to
this point later in this chapter.
| Competency
reariaccereeparor A 7
5, organization to acquire or
_—_ develop a competency.
8.1 A Manager's Goals
As a manager, you must make certain that you always have at your disposal the right
number and diversity of employees with the necessary competencies to perform the work
appropriately and reach the performance goals set for your department. This is obviously
true in the context of the current situation, but it also applies in the short, medium and
long-term, depending on organizational and individual projects affecting your department.
If the required competencies are not available, dysfunction will occur and a series of direct
and indirect costs will result (for example mistakes, delays, complaints, defects, on-the-job
accidents, etc.). When all is said and done, it is your own performance as a manager that
will suffer.
Competency development activities can serve four goals, (see Table 8.1), Depending on
your activities and priorities, you may focus on one or another of these goals, but more
often than not you will have to learn to pursue several goals at a time so that each result
will reinforce another.
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Table 8.1
The four goals of competency development activities
Goals of competency development activities and implications for the manager
Ensure integration*
of new employees
Support
organizational
Consolidate your
present operational
position
Managerial
activities
© Ensure that
new employees:
~ are quickly able
to perform their
work efficiently;
~ are clearly informed of
their rights, benefits
and duties;
~ have a clear picture
of operations in their
© Ensure that your
department's competency
capital remains at an
optimal level:
~ by diagnosing weak
points in the system;
~ by making sure
employee behaviour
complies with
performance standards
(examples)
department and the
in effect;
company in general;
~ create harmonious
telationships within
their team;
~ by filling the
most obvious
competency gaps;
~ by upgrading essential
~ immerse themselves
technical competencies.
change (current
Support career path
of certain employees
or future)
© Anticipate changes
* Help employees diversify
that are coming in
their techniques and
management methods and | _ increase their versatility.
technological supportfor | * Help employees increase
your department.
their mobility within
© Extend acquisition of new
the company.
knowledge and skills to the | © Prepare employees to
entire department.
occupy positions with more
© Facilitate transition in
responsibilities (team
various occupations.
leader, project coordinator,
supervisor) within
your department.
* Help employees requalify
and make changes in their
career path.
in the values of the
work environment.
* See Chapter 5 for more details on orienting and integrating new employees.
Classification adapted from the book by Alain Meignant, Manager [2 formation, Paris, Les Editions Liaisons, 1991
8.2 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities
When it comes to competency development, the manager is at the heart of the process
but shares some responsibilities with other players.
8.2.1 Developing competencies: a well-established process
The role a manager plays in the competency development process comprises five major
stages (Figure 8.1), indicating areas in which you may be called upon to intervene and
make decisions.
Potential
An individual's personal
resource pool, indicative of
their ability to succeed in a
future professional activity.
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The first stage is undoubtedly the most difficult to define. It refers, in effect, to those
occasions when managers must step back and take stock of how things are going in their
department — problems the analysis brings to light, upcoming challenges and of course,
on the state of their human resources in terms of current capabilities and future potential.
Stages 2, 3, 4 and 5 are part of the usual competency development process and constitute
the major parts of this chapter.
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Figure 8.1
A manager's role in the competency development process
Determ
+ on your department's
competencies
operations
to develop
+ on your employee's
professional growth
Choose lea
strategies
Improvement of
overall system
Development
activities
{
Evaluate development
activities
Support transfer
of learning
Effects on individuals
and environment?
Competencies
In the heart of the action
If your company
has a payroll of more than $2 million, itis
| sonnel; and (2) declare the amount invested to the Ministére
subject to the Act to Promote Workforce Skills Development
and Recognition. Subject to penalty, such companies must:(1)
du Revenu du Québec while substantiating the eligibility of
_ the expenses incurred.
invest, in the same calendar year, the equivalent of at least 1%
of their payroll in activities to develop the skills of their per-
Source: http://legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/ShowDoc/cs/D-8.3.
8.2.2 Competency: multiple players’ concern
In small and very small businesses (with fewer than 50 employees), you may find yourself
in charge of the whole process, at least in theory. You might choose to call on external
suppliers to help you assess needs, design and conduct learning activities. In a larger
company, you will usually work with human resources specialists, internal committees,
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external resources, sectoral committees, teaching institutions, or unions, as described in
the section «In the heart of the action» below. You will be particularly involved in two
stages: determining competency needs (especially to develop individual professional
development plans) and supporting the transfer of knowledge acquired during training
activities (see Figure 8.1).
In the heart of the action
With the exception of some companies where training is
at the core of negotiations with regard to organizational or
technological change, there is little union participation in this
area in Québec. Three elements, among others, can explain
this state of affairs: (1) employers feel that training is part of
management rights and want to retain control over it; (2) at
the local level, unions give precedence to issues they feel
have more priority (salaries, retirement, occupational health
and safety and subcontracting); (3) questions dealing with
employee competencies are still poorly understood by most
players in the labour market.
- Among the sample of 938 collective agreements (covering
some 196,000 employees) filed in 2007 with the Ministére
du Travail du Québec in compliance with Québec Labour
Code provisions and analyzed in the annual statistics report,
calculations showed that 27.5% of them provided for joint
advisory committees on human resources development
(training, retraining and development) and 3.7% provided
- Collective agreements also include, to varying degrees,
clauses dealing with the following subjects: unpaid training
leave, access to information conditions, payment for training
time, refund of tuition fees, special training (health and safety
in the workplace, technological changes, etc.).
improving
- The possibility of taking advantage of development activities
may create concems about equity among certain categories
of employees or between management and employees.
= Training is often made available following major changes in
work organization, and this involves complex negotiations.
- Evaluating performance or individual competencies raises
the question of how this information might be used for
purposes other than professional development for those
involved.
- Choices based on competency don’t always fit in with
seniority rules and may lead to certain compromises (for
example, in cases of equivalent seniority, competency takes
for joint decision-making committees, who may be involved
in budgeting and prioritizing activities.
-As far as unions are concerned,
versatility and professionalism, improve their mobility
(within the company) and employability (outside the company), while at the same time strengthening their careers.
However, if the employer decides to implement an ambitious
competency management strategy, the union will have major
challenges to deal with to defend its positions:
employees’
competencies can enable them to perform more interesting,
better paying work. Workers can also, thanks to increased
precedence).
- Increasing competency levels doesn't necessarily result in
improved working conditions, especially as far as compensation is concerned.
Source: Ministére du Travail du Québec (2008). Rapport statistique des
conventions collectives analysées en 2007, Direction de l'information sur
le travail, July.
8.3 Competency in All its Forms
Versatility
The aptitude of an employee to
accomplish efficiently several
tasks or to occupy several posts
of comparable level.
Competency
The ability to act effectively
in the framework of one’s
professional activity.
218
| Competency is undoubtedly one of the most commonly used concepts in human resources
management. Since companies confer a variety of meanings on this term, however, we
Must ask the following questions: What exactly is a competency, and why is it important
to understand the dynamics involved in order to manage it effectively?
8.3.1 Competency:
not so easy to define
| According to the definition most commonly used in Québec and Canadian businesses, a
| Competency is a characteristic that forms the basis of an individual's work performance or
behaviour. It is a composite of: (1) knowledge; (2) skills; and (3) attitudes (see chapter 4,
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Table 4.3 for definitions). From this perspective, employees are considered “competent” if
they master the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to perform their job in an
effective manner.
For example, a maintenance technician who works on electronic equipment in an assembly
line should theoretically have the following abilities:
1. Possess thorough knowledge of the characteristics of the various machines, how they
work, their strong and weak points, rules to apply when checking them, warranty conditions imposed by the suppliers, health and safety procedures, etc.
2. Master methods used for diagnosing equipment, be able to disassemble certain fragile
parts, use electronic monitoring equipment to interpret the results, repair breakdowns
as soon as possible, all the while maintaining clear communication with operators and
ensuring administrative follow-up on interventions, etc.
3. Be patient in crisis situations, remain open and accessible in relationships with the
operators, make quality service a priority, etc.
We can see that this definition takes the job-related requirements and breaks them down
into categories of abilities or resources that the employee should possess in order to be
considered competent. It has, however, a serious drawback, because it gives the impression
that the competency is simply the sum of these various personal abilities; this does not
allow us to fully grasp its complexity.
In the opinion of Le Boterf (2015), it is imperative to distinguish between “being competent”
and “having competencies.” As a result, many authors define competency as the ability to
solve problems, react appropriately in unexpected situations or correct dysfunctions that
occur in the department (for example breakdowns, delays, poor quality). Competency
would thus relate not only to the technical mastery of certain processes, but also to the
ability to make decisions on their own and find solutions adapted to each situation.
Coming back to our maintenance technician, it is likely that a good number of his co-workers
master the essential abilities outlined. However, we could wager that some of them are
considered more competent than others. The determining factor is no doubt the ability to
combine certain elements wisely and apply them in a given situation, and to repeat the
operation successfully as various professional challenges arise.
8.3.2 Competency capital: a biodegradable asset
Competency is an abstract notion. It only becomes apparent in the course of carrying out
a professional activity. We can only infer its presence by observing employee behaviour
on the job and the results of the action it made possible. A competency does, however,
reflect very clear-cut dynamics and reasoning.
Life cycle of a competency
Just like a product or service, all competencies have their own “life cycle,” which includes
at least three phases:
- Acquisition: an employee becomes acquainted with new knowledge or a new skill, or
works at adopting new attitudes on the job.
- Optimization: an employee is fully operational and applies competencies on a daily basis.
It is during this phase that employers can recover their investment.
- Obsolescence: a competency loses it relevance more or less rapidly. It needs to be updated
or simply replaced.
Under the pressure of multiple factors, this cycle has tended to accelerate in the past couple
of decades. Competencies must be acquired faster, they become obsolete earlier and, as
a result, it is increasingly difficult to guarantee optimization. The rate at which work
methods are changing seems to be shortening the shelf-life of the “competency capital,”
and the stock has to be replenished more often.
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Types of jobs and competencies create different effects
Some competencies are more likely than others to require regular updating and therefore
quickly lose their relevance. This is the case for those based on technical or process-related
knowledge and skills (e.g. use of software, application of administrative rules, specific technical knowledge, etc.), On the other hand, competencies based on certain personal or
interpersonal skills are likely to broaden and deepen with use. Examples include the ability
to lead teams, conduct business negotiations, speak a foreign language or make
complex diagnoses.
The crocodile syndrome
For a significant portion of the competencies mobilized in a department's operations, two
dynamics may unite over time and make your work as a manager more complex
(Figure 8.2).
- On the one hand, more and more examples of knowledge and job skills are in danger of
losing all or a good part of their relevance — and therefore their usefulness — in your
department's operations. In other words, obsolescence sets in.
- On the other hand, changes related to the normal evolution of tasks and work organization
will result in making tasks more complex, and consequently modify the nature of the
competencies required to perform the work effectively (complexification).
Figure 8.2
The crocodile syndrome and the challenge of continuous learning.
an
4
s
Non-competency
2
zone
E
aia
s
3
;
Individual and
s
4
organizational
&
;
s
:
Hu
e
vulnerability
'
e
e
Time
s
~
Eid
of
TOG
“a=
K
”
t.
, St
Gap 1- Croc doesn't look so dangerous.
Gap 3 - Look out!
Thereisa widening gap between the level of competency
required for the job and the level or relevance of the
available competency capital. But some on-the-job training =
programs will provide specific action to get things back
on track.
What are you waiting for? The shortfall in competencies can't be made up entirely.
You will have to mobilize
a lot of resources, but there is no guarantee that the
employees involved will be able to maintain the pace
required to catch up.
Gap 2- Croc looks threatening!
There is still time to act. The shortfall in competencies is
serious, but if you commit the necessary resources and
mobilize your staff appropriately, you can remedy the situa
tion, but only if you are able to get going immediately
and
clearly target the right priorities.
++. CHOMP!
Too late!
You waited too long. The shortfall is severe. You don’t have the financial
fesources necessary to address it and your employees opted out too long
ago to catch up with the learning curve. The crocodile acts instinctively.As
an individual, you've lost a chance for promotion - perhaps even your job.
From a corporate point of view, you've losta market and, ultimately, risk the
possibility of a strategic reversal.
Source: Adapted from D, Bouteiller [1997]. “Le syndromedu crocodileet le défi de lappeentissage continu,” Gestion, vol. 22, no. 3 (fall),p. 14-25.
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These two phenomena can develop over short or longer periods and may occur at the
same time; their combined effect will create ever-increasing and damaging gaps between
what employees can actually do (acquired competencies) and what they theoretically
should be able to do (required competencies).
In fact, the existence of non-competency zones, i.e. situations where employees lack
the competencies needed to carry out their work properly, can have devastating effects
on your department. They will lead either directly or indirectly to non-performance, and
the price you will have to pay if nothing is done to remedy the situation can be high. For
example, if the production staff do not have the knowledge and technical skills needed to
perform their tasks, this could lead to the following consequences:
= Non-competency zone
4 field of activity where a
person lacks competency,
either completely or partially.
- Inability to meet quality standards or delivery deadlines, resulting in renegotiation of
contract terms;
- Inability to implement new technology, improve a process or modify a management practice;
- Inability to continue working with certain suppliers;
- Creation of tensions, even conflicts, within your teams;
- Obligation to move an employee to a different position or give the job to someone else;
- Reduction in your own room for manoeuvre within the company.
In the heart of the action
Jef Mandon the purchasing department supervisor, knows
that some of his employees are simply unable to comply with
new management directives and follow-up instructions concerning equipment inventories. He also realizes that he himself
is beginning to feel a little overwhelmed by the complexity of
the input software they have to use. Several non-competency
zones can be identified in his department, meaning the croc
is on the move. He has three options:
1. Forget about the animal and pretend nothing is wrong, in
other words, not face up to the problem.
2. Go around the animal,
for example by hiring anew employee
to look after inventory or contracting the job out.
3. Do everything to decrease or even eliminate the gaps, and
do it as soon as possible.
The first solution could end up being very expensive in the
medium term. The second option will inevitably cost a lot of
money and perhaps be neither possible nor desirable in this
situation. The third solution is obviously the most courageous
and the most profitable, but the supervisor will have to swing
into action ... and pronto!
8.3.3 What is a “quality” competency?
As indicated by Le Boterf and his colleagues (1992), a development activity will be considered successful if the competencies it produces meet at least three criteria: relevance,
timing and critical mass.
- Relevance. A competency will be relevant if it closely matches the nature of the problems
to be addressed or situations to be improved. This competency must of course be acquired
by the right person, in other words, the person who will be most effective in a
given situation.
Relevance of a competency
The extent to which a
competency responds to what
is at stake in a situation.
- Timing, Not all competencies require the same amount of time to be developed and
mastered, Ideally, the competency should be mastered just in time, so that it is available
when needed. A competency that is acquired f00 soon will result in considerable obsolescence costs, because it cannot really be applied on the job. On the other hand, a
competency acquired too /ate will automatically result in non-competency costs (errors,
delays, etc.) during the time it was needed but not available. It is therefore important to
develop competencies in good time!
Timing of a competency
The characteristic of a
competency that is delivered
“just in time.”
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Critical massof
a competency
The intensity of the competency
to be developed in order to
—_- Critical mass. Critical mass represents the “quantity” of pertinent competencies (persons
;
affected and nature of competency to be developed) that must be acquired to have a
significant effect on performance or the desired improvement. In other words, what is
havea
son effect on
improving performance.
the right mix? Doing too much can quickly
lead to an
unnecessary increase in activities
i
is
(content, workload, length), a more difficult learning curve, eventual dropouts among
learners and a definite increase in unnecessary expenditures, However, not doing enough
can be even more harmful. Often, training sessions are too short, don’t allow for enough
in-depth study of certain notions, or don’t provide enough hands-on work to significantly
change professional behaviours.
8.4 Deciding which Competencies to Develop
The competency-needs analysis that you undertake will be the cornerstone on which to
build your development process, because it has a direct effect on the relevance, timing
and critical mass of the competencies that will be acquired.
We prefer the expression “competency needs” to the more commonly used “training needs.”
If the problem you detect has arisen because of a lack of competencies, this does not
necessarily mean that a training activity, in the traditional sense, is the only solution. It might
be advisable to suggest that the employee change teams, work at another job temporarily,
or undertake a lighter workload for a certain period of time.
8.4.1 What is a competency need?
Detecting competency needs consists of creating a clear picture of exactly what knowledge,
skills and attitudes employees need to expand or acquire in order to conform to work
methods in use, or prepare for an eventual move into new areas along their career path.
It is practically always an assessment of the gap that exists between the current situation
and the envisaged or projected situation. These gaps can be measured both in terms of
®
individual competencies and collective competencies (for example, the ability of a work
group to coordinate its action in an emergency situation), or in terms of knowledge and
skills as they apply to your whole department (for example, application of an administrative
process used by everyone in the department). The gaps can be diagnosed on a more or
less continuous basis or at specific times, for example during individual performance reviews.
8.4.2 How to determine competency needs?
Depending on the situation, there are two major approaches you could take. In each case,
you will be following problem-solving logic. In other words, you will aim to define as
precisely as possible the non-competency zone that must be dealt with or the gap that
must be filled. Let's now examine each of these situations.
First situation: Using problems and shortcomings as a basis
Deliveries of your department's manufactured products are regularly late in reaching the
point-of-sales networks; tolerance standards for thickness are barely met; customer complaints about some of your employees are on the increase; and management is wondering
about your department's overall performance. All these elements indicate that there is a
problem, and the root of it probably has to do with a lack of competency. These shortcomings,
which are preventing you from reaching the desired level of performance, will lead you to
realize that certain competencies are lacking and that a development activity is called for
(Figure 8.3).
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Performance is defined here as compliance with a standard imposed on your department
or that you yourself have set (deadlines, quality, quantity, etc.). However, one must be
careful not to assume that non-compliance with a performance standard necessarily means
that an employee's competencies are at fault. There could be many other explanations for
the operational problems. For example, an employee who could be competent but who
Figure 8.3
Competency-needs analysis based on dysfunctions
Performance
goals for
the position
ce
Performance level
achieved by the
employee
—?
Competency deficit
Other HR decisions
Development activities
lacks motivation and isn’t adhering well to the department's goals, hardly has a chance to
perform to his/her full potential. Similarly, poor customer service performance could be
attributed to the characteristics of the products offered, the computer system used to
process orders, inventory management, refund policy, etc., and partly to employee attitude,
lack of courtesy or providing incomplete or incorrect information (see Chapters 7 and
11 for more information).
As a manager, you will need to undertake the following tasks:
1. Detect the factors
competency capital.
affecting
performance
that
are
related
to the
employee's
2. Identify the problems affecting competency that could be solved by providing training
activities or other types of learning situations, and those that require some other kind
of intervention (for example moving an employee, redefining the position, motivating
the employee, sanctions, etc.)
3. Focus on developing a proactive approach, in spite of the urgency of the situation, in
order to acquire competencies as often as possible on a just-in-time basis.
Second situation: Using job-related competency profiles as a basis
Next, you can define the non-competency zone, or gap, to be dealt with in terms of a
desired competency level (Figure 8.4).
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A competency profile refers to requirements related to the job or position occupied by an
employee. This profile includes core competencies (approximately 10 to 25) that must be
mastered in order to perform well in the job, and indicates the level of mastery required
for each one. The profile outline consists of the overall abilities that an employee must
theoretically have to occupy, and perform well in, a position. This is what is «required» in
Figure 8.2 (for more details on profiles, see section 4.3.2 du Chapter 4).
A competency assessment evaluates the degree of mastery (beginner, advanced or expert
level) an employee has reached for each competency in his/her profile. It outlines the
competencies the employee has acquired, summarizing all the abilities actively mastered
in his/her job at a given time. This is what is «acquired» in Figure 8.2.
Figure 8.4 Competency-needs analysis based on competency profiles
Current
competency
profile for the
position
Current assessment
of employee's
competencies
Future
competency
profile for the
®
position
Competency deficit
Development
activities
Other HR decisions
Ascertaining the gap between the required level and the acquired level of a given competency allows us to define competency needs detected for an employee in this field (see
Figure 8.4, B1). The same thinking will apply if you look at the question from a forecasting
point of view (see Figure 8.4, B2). The gap between the current competency profile and
the future profile for the position will give you an indication as to how the position might
evolve over the coming years and how the initial profile will be modified. Some competencies will gain in importance whereas others will decline, and still new ones will need
to be acquired, By comparing the current assessment of your employee with this scenario,
you will have a good idea of the urgency, length, breadth and depth of the development
activities that you must undertake.
A variant of the previous case would be to identify the competency requirements for a
particular career path: you do not simply intend to diagnose your employee's current lack
of competency, but to foster the employee's future development. Your action is then in keeping
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with a career logic, and thus concerned with personal and professional development. This
usually means preparing an employee to take charge of situations that involve greater complexity or more responsibilities (for example becoming a team leader or project leader, joining
management ranks, being more versatile within the company, travelling abroad, etc.). Once
you have defined the gap, even approximately, between the level of his/her current competencies and those required by the future position, you will have a good idea of the short,
medium and longer-term support you need to devote to this employee.
8.4.3 Gathering the relevant information
From the outset, your supervisory experience and proximity to your employees place you
in a favourable position to evaluate competency needs. You might even be tempted to use
your judgment and common sense as the sole basis for your decision making. However,
you would be well advised to be a little more diligent when dealing with more complex
cases. Table 8.2 lists the most current methods; using several sources at the same time
often provides the most reliable information for making decisions.
Table 8.2
Methods used to identify competency needs
Method
A | Selfassessment
Description
The questionnaire helps employees to reflecton the nature of their job, their strengths
and weaknesses, as welll as their
aspirations
and expectations.
The content can remain confidential or be discussed with you during an interview.
B | Employee performance evaluation
B1 Analysis of | You base your judgmentof employees’ performance on objective data such as output, sales, complaints, et.
performance
indicators
You then attempt to understand to what extent the employees’ lack of competency in certain areas explains their
poor performance.
B2 Individual
This method is by far the most commonly used in companies (see Chapter 7, section 7.2.4 for information on this
topic). Once you have checked to see if the goals set the previous year have been reached, you try to identify which
non-competency zones are likely to explain the goals you didn't reach. Then you speak with employees about their
expectations and projects. This method intersects with the previous approach. Ideally, the interview will lead to setting up
an individual professional development plan.
The difficulty here is to distinguish between performance and competency.
fo
ae hh lia
interview
B3 Direct
Ghaanation
Employee
C | potential
assessment
;
D
In some situations, you may obtain all the information you need by being around your employee on a daily basis.
There are more systematic approaches, h
Such as monitoring telephone
lines in a call centre, or using mystery
customers in service companies such as banks or public transit.
The sole purpose of the interview is to deal with: (1) the employee’s competency assessment (strengths and weaknesses);
(2)the employee's short, medium and long-term aspirations and expectations; (3) an individual professional
development plan that would be realistic and desirable to imph
in the
coming year. Knowledge or skills testing can
be done before or after the interview,
The interview can conclude with the two parties making an explicit commitment.
Competency needs identified for employees will only be useful in their future assignments and progression within the
company. This refers to advanced approaches that last several days, during which an employee's potential is assessed
mae
from every angle, using exercises, observations and tests.
de l’employé
We also find here the multisource evaluation method (360 degrees). Originally developed to assess performance, it is
now often used to measure competencies. By increasing the number of sources (clients, colleagues, employees, etc.)
this method is designed to reduce the bias inherent in the traditional approach between supervisor and supervised.
E | Group
interview
You bring together all the
bers of a team to
ine in detail operating problems
observed over the previous
months, This analysis will allow you to identify which competencies are missing from a collective point of view. You
can confirm these observations immediately as you complete your diagnosis through dialogue with the group.
Nothing prevents you from inviting people from outside to participate in these meetings.
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8.4.4 Confirming the diagnosis of your competency needs
Whatever the method used, you must first take the time to confirm your diagnosis before
even thinking about designing development activities and committing resources. One
quick, direct way is to interview a few key people (employees involved, team leader,
suppliers, customers, etc.) or bring together whole teams. Apart from the constructive
suggestions you may pick up, these meetings can bring out into the open any reservations,
fears or even resistance about the training under consideration and will provide an excellent
opportunity for you to present the key orientations of your development strategy.
Keep in mind that the identified competency needs rarely provide objective data and might
be the result of negotiations and compromises among the people involved.
8.4.5 From diagnosis to development plan
Once the main needs have been identified for both employees and the department as a
whole, it is often a good idea to formalize the procedure. You have two options:
—
Psychological contract
The unofficial agreements
about contractual obligations
between an employee and his/
her manager.
- Negotiate an individual development plan with each employee. This plan is a true
psychological contract made between the two of you and will list the targets to reach,
procedures to follow and schedules to meet over the coming year. Although it cannot be
A
:
*
viewed as a legal document in the proper sense of the word, this plan often provides an
excellent means of reinforcing your employees’ commitment to their work, their department
and their company.
- Create a global development plan for your department, detailing the objectives,
targets and methods for the various development activities that are scheduled for the
year to come and, if appropriate, subsequent years. This document, which should be
updated on a regular basis, can be used as a communication and reference tool for discussions with employees, management and unions.
Toolbox
Limitations of competency-needs analysis
Many factors can make the competency-needs analysis extremely difficult, even
impossible. The following are some examples:
- You are unable to clearly predict how your department's operations will evolve.
= You find it difficult to distinguish between objective competency needs and
employee aspirations and expectations.
- Because of the union's position on preventing discrimination, you cannot
proceed with individual assessments of competencies or performance.
- Since access to information is sometimes dependent on power struggles
within the company, it is difficult to avoid prejudice and bias when making your
diagnosis; you cannot always be objective.
8.5 Choosing Learning Strategies
Once you have established what kind of competencies need to be acquired, selected the
people who will take the training, and decided exactly when to intervene, you can get
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things underway and make decisions about the design and implementation of the development activities required. However, do not forget that, above all, competency development means learning!
8.5.1 The desire to learn, at the heart of the training experience
Whether we are talking about acquiring new knowledge, mastering new skills or changing
attitudes in certain situations, acquiring a new competency will always involve gaining new
abilities. Learning is seldom a linear process. It follows a rhythm and stages, and in theory
each person has his own learning style. Sometimes, you have to go through a phase of
unlearning or deconstructing old ways of thinking or doing things before you can begin
to learn. Some people feel more at ease in a strict framework, while others prefer progressing at their own pace. Some people learn better and faster when they participate in
hands-on learning, use a trial-and-error approach or receive personal feedback. In other
words, you need to pay close attention to the cognitive and motivational characteristics of
your various employees and make certain to take these into account when you organize
development activities.
8.5.2 Available learning strategies
If the situation requires that competencies be acquired or expanded, you will be faced
with three possibilities, reflecting three ways of establishing relationships between learners
and their work (Table 8.3).
Toolbox
A few principles to encourage learning
1. Take advantage of your employees’ knowledge and job experience.
2. Encourage consulting, sharing and experimenting at all stages in the process.
3. Constantly make links between learning situations and the practical reality of
the job.
4. Be careful not to underestimate the effect that bad memories from previous
learning situations may have on some employees.
5. Pay close attention to any signs of learning difficulties (comprehension,
memorization, assimilation, etc.) that may arise during the process.
6. Make the learning experience an interesting, stimulating and personally
satisfying undertaking.
Scenario 1: Learning outside the job
The context in which learning takes place and the job is performed correspond to quite
separate times and places. An employee who learns outside the job may attend a training
centre within the company, a public teaching institution (a Cégep, university or technical
school) that may grant a degree or certificate, or a private institution. Thanks to electronic
communication, a person may learn from home or any other location where they can go
online. Conventions or conferences are mainly used to make people aware of certain
problems, but they rarely allow for real learning to take place. The most widely used
methods are separate courses and seminars dealing with specialized topics. However,
companies are exploring other avenues. Here are some examples of methods being used.
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Simulation. At Traklift, new employees must be trained to operate warehouse cranes, a
delicate and dangerous operation. One wrong manoeuvre could cost a lot of money. For this
reason, the company prefers to use a simulator belonging to one of their suppliers. This
completely eliminates certain risks that could easily occur in real life (for example, a dropped
load, loss of balance, work accidents). Using the simulator, an operator can experiment with
practically every possible situation, without disrupting the company’s operations.
The principle is exactly the same in the service world, where a simulated bank branch or
customs post is used. Learners are placed in work environments that very closely resemble
their real work world, but they are not interacting with real customers so there are no risks.
Self-training. Company goals for the new fiscal year feature “quality above all" among its
priorities. To facilitate this culture change, the human resources department makes available, both at resource centres and on a website, various training tools and other support
geared towards this specific subject (books, software, online exercises, movies, practical
guides, etc.) Employees are invited to use them as they see fit.
Self-training does not replace more traditional training methods, but it does allow learners
to enjoy more control over the topics, time, pace and often the place where they do their
learning. These are all factors that may reinforce their autonomy and their motivation.
Table 8.3
Work and learning: three main scenarios
Learning takes place
outside the job
Basis for learning
Learning takes place
around the job
Learning takes place
during the job process
Knowledge belongs either to:
Expertise is available in the immediate | The job itself becomes an expert
~ people working in the company, but | work environment, from team
system, because it activates the
outside your unit (internal trainers, | members, the supervisor or specialists | cognitive processes and obliges the
experts, etc.)
and intemal trainers.
employee to lear in order to work.
Ranacitersdor
ivewiedipe and
expertise
7 ee
= seo eet
, Suppliers, specialized
firms, teaching institutions).
:
It may also be stored in data banks
Employees can acquire knowledge
3
ea
7
oe
accessible through specialized software | and skills through their jobs - by
(directories of product specifications, | working effectively and creatively and
problem cases, model solutions, etc.)
by learning to use equipment and
other support systems made available
to them.
Links between
Piecemeal learning activities, more or | Frequent back and forth between
Thorough integration of learning and
learning and
less related to the job
learning and the job
the job
Direct links with job
Continuous leaning
the job
Colloquiums and conventions
Courses and seminars
Internal or external training sessions
Simulation
Self-training
Certificates, degrees (university,
Cégep)
Coaching
Methods,
approaches
& tools
Access to data banks
Exercises for task mastery
| Behaviour modelling
Tutoring
Mentoring
Buddy system
Twinning
Co-development group
Elearning
Etc.
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Real-time access to task or
performance assistance systems
Complex tasks to perform
Job rotation and internal mobility
Increase in versatility
Ambitious goals
Increased responsibilities
;
Greater networking and collaboration
Sharing knowledge, skills and
Diagnoses done by the team
Coaching
E-learning
Etc.
attitudes
Greater variety in professional
challenges
E-learming
Ete.
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Self-training also aims to give employees autonomy without losing control of operations.
Scenario 2: Learning around the job
This approach generally has a two-fold purpose: (1) to correlate the learning content and
environment as closely as possible to the reality of the job; and (2) to prepare as much as
possible for the time when the new competencies will be required (just-in-time).
This category includes training practices that have a long track record in companies, such
as task learning exercises, behaviour modelling or one-on-one tutoring. The difference
here is that the learning situations have been reworked at the operational unit level and
managers play a much more active role than before. If well-prepared and well-supervised,
while optimizing the learning transfer process, these approaches can be extremely effective
in numerous situations, without incurring exorbitant costs. Tutoring is a case in point:
Tutor
Anew employee will soon be arriving in your department. It has been decided that Michel,
—_ Most often an experienced,
one of the most experienced operators in the field, will team up with him for at least the first
two months. Michel's mandate will be to “chaperone” the new employee, explain details
_ lose colleague who will
baer atone tat li gaa
about the job, help him solve certain problems, point out pitfalls to avoid and share afew
tricks of the trade. Michel will have to try to understand his trainee’s personality and needs
right professional skills
—_and integrates well into
and create a relationship based on trust and mutual respect. Depending on the situation, he
‘h® work team.
will act as instructor, confidant and authority figure. If the chemistry between thetwo
=~
.
.
.
.
ee
employees works, this special relationship should result in: (1) a faster personal and professional integration of the new employee; (2) a particularly enriching work experience for
Michel; and (3) increased cohesion within the department.
7
7
7
.
Scenario 3: Learning during the job process
Trainer
4 cpacialist in the field who
_ normally reports to the human
resources department but
who may, depending on the
expertise sought, come from
outside the company.
Traditionally, training was done outside the job by expert professionals and instructors. The opposite is true in this approach.
The job itself is meant to be the source of continuous learning
for the employee. But in reality, it doesn’t often happen this way.
Numerous studies have shown that, in bureaucratic and
Taylor-based approaches to work organization, tasks are almost
always divided up, repetitive and unproductive for employees.
Toolbox
Multiply your employees’ learning
opportunities
Except in rare cases, you will probably have only limited power
- Make sure their work is meaningful and interesting
over what exists in your department, but you can nevertheless
attempt to move things along bit by bit. Using these organizational principles as inspiration, you can make learning a priority
in your daily management practices.
for them.
- Assign them ambitious performance goals.
- Entrust them with tasks that prompt them to think
and analyze their tasks.
- Ask them to observe other employees’ work.
8.5.3 A great variety of methods and practices
Sashes TRESS
Each of the major learning approaches or strategies that we
have just outlined can obviously involve methods of organizing
and facilitating activities that could be combined in an almost
infinite variety of ways. For instance, a two-day training seminar on developing team leader competencies could include
such tools as:
- Lectures given by the trainer on the theory of groups and
leadership principles
- Have them interact with each other when working.
- Have them work on a job together that would
normally be done by one person.
~ Observe them while they are working and use your
observations to recommend improvements.
~- Have them participate in studying a problem that is
not directly related to their job.
- Ask them to represent your department outside
the company.
- Individual online activities for self-assessment by participants
~ Ask them to prepare a report or summary of
- Group exercises (answering questions, solving small
problems, etc.)
- Have them play the role of trainer or tutor
‘on occasion.
- Short leadership exercises led by the participants and filmed
Source: Adapted from C. Darvogne and D, Noyé [1993].
.
.
.
.
Coy
certain activities.
in real time
Organiser le travail pour qu'il soit formateur, Paris, INSEP.
- A case study a few pages long, dealing with the real case of
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a team in trouble
- Arole play where participants are invited, one after another, to simulate a team leader's
position and behaviour in various meeting contexts
- Audiovisual presentations (videos, slideshows) to illustrate teaching points or perform
interactive exercises
8.5.4 Choosing learning environments and trainers
The classic image of training given in a classroom and led by an instructor is currently
facing a lot of competition from many quarters, It is not uncommon to see complex
development activities involve internal and external players, private companies and public
organizations. There is a flourishing training market outside companies, including specialized consultants and trainers, school boards, corporate services offered by Cégeps, and
universities (both general and executive training programs), but suppliers of products and
technology are playing a more and more active role. Internally, anyone with basic knowledge of technology and adult learning can be a powerful trainer/instructor/tutor. It is
quite easy to see that there is no ready-made ideal formula (see Table 8.4). You can
delegate this responsibility to a trusted employee, use the services of an external organization, or combine the two approaches. Remember that, as a manager, you are perhaps
the best person to support your employees’ learning activities,
Table 8.4
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Comparative advantages of development activities depending on
where the training is designed and done
Within the company
Outside the company
~ Better fit between learning situation and
job situation
- Supervision more easily provided, especially for
new employees
~ Learning transfer after training is more complete
and faster
~ Possibility of having employees or managers act
as tutors or instructors, proof that you value and
respect them
~ Acquisition or expansion of an adult skill that will
be reusable
~ Access to more specific and less common expertise
~ Less expensive for standardized training
~ Access to more complex learning contexts (less
common or very expensive technology, simulators)
- Appreciation within the company for an
employee who has taken a difficult or well-known
training session
~ Recognition of the training and increased
transferability across the labour market
~ Access to richer and more varied learning contexts
(participants from different backgrounds)
~ Supplier can be changed as needs and
priorities change
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8.5.5 Learning strategies: is there a winning formula?
Unfortunately, no magic formula for success exists! Although the goal is to produce quality
competencies, many factors must be taken into account and the range of possible strategies
is quite extensive. However, you will almost always have to consider the following eight
variables when making your choice:
1.The strategic importance
changing behaviours;
of the development
activity
and
the
necessity
of
2. The goals of the development activity;
3. The nature of the competencies to acquire and expand (field, level of complexity);
4. Characteristics of the learners (motivation, cognitive abilities, previous experience, etc.);
5. The context of implementing the competencies (urgent work, availability of equipment,
possibility of replacing employees, etc.);
6. Skills that can be mobilized in your service or within the company;
7. Budget and time available to reach the goals that have been set;
8. The energy that you, as a manager, are ready to invest in the activity.
Many specialists feel that the most effective strategy is to combine several approaches.
8.5.6 Take advantage of the ripple effect
It is not uncommon to see companies, for example when major technological change is
involved, take advantage of the ripple effect in competency development. One or several
employees, carefully chosen for their technical skills as well as teaching abilities, are sent
for training with a supplier or specialized organization to acquire a set of very specific
competencies that can be directly transferred to the work environment. Once they are
back on the job and their expertise has been validated, they themselves become instructors
and trainers for other employees affected by the change. Everybody wins in this situation,
because the potential benefits are considerable: significant time and cost savings; less
disorganized production; optimization of learning transfer; strong participation and
mobilization around new skills; much more personalized relationships between trainer
and employees.
When the development activity has been completed, employees usually go back to their
position and resume their work. It is at this point that the learning transfer process begins.
8.6 Supporting the Transfer of Learning
In its simplest
sense, transfer of learning
is defined
as the effective use that
employee-learners make of what they have acquired during the training session. We are
aaah
fs
7
.
.
Transfer oflearning
The Process of mobilizing
competencies acquired during
thinking here of new knowledge: skills and attitudes that he/she may have acquired in ag earning activity in the work
learning situation and that could contribute to improving his or her behaviour at work _ performance.
Depending on the objectives of the training and the employee's initiative, transfer may
mean simply applying what has been learned, or using it to adapt to various situations, or
even innovating in the field.
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In the heart of the action
As an employee, you may have found yourself in one of the
situations described below, the reason being that your supervisor didn't do his job properly at this crucial stage in the process
of developing your competencies. Here are some accounts of
actual experiences:
- During my training session, | used a much more sophisticated version of the software program than the one we have
on the computers in my department. Now | only have access
to half the functions | studied.
- Since | hadn't sufficiently mastered the new quality inspection process | had been trained for, | made a lot of mistakes
and slowed down everybody's work. Before long, my boss
asked me to do my job the old way and said we'd talk about
training later.
- The seminar was clearly way over my head. Because | didn't
understand the basic notions, | could only use a small part of
it in my job. However, that doesn't stop my co-workers and
my boss from seeing me as the team’s new specialist and
having unreasonable expectations of me!
-! really learned a lot during the three-day session, and I'm
convinced that | could use what | learned to do a more
effective job and maybe even improve how the department
is organized. The only problem is, nobody seems interested
in my new competencies!
8.6.1 The learning continues
Sometimes transfer can be done directly, by simply putting the new concepts or new ways
of doing things into practice. However, in many cases, transfer of learning will require
employees to make a real effort to adapt, transpose, contextualize and even invent, resulting
in a redefinition of the way they work. The transfer period should also be considered part
of the learning phase. Learners often proceed by trial and error, trying out new ways of
doing things and experimenting with new work methods. In other words, the new competency will be implemented more or less slowly, with more or less difficulty and in a more
or less complete fashion. In extreme cases, employees will have to unlearn bad habits in
order to be able to move forward.
o
8.6.2 Transferring to obtain desired results
For a multitude of reasons, a part — sometimes a large part — of what has been learned
will not be transferred. The transfer itself is a process with a beginning and an end: It
begins at the point when the development activity finishes and when the employee goes
back on the job; it ends when the new behaviours the activity seeks to put in place have
been generalized and are stabilized. The length of time this process takes varies. It could
be a couple of minutes or a few hours if we are talking about rudimentary knowledge or
skill acquisition (for example, learning a specific software command, updating procedures,
etc,). The process could also take weeks or even months if the newly acquired competencies
are difficult to integrate into operations (for example, modifying a style of supervision,
assimilating a new IT environment, etc.).
Don't forget that training content acquired, but not transferred, is of no use to the employee,
your department or yourself. Although the transfer process is important, companies often
provide no support for it in situations where they should, and it is not uncommon to find
that no money has been allocated for it in the training budget. It is often presumed that
learning transfer happens automatically or that it is the employee’s responsibility alone.
Research shows that this is far from the truth.
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8.6.3 The manager's role in supporting the transfer
In fact, learning transfer appears to be a fragile phenomenon that can be reinforced or
slowed down by a multitude of factors:
- Employees: their experience, capacity for learning, self-confidence, professional aspirations,
willingness to acquire new competencies and strategies to implement them in their
job, ete.
- The development activity itself. when it is offered, how it is organized, teaching support
provided, how it is given, content, level of difficulty, pace, etc.
- Work environment: workload, availability of resources, support from co-workers, work
climate, possibilities for recognition and promotion, etc.
Your role as a direct supervisor on the hierarchical ladder is essential. Action you can take
is usually divided into what you can do before and after the training activity. Your influence
during the activity will necessarily be limited, unless the activity takes place on the premises
and you are participating as a tutor. In any case, the more efficient the learning transfer
is, the more readily available the sought-after competencies will be. Your employees will
also feel more useful to the organization, as well as sensing that their professional development is valued.
Toolbox
Checklist for supporting learning transfer
A. Before the learning activity
Participate in planning the development activity
- Make certain the activity corresponds to your
department's priorities and your priorities as a
manager (orientation, content, relationship with
job, learning methods and environment, etc.).
- Carefully select the people you intend to send
for training, taking into consideration the
characteristics you feel are important (type of
job, basic nature of the competency, motivation,
cognitive abilities, mastery of prerequisites,
potential, employee's personal expectations, etc.).
Help your employee and the immediate work
environment prepare for the activity
- If the activity is going to take place outside the
company, become familiar with the training
content and requirements. Ideally, take the training
yourself, even if it is in a concentrated format.
- Make sure you and the employee agree on the
training goals and what is expected of him/her
after returning to work.
- Put the employee in contact with other people
who have done the same training.
B. When the employee returns to work
Help create a climate that encourages
learning transfer
- Be attentive to trouble he/she may have
in applying new principles or new ways of
working, as well as possible tensions related to
reintegrating into the team and the department.
- Don't have unrealistic expectations by treating
the employee as the new expert on the block or
drowning him/her with new responsibilities.
- Give the employee the right to make mistakes,
within reason, as he/she applies new principles.
- See that the employee has whatever equipment is
necessary to apply his/her new competencies (for
example, appropriate software versions) and, if
necessary, reorganize tasks to make things easier.
- Evaluate, with the employee's participation, the
effects of the learning activity on him/her and his/
her immediate environment.
- Make wise use of the employee's new knowledge
within your department (ask the employee to
give presentations, take a turn coaching a less
experienced co-worker, new employee or an
employee who will be taking the training, etc.).
- Get several employees who have taken the same
type of training together and suggest they create
a work group aimed at putting their knowledge
into practice.
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8.7 The Manager: a Central Player
To summarize: the closer the relationship between the attainment of your performance
goals (quantity, quality, innovation, flexibility, etc.) and the quality of the competencies
acquired and shared by your employees, the more these competencies become a source
of concern for you, and the more attention you will have to pay to them.
8.7.1 If you don’t do it, who will?
—
Competency monitoring
An penetra
__Inorderto make the right decisions at the right time, you will have to remain as much as
_— possible in “competency monitoring” mode. In other words, you must keep an eye out
Speer
for zones of vulnerability in your division (competency obsolescence). This may be a matter
that might affect pence bl
capital (similarto quality
monitoring).
of being attentive to the potential and aspirations of some employees, watching out for
_ difficulties others may have adapting. You will also have to maximize how knowledge is
—_ shared within your team by encouraging the exchange of skills among co-workers. And,
as we have seen, you may be called on to oversee the integration and learning processes.
In all these actions, your day-to-day behaviour regarding your own competencies and those
of your subordinates always sets an example, positive or negative, for your department.
8.7.2 Stay on the straight and narrow
There may, however, be a number of limitations on what you can do. Lack of management
support, pressure created by the work that has to be done, lack of internal resources or
competencies, or fear of losing an employee who has just undergone a training program
may all be reasons for not acting as you should when faced with decisions about competencies, There are also some classic pitfalls awaiting you:
- A little here, a little there. You refuse to make up a list of priorities, either among employees
or among the competencies that need to be acquired, and you end up spreading the
training budget around the department without obtaining the necessary critical mass.
®
~ Magic solution. You are a little too quick to jump on training as a solution to all sorts of
problems in your unit. It is easier and faster to prescribe training than to give serious
thought to the organization of work, your company's human resources management
practices or your own style of supervision.
- Emergency. You are unable to predict how activities and employees in your department
will evolve. Competency needs are only identified and processed when it is too late to
do anything and it becomes impossible to reach the “just-in-time” target.
- Rewards. You give an employee permission to register in a seminar with the accompanying
authorization of absence, not based on an objective competency need but rather as a
reward for exceptional performance or because of a personal preference.
8.7.3 Beware of high-tension zones
A competency is not a completely neutral asset within the organization, and tensions may
arise when the established order is not followed.
- Giving certain employees an opportunity to go on a training activity may be seen as unfair
within the team.
- Increased competencies
monetary ones.
quickly conjure up the question of rewards,
especially
- The dividing line between personal and professional development is not always perfectly
clear, and the division of work and responsibilities often has to be clarified.
- Abilities to learn and acquire new competencies are not always equally distributed.
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- It is not always easy to answer certain questions at your level, for example: (1) what to
do with people who no longer want to acquire new competencies or expand those they
already have (professional saturation); (2) what to do with people who are no longer able
to improve their competencies (organizational dropout)?
8.7.4 Some truths and facts about learning
First of all, learning is at the very heart of competency development (work = learning
source; work environment = learning environment; manager = learning agent or transmitter; employee = learner). It should not be limited strictly to training, but should ideally
carry on continuously throughout the accomplishment of the work.
Secondly, learning new competencies may provide an important source of motivation and
commitment within the organization, but it may also create a certain amount of stress and
tension in employees’ personal and professional lives. Finally, it is not enough that
employees acquire new knowledge allowing them to bridge existing gaps. They must also
become truly capable of “learning to learn,” since this provides the only longer-term
guarantee of a continuous updating of their competency capital and the creation of a true
learning culture.
F
5
F
“
.
That said, after targeting the right competency needs for the right people, choosing and
implementing the most appropriate learning strategies, and taking great care to support
the transfer of skills acquired in training to the actual work, one thing remains: you must
assess the quality of the process that has been deployed and measure its real impact on
participants’ behaviours and on the performance of their work unit and their organization.
This will be discussed in Chapter 12.
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Learning culture
An environment where the
_value of learning is respected,
appreciated and encouraged.
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Ata
Glance
We have seen that it is essential for a company to recruit the best employees possible and
to integrate them into the company, that it is only fair to compensate them equitably and
that it is wise to check their performance on a daily basis. We should add that it is just as
important to follow the evolution of their competency capital closely. Competency has always
been at the heart of performance. This leaves managers no choice: they must learn how to
deal with it fittingly, understand its dynamics and ensure its development. At the same time,
they must comply with operational objectives and respect their employees’ personal abilities
and professional aspirations. Figure 8.5 summarizes the role and responsibilities of a manager in this particular field of human resources management.
Figure 8.5
The manager and competency development
Essential knowledge
HRM tools available
Pitfalls or mistakes to avoid
—
=
—
—
—
—
— Company development policy and human
resource policy
— Description and analyses of positions
and jobs
— Competency profiles of positions and jobs
— Employee competency assessment
— Individual employee evaluations
— Lists of training and development activities
— Integrated software programs
— Continuous competency updating is entirely
up to the employee or to the employer.
— Employees always want to learn.
— Competency does not give rise to conflicts
because no one can really be against it.
— New technologies will enable us to get
around all the limitationsof traditional
training.
— You can't really develop competencies
suitably unless you have large budgets.
— Helping an employee develop new
competencies is always a risk for the
employer.
Crocodile syndrome
Principles and dynamics of learning
Competency needs
Leaming strategies
Principles and dynamics of learning transfer
Evaluation of training effects
Roles and responsibilities
of the manager
— Good knowledge of unit’s present and future
operational needs
— Regular evaluation of employees’
competencies
— Awareness of employee expectations and
potential for improvement
— Setting competency development targets
(fields, levels, people)
— Selection of best adapted learning
approaches
— Mobilization of expertise available internally
— Appreciation and rewards related to
competency development
— Mobilization of the whole team around
competencies
— Favour sharing knowledge and skills
= Ensure personalized follow-up
for learning
and for each person's progression
The manager
and competency
development
—
—
—
—
—
—
=
—
—
Prospective analyses of jobs
Creation of competency profiles
Support during needs analysis
Negotiating specifications with
outside services
Designing activities intemally
Evaluation of effects of activities
Negotiation of collective agreement
dauses with unions
Application of principles of faimess
throughout the company
Use of specialized software in training
and competency management
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Help from HR department or
external suppliers
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—=
AZ
Are You
AZ
Ready?
A
AA
A
AZ
AA
AZ
1, What are my responsibilities for my employees’ professional
development?
AZ
AZA7
A manager assumes essential responsibilities. You enjoy a privileged position in the company’s system, as a bridge between operational imperatives on the one hand and the
abilities and expectations of staff on the other. Obviously, you are not expected to take
complete charge of your employees’ ambitions, initiatives and learning endeavours. But a
large number of decisions involving them, on both the personal and professional level, will
have to go through you and will in fact depend on your opinions and priorities for action.
The competency must be of use to the organization as well as the individual, and you will
often be the best one to referee this type of choice. You become responsible for it as soon as
you become aware of this complex dynamic and of the role you play in it. Your responsibilities
will continue for as long as you occupy a supervisory position.
A
A
AA
AA
A
AZ
See sections 8.1 and 8.2.
2. How does my department's performance depend on the
competencies of my employees?
A
AA
AX
A
AZ
A
AA
AZ
Av
A
A
ZZ
The situation varies with the field of activity. However, competency is more and more at
the heart of performance. It would be a good idea to ask yourself the following questions:
What will the consequences be if, due to a lack of knowledge or skill, my employee is not
able to accomplish the appropriate professional action in a given activity? What costs —
direct or indirect, immediate or delayed — will the team, the department and the company
as a whole have to bear? On the other hand, if the action accomplished is optimal, what
increase in value will result in the short, medium and long term?
See section 8.3.
3. How can | make certain that | will always have the right
employees, at the right time and with the requisite competencies,
to run my department properly?
Acompetency is always acquired at a given time and space. You will have to calculate your
competency needs sufficiently ahead of time so that the competencies are available when
they are required. To accomplish this, you will have to make some basic predictions concerning your operations and continually observe each person's strengths and weaknesses.
This also means that at times, you will have to put production demands aside in order to
take the time to plan insightful learning contexts and think about your employees’
career paths.
AZ
AZ
A
A
See section 8.4.
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4. How can | choose the best learning strategy based on the
competencies to be acquired or developed, the work situations
and the employees?
Leaving aside the framework of courses and seminars, we realize that it is possible to set
up learning situations in almost any place and at any time. Each task has the potential to
be a source of development, however small! Aside from correctly identifying competencies
that need to be acquired or updated, it is your responsibility to design and prepare these
tools, making the best use of the resources found in your environment. Don't hesitate to
empower your employees and to individually tailor learning pathways — in other words,
to adapt to their abilities and expectations but without in any way veering from the set
course or neglecting the general interest. And finally, do not hesitate to use a development
situation for other purposes: improving work relations, making teams more coherent,
building solidarity, giving employees a desire for moving ahead, doing more and staying
with the company.
See section 8.5.
5. Why is the “transfer of learning” that occurs following a training
activity such an important phase in the process?
It’s really quite simple. If you learn something new that can be useful to your job and you
don’t apply this new knowledge or skill, how can you expect (seriously!) to see any changes
in your way of working and consequently any improvements in your performance? The
transfer of learning is the requisite path between the acquisition of new knowledge, skills
and attitudes and the impact this learning will have on employees’ work. It is still often
the missing link in the development process.
o
See section 8.6.
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On
Your
Mark,
Get Set...
Review!
N
. What are the three phases in the life cycle of a competency?
. What criteria must be met so that a new competency acquired during a training
activity may be considered a quality competency?
What two contradictory dynamics are at work in the crocodile syndrome?
What are the four main goals a development or training activity might target?
>
When we are determining competency needs, what do we mean by “think in terms
of the gap between what is acquired and what is required"?
What are the differences between learning done around the job and learning done
during the job process?
oe
Who are the various players who might intervene in training and development?
. Name two common pitfalls that a manager may come across when working on a
training and development program.
©
MyBookshelf
> My eLab > Documents
> Review Questions
Answer Key
Discuss!
Give two arguments in favour of each of the following statements and two against:
1.
The technology and the content involved in certain jobs evolve so fast that it has
become illusory to try and update competencies through training activities.
When things are done properly, a training activity will automatically generate
competency, which in turn will result in improved performance.
If you encourage employees to acquire new competencies or expand the ones they
already possess, you will be sure to lose them.
Training should be the joint responsibility of the individual and the organization.
.
The transfer of learning depends first and foremost on the willingness of the learner.
CHAPTER 8 DEVELOPING COMPETENCIES
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Your Turn!
Exciting times for the Plustech’ executive committee
The meeting has been going on for two hours already and our five protagonists are only at
the second item on the agenda. Things started going downhill when the idea came up about
implementing a new computer-assisted production system that would affect 80% of the
production personnel on staff. The company has just won an international call for tenders
and has to get everything organized fast so it can meet its commitments. The contract, with
an initial term of one year, involves manufacturing a range of small, moulded plastic parts
for assembly in professional audio-digital equipment. The company that has placed the order
already controls 60% of the world market for this type of equipment, which means prospects
are quite interesting in the medium and long term. In addition, the contract has arrived at
the perfect time for the company, since it has just gone through a difficult period where it
had to withdraw bids because it was unable to comply with the tolerance criteria required
for the parts. However, they are not out of the woods yet. Manufacturing the new parts
exceeds the plant's present production capacity, and the level of precision required for these
parts means the company has to install digitally controlled equipment throughout the entire
production line.
Jean Népalair, the production manager, who has been looking after this project since the
beginning, has just presented an outline of the project to committee members. The strategy
he suggests is quite clear. They must implement the new digitally controlled system as
soon as possible, because delivery to the American customer begins in four-and-a-half
months at the latest. Eight to ten weeks should be enough time to install the new equipment,
test the raw materials and make the basic adjustments; six to eight weeks should see the
whole new system up and running at speed. In other words, everything has to be in place
in 18 weeks and Plastech must make its first shipment on June 15, as stipulated in the
contract. Alain Terrieur, the human resources department manager, is quick to react.
®
— I don’t understand, Jean! You're presenting the whole thing as if all we had to do was buy
anew system and the plant would miraculously operate along these new standards. Not a
word about our current situation, its strengths and limitations, not a word about an eventual
training plan to go along with all that! We're not going to live through what we did last year
when the computers arrived in the offices! Nobody was ready. We wasted a huge amount
of time fixing mistakes and everybody got demotivated.
What do you mean, Alain? It’s not the same situation at all this time. Our production
employees are used to working under pressure and they're not afraid of technology.
They can’t stop talking about the project.
I don’t think so. You know very well that it’s not just a problem of motivation and goodwill!
In my opinion, at least 15% of our 225 operators are almost illiterate and won't be in a
position to be able to use the data entry and monitoring equipment required by the new
system. Plus, we still have to allow the other workers to get up to speed on the new
system, and don’t forget about the maintenance guys. And where are we going to find
the 35 new operators you say you need?
Recruiting and integrating operators is not a problem. And where did you get your
figures? I don’t think you can prove 15% are illiterate. So far, our employees have always
succeeded in adapting; even if the learning curve is a little steeper this time, they've got
more on the ball than you think! Listen, Alain. You know very well that I’m not against
training. You know we could easily ask some of our better employees to act as tutors.
1. Adapted from the case : Bouteilller, D.(2001). “Une comité de direction
sion of the Centrale de cas at HEC Montréal.
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with the kind permis-
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You're right about the maintenance workers, though. We can send them off for intensive
training for a day or two with the system designer.
— When the time comes to send the operators off for training, our foremen are going to
be the first ones to say they can’t do without any of them.
— Well, we don't have any choice. The machines have to be completely operational in
four-and-a-half months.
Sitting at the end of the table, CEO Sylvie Tamine is puzzled. This isn’t the first time she
has witnessed a difference of opinion between Alain and Jean, but she usually finds it easy
enough to figure things out and decide what is best for the company. This time, both her
managers seem to be right in their own way. Alain’s arguments in favour of a longer period
of adaptation, giving employees time to become familiar with the new technology, seem
quite reasonable to her, especially because of what happened to the company before — a
situation that was very costly. On the other hand, Jean's arguments based on his employees”
ability to adapt hit home with her, since she has a great deal of confidence in her personnel.
Questions
You are Ms. Tamine, CEO of the company. Since you know your two colleagues’ personalities only too well and understand that they will not come to an agreement, you'll have to
step in and decide which strategy to adopt in this matter.
1. What are the aspects of the problem you are facing in terms of competencies?
2. What personal position will you take in this matter? How would you justify it? And what
arguments will you use to explain your choice to each of your two colleagues?
3. What will be your priorities for action in this matter over the next two months?
References
Bouteiller, D. (1997). “Le syndrome du crocodile et le défi de l'apprentissage continu,”
Gestion, vol. 22, no. 3 (fall), p. 14-25.
Darvogne, C. and Noye, D.,(1993). Organiser le travail pour qu’il soit formateur, Paris, INSEP.
Davel, E. and Tremblay, D-G. (2011). Le mentorat. Le défi de la réciprocité en entreprise, in:
Formation et apprentissage organisationnel : la vitalité de la pratique, Presses de l'Université
du Québec, p. 133-164.
Le Boterf, G. (2008). Repenser la compétence. Pour dépasser les idées regues: 15 propositions, Paris, Editions d’Organisation.
Le Boterf, G., Barzucchetti, S. and Vincent, F. (1992). Comment manager la qualité de la
formation, Paris, Editions d‘Organisation.
Meignant, A. (1991). Manager la formation, Paris, Liaisons.
Ministére du Travail du Québec (2008), Portrait statistique des conventions collectives analysées au Québec en 2007, Direction de l'information sur le travail, July.
Rivard, P. and Lozier, M. (2013). La gestion de la formation et du développement des ressources humaines, Quebec, Presses de l'Université du Québec.
Roussel, J-F. (2011). Gérer la formation: viser le transfert: repéres théoriques, outils pratiques,
Montreal, Guérin Editeur Ltée.
CHAPTER 8 DEVELOPING COMPETENCIES
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PART4
Fostering a Stimulating Work Environment
\ \
Managing
Discipline and
ss
Conflict
Anne Bourhis, Kevin Hill, Jean Poitras
SUMMARY
p.246_
p.246_
p.255_
p.259_
9.1 The Consequences of Conflicts
9.2 Discipline Management
9.3 Resolving Conflicts Between Employees
9.4 Redressing Conflictual Group Dynamics
ON YOUR MARK...
In the preceding chapters, we have focused mainly on describing situations where
things were going reasonably well — employees provided satisfactory performance
and exhibited acceptable behaviours. However, it can happen that an employee's
performance or behaviour is not satisfactory, that two people have divergent
interests or that an unhealthy dynamic sets in within a group. As a manager, you
have to ask yourself the right questions in order to deal with the situation properly.
1, What are the guidelines for disciplinary action?
2. How do we define conflict situations?
3. What conflict situations require action by the manager?
4, How do you act as a third party in managing the conflict resolution
process between two employees?
5. How can conflicts be defused by clarifying roles, tasks and decisionmaking processes?
6. How can conflicts be prevented by reconciling expectations?
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CHAPTER 9
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Work
Ona Monday morning in November, Yasmine arrived, somewhat nervous, for her first day of work at her new employer,
a large insurance company, where she had been hired as
of emails in which Yolande had complained to Jean-Luc
about the way her colleagues had managed this or that
Director of Customer Service. Soon after arriving, she sat down
with her boss, Simon, the Director of Operations, who set out
colleague in front of a customer. The one time that JeanLuc talked about the situation to Yolande, she became
angry, accusing her manager of wanting to control her
and threatening to resign. Fearing that he might lose his
his expectations and briefed her on her department. Although
he believed she would have no problem achieving her operational objectives, he told her that her new position represented a major challenge in terms of personnel management.
He described certain situations that he considered problematic:
- The climate within the department had deteriorated in
recent years. According to Simon, the situation was due
to the fact that Jean-Luc, Yasmine’s predecessor, was
more concerned about his impending retirement than
about managing the department, leading him to adopt a
somewhat laissez-faire attitude. Many decisions, such as
the choice of work schedules or the timing of breaks, were
made in a very informal way, without clear criteria, so that
employees were complaining about a lack of fairness.
- The allocation of customer cases was causing the most
case. In one
case, she even
went so far as to critique a
best employee, Jean-Luc stepped away from the issue.
- Existing tensions between Yves and Juanita, both customer advisors, also contributed to the poor work climate
within the department. The situation had been going on
for a few months. Rumour had it that Juanita had asked
Yves to «lend» her some of his cases and his contact list,
which provoked a strong reaction from Yves. Apparently,
he accused her of wanting to unfairly profit from his work
and then Juanita called him «paranoid.» As a result of
this incident, things rapidly deteriorated, and discourse
between the two employees became brusque and heated.
Juanita provoked Yves by making sarcastic remarks, especially about his lack of team spirit, and did not hesitate
to complain about the situation to all her colleagues. For
aggravation. Some customer complaints are easier to
his part, Yves locked himself in his office, systematically
manage than others, either because of the nature of
the customer, or the type or the urgency of the complaint itself. However, Jean-Luc had decided to let the
employees allocate the cases themselves, so they were
being assigned on a «first come, first served» basis. Thus,
avoiding working directly with Juanita.
the morning shift employees could choose their cases
first, and the more difficult cases were being left to their
evening shift colleagues. Since employees are assessed
on their complaint resolution rate, this created, among
other things, a feeling of unfaimess.
- Yolande, an experienced employee, demonstrated an atti-
tude that did nothing to ease tensions among colleagues.
In short, the work climate within the department was toxic.
Employees did not greet each other and never took breaks
together. It must be said that Jean-Luc never encouraged
them to establish harmonious
relationships: he was quite
withdrawn, isolated in his office and never bothered to take
an interest in his employees.
Yasmine did not expect to find her new department in such
a state. Despite her distress, she didn’t let herself be over-
whelmed. “It’s a big challenge,” she said to herself, “but I feel
I can fix the situation”
She had the best complaint resolution rate in the entire
department, and her customer feedback was positive.
But several of her colleagues complained that she was
constantly watching over them and reporting what they
did to Jean-Luc. In fact, Simon showed Yasmine a series
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Yasmine is unfortunately not the only manager who has run into this kind of trouble. As a
matter of fact, sooner or later most managers have to deal with an employee demonstrating
inappropriate behaviour, conflicts between two employees, or unhealthy group dynamics.
In your professional life, you will probably have to deal with this kind of situation, which
can take up enormous amounts of time and energy, and you may well feel as bewildered
as Yasmine. The purpose of this chapter is to give you the tools you need to intervene in
order to resolve these problematic situations.
Many terms are used to describe a conflict situation: dispute, misunderstanding, disagreement, argument, or simply, conflict. Depending on the circumstances or the legislation,
these words have different meanings; there is no universally accepted definition that could
apply to all situations. Therefore, how can the manager determine whether or not he/she
is in a conflict situation?
A conflict is usually defined as a process created by a real or perceived difference (of
interests, values or opinions) between two or more interdependent, interacting parties,
who each consider the other responsible for the conflict, who are experiencing strong)
emotions, and whose behaviour is harming productivity or the work environment. Conflicts
= _
Conflict
can be found everywhere in society, as well as in organizations; they are normal and
proces coe by Sener
inevitable. Conflicts can flare up in different situations in organizational life, and they come
Ut th sale on oi nterdepen en me
in many shapes and sizes. In this chapter, we will also consider conflict situations where _ interacting parties, usually
performance and work climate are disrupted either by an individual who refuses toconform
coloured by emotional
to expected standards, or by an unhealthy group dynamic.
overtones.
While there are actual people who settle and manage conflicts, the word “parties” can
refer to both a legal entity and a physical person. Likewise, a conflict situation can be
defined by the nature of the antagonists: individuals or groups. Figure 9.1 summarizes
the different forms of conflict. In this chapter, we will focus on conflicts between an
individual and a collective (section 9.2), interpersonal conflicts (section 9.3) and intragroup
conflicts (section 9.4).
Figure 9.1
Types of conflict
Conflict situation
v
v
At the individual level
At the collective level
Individual-group
conflict
E.g. Con
Interpersonal
conflict
intragroup
conflict
E.g. Conflict among
several members of
a working group
anemp
or here
Intergroup
Inter-
conflict
organizational
conflict
E.g. Conflict between
a company anda
subcontractor
E.g. Conflict between
two departments
Source: Adapted from Lemefin and Rojot (1999).
CHAPTER 9 MANAGING DISCIPLINE AND CONFLICT
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9.1 The Consequences of Conflicts
Many people think that conflict is by definition harmful, and thus undesirable. Of course,
certain conflicts do have negative consequences. Nevertheless, research by DeChurch,
Hamilton and Hass (2007) has shown that it is not the conflict itself that determines the
consequences, but rather the way it is managed. In other words, a poorly managed conflict
generally leads to a disastrous outcome, while a well-managed conflict can have benefits for
both the individuals involved and the organization. It is useful for a manager to know how to
separate the negative from the positive aspects of conflict. Table 9.1 lists the negative and
positive consequences of conflict on organizations.
Table 9.1
Consequences of conflict
Poorly-managed
or ignored conflict
Well-managed
conflict
~ Closed attitude, hardening of positions
~ Clarification of desires and goals
~ Groupthink; decrease in creativity and ability to innovate and adapt;
preservation of outdated policies and practices
~ Rejection of groupthink; stimulation of creativity and ability to innovate
and adapt; questioning of outdated policies and practices
- Consumption of resources (human, financial, physical, etc); feeling of
loss and dissatisfaction with regard to results
| - Value creation; innovation; feeling of gain and satisfaction with regard
to results
~ Deterioration of relationships and cohesion within the group;
questioning of leadership
~ Preservation or reinforcement of relationships and cohesion within the
group; strengthening of leadership
~ Unhealthy work climate (employees become demotivated, disengaged | - Healthy work climate (employees are motivated, engaged and healthy)
and ill)
Beyond the risk of negative consequences, conflicts make it possible to clarify confusing situations or to bring to light latent discomforts or unspoken factors of discontent; they also provide
an opportunity to deepen understanding of the other party, and of the organization. Conflicts
can provide an opportunity for individuals and the organization to reassess and make improvements. When the conflict leads to the reconciliation of the parties’ interests, this approach
promotes group cohesion and strengthens the authority or leadership of the leader.
Even if the conflict does lead to positive outcomes, it cannot happen without the active
participation of the parties in resolving it. In some situations, the parties will not be able to
resolve the conflict without the intervention of a manager, who must be able to recognize
the different types of conflict. In this chapter, three situations requiring the manager's intervention will be addressed: 1) when the manager is faced with a so-called “difficult” employee,
whose performance is inadequate and who refuses to comply with the organization's standards; 2) when a conflict between two employees is escalating; 3) when the source of several
conflicts in a group is organizational in nature. In each of these situations, the conflict affects
productivity and will persist or even worsen without the manager's intervention.
9.2 Discipline Management
gpa
Difficultemployee
—_ Just like Yolande in the scenario at the beginning of this chapter, a difficult employee is
raphtrsa
a person who systematically refuses to allow his/her boss to exercise management rights
unsatisfactory.
(Drolet and Douville, 2013). There are many reasons that lead an employee to act this way,
but we must remember that they often depend as much on the employee (difficult
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personality, personal problems, etc.) as on the organization (vague rules, tolerance, etc.)
or the supervisor (unfair treatment of employees, etc.).
Even if only a tiny percentage of a company’s employees are truly difficult people who
resist any effort to change (Drolet and Douville, 2013), it happens quite frequently that an
employee fails to meet the organization's expectations, either occasionally or often. The
Toolbox below describes some of the typical characteristics of such an employee.
Toolbox
Characteristics of difficult employees
Unsatisfactory performance
Inappropriate behaviour
- Insufficient competencies and skills
~ Procrastination
~ Poor quality of work
- Insufficient quantityof work
- Insubordination
~ Lack of availability
- Frequent tardiness, overly long breaks,
unexcused absences
- Unpleasant attitude
- Personal conflicts
~ Caustic remarks about employer
or co-workers
~ Trouble working in a team
~ Sarcasm, intimidation, harassment
~ Work done thoughtlessly and too quickly
- Unsanctioned use of work tools for
~ Frequent and recurring mistakes
personal purposes
~ Pace of work too slow
~ Spying and information theft
~ Unconcemed by requirements and deadlines | - Lack of participation during meetings
~ Manipulation of information
~ Absence from strategic meetings
~ Non-compliance with rules and procedures
Source: Adapted fromM. Drolet and Douville (2013). C
Les Editions Transcontinental, p. 29-42.
gérerun
employe
difficile,M
bal,
Still, these individuals consume a large portion of their manager's time and energy. The
presence of a difficult employee in a group can result in many negative consequences.
Table 9.2 classifies these consequences into three categories: consequences for the
employee; those concerning the supervisor; and those that affect the rest of the group
(co-workers and even customers and suppliers). As a manager, you must intervene as soon
as an employee's behaviour or performance has a negative impact on his or her work or
that of others, or on the group.
Table 9.2
Possible consequences of non-compliance with norms
Consequences for the
difficult employee
~ Decreased productivity
- Poor performance evaluation
~ Loss of credibility within the team
- Stress
~ Warning, verbal or written
~ Suspension
~ Dismissal
Consequences for the supervisor
~ Wasted time
~ Too much attention given to the
difficult employee
- Too little attention given to other employees
~ Unfair treatment of employees
~ Stress
~ Decreased productivity
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Consequences for the group
~ Poor work climate
~ Imitation and spread of
unsatisfactory behaviours
| - Deterioration of situation
~ Stress
~ Increased absenteeism
~ Increased tumover
~ Decreased productivity
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However, the presence of difficult employees doesn’t only have its downsides. It also
reveals the level of permissiveness that exists in the company and obliges managers to be
more thorough (Drolet and Douville, 2013). In particular, it compels them to define and
communicate their expectations concerning performance and behaviour (see Chapter 7),
as well as to review their work methods and the way they intervene with employees.
9.2.1 Roles and responsibilities of the different players
If there is a risk of a negative impact, the manager must intervene before matters get worse.
This intervention, for which we will provide a framework in the coming pages, has
several objectives:
- Modify the objectionable behaviour;
- Recognize the satisfactory behaviour of other employees;
- Preserve group productivity;
- Maintain a stimulating atmosphere;
- Restore harmony to the group;
- Oversee the health and safety of the difficult employee and the group;
~ Respect the dignity and integrity of the difficult employee;
- Act in compliance with legislation and be able to justify your decisions, if required.
Although it is not a particularly agreeable task, managing difficult employees remains the
responsibility of the immediate supervisor Like Yasmine’s predecessor in the scenario at
the beginning of this chapter, often managers decide not to act, thinking that the situation
will improve on its own or that it is too late to do anything. Nothing could be further from
the truth! Inaction is not a solution; it only inflames the situation. On the other hand, action
— the right action at the right time — will help restore things to normal in most cases.
Managers do not have to intervene all on their own. There are many tools and resources
within the company that they can count on to support their actions.
Oo
- Managers do not have to intervene all on their own, There are many tools and resources
within the company that they can count on to support their actions.
~ Internal company policies and regulations are another indispensable source of information
when managing a difficult employee. If these regulations are vague, not well known or
not applied systematically and uniformly throughout the company, a manager's intervention will be all the trickier.
- In unionized companies, the collective agreement is also a tool that can be used to manage
difficult employees. It details what is acceptable and what is not, outlining steps that can
be taken to apply progressive sanctions.
External resources can also be called on:
- Charters and laws define the employer's obligations, as well as what the employer is
forbidden to do. For example, in Québec, Section 81.19 of the Act Respecting Labour
Standards obliges an employer to intervene to prevent psychological harassment. Let us
look again at Yasmine’s situation, presented at the beginning of this chapter. Knowing
that the employees were complaining about being constantly watched by Yolande, the
manager had an obligation to monitor the situation to prevent it from turning into harassment; this is a subject we will discuss in Chapter 10.
- When employees are experiencing personal problems that go beyond the limits of an
intervention by the company, a manager may refer them to external professional resources.
Even if managers can conjure up a host of reasons why they shouldn't intervene, they have
no choice: they must act. However, to be effective, the intervention must be carefully
planned. Before proposing a structured approach to intervention, let us take a look at
the guidelines.
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9.2.2 Framework for intervention
Recall that Section 2088 of the Québec Civil Code obliges the employee to “carry on his
work with prudence and diligence.” It is up to the manager to see that the work is done in
compliance with expectations, ask that changes be made if necessary, and apply sanctions
when required. The employee is bound to follow the employer's directives, as long as they
are reasonable and not inconsistent with public order.
Not complying with the obligation to perform work can lead to sanctions. There are two
kinds of sanctions, reflecting two different realities. Disciplinary action is taken when
there is a voluntary non-compliance with the obligation to perform work: objectionable
act, unsatisfactory behaviour, unacceptable attitude. Administrative action is taken when
there is involuntary non-compliance by the employee, for example due to professional
incompetence or physical or psychological inability. Note that in this chapter, we will deal
with disciplinary measures.
As a manager, you must understand that the application of sanctions is the last tool to be
used in employee management; however, it is a tool that you must be prepared to use if
the situation requires it. In all cases, the use of this tool must comply with a number of
rules, which are detailed in the following pages and summarized in Figure 9.2.
Disciplinary action
or measure
A sanction applied following
voluntary non-compliance with
the obligation to perform work
Administrative action
or measure
A sanction applied following
involuntary non-compliance by
the employee.
Progressive discipline
The principle of applying
increasingly serious disciplinary
sanctions for similar
misconduct as it is repeated.
Proper communication of information
As explained in Chapter 7, managers must clearly communicate
their expectations to employees. When employees’ behaviour is
objectionable or employees have not reached their performance
goals, you must inform them of this non-compliance, as well as the
consequences they are subject to if they make no changes.
However, even apparently clear rules are sometimes difficult to
understand because of managers’ tolerance or because instructions
are not always applied consistently across the organization; this is
the notion of prior tolerance.
Tolerance
Communication
of information
Tolerance
If a rule exists but is not applied or is applied randomly, employees
will find it difficult to know whether their conduct is tolerated or
not. Let's go back to the example at the beginning of this chapter:
Jean-Luc was letting Yolande get away without suffering any sanction. In fact, she may have thought, in good faith, that her behaviour
was not reprehensible. The mere existence of a rule, even a clear
one, is not enough to then assume that employees know what is
expected of them. Also, the rule must, in practice, be applied uniformly throughout the company.
Moreover, in order to exercise the power to impose sanctions in a
fair manner, another principle must be taken into account: that of
progressive discipline.
Progressive discipline
The purpose of progressive discipline, or graduated disciplinary
measures, is to give employees the possibility of correcting their
wrongful conduct. It is not a question of tolerating deviant behaviour, in other words closing your eyes and not saying anything. This
principle means that a first offence results in a less serious sanction
than a repeat offence.
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Intervention rules
249
Progressive
discipline
Proportionality of
sanction to offence
Circumstances
Manager’s
attitude
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If employees are unionized, progressive disciplinary measures may be stipulated in a clause
of the collective agreement. However, the concept of progressive discipline applies to all
work environments, whether employees are unionized or not
Although the principle of progressive discipline is commonly accepted, particular circumstances may at times justify not following this procedure, but instead immediately applying
the maximum sanction of dismissal. This is the case when the seriousness of the misconduct
requires an immediate severance of the employment relationship, usually due to a breakdown in the relationship of trust between the employer and the employee. Theft, fraud,
violence and criminal acts are all examples of this type of situation, as shown in the case
of Mr. Bragagnolo, described in the section below.
In the heart of the action
In his work as a mechanic, M. Bragagnolo goes to customers’
locations to do repairs. In order to be paid, he has to fill
out a time sheet showing his arrival and departure times.
His employer uses this information to bill customers for the
mechanic's services.
In October 2003, Don Martindale, the company general mana-
ger, noticed irregularities in Mr. Bragagnolo’s time sheets. For
example, his time sheet showed he was at a customer's location
in Lachine from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., but a gas receipt showed
that at 8:55 a.m., he was at a service station in the east end of
Montréal, not very far from his house. Twenty-two such irregularities were found between March 4 and October 23, 2003.
Don Martindale called M. Bragagnolo to his office and showed
him the results of the investigation, reminding him that he had
received a warning about this matter the preceding May. Mr.
Bragagnolo denied any intent to commit fraud. He admitted
that he didn’t follow company policy, but said that the time
spent picking up parts, as well as travel time, was distributed
among customers by changing his arrival times. As far as he
knew, all the mechanics did the same thing. Mr. Martindale
ionality
The principle under which
the severity of the sanction
applied is proportional to the
seriousness of the offence
committed.
indicated that these work methods were in no way honest
either for the customers or for the employer. He declared that
it constituted a breakdown in the relationship of trust and
fired him.
According to the Commission des relations du travail, although
it was proven and admitted that Mr. Bragagnolo had violated
the rules, there was no proof that he had done so for the purpose of stealing from the employer or cheating on the number
of hours worked. Thus there had been misconduct on the part
of the complainant, for which he should have been disciplined.
However, the appropriate sanction was not dismissal, especially because he performed quality work, no customers had
complained and the company knew about this practice, which
was common among the mechanics. There was no justification for not following the rule of progressive discipline. The
Commission replaced the dismissal with a five-day suspension.
Source: Adapted from Bragagnolo c. Camions industriels Yale-Montréal
Ltd, [2005] QCCRT
307 (Cantil), www.canlii.org/fr/qe/qcert/doc/2005/
200Sqcert307/2005Sqcert307
html.
An analysis of the preceding ruling reveals that a further important element must be
considered when applying a sanction — its proportionality in relationship to the seriousness of the offence.
Proportionality of sanction to offence
According to the rule of proportionality, the severity of the sanction applied should reflect
the seriousness of the offence committed or the employee's overall disciplinary file.
Otherwise, the sanction could be lifted or reversed if it is appealed. Thus, dismissal, which
is the ultimate sanction, can only be resorted to in the event of serious misconduct or
repeated offences.
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Circumstances
The example above also illustrates the fact that the decision to discipline an employee is
not made as an isolated event. All the circumstances involved in employees’ violations
must be taken into consideration, including their disciplinary file. For example, one would
deal differently with an employee who has a problem with alcoholism, which is considered
an illness, and an employee who shows up to work drunk after having imbibed too much
at a meal.
The means a company provides employees to enable them to attempt to make amends
must also be taken into account. A manager must examine all the factors in deciding what
disciplinary action is fair and reasonable, in other words what measure is appropriate based
on the circumstances.
The manager's attitude
Given the complexity of all the elements that must be taken into account, the attitude you
adopt is a crucial element in a disciplinary file. As a manager, you must first of all be
open-minded and certain that you have sound knowledge of all the facts before jumping
to conclusions.
You must also act fairly, namely taking into consideration the facts as well as previous
measures applied in similar circumstances, without letting your emotions get in the way.
Your intervention should not be based solely on general notions, but rather on precise
rules; it should not be done in the heat of the moment, but after careful thought; it should
be based on facts and observations, not on perceptions and value judgments.
9.2.3 Intervention process
Once these principles have been established, it is time to propose an intervention involving
several steps summarized in Figure 9.3. Now let’s go over each of these steps.
Figure 9.3
Steps in the intervention process
Documentation
of problem
Meeting with employee
Action plan
Corrected situation
No improvement
U
Maintenance plan
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Documenting the problem
Proceeding quickly to avoid a difficult situation degenerating further doesn’t mean you
have to act hastily. The most important step is to document the problem. This includes,
for example, examining the goals that were established, the means at the employee's
disposal for reaching the goals, and the unsatisfactory results achieved. Objective data,
such as frequency of errors, recurring unexcused absences or number of days late in
performing a job are relatively easy to collect. Also, write down the reasons employees
give to explain their inability to reach the objectives that have been set.
Inappropriate behavior may be more difficult to document because it is more subjective.
However, a manager must systematically keep track of all the incidents, taking care to note
circumstances, any witnesses and what each person said or did. An incident report, an
example of which is provided in Appendix 9.1 on page 273, must also contain precise details
such as the date and time of the event, The documentation must obviously include the
employee's version of what happened
To document a problem, you need to do more than track incidents related to the difficult
employee's behaviour or performance. You also need to collect information about the
context in which the incidents took place, especially the organizational context. Could the
problem be partly attributable to company policies or management practices? The list of
questions found in the Toolbox below will help you analyze certain organizational elements
that can be acted on to find a solution to the problem posed by a difficult employee.
Toolbox
Evaluation grid for management policies and practices
®
- Are your policies and work instructions clear and have they been
communicated to your employees?
- Have your employees been well trained to perform their tasks?
- Are performance standards clear?
- Do your employees know how to comply with standards?
- Do you evaluate your employees’ performance on a regular basis?
- Have major changes over the past years been planned so employees can adapt
easily and provide the same level of performance?
- Does your management style (communication, resp
motivation, f
tolerance, etc.) encourage consistent performance and behaviour in
ATaad
your employees?
- Do all employees comply with your regulations?
Source: Adapted from M. Drolet and Douville (2013). Cc
gérerun
employé
difficile,Me
i
Les Editions Transcontinental. p. 51.
You should also meet with other employees who may have been victims of their colleague's
actions (if there are any) as well as the whole team. This is a most delicate time for
supervisors, since they must show the team that the problem has not gone unnoticed and
is being looked into, but still not condemn the employee involved in the incident.
Meeting the employee
Once this preparatory work has been completed, you should not delay in meeting with
the employee to develop an action plan. If necessary, the meeting can be held with a
witness present. For example, managers may be accompanied by their immediate superior
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or someone from human resources; if employees are unionized, they may be accompanied
by their union steward, depending on the provisions of the collective agreement.
The purpose of this first meeting is not to reprimand the employee, but rather to find a
solution that would avoid the necessity of applying sanctions. This meeting thus has
several objectives:
- Explain to the employee why the situation is problematic and unacceptable;
- Gather additional information to understand the causes of the problem and to see if there
is a risk of the behaviour being repeated or persisting;
- Remind the employee of the organization's expectations and regulations;
- Identify objectives for improvement and ways to reach the objectives;
- Agree on a schedule and improvement indicators;
- Inform the employee of possible sanctions if the behaviour persists.
Action plan
The purpose of the meeting with the employee is to establish an action plan to correct the
behaviour or the performance. It is similar to the improvement plan that was dealt with in
Chapter 7. The content of the plan is specific to each situation. It depends on the nature
of the behaviour that needs to be corrected, the employee's abilities, the type of supervision,
etc. However, any action plan must provide precise, realistic objectives presented in concrete terms as observable, verifiable behaviours; you must be able to verify that the
objectives have been reached within a clearly defined time frame. Drolet and Douville
(2013) suggest some examples of objectives that reflect these characteristics. We have
summarized them in the Toolbox below.
Toolbox
Action plan objectives
-
Characteristics of
the objective
1. The objective has a
precise outcome.
;
xamples
You must be at your workstation at 8:30 a.m. during the current year. If you are going to be
late, you must; notify your supervisor by 8:00 a.m. at the latest and explain the reason for
your late arrival.
2. It deals with observable
actions on the part of the
employee.
We expect active and responsible participation on your part at meetings: speaking up,
finding solutions, suggestions, positive attitude and messages. No unjustified criticism of
any kind will be tolerated.
3. The degree of achievement
can be determined
By September 30, you will complete the eight health and safety files and hand them in to
the management office.
4. The deadline for achieving the | the project must be finished by Friday, June 8 at 9:00 a.m.
goal is precisely defined.
5. Itis realistic and achievable.
Since what we are asking of you is demanding, we will meet with you for 15 minutes every
other week to analyze how the project is progressing.
6. The attainment of the objective | you will have to present weekly progress reports in writing to the entire team.
can be verified.
7. The objective is a source
of motivation.
We ask that you evaluate the importance of your contribution within the team before our
upcoming meeting, next Monday.
Source: Adapted from Drolet and Douville (2013). Co.
gérer un
employs
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difficile, Me
al, Les Editions Transcontinental, p. 140-141.
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Your role as manager is to support employees. Start with the assumption that employees
are acting in good faith and will really make the necessary effort to straighten out the
situation. However, even if they have decided to succeed, employees will probably need
your assistance, especially if the undesirable behaviour has been going on for a long time;
bad habits are hard to change!
Even if the action plan produces the anticipated results and the difficult employee's behaviour or performance improves, the situation isn’t necessarily settled for good. You have to
meet with the employee on the date agreed upon in the action plan to review the situation.
This is the time to extend congratulations if the misconduct has ceased, and prepare a
new action plan to see that improvement continues. On the other hand, if no change has
been noticed in spite of the efforts you have made, the time has probably come to
apply sanctions.
9.2.4 Sanctions
As we have mentioned, disciplinary action is not the first option to consider in the case of
a difficult employee, but a manager will have to resort to sanctions if the action plan fails.
If it becomes clear that you have given the employee a reasonable chance to deal with the
problems and he/she has not shown any desire to remedy the situation, you have no other
choice but to start sanction proceedings.
At this point, it is obvious that the employee is having trouble changing his/her behaviour.
Imposing sanctions may cause a reaction and the employee may realize that you are serious
about the matter. Things may also be at a point of no return. You have to be particularly
vigilant and build a disciplinary file in case the problem degenerates and you have to go
as far as dismissing the employee, a last resort if the imposition of increasingly severe
disciplinary sanctions is not enough. When you have reached the conclusion that dismissal
is the only possible recourse, review the entire file one last time. Have you truly given the
employee every chance to mend his/her ways? It may be useful at this point to seek the
services of a legal advisor.
®
Dismissal is usually carried out in the course of an interview where you give the employee
a letter. During the interview, make certain you have someone with you who will remain
silent but can serve as a witness if necessary.
During the interview, your objective is to communicate the decision that has been made
and explain it; this is no longer the time for negotiating or finding a solution. Be brief and
firm. Present a clear review of the entire corrective procedure and summarize the efforts
you have made to resolve the problem with the employee's collaboration. Enumerate the
reasons that have led the company to make this decision, keeping to the facts and avoiding
accusations. Respect the emotions the employee is feeling and try, as much as possible,
to conclude on a positive note; for example, you could say you hope the employee will find
a more satisfying job.
At the end of the interview, give the employee a letter that records the conditions of his/
her departure. This letter should indicate:
- the termination date;
~ the notice of termination;
- amounts due (for example, balance of vacation pay, severance pay, etc.), as well as when
and how these amounts will be paid;
- date of last pay and record of employment;
- information concerning the company’s private pension plan;
- any other pertinent information (for example, date when the employee can return to pick
up personal belongings, if not already done; a letter of recommendation);
- the fact that this decision is irrevocable.
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Even if you have followed all the principles and covered all the steps involved in the proper
management of discipline, your decision may be contested, especially in the case of
a dismissal:
- If the employee is unionized, the union will lodge a grievance to contest the disciplinary
sanction; Chapter 3 analyzed the management of grievances.
- If the employee is not unionized, he/she may file a complaint with the Commission des
normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (Chapter 2). Once a complaint
has been filed, the Commission first conducts an investigation and then attempts to get
the employer and the employee to resolve their dispute. If there is no settlement, the
Commission refers the complaint immediately to the Commission des relations du travail.
The Commission hears the parties and renders a decision.
Contesting a disciplinary measure is part of an employee's rights; as a manager, you must
be prepared for this eventuality. However, the advice offered in this chapter will help you
reduce the risk of having your decisions amended or revoked by a grievance arbitrator or
a labour relations commissioner.
9.3 Resolving Conflicts Between Employees
In this second part of the chapter, the focus will be on the manager's intervention to help
others resolve their interpersonal conflicts (Figure 9.1). As a manager, your function
includes handling conflicts in which you are not directly involved, but which are your
responsibility because the conflict is among your subordinates. These may include conflicts
of interest, when there are not enough resources to meet all needs, or ethical or professional
conflicts, when the two sides are not adhering to the same values or ideology. In the
scenario at the beginning of this chapter, it is clear that Juanita and Yves are in conflict
because they have divergent preferences for their work methods. However, the crux of the
problem to be solved is not clear. For instance, we can only guess the reasons for Yves’
refusal to “lend” his resources to his colleague: does he believe that sharing these resources
will put him at a disadvantage? Or is he unhappy with the way the request was made (a
matter of principle or precedent)? Unfortunately, the dynamic that has developed between
Yves and Juanita since the triggering incident only obscures the motivations of both parties,
hindering a resolution.
9.3.1 Roles and responsibilities of the different players
One of the pillars of an effective organizational conflict resolution system is establishing
policies and a culture that promote resolution by the parties involved (without managerial
intervention) as early as possible and by taking an approach aimed at reconciling all
interests at stake. In this regard, organizations will benefit from educating employees about
this responsibility and providing them with training to enable them to fulfill it properly
(Runde and Flanagan, 2010). The section Jn the heart of the action on the next page, describes
the characteristics of an Informal Conflict Management System (ICMS) in the Canadian
public service.
However, when employees are unable to find a mutually acceptable solution among themselves, conflicts must be dealt with by the manager. If the organization is a large one, it
may seek the assistance of the human resources department or even an external consultant,
who can act in a neutral and objective manner. Even in such cases, the manager should
have a thorough knowledge of conflict management, to be able to select the right consultant
and supervise him/her during the intervention.
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In the heart of the action
Awell-designed, well-implemented ICMS:
~ creates a culture that encourages conflict resolution at the
lowest level through face-to-face dialogue between the
conflicted parties;
- offers informal processes for conflict resolution: resolution
by the parties, coaching, facilitation, mediation, conflict
- provides managers and employees with conflict management training to promote individual responsibility in
resolving conflicts quickly;
- provides procedures to allow employees to move from
formal processes (grievances, harassment complaints) to
an informal process without infringing on their right to return
to formal processes if they so wish;
-provides
multiple
access
points
(contacts)
that
allow
employees to quickly find a knowledgeable and trusted
person to provide advice about ICMS in their organization;
assessment, group intervention;
- provides structures that support training and multiple informal processes and incorporate effective conflict manage-
ment into the organization's daily activities.
Source: Adapted from www.canada.ca/fr/secretariat-conseil-tresor/services/travail-sain/systeme-gestion-informelle-conflits/quide-principaux$9)
CS
Je.
htmi#ftoc3.
\
Pear
9.3.2 Situations requiring the manager's intervention
Sound conflict management requires that the parties take into account all available information on possible solutions and together choose the one they consider best. Unfortunately,
for several reasons, conflicts have a tendency to intensify, which can hinder the search for
mutually acceptable solutions.
First, there is an asymmetry of information. The persons involved have their own vision
of the situation, which is influenced mainly by their own motivations. They hold only
incomplete information about the situation and the motivations of the other party. This
leaves room for interpretative biases that can aggravate the conflict. Communication does
not always succeed in clarifying the situation, as it can be distorted when the sender and
receiver of the message do not give the same meaning to a given word. This also applies
to non-verbal communication. Let us imagine two people in conflict who are suspicious
of each other. If one smiles at the other in order to be conciliatory, how will that smile be
perceived? Like a proffered hand? Probably not. The smile is just as likely to be perceived
as another provocation: “Now he’s making fun of me! “
—
Conflict
i escalation
-alati
Atrend sowere na esiagyres
sear adopted by lg
parties involved.
In the absence of a clear understanding of the problem, the parties in conflict are often closed
to the compromises that are necessary to end it. If each side is inclined to blame the other,
_ they will continue to face a brick wall, as they both expect the other to make concessions.
In the face of such an impasse, conflicts tend to intensify: this is called conflict escalation.
In such situations, the parties involved may adopt increasingly competitive behaviours in
order to break the deadlock. Less contentious tactics (e.g. presenting arguments) are aban| doned in favour of more contentious ones (e.g. making threats). If one party decides to
increase pressure on the other to extract concessions, it is very likely that the other will
respond in a similar way.
As aresult, the conflict worsens and the antagonists adopt a closed attitude by retrenching
instead of trying to better understand the problem and find mutually acceptable solutions,
much like Yves and Juanita in the example presented at the beginning of this chapter. They
are then demonstrating cognitive simplification, and their ideas tend to become fixed and
simplistic. They only see the ments of their own positions and cannot find justification for
the other's. In addition, as they interact, the parties involved in the conflict can experience
various emotions leading up to fierce hostility. The more the conflict escalates, the more
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the emotions will come out. All these factors (competitive behaviour, cognitive simplification, negative emotions) increase the likelihood that the escalation will continue.
The intensification of this spiral opens the way to increasingly radical threats and demands
(e.g. Juanita’s insults against Yves or his categorical refusal to work with her). This dynamic
can complicate the return to healthier discussions, as the parties lock themselves more
and more into their incompatible positions and refuse to recognize each other's legitimate
interests and seek conciliation. During an escalating conflict, the parties lose sight of the
primary objective, which was to protect their interests. Only one goal counts now: to destroy
the other. At this point, the players in such a conflict undoubtedly need help in negotiating
a solution. Here is where the manager can play a key role.
Below we will provide some advice on how to resolve conflicts between employees, as
well as possible solutions for situations that exceed the manager's responsibilities.
9.3.3 The intervention plan
As a manager, you will be responsible for defusing conflicts between your employees who
are in escalation mode. To do this, it is recommended that a three-step approach be
adopted: first, let emotions cool down; then help the parties understand the needs underlying the conflict; and finally, help them find solutions to meet each other's priorities. This
will create a context that is more conducive to collaboration and compromise.
Calm the emotions
During their interactions, the parties involved in a conflict will experience various emotions.
It's easy to imagine how Yves must have felt being called paranoid, or the frustration Juanita
experienced every time the progress of her work was blocked by Yves shutting her out.
As a third party, you can, as a first step, cool down the emotions of the parties directly
involved; for instance, you might propose a short delay before starting a collective discussion on the issues. This creates a more appropriate environment for communication and
facilitates the gathering of additional information. By encouraging the parties to verbalize
their emotions (frustration, anger, embarrassment, etc.) explicitly in a less tense setting
(e.g. in a private meeting), you can help them recognize the basic needs that are at the
root of their emotions. As described in the next step, the solution can only be built based
on needs that are identified.
Targeting needs and priorities
Secondly, you need to help the parties clarify the situation and define their needs and
concerns. Once the stakes have been defined, the manager must encourage the “opposing”
parties to identify their priorities. The key to success at this point is to draw up a list of
needs based on priorities. Then, the manager can use this list to create a favourable context
for compromise. Concentrating on priorities can provide a certain room to manoeuvre. If
one can't have it all, it is sometimes possible to satisfy one’s foremost needs. When managers succeed in establishing common goals, they can even help the parties adopt a collaborative approach to achieving these objectives.
Let's return to the situation with Juanita and Yves. It will be in Yasmine’s best interest to help
the two parties better understand why Juanita wants to consult Yves’ work resources and
why Yves is so strongly opposed to sharing them. If Yves fears that Juanita will steal customers from him, the manager should find out if that is actually her intention. If Juanita is
motivated more by a learning objective, both will find that their interests are much less
divergent than they initially thought. It’s possible that, among the issues raised, the parties
may have diverging but compatible priorities, For example, Yves may be dissatisfied with
the way the request was made or may be more concerned with his contact list than his files.
In this case, he may be open to sharing his files, provided Juanita is more attentive to how
she makes her requests or agrees not to contact Yves’ clients without his approval.
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As a manager, Yasmine can help the parties not only recognize the motivations underlying
the positions they hold, but also clarify some of their common needs, such as a healthy
and respectful work environment or work standards that promote individual and team
performance. Here, Yasmine can encourage the parties to seek a solution that is in the
general interest of the company and that does not set any negative precedent.
Encourage solution development
The third step is the search for solutions. In order to create a win-win situation, managers
must concentrate on priorities: how to meet the priority needs of the conflicting parties?
They must also keep an important principle in mind: reciprocity. Conflict resolution must
also involve give-and-take, where all the parties have to make concessions. The key to
success at this stage is to be firm about one's priorities, yet flexible in other respects. It
may help to explore other possible solutions and select the scenario that best satisfies
employee priorities,
Sometimes, the parties are incapable of resolving a conflict, or only reach a partial agreement. In these cases, managers must make the decision as required. Whatever the case,
impartiality is an essential condition for managers’ credibility and the success of their
intervention (Folger, Poole and Stutman, 2005). Unlike an external professional mediator,
managers must convince the parties involved that they (the manager) have no personal
interest in the conflict, but have to consider how the organization can function best. If the
decision process is impartial, the parties will find it much easier to accept the manager’s
decision, even if it is not as favourable for them as they would like.
9.3.4 Two other conflict resolution mechanisms
There are times when managers feel ill-prepared to deal with a conflict, either because
they don’t have the necessary competencies or because their neutrality and credibility
have been compromised. The conflict may be too complex for them to resolve. They may
also simply be unable to impose a solution, or the solution may have little chance of being
accepted if it has not been reached by consensus. If you find yourself in such a situation,
®
Mediation
You can call on a mediator. Mediation is a negotiation process assisted by a third party,
Anegotiation between the
_ similar to the intervention model detailed in the previous section. However, the mediator
apices behivee sie prareseh
cannot impose a solution: each party is free to accept or refuse the proposed solutions. As
Arbitration
Fi
ipa
aresult, there are times when it becomes impossible to resolve the conflict using this means
(Goodwin and Griffith, 2007).
tcl oraprsiarere
Arbitration, on the other hand, is the settlement of a dispute by a lay judge. Like a
an arbitrator for an award.
| mediator, an arbitrator is an impartial third party. The difference is that arbitrators decide
on the outcome of the conflict; their role is to make the final resolution (in other words,
decide who wins). This increases the likelihood that at least one of the parties will find the
result unsatisfactory. In addition, the decision taken may lead to a deterioration in the
quality of the relationship between the parties and a future escalation of the conflict; for
example, when an employee loses the grievance he or she has filed and seeks revenge.
In Québec, however, many labour conflicts are settled through arbitration, especially in
unionized environments where the Labour Code applies, when management and union
parties are unable to reach an agreement about the application or interpretation of the
collective agreement (Chapter 3). Arbitration can also be used in the event of a conflict
between an employer and an employee for the purposes of the Act Respecting Labour
Standards (see the first part of this chapter).
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Table 9.3
Advantages and limitations of conflict resolution processes
Process
Advantages
Limitations
~ Provides a satisfactory agreement for both parties (approach | - Requires parties to be committed to the process and show
based on defending interests)
Mediation
good faith
~ Procedure remains confidential
~ Encourages communication and information sharing
~ Parties control the outcome
~ Preserves or reinforces relationship between parties
~ No certainty of a resolution
~ Does not create precedents (agreement is confidential)
~ Application of rules that regulate the relationship between —_| - Can involve considerable cost
the parties (approach based on rights)
~ Ensures there is always a result, even if itis nota
~ Allows each party to present its evidence 7
satisfactory one
~ Guarantees an impartial procedure and decision
~ Decision is imposed
~ Results in a final, binding decision
- Can deteriorate the quality of the relationship
and encourage
an escalation of the conflict
Arbritation
Each of these options has advantages and limitations (Table 9.3). In general, you should
favour mediation over arbitration, as it helps to preserve the quality of the relationship
between the antagonists. However, arbitration is a mechanism that leads to a binding
decision, which sometimes helps to resolve the dispute once and for all.
In short, as a manager, you will sometimes be responsible for resolving conflicts between
your subordinates. It is in your best interest to adopt an approach focused on balancing
employee needs; this will create an environment conducive to ongoing collaboration. As
the case may be, you might have to resolve ongoing conflicts while ensuring the impartiality
of the process in light of the objectives of the organization as a whole. In situations that
are beyond your abilities or area of responsibility, you may have to call on external players
(a mediator or professional arbitrator). Giving full consideration to the nature of the conflict
and to your objectives will help you choose between these options.
9.4 Redressing Conflictual Group Dynamics
The causes of conflict cannot always be attributed to a single person or to a dispute between
two people, Let us return to the case of the customer service department described at the
beginning of the chapter. Employee dissatisfaction with the way files are being assigned
has become a source of conflict. Despite the tensions, blame cannot be placed on a particular rule or a procedural shortcoming, because decisions have always been made
informally. Now imagine another environment, one in which there have been many examples of poor behaviour, even a lack of civility. Despite the discomfort of some employees,
itis not clear whether this situation has gone too far, as there has never been any discussion
of the working climate in this organization. In these two examples, it is not possible to
identify either a difficult person or a clear case of conflict between two people: the entire
group bears responsibility for the current climate. Instead we have a situation of a
conflictual group dynamic.
.
7
.
.
.
To determine the factors that feed this dynamic, we need to review the basic elements of
group organization. There may be a certain laxness in the work structure. For example, if
tasks are poorly defined, there is a risk that employees may feel their area of responsibility
is being encroached upon, or that the other person is not doing what is expected of them.
It may also be a workplace that lacks clear decision-making criteria. Some employees expect
mandates to be allocated on a rotational basis while the coordinator is actually distributing
them according to some other obscure criteria. Since the correct way of working has never
been explicitly discussed, the employees are understandably frustrated.
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Conflictual group dynamic
The interpersonal tensions that
can emerge and develop within
3 group.
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There may be a number of reasons to explain the shortcomings in work planning, or the
absence of behavioural norms or decision-making criteria. Perhaps the manager never
took the time to clarify things. Perhaps expansion of the group has upset an informal way
of working that was adequate at one time, but no longer meets the needs of a larger team
or the reality of more complex tasks. Perhaps the problem is a new person who has difficulty
adapting to an organizational culture based on unspoken rules.
The strategy for defusing sources of conflict is to talk very clearly about the ambiguity
surrounding tasks, or behavioural expectations, or decision-making criteria. The topics of
discussion will vary depending on the underlying problem. To facilitate analysis of a problematic dynamic, these factors can be divided into four sources of conflict:
- Poorly defined roles and responsibilities
- Absence of decision-making rules
- Disparity between management style and employee expectations
- Lack of collegiality in relationships
9.4.1 Roles and responsibilities of the different players
The prevention or remediation of a conflictual team dynamic depends largely on the
manager's leadership. First, as a manager, you must be able to recognize the symptoms of
a problem. The main ones are listed in the Toolbox below. Unfortunately, in the whirlwind
of deadlines and emergencies to be addressed, warning signs often go unnoticed until the
conflictual situation becomes significant.
Once a dysfunctional climate has been identified, the manager (with the assistance of
human resources if necessary) must determine what aspect of the dynamic is feeding this
climate: division of tasks, decision-making policies, leadership style or inter-employee
relations. In the case of the department under Yasmine’s supervision (see the scenario at
the beginning of this chapter), the custom of “first come, first
served” is what is causing tensions.
®
While conflicts related to decision-making tasks and policies
are relatively easy to identify, conflicts associated with
employee expectations are not. Indeed, the employees may
have the impression that their expectations are shared by all
and that the tension derives from the fact that some people
are deliberately contravening them. In reality, expectations
are often unconscious and unspoken. Managers must therefore
be proactive in this area.
Toolbox
Main symptoms of a conflictual group dynamic
- Allegations of bias or favouritism
= Abnormally high turnover rate
- Departure of good employees
- Gossip and harassment complaints
- Employee demotivation
As a manager, you will need to clarify or even rectify organizational laxness and establish group norms. For example, you
could review everyone's job descriptions to ensure there is
no overlap. It might also be beneficial to consult and involve
employees in the process. They will more easily accept changes if they feel they are playing an active role in decisions affecting the team. Among the
consultation strategies that could be considered are strategy sessions with the employees
to discuss each other's expectations and formulate group standards. The HR department
can help you clarify the tasks or take the lead in organizing discussion groups.
Employees can play a key role in resolving conflicts. Often, the effort to improve a conflictual climate begins with the airing of complaints or denunciations. Whistleblowers are
sometimes necessary when management is disconnected from its employees: they can
have an important role to play in shedding light on what is wrong. They must also be open
and clear about their concerns and expectations so that managers can make informed
decisions. Moreover, the successful implementation of changes will depend in part on the
commitment of the employees to helping remediation efforts. While the manager is responsible for laying the foundations for a harmonious climate, it goes without saying that it is
everyone's business to help maintain that climate.
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In the heart of the action
Gabriella and Romain are programmers at DanaSoft, a growing
information technology company. They are working on a
project under the supervision of Josianne, who is the project
manager. The project must be completed within a very short
time frame, which means that everyone is under pressure.
Recently, the two programmers have been having major disagreements. Romain has accused Gabriella of not completing
her tasks, which is slowing him down when he has to integrate
his work with hers. Romain says that not all the programming
She thinks everything will be fine, but Gabriella has now
complained that Romain is harassing her and she is even
threatening to file a complaint with HR. Josianne has called
them in to talk about the situation before it’s too late.
She quickly turns the discussion away from mutual blame to
examining work organization. As she is talking, she realizes
that the division of tasks between Gabriella and Romain has
several grey areas. In addition, the coding instructions are
not clear enough, which undermines their ability to integrate
codes are compliant, forcing him to redo some of the work.
their work. After revising their tasks and instructions, Josianne
Gabriella says that she has been following Josianne’s instructions. According to her, Romain is looking for a scapegoat to
cover up his inefficiency.
feels that the programmers will be able to focus their energy
more on their programming and that the work environment
should improve.
Since the stress level is high anyway due to the deadlines,
Josianne is not paying too much attention to the situation.
9.4.2 Clarification of tasks and responsibilities
When dealing with a conflictual group dynamic, one of the first things to analyze is the
distribution of tasks and responsibilities. Among the classic conflict factors is a lack of
organizational clarity around tasks. This can fuel frustration and encourage employees to
attribute bad intentions to their colleagues, as illustrated by Gabriella and Romain’s case in
the section above.
Organizational looseness can take many forms. First, there may be a problem with the
division of labour when more than one employee believes he or she is responsible for one
of the tasks. This not only results in work duplication, but also in comments such as “he's
interfering in my work” or “he wants to steal my job.” Orphan tasks are another difficulty:
if some tasks are not carried out, people look for culprits. Often, colleagues accuse one
another of laziness or incompetence.
There may also be confusion about the priority level of tasks. When the prioritization of
tasks is left to the discretion of employees, each person sets priorities based on their own
concerns, But what is important for one person is not necessarily important for another.
In situations of interdependence, when one person has to wait for someone else, impatience
can lead to conflict.
There may be some confusion about hierarchical relationships.
Who has the authority to assign tasks and who can evaluate
the performance in accomplishing them? When the chain of
command is unclear, some people may start to act as supervisors, much to the displeasure of others. Accusations such
as “you're not my boss” can inflame a tense situation. The
Toolbox on the right summarizes the elements to consider
when planning tasks with a view to avoiding conflicts.
The first step in clarifying work organization is to make an
inventory of the tasks required to carry out a project or work.
Maintaining a good overview of all tasks enables you to better
assess how to distribute them and avoid a build-up of
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Toolbox
Elements of task planning to prevent conflicts
- List of tasks and connections between them
- Clear assignment of tasks to employees
- Well-defined prioritization of tasks
- Designation of persons responsible for each task
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discontent in certain employees, as well as the feeling that they are doing more than others.
In addition, you will probably prevent gossip resulting from a lack of understanding of
everyone's responsibilities.
Then, you need to distribute the tasks among the employees in such a way as to cover the
whole project or work assignment. Each team member must know who is doing what to
avoid encroaching on each other's tasks. When they all have a clear understanding of the
interdependencies between them, it helps employees in assuming their own responsibilities,
thus avoiding unduly delaying their colleagues and jeopardizing the chain of operations.
The prioritization of tasks and communication of priorities are also levers for conflict
prevention. Having common priorities makes it possible to determine the order in which
the tasks will be carried out. Instead of being criticized, or worse, being accused of slowing
down the work of others, employees will be able to coordinate their work based on these
common priorities.
Lastly, it is important to determine who is responsible for the project or work. In order to
counter the tendency of some people to act as if they have authority, it is essential that
reporting relationships be clear and well defined.
9.4.3 Establishing decision-making policies
Many conflict situations are rooted in the perception that there is unfairness in the distribution
of tasks, schedules and resources. This is often the case when the distribution is not governed
by clear and well communicated rules. In the scenario presented at the beginning of this
chapter, we can see that the absence of rules for assigning customer complaints is at the
root of many tensions. Rightly or wrongly, there may be a perception of injustice that is
fuelling the frustration and conflict.
Some tasks are more enjoyable than others. There is a problem when employees feel that
tasks are not distributed fairly. Are the standards and criteria used known to all? Are the
choices being made based on political games? Is it always the same people who get the
more agreeable tasks? When employees feel that tasks are being distributed arbitrarily,
the resentment caused can be a source of dissatisfaction, demotivation, gossip and
even conflict.
®
It is therefore important that you make the work assignment process objective in order to
establish a sense of fairness. The manager must be able to explain the choices, and employees must be able to anticipate them using the criteria given. The more predictable the
choices, the less frustration and gossip there will be. Be careful, though: establishing clear
policies is not enough. For example, saying that tasks will be distributed based on seniority
can be problematic if in practice it means that the same employees will always have an
advantage. For young recruits, it can be frustrating to have to wait for all the old ones to
leave before being given stimulating tasks.
The criteria for distribution must therefore make possible a degree of rotation so that
everyone has the chance to be assigned challenging tasks and the least valued tasks don't
always fall to the same people. In the case of Yasmine, in the scenario at the beginning of
this chapter, simply implementing a rule to spread around the complex cases would prevent
the same people from always having to deal with these situations. This would reduce
frustration and conflict.
Obviously, the complexity of the tasks and the experience of the employees must be taken
into account. Ultimately, the work must be carried out efficiently. However, it is important
to give everyone a chance to develop their skills in order to be able to accomplish these
tasks in the long run. Employees will accept that access to certain tasks and resources may
be temporarily limited if they are confident they will be assigned them in the relatively near
future. On the other hand, if rotation is not possible or can only be partial, the sense of
unfairness could be mitigated by compensatory measures for those whose tasks are harder
or less interesting.
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In Yasmine'’s situation, described at the beginning of this chapter, the decision-making
policy could be accompanied by training in the handling of difficult cases. Bonuses could
even be introduced for handling these cases in order to make them more attractive.
In a unionized environment, the collective agreement may make it difficult to alter the way
tasks or resources are distributed. For instance, the seniority rule may be called into
question by younger employees. In such cases, the allocation rules must be reviewed in
concert with the union. Although a complex process, making adjustments that will improve
the working climate could be possible in the long term.
The same reasoning can be applied to the allocation of material and financial resources.
Is it always the same people who have access to the latest equipment or who get training
outside the office? Again, when employees feel that political games determine who receives
privileges, there is a risk of conflict.
When establishing decision-making policies, you can consult with your employees to ensure
you have a clear understanding of their expectations. The idea is to take this into account
while maintaining efficiency. In general, a good policy should contain the following elements:
- Establishing the minimum competencies required to successfully complete tasks
- Introducing a rotation mechanism that includes all persons eligible for tasks
- Planning a training strategy for those who do not have the minimum competencies
The aim here is not to give everyone a strictly equal chance to have access to challenging
tasks, or attractive schedules or resources. Whether we like it or not, seniority and merit
are factors to be considered. However, it is important to ensure that the most appealing
types of work are not the exclusive domain of certain employees.
9.4.4 Balancing leadership style and employee expectations
A mismatch between a group's expectations and the manager's leadership style can often be
a source of conflict. Imagine an autocratic leader among professionals who are used to working
independently. Or the opposite: an undisciplined team supervised by a lax manager. In the first
case, the employees will complain about “micromanagement,” and in the second, about a lack
of leadership. These examples illustrate the disparity between the needs of employees and the
manager's leadership style.
In the scenario presented at the beginning of this chapter, Yasmine was replacing a manager
who had a rather easy-going style. How will employees welcome a new manager who has been
brought in to rectify the situation? This example illustrates the importance of having a straight
discussion about the expectations of both the manager and the employees regarding the style
of leadership, This would facilitate Yasmine'’s integration as the new Customer Service Manager.
You don't necessarily have to change your style radically to please your employees. Rather,
you should have an open discussion with them about their expectations and yours regarding
the style of leadership. In the light of these discussions, adjustments can be possible on both
sides, When there is a fit between the management style and the employees’ expectations, the
team can more easily adhere to the way their manager works,
This type of discussion is particularly important when a manager replaces one that was
well liked. Will the employees be constantly making comparisons with the old management
style? Dialogue is also crucial when a manager is hired to straighten out a dysfunctional
department. It is essential that the managerial mandate be clearly communicated to all
employees, otherwise the manager could be accused of being a dictator when simply
performing the tasks he/she was hired to do.
Some employee expectations of a manager may be unrealistic, such as asking to manage
their own schedules and tasks completely independently. Nevertheless, discussing these
expectations, taking them on board or explaining why they cannot be met will reduce the
risk of misunderstanding and frustration. Discussions can deal with the degree of supervision and autonomy, performance expectations, amount of employee consultation, etc.
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In general, most employee expectations of a manager include the following elements:
- Clear instructions for the work to be done
- Acertain autonomy in the performance of their work
- Information on things that concern them
- Recognition for a job well done (Chapter 11).
9.4.5 Discussions about group standards
In the workplace, employees are often interdependent. When the performance of one
person's work affects the performance of another's, the risk of conflict grows. Working
side by side can create tensions because each person has different expectations about how
to interact with the other. What is acceptable professional behaviour? What is the expected
level of collaboration? The answers to these questions constitute the group's operating
standards. A group without common standards is more likely to experience conflict, as
more misunderstandings and unfulfilled expectations can arise. It is important to discuss
these standards explicitly and build a consensus on how the group should operate.
If a manager does not clearly express his/her expectations about behaviours that are
unacceptable, such as insulting other colleagues, politeness is less likely to become a
common value. Improper behaviours will go unreported by the manager or employees. If,
on the other hand, the manager has explicitly stated that politeness is an important value,
employees will feel entitled to speak up about unacceptable conduct.
In organizations where employee adherence to standards is important, it is wise to use a
deliberative approach. In this way, the manager can set out behavioural norms in a group,
i.e, with his employees. Then a code of behaviour can be established, consisting of clearly
defined group norms.
The advantage of developing a code of conduct collectively is that there will be greater
employee adherence to the standards. And you, as a manager, will have more legitimacy
when the time comes to intervene to reframe behaviours that contravene standards. A
code of conduct that benefits from the support of the members of a group has a
self-regulatory effect in managing any lack of civility. In the section below, the case of
Réjean Lamoureux illustrates this point.
®
In the heart of the action
Réjean Lamoureux is a coordinator of a sales team. Once
again, the team meeting left him with a bitter taste in his
mouth. Although the results were satisfactory, the atmosphere
during the meeting was not very pleasant. These meetings
often generate conflicts.
Marco, the best salesperson, has once again denigrated his
colleagues, especially those with the worst results. Although
he claims to do this to «whip them a bit» so they're more productive, the effect is quite the opposite. Moreover, a number of
people, fearing Marco’s mood swings, come to the meetings
late. This annoys Sonia, who feels that they're wasting her time.
She's not entirely wrong. Some of the salespeople step out
of the meetings to answer calls, which leads to a breakdown
in discussions.
strong-minded individuals, and he doesn't really have any
formal authority. In addition, these bad
habits have been
going on for a long time. He decides to seek the help of the
HR department.
The Director organizes a strategic retreat with Réjean to discuss the conduct of the meetings. During the retreat, certain
employees talk about their frustrations, but also about their
expectations. This is an opportunity to agree on rules of punctuality, civility and discussion management. All agree to work
hard to meet the commitments made in order to hold more
efficient and satisfactory meetings. The group is still made up
of strong-minded individuals, but the discussions take place
in a more respectful environment. The meetings no longer
generate frustration or conflict.
Given the team’s general dissatisfaction with the meetings,
Réjean feels rather disheartened. The team is made up of
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Some of the terms to use when setting out group standards include: positive attitude,
punctuality, cleanliness, quick response to emails, peace of mind, etc. These words may
sound trivial, but it is often minor issues or unfulfilled expectations about these considerations that undermine a work environment. A code of conduct must, especially, contain
the following elements:
- List of behaviours to adopt and avoid
- Concrete examples to illustrate behaviours
- Actions to be taken in the event of repeated lack of civility
Of course, first and foremost, managers must set an example. If they are not polite when
talking to their employees, how can they expect a different standard from them? Employees’
expectations of each other should also be discussed openly.
What is the expected level of collaboration? What is the
desired degree of interdependence in the performance of
tasks? If employees have different expectations, but are not
aware of them, there is a risk of conflict.
Toolbox
Points that need to be discussed to promote
Imagine that you have an employee who prefers to work alone
‘ collat
a
rast
:
while another prefers to work in a team. It is likely that the
latter will regard the former as someone who doesn’t want to
- Conduct of meetings (punctuality, respect,
be part of the team. Perhaps there will be some criticism of
consensus-building, etc.)
this employee among colleagues. This is an example of the
- Communication and dissemination of information
importance of talking about expectations, since they constiamong colleagues
tute the operating standards of a group. Only when they are
- Respect for commitments made to colleagues
discussed openly can we hope to find a common ground that
~ Mutual assistance in the event of work overload
is suitable for everyone. The Toolbox on the right outlines the
- Confidentiality and cessation of gossip
points to be discussed to encourage good collaboration
among employees.
9.4.6 Maintaining a climate of harmony
Since organizations are constantly changing (new processes, new employees, etc.),
managers must be aware that the clarification of group roles and standards must be done
at regular intervals. It is not a question of constantly reviewing the organization of work
and the group, but rather of adopting a preventive attitude. This will be particularly
important in the following situations:
- Overall restructuring of the organization or working methods
- Merger and acquisition between two companies with different cultures
- Change of leadership
- Arrival of employees with a different culture (ethnic group, age, etc.)
Each of these situations is conducive to one of the four conflict group dynamics described
earlier in this section. Table 9.4 summarizes the various recovery strategies by issue. In
all cases, an informed manager will incorporate the following two rules into their interventions.
First, the manager must take the time to consult with employees to address their concerns.
Taking into consideration several points of view allows for more effective solutions. In
addition, the more employees feel included, the more they will abide by the manager's
decisions and actions. In short, since group cohesion is one of the objectives of conflict
management, the wise leader will make sure to consult his or her employees.
Second, the manager must be transparent in explaining the choices that are made in
reorganizing tasks and establishing decision criteria. If employees understand the big
picture, the constraints and the aims of these choices, there will be less resistance and
gossip. By respecting the above principles, you can ensure that the work climate and the
manager's leadership will improve.
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Table 9.4
Overview of conflict resolution situations
Symptoms
Risk factors
~ Non-optimal distribution of tasks
Reprimands
(duplication, orphan tasks)
‘don't interf
mavorere
with other
people's1_ | ~ lack of clearand shared priorities
work; you're not
icone
doing your job)
Criticisms of the
Resolution strategies
~ Clarify tasks and interactions
between them
Intervention
logic
~ Know who does what and what tasks
are part of a chain of operations
~ Establish common priorities
~ Have common rules for deciding on
- Confusion about
hierarchical relationships
- Define responsibilities and chain
of command
~ Know the limits of your authority
over others
~ Arbitrary assignment of tasks
Or resources
~ Establish decision-making rules that | - Be able to explain the division of
meet objective criteria
tasks with objective criteria
ras
the priority of tasks
distribution of
tasks and resources
~ No rotation in the allocation of tasks | - Set up a rotation mechanism
:
or resources
~ Provide training
~ Give everyone the opportunity
to access value-added tasks
and resources
Challenging
the manager's
leadershi
I
jendorsep iyte
~ Disparity between employee
~ Discuss employee expectations
expectations and management style | and needs
~ Match management style with
employee expectations to promote
employee engagement with
the leader
~ Lack of civility, harassment
~ Establish a code of conduct
= Ensure group self-regulation
through a clear definition of
unacceptable behaviour and
expected conduct
- Little collaboration
- Establish a consensus on the level of | - Develop a team spirit with
cooperation expected
clear expectations regarding
mutual support
Lack of collegiality
in relationships
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No matter how talented you are, it will be impossible for you to avoid all conflict in your
professional capacity as a manager. Like it or not, and no matter how we define it, conflict
is part of life in any organization. Sources of conflict — contextual, organizational or
interpersonal — abound. In organizations, conflicts can have both negative and positive
outcomes. How one deals with conflict determines whether the consequences turn out to
be positive or negative; managers thus have a key role. Depending on the strategies they
select, managers will either help to prevent and defuse conflicts or contribute to escalating
them, creating a poor work climate. You will find a summary of the chapter in Figure 9.4.
Figure 9.4 The manager and conflict management
Essential Knowledge
HRM tools available
Pitfalls or mistakes to avoid
— Previous discipline practices in
the company
— Principle of progressive discipline
— Steps in intervention
— Factors contributing to an escalation
of the conflict
—
—
—
—
— Believing that working with a difficult
employee will take too much energy
to be worth it.
Believing that employers can
discipline their employees as
Job description
Performance evaluation form
Company regulations and policies
Collective agreement
they wish, because this is part of
— Intervention strategy focused on
reconciling interests
Roles and responsi
of the manager
— Rapid intervention if behaviour or
performance is unsatisfactory
— Development of and action plan in
conjunction with the employee
— Follow-up with employee
— Application of disciplinary measures,
if necessary
— Identifying interpersonal conflicts
that are in escalation mode, and
intervention
The manager
and the management
of discipline and
conflicts
management's rights.
Thinking that any conflict between
employees is negative.
Thinking that every conflict requires
intervention by the manager.
Believing that a conflict in escalation
mode will resolve itself over time
without the manager's intervention.
Help from HR department
Roles of other players
— Consult a lawyer to make certain a
disciplinary dossier is legal
— Use previous grievance arbitration
to improve intemal policies or their
— Writing letters
— Training of employees in conflict
resolution
= Training of managers in intervention
strategies
application
— Seek professional help from outside
the company
(ex.: psychologist)
— Use of mediation or arbitration to
resolve a conflict
CHAPTER 9 MANAGING DISCIPLINE AND CONFLICT
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Are You
Ready?
1. What are the guidelines for disciplinary action?
As a manager, you not only have the right, but also the duty to act if an employee's
behaviour affects his or her work, or that of colleague's or the group dynamic. This does
not mean, however, that you can intervene in any way. Your actions must follow the
principles of disclosure, tolerance, gradation, fairness and the proportionality of sanctions.
See section 9.2.
2. How do we define conflict situations ?
Many terms are used to describe a conflict situation (dispute, misunderstanding, quarrel,
disagreement, argument, conflict). Conflict is usually defined as a process generated by a
real or perceived divergence (of interests, values, opinions) between two or more interdependent and interacting parties who attribute responsibility for the conflict to each other,
who are generally experiencing strong emotions and whose behaviour affects productivity
or the work environment. Conflicts are also considered to be situations where performance
and the work climate are disrupted either by an individual who refuses to conform to
expected standards or by an unhealthy group dynamic.
Oy
See section 9.1.
3. What conflict situations require action by the manager?
An effective conflict management culture encourages employees to resolve their interpersonal conflicts themselves, by promoting the sharing of information about their interests
and by using sound management of their emotional reactions in order to achieve a good
compromise (give and take). If poorly managed, the conflict will tend to intensify: this is
called conflict escalation. Such a conflict is characterized by an increasing number of
competitive behaviours, by a cognitive simplification of the problem to be resolved and by
emotional injuries that fuel the fire. You must be able to recognize conflicts that are in
escalation mode and intervene in order to help the parties find a solution.
See sections 9.3.1 and 9.3.2.
4. How do you act as a third party in managing the conflict
resolution process between two employees?
To defuse conflicts that could arise between employees, managers can use a three-step
procedure. First, they should pay attention to emotions. They need to choose the right
time to start discussing the problem in order to let the strongest emotions subside, or to
find a more favourable environment. Next, they must help the parties clarify the situation
and identify their needs and concerns The third step is to help employees analyze various
solutions and select those that meet their priorities (while respecting the interests of the
organization), so that a compromise can be reached (give-and-take). If the parties are
unable to settle the conflict, managers may have to make the decision. If necessary, they
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can direct the parties to another resource, for example human resources services or even
an external consultant, who can use alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation
or arbitration.
See sections 9.3.3 and 9.3.4.
5. How can conflicts be defused by clarifying roles, tasks and
decision-making processes?
Managers must first identify the tasks and decisions that have been at the root of the
emerging conflicts. Then, it may be appropriate to ask employees to explain their concerns,
as well as their suggestions related to the problem. Lastly, managers must address the
organizational uncertainty by clarifying roles, tasks and the decision-making processes.
In doing so, they must ensure fairness by respecting the collective agreement (if applicable),
laws and customs. They must also ensure that, in the end, it is not always the same people
who get the unpleasant tasks. If necessary, managers may consider setting up training to
develop employees’ competencies (so they will then have access to the sought-after tasks),
or compensatory mechanisms to mitigate the negative effects of less desirable tasks.
See sections 9.4.1 and 9.4.2.
6. How can conflicts be prevented by reconciling expectations?
Expectations are often unspoken. Thus, to reconcile them, they must first be expressed,
so they can be discussed. Conflicts resulting from unmet expectations often involve the
workings of a group or the behaviours of individuals. They are therefore not necessarily
associated with the accomplishment of tasks; more often than not, they are related to
working together. A useful tactic in this area is to organize a strategic retreat to discuss
expectations and especially to agree on how to coexist peacefully. Sometimes, a discussion
like this can lead to the establishment of a code of conduct.
See section 9.4.4.
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On
Your
Mark,
Get Set...
. There are many reasons that lead an employee to exhibit unsatisfactory behaviour.
Name one that concerns the organization and one that concerns the supervisor.
2
IS
-_
Review!
The presence of a difficult employee in a group can create negative consequences.
Name two that affect the employee, two that deal with the supervisor and two that
have an impact on the work group.
What are the goals of an intervention with a difficult employee?
WH
Why should a manager favour a conflict resolution approach to
reconciling interests?
=
How should a manager address the issue of the impartiality of the
intervention process?
=
Mediation and arbitration are two other methods of conflict management. How are
they different and how do you choose between them?
i
Co
@
. Should we intervene in every conflict situation? Justify your answer.
&
MyBookshelf> My elab > Documents
> Review Questions Answer Key
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Employees of an organization regularly complain that their colleagues are not doing
their jobs. Blame and accusations of laziness are common. Formulate three theories
that could explain the origin of this conflict dynamic.
Anew manager's leadership is not accepted by all employees. What should be done
to prevent conflicts?
10.A code of conduct has a function, beyond symbolic, in restoring a group dynamic.
What is that function?
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Your Turn!
Asa conflict management consultant, you are given a mandate by Luc Marcotte, President
and Chief Executive Officer of the office building management company Gestior. He
explains the situation to you.
Gestior employs five janitors who are in charge of maintenance for a group of buildings
located in downtown Montreal. However, for several years, Luc has felt that this team has
not been giving him full satisfaction. The competency of the maintenance employees is
not an issue, but they have a poor attitude. A number of tenants have complained that
janitors are unruly, rude and address everyone by their first name. The work climate is
dysfunctional: there are several clashes between janitors. Some even claim there is a culture
of intimidation in the work environment.
The case of Jocelyn Dupond is of particular concern to Luc. Jocelyn has been with Gestior
for over 10 years, is the most senior janitor, and his influence over his colleagues is undeniable. He is the informal leader of the group. However, Luc has heard some tenants describe
Jocelyn's presence as intrusive, even threatening, for the female staff. He therefore decided
to meet with him to inform him that his familiarity with the tenants and his intrusive
behaviour were unacceptable.
A few days after this meeting, five laptops were stolen from one of the tenants, a company
called Imagine. A surveillance camera filmed the thieves during this robbery, and a police
investigation is underway. Jocelyn is a suspect. Luc tells you that he recognized him on
the video and maintains that several tenants, as well as employees of Imagine, are of the
same opinion.
However, according to the investigating detective, the video does not conclusively confirm
that Jocelyn Dupond is the thief. She concludes her report as follows: “In this case, there
is no evidence to link the suspect to the theft. Witnesses testified that they had watched
the video from the surveillance camera and thought they recognized Mr. Dupond, but they
were not sure enough to be able to testify in court. The suspect was questioned and denied
being involved in the robbery. For these reasons, the file will be closed. “
A few weeks after this incident, Luc met with Jocelyn and informed him of his dismissal
by giving him a letter. Here is an excerpt: “We hereby inform you that, following the reprehensible conduct we reported a few weeks ago, we are obliged to terminate your employment relationship with Gestior. “
Luc tells you that Jocelyn was not fired for theft or incompetence, but because of his
unacceptable behaviour and the broken relationship of trust with the tenants. He says that
Jocelyn Dupond is the informal leader of the janitors’ group and that his behaviour encourages his colleagues to follow suit.
Luc tells you that with this dismissal he thought he had solved the problems of lack of
discipline and rudeness within the group of janitors. However, in the weeks after Jocelyn’s
departure, the situation has not improved. Luc has received several more complaints from
tenants of the buildings regarding the inappropriate behaviour of some janitors. Others
came to tell him that the janitors spent too much time chatting with the tenants. In addition,
relations between janitors do not seem to be any better than before. Some no longer even
greet each other, and one of the janitors asked not to be paired with another person.
To add to his worries, Luc has just received a letter from the Commission des relations du
travail du Québec informing him that Jocelyn is challenging his dismissal. He claims to have
been dismissed without just and sufficient cause.
CHAPTER 9 MANAGING DISCIPLINE AND CONFLICT
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|
Questions
Luc Marcotte is asking you...
1) ... to assist him in assessing his chances of success with the Commission des relations
du travail du Québec.
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of his management of Jocelyn
Dupond’s case?
- Should he seek an amicable settlement with Mr. Dupond or plead his case before
a commissioner?
2) ... to prepare a plan to address the conflict dynamics of the maintenance team.
- What are the risk factors here?
- What strategies would be useful to prevent these conflicts?
References
DeChurch, L. A., Hamilton, K. L., and Haas, C. (2007). Effects of conflict management
strategies on perceptions of intragroup conflict, Group Dynamics : Theory, Research, and
Practice, 11(1), 66-78.
Drolet, M., and Douville, M-J. (2013). Comment gérer un employé difficile, Montréal, Les
Editions Transcontinental.
Folger, J. P., Poole, M. S., and Stutman, R. K. (2005). Working Through Conflict : Strategies
for Relationships, Groups, and Organizations, 5* édition, Boston, Pearson Education.
Goodwin, C., and Griffith, . B. (2007). The Conflict Survival Kit : Tools for Resolving Conflict
at Work, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Pearson Prentice Hall.
Lemelin, M. and Rojot, J. (1999). La gestion des conflits organisationnels et des autres
rapports, dans Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, Manuel de gestion, (p. 365-386),
Paris: Ellipses/AUF,
Runde, C. E., and Flanagan, T. A.(2010). Developing Your Conflict Competence : A Hands-On
Guide for Leaders, Managers, Facilitators, and Teams, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.
ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, MANAGE!
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ZEEE
AA
Appendix 9.1
AZ
A
AA
A
A
A
A
AA
A
AZ
A
AA
Disciplinary Incident Report Form
=
INTERNAL DISCIPLINARY REPORT
Name of employee:
Name of immediate supervisor:
Place:
Service:
Date and time of incident:
Date of report:
Witness brief accounts of events
Clearly indicate all pertinent details.
Employee's brief account of events
AA
Consult collective bargaining agreement before getting employee's version of events.
AZ
List of witnesses
(Remember: Please write down the name of the company where any witnesses not in our employ work.)
ZA
Name:
Name:
Name:
Address:
Phone number:
Name of employer:
Interviewed on:
Seen by:
Address:
Phone number:
Name of employer:
Interviewed on:
Seen by:
Address:
Phone number:
Name of employer:
Interviewed on:
Seen by:
Cisigned
!
/
(Jdid notsign
Cisigned
/
/
(Jdid notsign
signed
QZ
/
A
AZ
AA
A
AA
/
(idid notsign
A
A
AZ
A
AA
AZ
A
People not able to be interviewed
Name:
Address:
Phone number:
Name of employer:
Name:
Address:
Phone number:
Name of employer:
Name:
Address:
Phone number:
Name of employer:
List of documents annexed to this report
ti.
4.
2.
5.
3.
6.
AZ
AA
AZ
Name of manager implicated in the incident:
Name and function of the author of this report:
© Make sure these are direct witnesses.
* Do not comment on the incident: stick to the facts.
Complete versions must be annexed to this report.
To be induded in the «Incidente file.
Date of the incident:
i
/
‘Source: Adapted from Le Corre and Associates (2003). Gestion moderne de la discipline et du congédiement, Cowansvillle (Québec), Yvon Blais, p. 20-21.
CHAPTER 9 MANAGING DISCIPLINE AND CONFLICT
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A
PART4
Fostering a Stimulating Work Environment
Employees’ Physical”
and Psychological
Well-Being
Denis Chénevert and Mouna Knani
p.278_
7s
p.280_
p.289_
p.291_
p.291_
10.1 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities in the Area of Occupational
Health and Safety
10.2 Prevention
10.3 Managing Situations
10.4 Follow-up and Remediation
10.5 Psychological Harassment in the Workplace
ON YOUR MARK...
As a manager, you will have to deal with many challenges involving health and
safety in the workplace. The goal of this chapter is to help you answer the
following questions:
1, Why is it important for a manager to look after the physical and psychological
well-being of the company’s employees?
2. What can I do to encourage workers to wear their protective equipment properly?
3. What is the best way to prevent accidents?
4. What role does a manager play during an accident investigation?
5. What are the principal sources of stress?
6. What is the manager's role in case of psychological harassment?
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Work
|
Scenario
Rupak is the production manager for Bulles en bouteilles,
a small soft drink manufacturing and marketing company
located in the Québec City region. One of his responsibilities
as production manager is the safety of his workers. Rupak is
saddened because of an accident in the plant today, and is
trying to figure out why it occured. What on earth could have
happened to Michel, an employee who was hired just a few
weeks ago?
When
he started at the plant, Michel was given the job of
watching empty bottles travel along a conveyor and removing dirty or damaged ones. There was another conveyor 30
hadn't faced such a problem before, tried to free them but the
pressure exerted by all the bottles piling up made it difficult,
and one of the bottles exploded in his face. Panic-stricken by
the pain in his eye, he backed up quickly and tripped over his
workbench. To stop himself from falling, Michel instinctively
grabbed hold of the overhead conveyor. The tip of his glove
caught in the conveyor belt and he couldn't free it. He felt
excruciating pain in his right hand as an immense force pulled
him up into the air. A dreadful scream of pain echoed through
the plant and everyone turned to look in his direction.
centimetres overhead carrying cases of bottles. It was actually
a simple, routine job requiring no particular training. When
he explained the work involved to Michel, Rupak told him he
Some workers were paralyzed with panic and unable to help
him; others tried desperately to find the switch to stop the
conveyor. Half of his arm was now caughtin the conveyor and
one of the nearby operators was supporting Michel's body
had to wear personal protective equipment, including safety
so his arm didn’t get pulled off. Just at that moment, a lift
glasses, hearing protectors, gloves and safety shoes.
truck operator drove
After a few weeks, Michel was starting to find his work a little
boring and to look for ways to pass the time. He became more
and more distracted and didn’t pay much attention to what
was going on around him — hundreds of thousands of bottles
going past him every day. For a while now, Michel had been
taking off his safety glasses every now and then, like some
of his co-workers, because the oppressive heat in the plant
makes them uncomfortable.
At the end of the day, a trivial incident occurred. Because
some bottles had fallen over, the ones behind couldn't move
by the scene and without thinking
twice,
climbed up on his truck to reach the switch that is located
beside the conveyor, about three metres from the floor. Once
the conveyor had stopped, all the workers crowded around
the scene of the accident. Michel was unconscious at this
point. The mechanics helped to loosen the conveyor belt
and pull Michel's arm out. This whole time, three operators
were holding Michel up so the weight of his body didn’t dislocate his arm. However, the victim was in bad shape; workers
who witnessed the accident were horrified at the sight of his
crushed limb.
along and started piling up on the conveyor. Michel, who
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Unfortunately, Michel's story reflects a situation that is still too common in Quebec.
According to statistics from the CNESST (Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé
et de la sécurité du travail: see Chapter 2 for more information), 62 workers died in
workplace accidents in 2017, as well as 168 cases of death related to occupational
diseases, an increase of31 cases compared to 2016. According to the same source, 96,135
occupational injuries were reported in 2017, including 86,223 non-fatal accidents,
representing 236 accidents per day, and 9,912 occupational disease victims, representing
an increase of 5,721 cases compared to 2016. This reality is at the heart of many economic,
social, moral and personal issues related to occupational health and safety and is a key
strategic concern for organizations. Since human resources play a crucial role in the success
of a company, health and safety prevention should not be seen as a cost, but rather as an
investment and a competitive advantage. It is precisely for this reason that employers have
a responsibility to ensure the physical and psychological well-being of their employees, in
particular by complying with a number of legislations, such as the Act Respecting Occupational
Health and Safety (AOHS) and the Act Respecting Industrial Accidents and Occupational
Diseases (AIAOD), which are overseen by the CNESST. They must also comply with the
provisions of the Act Respecting Labour Standards (ALS) relating to psychological harassment.
This scenario reflects what can happen in companies where machinery, equipment or
products may pose a risk to workers’ health and safety. To define the risks, the company
must carry out an analysis of the tasks based on the ITEM method: Individual (training,
supervision, compliance, experience), Tasks (procedures, work, frequency), Environment
(condition, temperature, humidity, contaminants), Material (tools, equipment, vehicles).
The company can also identify six risks by type:
- Chemical risks (mechanical
chemical reaction)
action,
evaporation,
combustion,
decomposition,
~ Biological risks (viruses, bacteria, parasites or fungi that can adversely effect health)
- Physical risks (noise, vibration, electricity, temperature, pressure)
Workplace accident
An unforeseen and sudden
event occurring to a person
due to, or during, his/her work
that results in an employment
injury (AIAOD, section 2).
Occupational disease
A disease contracted during
occupational activities, which is
characteristic of a certain type
of work or directly related to
the risks peculiar to that work.
Occupational injury
An occupational injury or
disease that occurs as a
result of an accident at work
or an occupational disease,
including relapse, recurrence or
aggravation (RRA).
Psychological harassment
Any vexatious behaviour, in the
form of repeated and hostile
or unwanted conduct, verbal
comments, actions or gestures,
that affects an employee's
dignity or psychological or
physical integrity and that
results in a harmful work
environment (section 81.18).
- Ergonomic risks (repetitive tasks, excessive effort, uncomfortable or static postures)
- Psychosocial risks (factors related to the nature or organization of work such as psychological harassment, workplace violence, role ambiguity, lack of social support, overwork,
complexity of tasks, inadequate employee training)
~ Safety risks (moving parts of machinery and equipment, handling of tools and equipment,
working at heights or in confined spaces, vehicles, material projection, inadequate mechanical strength, fires)
All managers will sooner or later run into OHS problems. Within the framework of your
professional responsibilities, whether they are related to production and operations management, marketing or other company functions, you will need to have a good understanding
of the main goals of occupational health and safety.
This chapter will deal with the role and responsibilities of managers relating to occupational
health and safety, industrial accidents and occupational diseases, as well as
psychological harassment.
CHAPTER 10 ENSURING EMPLOYEES’ PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING
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10.1 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities in the Area
of Occupational Health and Safety
Generally, OHS falls under the domain of the human resources department, where you
can sometimes find someone knowledgeable about OHS. If not, you will have to call in a
consultant. No matter what the context, the CEO and supervisors are often required to
apply and ensure compliance with OHS and psychological harassment legislation.
In addition, if you are closely involved in your company’s production and operations
management, you will have to evaluate accident risks inherent in workstations you are
responsible for, participate in implementing an accident prevention program, and investigate accidents. Don’t forget that, for every 50 employees, the law obliges you to have a
first aid provider on the premises; this is the minimum standard concerning first aid and
emergency services.
.
Burnout
A state of intense exhaustion,
where one has the impression
Even if your duties and responsibilities as a future manager are not related to production
Operations and if accident and disease risks in your workplace are practically nil, you will
_ nevertheless have to look out for the psychological well-being of your employees; burnout
ig one of the chief curses of the 21" century.
of losing controlover
one's work and being
unable to achieve concrete
— The manager has many roles and responsibilities in the area of OHS. However, he or she
F}
a
Penryn
5
:
1S Not alone in having to assume responsibilities in this regard; as shown in Table 10.1, a
professional results. Often,
burnout is defined by three
components: emotional
| number of organizational players must also do so.
.
ce
ee
_ Besides the responsibilities that fall to employees, they are granted certain rights by the
exhaustion, depersonalization
(cynicism) and loss of personal
achievement.
—_LSST, including those of refusal and preventive withdrawal.
The right to refuse to perform work
Workers may refuse to perform work that would endanger their health, safety or physical
well-being or the health, safety or physical well-being of another person. In such a case,
workers must immediately inform their supervisor or another agent of their employer.
Once they have fulfilled this obligation, they can legally exercise their right of refusal. The
situation is different if the refusal puts another person in danger or if the risk is a normal
and integral part of their work. For example, firefighters may not refuse to fight a fire by
exercising their right of refusal, because the risk is inherent in their job.
®
You cannot dismiss employees for exercising their right of refusal. In addition, they must
receive their full pay and not be subject to any sanctions. Managers may ask another worker
to replace the one who has exercised the right of refusal if they (or other agents of the
employer or employee) feel that there is no real danger. However, the replacement must
be told that the right of refusal has been exercised and the reasons for the refusal. It should
be noted that employees exercising their right of refusal are not on leave; they must remain
at work and may be temporarily assigned to other duties that they are capable of performing.
The right to protective reassignment
Workers may ask to be removed from their post if they provide their employer with a
certificate attesting that exposure to a contaminant poses a risk to their health. They can
ask to be reassigned to other duties not entailing such exposure that they are capable of
performing. In the event that you, as a manager, are unable to reassign other tasks to these
workers, they may stop working until they are reassigned or until their health allows them
to return to their usual job. Whatever the case, they must receive their pay. You must grant
the same rights to a pregnant or breastfeeding worker when her job involves conditions
that are hazardous to her or to the child she is carrying or breastfeeding.
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Table 10.1
OHS responsibilities
Players
Responsibilities
~ Supply personal protective equipment to employees free of charge.
~ Inform employees and provide proper training about risks inherent to their job.
~ Ensure safety and sanitation in the workplace.
~ Make certain the organization of work and work procedures and techniques are safe.
~ Set up a prevention program if the business is included in Schedule 1 of Regulation 13.1.
~ Conduct an accident investigation or take part in it.
~ Have a thorough understanding of workers’ rights and obligations.
~ Prevent stressat work and burnout.
~ Endeavour to banish psychological harassment from the workplace.
~ Ensure that the injured person under his/her responsibility receives first aid without delay and consults the
Manager
doctor of his/her choice.
~ Notify the CNESST if the accident caused serious injuries.
~ Record ina register any accidents that required treatment but did not result in an absence of more than one day.
~ Ensure that the injured person has received his/her full salary, as if he/she had worked.
Employee
~ Wear personal protective equipment (PPE).
~ Become familiar with the prevention program applicable to them.
~ Take the necessary measures to ensure their own health, safety or physical well-being.
~ See that they do not endanger the health, safety or physical well-being of other persons at or near
their workplace.
~ Undergo the medical examinations required under the law and its regulations.
~ Participate in the identification and elimination of risks for accidents and occupational diseases at
their workplace.
~ Cooperate with the health and safety committee and, where applicable, the job site committee and any person
responsible for the implementation of this Act and its regulations.
First aid worker*
~ Give first aid to victims of an accident or illness.
~ Secure the person by restraining movements and actions while waiting for the arrival of specialized help.
Human resources
department (in
collaboration with the
manager)
~ Design health and safety programs.
~ Develop prevention programs.
~ Establish training programs.
~ Organize awareness campaigns.
~ Serve on health and safety committees.
~ Participate in accident investigations.
Union
~ Serve on the occupational health and safety committee.
Health and Safety
Committee*
~ Advise the organization.
~ Support the organization in carrying out certain activities.
~ Promote policies and programs.
~ Evaluate, monitor and follow up on planned activities.
~ Make prevention part of negotiations.
Consultant or external
resource
~ Participate in accident investigations.
~ Assess the overall health of employees.
Company management
~ Foster and promote a cultureof health and safety.
“When requiced by law.
Stress at work
You endeavour to assume your responsibilities as manager and respect the rights of your
employees, while providing them with a healthy work environment in order to reach their
full potential. In the section In the Heart of the Action on the next page, we'll return to the
example of Rupak and Michel, presented in the scenario at the beginning of this chapter.
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«Work-related stress is the
reactions that employees can
have when faced with work
demands and pressures that
do not match their knowledge
and abilities and that challenge
their ability to cope» (Leka,
2004, p. 3).
In the heart of the action
While Rupak is in the process of analyzing the events leading
up to Michel's serious accident, Chantale, who manages the
Jacques, the lift truck operator, have to intervene to stop
the conveyor?
plant, knocks on his door. She wants to talk to him about what
| Wall, he was obviously not wearing his safety glasses when
hasjusthappened:
the accident happened, because they aren't broken. As for
~ Hi Rupak. What a terrible accident! How did it happen?
the conveyor, the workstation has always been located in
- Itseems things got jammed up on the conveyor. Michel tried
to remove the bottles that were causing the problem and the
next minute, he had his hand caught in the other conveyor,
the overhead one.
Resin
-| see, but how do you explain the injury to his eye and the
fact that he was under the other conveyor? And why did
BOWLES PES
ENUIOEE BESS
_ = I'm sure you understand how serious the situation is. | expect
you to reconstruct the sequence of events and propose
solutions soaniaccidentilikaithat wonithappeniagain:
This scenario highlights the mistakes that caused the accident and allows us to identify
the people responsible for it.
- Michel was not wearing his safety glasses and was not informed of the risks involved in
the work environment.
- Rupak didn’t see to it that his employees wore their protective equipment, nor ensure
that the way work was organized and the techniques used were safe.
- Rupak doesn’t seem to have emphasized accident prevention.
- The company didn’t set up an OHS training program for new employees or a risk
awareness program.
Managers generally have to assume three major responsibilities in the area of occupational
health and safety, which we'll cover in the following sections:
- Prevention
~ Managing Situations
- Follow-up and Remediation
10.2 Prevention
As the saying goes: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Prevention is undoubtedly the most important step in occupational health and safety. Measures taken must be
integrated with company operations and be part of the organizational culture and values.
The best way to prevent accidents is to eliminate anything harmful to employees’ health
and safety at the source. Prevention consists of avoiding risk situations by reducing or
eliminating risk factors in the workplace. It means intervening at the source (plugging a
hole, repairing a defective machine, reviewing the workload) before the danger even
manifests itself or the situation deteriorates. It is important to note that managers must
assume these responsibilities with regard to both physical and psychosocial risks.
10.2.1 Physical risks
If we apply the prevention questions to Michel's case in the initial situation, it is obvious
that very little was done in the way of prevention at Bulles en bouteilles. The workstation
could easily have been reconfigured so that Michel, the accident victim, didn’t work underneath a conveyor. However, even if that had been impossible, it would have been easy to
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install a safety device under the conveyor to eliminate any risk of an accident like the one
that happened to Michel. In addition, the conveyor switch could have been moved so an
employee could stop the conveyor quickly. A proper analysis of risks and preventive measures would have shown the importance of doing so. In terms of physical risk prevention,
four factors must be considered:
- Safety and hygiene in the workplace
- Organization of work and techniques used
- Information and training
- Personal protective equipment
Workplace safety and hygiene
It is up to the employer to use every means possible to ensure safety and sanitation in the
workplace. Since you represent the employer, you will be called on to take all reasonable
measures to reach this goal. You must make sure that the premises are clean and hygienic
and provide sanitary installations, drinking water, adequate lighting, ventilation and heating.
A workplace analysis focuses on the elements that make up the physical environment (for
example air quality, noise, vibrations, temperature, lighting, humidity level and presence
of contaminants), the terms and conditions for performing work (for example pace, speed,
sequence of movements, postures to adopt, physical and mental efforts, tools and materials
used), and the layout of the workstation (for example how elements are positioned and
their accessibility).
Let's go back to the initial scenario and attempt to discover what is wrong with the site
layout. First of all, we notice that the conveyor located over Michel's head is not safe and
the switch to stop it is three metres above the floor and thus out of reach. In this case, the
employer has not met its obligation to identify, reduce and eliminate risks that could affect
employees’ health and safety (primary prevention).
Organization of work and techniques used
The Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety also requires the employer to see that the
organization of work and the techniques used by employees are safe and do not adversely
affect their health. The employer must also verify that employees who are hired meet the
age requirement determined by regulation for the task. It is not enough to analyze tasks
position by position; one also has to have a clear understanding of the relationship between
various jobs and be able to identify ensuing OHS risks. For example, overly routine tasks
and lack of job rotation may result in a loss of concentration, which can, in certain contexts,
increase the risk of accidents. Think of Michel who, after a few weeks of doing routine tasks,
ended up becoming more and more distracted and not paying attention to potential risks in
his work environment. Similarly, poor work postures added to repetitive movements, or
improper handling of heavy objects, can result in serious problems related to ergonomics.
Information and training
The manager's principal role is to inform employees about the risks involved in their job.
Ergonomics
_ The scientific discipline that
You must provide training and ensure adequate supervision so they can acquire the skills
povaccembendieny cree ae
and knowledge required to do their job in complete safety. A thorough analysis of the
workplace is imperative to identify the characteristics of the various workstations, and
eliminate contaminants on the premises or hazardous materials in use that could have a
harmful effect on employees’ health and safety. The employer, through its agents, must
also provide employees, their representatives (for example, the occupational health and
safety committee and the union), the director of public health and the CNESST with a list
of all the contaminants and hazardous materials found in the workplace.
their work environment in
—_ order to improve workers’
pe wiih d overall system
There are many different ways of disseminating information. Some of the methods listed are
not considered very dynamic, and their effectiveness varies greatly depending on how they
are used. According to Pérusse (2014), it is not sufficient to demonstrate a dangerous situation;
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you must also present protective measures and behaviours workers can adopt. If we look
back at the scenario presented earlier, questions arise about the efforts at communication
made by Rupak, who is in charge of production. Are there posters in the workplace informing
workers about the risks they take if they don’t wear their safety glasses? Are there examples
of what has happened to workers who haven't followed safety instructions?
These communication strategies nevertheless end up losing their effectiveness, so they
should be modified and updated on a regular basis. As a manager, you must develop a
clear, integrated, coherent communication strategy. Don’t just use posters and other similar
methods. Try something different, like lively memos from the executive office or various
managers who have a special interest in the field. Plan group and individual meetings about
safety and speak informally with workers about production issues. This is all part of the
responsibilities of good managers, who attach great importance to their team members’
health and safety. Let's examine how such principles can be applied in the section below.
In the heart of the action
Bridor, a Montreal-based company that manufactures bakery
products under the brand-name Au Pain Doré, achieved a
record of 649 days without a work accident. In this organization,
the prevention of workplace accidents really is a way of life. The
company has adopted various preventive measures such as the
installation of protective foam, non-skid strips and harnesses
for working at a height, specific training for employees, annual
publication of a safety file in the internal newsletter, videos on
the importance of prevention, etc. The plant also has twice as
many first aid workers as required by law.
Another company that stands outin the field of prevention is the
Xstrata Copper-CCR Refinery in Montreal- East, which operates
in the heavy industry sector. This is one of the leading companies in the field of occupational injury prevention. Through their
PASS (Positive Attitude Safety System) program, implemented
in 2008, each shift begins with a five- to ten-minute meeting on
the issues and importance of safety, which amounts to more
than 10,500 meetings a year. About 800 interventions are
carried out each month. Prevention is also promoted via the
plant's internal newsletter, safety videos, an established reward
system (gift certificates) and meetings. This explains why 2011
was a year without any work accidents in this company, where
the risk of injuries is very high (Dubertrand, 2011).
We should also mention training offered to a newly hired employee or an employee who
has been moved to a new position. Thus, if we go back to the initial situation, what training
did Michel receive when he started working at Bulles en bouteilles? Was he informed about
the possible risks involved in the tasks he had to perform? Remember, when Michel started
at the plant, he was assigned to a position where he was to watch empty bottles moving
along a conveyor. Because it was a simple job requiring no particular competency, he
wasn't given any particular training about the risks. The company merely provided him
with personal protective equipment, without explaining why it was necessary for him to
wear it.
Personal protective equipment
The employer must provide workers, free of charge, all the means and individual or common protective equipment required to perform their job safely. Protective equipment
includes, among other things, safety footwear, respirators, safety helmets, safety glasses,
safety belts and harnesses, hearing protectors, gloves and clothing shielding wearers from
harmful effects of chemical products
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The supervisor must ensure that employees use this equipment properly and at all times.
The employer also has a responsibility to supply safe equipment and see that it is working
properly. Many factors can influence the wearing of protective equipment — Pérusse (2014)
names four of them, as explained in Table 10.2:
- Being aware of the danger
- Taking responsibility to protect yourself
- Being familiar with prevention methods
- Deciding to wear protective equipment
Table 10.2
Factors influencing the wearing of protective equipment
Being aware of
If employees don't recognize the danger inherent in their work or don’t think it constitutes a real risk, they will not
the danger
wear the recommended protective equipment.
As a manager, itis up to you to see that employees become aware
that the risk is real and constitutes a serious danger.
Being responsible for
one’s own protection
When they believe that only employers are responsible for solving problems and eliminating risks, employees
have a tendency of neglecting to wear their safety equipment. However, if they believe they are responsible for
their own safety, they have a tendency to wear their equipment. It is therefore important that employees feel
responsible for their own security.
Being familiar with
prevention methods
As a manager, simply putting protective equipment in employees’ hands does not guarantee they will use it
properly. Consequently, they must be shown howto wear and use the equipment.
Deciding to wear
protective equipment
Many factors can influence the decision employees make about wearing protection or not. Co-workers can play
2 major role in this decision. When more experienced co-workers don't wear the recommended equipment, itis
more difficult for newcomers to go against social norms; pressure from the environment is often stronger that the
desire to protect oneself
Source: Pérusse (2014)
In the scenario presented above, Michel suffered an eye injury because he didn’t think it
was important to wear safety glasses. He probably wasn’t aware of the consequences of
this kind of negligence. This raises questions about why he was not wearing his safety
glasses. According to the information available, Michel found them uncomfortable because
of the oppressive heat that pervaded the plant. Did the type of glasses he was given suit
his job? This accident raises all sorts of questions about working conditions in the plant.
In order to encourage workers to wear personal protective equipment, a supervisor must
make them aware of the issue and discuss it with them, since they often tend not to wear
the equipment for reasons to do with appearance and comfort. However, as a manager,
you are in charge of follow-up and verification. It is you who will have to make sure that
the personal protective equipment is used properly. Don’t hesitate to use positive reinforcement. It is better to congratulate employees who use it than to penalize those who don't,
even though it may sometimes be necessary to impose disciplinary measures. In Michel's
case, did his supervisor, Rupak, carry out sufficient checks? Did he make sure that his
employees wore their safety equipment? Although the employer has an obligation to provide
personal protective equipment, that alone is not sufficient. The manager also has an obligation to adequately inform workers about the risks involved in their work.
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10.2.2 Psychosocial risks
Stress-related problems are no longer isolated incidents; they present a major challenge for
human resources management in most industrialized countries. When we examine psychological health in the workplace, the figures are alarming. Across Europe, throughout the
United States and in Canada, millions of workers are affected at a cost of billions of dollars.
The following section provides an overview of this situation in Canada.
In the heart of the action
In Canada, 70% of employees are concerned about psycho-
cost category in Canada (Institut national de santé publique
logical health in the work-place (Mental Health Commission
du
of Canada, 2016). According to the latest statistics, by 2020
depression due to work stress will rank second among the
causes of disability, just behind heart disease (Institut universi-
Inc. shows that stress in the workplace accounts for 19% of
taire en santé mentale de Montréal, 2018). Similarly, disability
due to mental illness costs Canadian companies $16 billion
Québec,
INSPQ).
Research
by Chrysalis
the costs associated with absenteeism,
Performance
55% of EAP costs
(employee assistance programs) and 60% of costs related to
workplace accidents (Institut universitaire en santé mentale
de Montréal, 2018).
annually, or 14% of their net profits. This is the fastest growing
Within organizations, no one is immune to stress. Whatever sector they work in, managers
must be on their guard, both for themselves and their associates. Workplace stress and
burnout are insidious problems. The manager must take into account the following
preventive factors:
®
- The working environment
- Work organization and the nature of tasks
- Interpersonal dynamics
- Lifestyle habits
The working environment
In addition to the risk of accidents, an unhealthy work environment often has consequences
for psychological health, due in particular to noise, pollution, heat or humidity. The individual may then present symptoms of stress. A poor layout of the premises or the workstation can also constitute a source of stress. Poor lighting or continuous work in front of
a computer screen can produce a considerable amount of fatigue. Workstations should be
analyzed to eliminate these problems and enhance employees’ quality of life at work as
well as their mental health. While there are some deficiencies related to the physical
environment and work technique, most work-related stress today seems to stem more
from the task itself.
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Work organization and the nature of tasks
In terms of stress and burnout, identifying psychosocial risks related to work organization
and tasks is an important prevention mechanism. Let's look at this in the section below.
In the heart of the action
At six o'clock in the morning, the alarm clock goes off and
Marie-Eve, an executive secretary in a large company, gets up
after a difficult night. For the last while, she has been feeling
extremely tired and it’s all she can do to get out of bed in
the morning and get ready for work. She takes her shower,
gets dressed quickly, then jumps into her car without eating
breakfast so she can avoid the traffic jams that never seem to
let up. Unfortunately, the traffic on the way to work this moming
is already heavy, which will probably make her change her
plans — again.
morning. Once she gets to the office, she checks her emails
and, as usual, is flooded with a pile of messages from all sorts of
people, including the director who asks her to put the expense
report on his desk for the meeting this morning. She rushes to
open the file and starts working as fast as possible, because the
meeting starts in an hour. She has almost finished the report
when her computer crashes and she loses the whole morning's
work. On the verge of tears, she is afraid of how her director
will react.
Since the position of assistant secretary was cut last year,
Marie-Eve can never manage to get all her work done. She
doesn't have time anymore to chat with colleagues; she often
eats lunch alone at her desk and barely even takes a coffee
break. She arrives at work early in the morning and leaves
late in the evening so she can take advantage of these quiet
periods to get everything done. During the day, the phone is
always ringing, and consultants are in and out of her office all
the time asking for information and giving her more work to
do. And it always seems to be ASAP. So far, she has been able
to keep up with expectations, but she feels more and more
and simply asks if the report is ready. She tells him about her
misfortune and insists she'll get back to work on it so she can
give it to him before the end of the meeting. He is somewhat
disappointed and starts criticizing her ability to organize her
work and manage her time efficiently. He adds that some of
the consultants have complained about her attitude and the
quality of her work over recent months. She is a little surprised,
and replies that no one has mentioned the problem and that,
tired, agitated and irritable. She has to work fast and can't take
time to look over what she has done.
While Marie-Eve is sitting waiting in the traffic jam, she becomes more and more anxious and is convinced she won't have
time to finish the expense report the director wanted for this
With that, in he walks. He doesn’t notice the state she’s in
as a matter of fact, nobody seems to recognize all the time
and effort she puts in to keep up with all the demands made
of her. Now it is the director's turn to be surprised. He looks
at her and says that the consultants have other things to do
than spend their time congratulating her on her work, which
doesn't live up to their expectations anyhow. Marie-Eve feels
deflated and completely demoralized. She wonders how she
is going to make it through to her vacation.
This scenario highlights a reality frequently found in organizations today, and it concerns
everyone. As a manager, you can’t close your eyes to this type of situation, because your
leadership as an immediate superior and the attainment of your objectives as a manager
are at stake. It is your job to identify the warning signs of stress and burnout in your team.
You also have to develop a strategy based on a healthy work environment. To do so, you
need to ask yourself if your subordinates’ workload is perhaps too heavy, whether expectations are reasonable, and if indeed they have the resources they need to do their work.
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As the example of Marie-Eve suggests, the organization of work can also be an important
stress factor in the workplace. The planning of tasks and how work is shared among
employees can create difficulties. People often have to deal with unclear mandates or with
contradictory requirements or expectations. These factors give rise to uncertainty and
ambiguity as to what priorities to follow, how to do the required work and what criteria
will be used for evaluation. This situation puts employees in front of ambiguity and role
conflict. The ramifications of this phenomenon are more pronounced when subordinates
are completely shut out of the decision-making process, and when they are not consulted
on decisions affecting their own work or company orientations.
In the preceding scenario, many different people ask Marie-Eve to do work for them, but
no one plans the work or asks her if she can handle all the tasks she is given. As a result,
she has to cut back on quality, which nevertheless seems to be a priority for her superior.
In addition, she has to answer a flood of phone calls and respond to requests for information
from consultants. Since her work relies on information technology, she is even more vulnerable when she has to answer a mountain of emails or deal with the consequences of
computer system malfunctions (these are a major source of tension because they affect
users’ blood pressure). This is what happens when Marie-Eve, at the last minute, loses part
of the work she has just done.
Work schedules are included in the factors related to work organization; timetables are
often poorly adapted to our biological rhythms and family life. Working in the evening is
harmful to social and family dynamics, and night shifts disrupt our natural sleep cycle.
Companies have also modified the organization of work to increase employee versatility.
These new approaches increase stress for employees, who now have to be involved in
continuous learning and perform a range of tasks.
The nature of tasks can also cause stress for employees, Consider, for example, overwork
and workload intensification, which apply to many positions in companies. To reiterate the
previously asked question: What task factors would be the main causes of the stress and
exhaustion felt by Marie-Eve? First, since the organization eliminated a position, she has
had to perform a much larger number of tasks and is therefore experiencing work overload. Also, she is constantly rushing to complete everything she has to do, while interrupting whatever task she is doing to switch to another unanticipated task, so she never
has time to do everything right. Her workload is therefore intensifying.
®
The manager must pay attention to the number of tasks that are being assigned to any one
person and ensure that requests from collaborators are made in advance so as not to overload
that employee, As far as possible, relevant information should be posted on the company’s
intranet network or transmitted through other means of communication in order to meet
the requirements of employees and avoid having the same person being constantly called
upon. There are also qualitative aspects of the work to be considered, as some tasks require
a high degree of precision and thoroughness, which can be a significant source of stress
when work intensity increases. In addition to task requirements, certain characteristics such
as monotony, repetition and fragmentation can be sources of frustration and demotivation that are often at the root of stress and burnout. For example, managers may consider
enriching tasks by adding more responsibilities, which gives more meaning to the work.
They can also set up a system based on job rotation: employees perform different tasks
instead of always performing the same ones. In addition to their role in task assignment and
work organization, managers can influence psychosocial risks through the relations they
maintain with employees.
Relationship dynamic
Organizations have often underestimated the role interpersonal relationships play in triggering stress, Relationships with a supervisor, colleagues and clients can be harmful to
psychological well-being when they are coloured by distrust, hostility and a spirit of
competition. The old saying — you join a company but you leave your supervisor — says
much about the importance of the relationship between a subordinate and a supervisor.
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When subordinates have the feeling that their supervisor does not support them, that they
cannot count on their supervisor or that they do not receive the recognition they deserve
for their work, a climate of distrust begins to grow. Such a climate lacks the resources
needed for employee motivation and commitment (Chapters 7 and 11).
Besides relationships with a supervisor, collaboration between co-workers also has to be
taken into account. When workers cannot count on their colleagues and when communication has broken down, the work climate can quickly deteriorate and generate stress. Add
other elements to this picture — for example in some organizations, strained relationships
experienced by staff in charge of dealing with customer complaints, or people working in
correctional services — and one can easily imagine the effects these factors can have on
psychological health.
To illustrate how important these relational factors are, let's have another look at the case
involving Marie-Eve. How does the department manager, her superior, react to what she
says? When Marie-Eve tells him about her computer problems, he doesn’t even try to
understand or help. On the contrary, he starts questioning her competence. And when he
starts listing the complaints he has received from some of the consultants about the quality
of her work, he doesn’t seem to understand that she is no longer able to handle her
workload and that the expectations on her have not been clearly defined. He is forgetting
the role recognition and positive feedback play. He doesn’t understand the seriousness of
the problem and is quick to belittle Marie-Eve's work. The helplessness and psychological
distress she feels should surprise no one, and the manager would do well to recognize
these signs before they lead this executive secretary down the path to burnout.
High demands and lack of resources trigger a feeling of being overloaded, which increases
stress, tension and, therefore, the risk of burnout. The manager's role is therefore to ensure
a certain balance between, on the one hand, the amount of work requested and the number
and frequency of requests; and on the other hand, the degree of decision-making freedom.
In other words, maintaining a balance between autonomy and a sense of competence.
Marie-Eve needs certain resources to do her job. She has to put more emphasis on the
quality of the support provided (recognition of effort and encouragement from the manager
and colleagues) and on professional development (promotions, intrinsic and extrinsic
rewards). All of this would foster a healthy and cooperative team environment, which must
be accompanied by a logical and appropriate workload and reasonable deadlines.
Lifestyle habits
Health and wellness promotion programs for employees are widespread in the corporate
world. In general, they fall into three main categories: physical fitness programs, recreation
programs and other services. Each of these programs is designed to encourage employees
to change their attitudes and behaviours in everyday life. Some companies have made
fitness facilities available to their employees and provide advice on nutrition. Others offer
recreation programs including sports and social activities. Other services available include
travel assistance, group insurance and preferential rates for consumer goods. In order to
make employees’ health and well-being a company priority, senior management must treat
the problem as a strategic concern and entrust this mission to the supervisors.
How do companies that promote a healthy work environment differ from others? In general,
managers in these organizations appear to make an effort to adapt the workload to employees’ abilities and the resources provided (especially taking into account age, schedules,
work-life balance and budgets). Managers have to provide employees with stimulating
work and an opportunity to acquire and use competencies with their career in mind,
Management encourages employees to participate in decision-making concerning their
work and consults them about broad company orientations, thus involving them in changes
that will affect their work. A culture of communication must be promoted and information
must be shared about company strategy and growth. All employees, no matter what position
they hold, feel they are involved in the company’s project, thus considerably reducing
uncertainty about the future. In this kind of company, there is a great deal of social
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interaction between employees and the various hierarchical levels, with the result that
information gets through and everyone receives the same information. These organizations
could be described as mobilized companies where employees support a common cause
(see Chapter 11). Let's take look at some of these organizations in the section below.
Since itis difficult to eliminate stress completely from different workplaces, and a significant
proportion of stress reactions are the result of individual characteristics, you as a manager
must look for signs of stress in your staff.
In the heart of the action
SSQ Insurance considers the promotion of its employees’
health, safety and physical and psychological well-being to
be an important part of its values. SSQ promotes these elements by raising awareness among all its employees of the
importance of adopting healthy work practices and lifestyle
habits. It integrates occupational health and safety into its
management processes, while providing ongoing training
to its employees (SSQ, 2018). McKesson Canada is also an
example of a Canadian company with a strong workplace
wellness culture. This organization ensures the health and
well-being of its employees. It offers a wellness program that
includes an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for employees
and their families, on-site flu vaccination, additional maternity
benefits, a skills development program, flexible work hours,
gym, nutrition and health coaching program, retirement and
savings plan, etc. (Kuras, 2018). In other companies, the title
of Chief Happiness Officer (CHO) is even starting to enter into
organizational jargon. This concept first appeared in North
American start-ups and then quickly spread to European
companies (Granger, 2018). The CHO's mission is to ensure
the well-being of employees and create working conditions
that are conducive to health and development.
Although stress is a psychological syndrome, reactions to it may well be behavioural and
physical. You must thus be prudent and attentive to certain warning signs. Marie-Eve’s
behaviour, for example, seems to have changed over the past months. She gets irritated more
easily, is often agitated, starts work early and finishes late. She no longer manages to meet
deadlines and the quality of her work has declined. If you are unable to detect these signs
yourself, assessment tools — such as questionnaires that provide a psychological report on
your subordinates and chart the progression of stress levels in your team — are available.
However, you cannot rely on these tests alone. Observation is the best tool you have at your
disposal, as there are a number of symptoms and they show up in various forms (physical,
physiological, moral, psychological, relational, etc.).
Despite the goodwill of many organizations, all too often an accident occurs, an occupational disease is declared or psychological distress appears. You will therefore be called
upon to manage situations of this kind, Here is what you should normally do in
such circumstances.
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10.3 Managing Situations
10.3.1 Workplace accidents and investigations
When an accident occurs in your workplace and you are responsible for the injured person,
you must ensure that he/she receives first aid without delay and consults a doctor of his/
her choice if the situation warrants. Next, you must notify the CNESST if the accident is
serious and has caused severe injury or resulted in the death of the employee. You must
also register accidents that require care but do not lead to more than one day's absence.
And you must ensure that injured employees receive their full salary for the entire day of
the accident.
Following an accident, an investigation into its causes must be held, as described in the
section below. In general, the company can determine risks by analyzing the components
of the work using the ITEM principle: (1) the Individual; (2) Tasks; (3) Work Environment;
and (4) Material. The company can also group risks by type (ergonomic, physical, chemical,
psychosocial, safety-related, etc.).
In the heart of the action
Let's examine
Michel’s case once again. When
Chantale,
the plant manager, asks Rupak, in charge of production, to
find out the reasons for the accident, she has given him an
order to conduct an investigation. Rupak must thus reconstruct the sequence of events. His investigation reveals the
following factors:
1. Bottle pile-up. If we go back over the events and examine
them one at a time, we see that, before Michel's arm got
caught in the conveyor, there was a problem on the bottling
line. The movement of the empty bottles was impeded on
the conveyor and they began to pile up on top of each other
very quickly. What happened to stop the flow of bottles?
Looking down the conveyor, Rupak notices that a lot of
empty bottles have fallen over, creating an obstacle. This
situation triggered a rapid accumulation of empty bottles,
putting a lot of pressure on each of them. The bottles piled
up because there is no automatic shutoff system to stop
the conveyor in this kind of situation. This is the first cause
(related to the task).
2. Not wearing safety glasses. Analyzing the scene of the accident, Rupak notices that Michel's glasses are not broken and
bear no traces of having been involved in the accident. He
concludes that Michel's eye was injured because he was not
wearing his safety glasses. This is the second cause. (related
to the individual).
3. Loss of balance. Rupak also notices that the stool where
Michel usually sat has been knocked over. By questioning
the victim’s co-workers, Rupak learns that some of them
heard the sound of broken glass and saw Michel lose his
footing just before the accident. Rupak draws the conclusion
that when the bottle exploded, a fragment of glass flew into
Michel's eye, making him instinctively step back. He must
have lost his footing when he bumped into the workbench
and then tried to catch himself from falling by grabbing the
conveyor with his right hand. This is the third cause. (related
to the individual).
4. Switch out of reach. Rupak wonders why it took the other
workers so long to stop the conveyor. He realizes that the
switch that controls the conveyor is three metres off the
plant floor, out of the workers’ reach. This is the fourth cause.
(related to the work environment and task).
5. No safety device. To his astonishment, he notices that there is
no safety device to protect the conveyor belt, creating a very
dangerous situation given the location of Michel's workstation. This is the fifth and most important cause (related to
the work environment and material).
This analysis of Michel's accident illustrates the various factors
the investigator must examine, especially those related to:
~ Materials (conveyor, bottles)
- Work environment (noise, clutter)
- Organization (inadequate work methods, insufficient supervision)
- Task performance (movement or activities not in conformity
with safety techniques)
- Employees (fatigue, inattention)
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The investigation is thus a fundamental step, as it brings to light factors that have to be
remedied in order to avoid a similar accident recurring. Once the risks have been identified
and prioritized, a means of prevention must be chosen. An analysis of the deficiencies
identified can lead to a series of recommendations aimed at better accident prevention
(figure 10.1).
Figure 10.1
Michel's accident and possible solutions
Michel loses
footing when
he runsinto
Switch is out
of reach
No safety
device under
the conveyor
Put the switch
where it can be
reached
Install a grid
to disable the
conveyor belt
the stool
Install a
photosensitive
cell (magic eye)
Inform
employees of
risks they run
if they do not
wear safety
Install a seat
attached to the
floor near the
conveyor
glasses
10.3.2 Employee assistance programs
Employee assistance programs (EAP) are available to employees experiencing personal
problems of a psychological or family nature, addictions and other issues. In this case,
intervention is more curative in nature; the goal is to find solutions to problems that already
exist. The majority of EAPs are external, which ensures greater confidentiality for employees who use them. External EAPs are unique in that they are offered by providers whose
consultants are generally psychologists. These providers offer their services to companies
in exchange for user fees per employee and according to a specific level of attendance.
The organization must have a clear understanding of its needs and ensure that the provider
has a clear understanding of its distinctive traits and culture.
The Toolbox on the left summarizes the main services offered
by EAPs.
Toolbox
EAPs typically offer these services:
- one-on-one
- telephone consultations
- conferences
- workshops
- reintegration into the workplace
- preparation for retirement
- integration of new employees
To summarize, as a manager, you will eventually have to
supervise a work team and assume a number of OHS
responsibilities. You will need to be sufficiently prepared for
this, whether or not the organization in which you work has
an HR department You will also need to consider your
responsibilities in terms of follow-up and remediation after
an accident.
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It is your responsibility as a manager to direct your employees
to the services offered by your organization’s EAP, where
available. Naturally, the use of these services is voluntary and
anonymous. You can recommend it, but not impose it.
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10.4 Follow-up and Remediation
As a manager, it is your responsibility to guarantee an employee who has been the victim
of a workplace accident or an occupational illness the right to be reinstated, as a high
priority and without loss of pay, in his/her employment or in an equivalent job. If an
employee has suffered permanent or temporary damage due to an accident or illness, the
employee can benefit from rehabilitation services that will help him/her regain autonomy
and facilitate the return to work. You must also, as a manager, temporarily assign these
workers to other tasks until they are able to return to their position or to an equivalent
position. You must also try to modify their tasks or adapt their workstation to help them
return to their job, In the case of a return to work following an absence due to psychological
problems, the manager must be careful to prevent the employee from falling ill again. We
therefore suggest that the return be gradual and follow well-established guidelines so that
the employees do not feel aggrieved or diminished, and especially, overwhelmed by the
physical and psychological burden.
Employees are also entitled to a work environment free of psychological harassment. On
June 1, 2004, provisions concerning psychological harassment in the workplace officially
came into force. As a manager, you must do everything in your power to ensure compliance
with these provisions.
10.5 Psychological Harassment at Work
A recourse has been included in the Act Respecting Labour Standards to allow victims of
psychological harassment to file a complaint. Since its introduction, more than 2300 complaints are sent annually to the CNESST. It is therefore important that companies and their
managers have a good knowledge of their responsibilities in this regard. To understand
the situation, let's examine the following section.
In the heart of the action
Marie-Josée is 56 years old, and has worked in her neighbouthood childcare centre (CCC) for almost 10 years. She feels
comfortable working with her team and always had a good
relationship with Louise, the team leader. Louise gave
Marie-Josée a lot of autonomy since she has a great deal
of experience working with children. Now that Louise has
retired, management of CCC has decided to make Nicole the
team leader. She is 36 years old, a childhood educator with
seven years’ experience. Marie-Josée gets along well with
Nicole, even though they don't have exactly the same ideas
about work, and despite the fact that Nicole is a little jealous
of Marie-Josée because Louise, the former team leader, gave
her a certain amount of autonomy.
In the weeks following Nicole’s appointment as team leader, major changes were made in the work organization. As
the new team leader, Nicole now requires Marie-Josée to
submit all the decisions she makes to her, but she doesn't
make the same demands of the other educators. In addition,
Nicole's attitude seems to have changed completely. She no
longer trusts Marie-Josée and is always trying to catch her
out. During the noon break, Nicole often makes unpleasant
comments about Marie-Josée in front of others, referring to
her style of education as outdated. Over time, the other edu-
cators distance themselves from Marie-Josée and she ends
up being isolated from the group. At first, she doesn’t think
anything of it and tells herself it will all work out. Nevertheless,
she starts to be more and more anxious, feeling that she can
only count on herself should a problem arise.
After a few months have gone by, Marie-Josée is at the end
of her rope and asks for a meeting with the CCC director. The
director is somewhat surprised, and tells Marie-Josée that she
doesn’t make a habit of intervening in relations between team
leaders and educators, since they are all adults and should
be able to solve their own problems. Nicole heard about the
meeting and did not appreciate the fact that Marie-Josée had
gone to the top to complain. In the weeks that follow, the
situation worsens as Nicole watches Marie-Josée more closely
and continually questions her competencies. The younger
educators barely speak to her now and seldom offer her any
help. Marie-Josée is becoming more and more depressed;
she is anxious and worried at the start of each day. She feels
exhausted and has even more trouble getting to sleep. Her
weekends are her only relief, but on Sunday evening her
anxiety returns as she thinks about the next morning, when
she will once again have to face her hostile colleagues.
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In this example, we see that Marie-Josée is facing a hostile work environment, where
interpersonal relations are strained. This situation is obviously not an isolated incident,
but is it in fact psychological harassment?
10.5.1 What is psychological harassment?
The Act Respecting Labour Standards defines psychological harassment as follows:
[...] any vexatious behaviour in the form of repeated and hostile or unwanted conduct,
verbal comments, actions or gestures, that affects an employee’s dignity or psychological
or physical integrity and that results in a harmful work environment for the
employee. (CNESST)
It is important to point out that, since the introduction of the concept of psychological
harassment in the NTA, the House of Commons has adopted Bill C-65, An Act to Amend
the Canada Labour Code (harassment and violence). This law proposes a number of amendments to the legislation and strengthens the power to develop strict regulations for the
prevention of harassment and violence in the workplace. The amended regulations will
include the following elements:
- «Require employers to implement comprehensive workplace harassment and violence
prevention policies to protect all employees from harassment and violence.
- Develop mandatory awareness and training sessions for employers, employees, workplace
committee members and health and safety representatives, including training on harassment and violence and prevention policies.
- Strengthen the role of local committees by increasing prevention measures.
- Define harassment and violence to include all inappropriate behaviour, including incivility,
teasing, bullying, sexual harassment, verbal assault, and physical and sexual assault.»
(Government of Canada, 2018)
This Act extends employers’ obligations with respect to allegations of harassment and
violence, including sexual harassment and violence in the workplace. Initially, the employer
was required to «investigate, record and report, in accordance with the regulations, all
accidents, occupational illnesses and other hazardous occurrences known to the employer.»
Under Bill C-65, the employer has an obligation to «investigate, record and report, in
accordance with the regulations, all accidents, occurrences of harassment and violence,
occupational illnesses and other hazardous occurrences known to the employer.»
(Employment and Social Development Canada)
Since January 1, 2019, the employer must also implement and make accessible to its
employees a policy for the prevention of psychological harassment and the handling of
complaints. Under the NTA, if the employer himself harasses, he is held responsible for
his own conduct.
Let us return to the case of Marie-Josée. She is facing psychological harassment as defined
by the following conditions: she is being treated with hostility; her competencies are being
questioned; and she is being isolated from the group. More specifically, she is a victim of
repeated unpleasant verbal comments (closely watched, competencies questioned) and is
subject to unwanted conduct (no support from colleagues) that affect her psychological
integrity (loss of confidence, anxiety, fatigue). We should point out that the behaviour need
not be repeated for it to be a case of psychological harassment. It is sufficient if the alleged
behaviour is serious and can be shown to have had continued harmful effects on the
employee. Nor should the definition exclude sexual harassment or any other form of
harassment covered by the provisions found in Section 10 of the Québec Charterof Human
Rights and Freedoms (for more information on this subject, see Chapter 2). With the exception of federal government employees, all employees in Québec, regardless of the sector
or job category they belong to, are protected by legislation that deals with
psychological harassment.
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The Act Respecting Labour Standards states that harassment occurs under four conditions:
1. Unpleasant behaviour that is repeated or serious
- Events taken individually often seem trifling, but when examined together more closely
it becomes clear that harassment has occurred (verbal comments, gestures, conduct).
- The event is serious enough to have consequences that are repeated over time
(aggression, violence).
2. Hostile or unwanted
- The victim does not necessarily have to have clearly indicated his/her refusal
or disapproval.
3. Affects dignity or psychological or physical integrity
- The victim has experienced personal or professional prejudice, either physical
or psychological.
4. Harmful work environment
- The harassment victim is afraid to go back to work on Monday, because the atmosphere
is heavy and could create a feeling of isolation.
It should be made clear that, for harassment to occur, it is not necessary for the alleged
harasser to have committed the alleged acts deliberately; it is the effect on the person
involved that counts and not the alleged intention. Harassment can come from different
sources: a co-worker, group of colleagues or hierarchical superior (as in the case of
Marie-Josée), or even someone from outside the company, for example a customer, patient,
supplier or visitor. In all these cases, as a manager representing the company it is your
responsibility to prevent or stop harassment.
10.5.2 Employer obligations and comittments regarding
psychological harassment
According to the Act Respecting Labour Standards, employees have the right to a healthy
work environment, free from psychological harassment. Consequently, employers have
the obligation to take the necessary steps to prevent and stop this kind of conduct within
the company, as soon as they are informed of such behaviour. However, these obligations
involve means and not results. In other words, even if all effective means have been
implemented to stop harassment, employers cannot guarantee that there will be no harassment in the company. They are responsible not only for the conduct of their representatives,
managers and directors, but also for the conduct of their employees. The employer must
thus make very clear, serious commitments. Figure 10.2 summarizes the
employer's obligations.
Employers must speak frankly about psychological harassment with their employees. They
must first have the necessary information to make employees aware of the problem and
draw their attention to it. In this way, they will be informed of the procedures set up by
the company and will know what their individual responsibility is in creating a workplace
free of psychological harassment. In the preceding scenario, the director of the childcare
centre where Marie-Josée works should have written up directives dealing with psychological harassment and made a commitment to all employees to see that they were complied with. She also could have pointed out what behaviours employees should avoid and
the repercussions these actions would have on the work climate.
Appendix 10.1 contains a sample statement of the employer's commitment suggested by
the CNESST. This kind of commitment to providing a work environment free of psychological
harassment applies to all employees. Employers must inform them of the commitment using
all the means at their disposal, from one-on-one meetings to group meetings, memos and
messages included with pay slips. This information may be distributed via the intranet, printed
in the company newsletter, tacked on bulletin boards or posted in locker rooms. Whatever
the means, the goal remains the same — to reach everyone in the organization. All employees
must put up a common front to promote a healthy workplace, which implies everyone
working together.
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Figure 10.2
The employer's psychological harassment obligations
pioyer’s cOmmMitm,
in
em
talk about jp
+ Inform
+ Intervene
+ Settle
+ Evaluate
+ Support
+ Improve
+ Correct
+ Monitor
Source: www.cnesst.gouv.qc.ca/Publications/200/Documents/NT200-281
web. pdf.
Employers also have an obligation to detect risk factors that could give rise to psychological
harassment. The first step is to make a list of situations that might pose a risk of psychological harassment. Employers should encourage all employees to participate in this step,
so they become aware of the causes of harassment and the consequences on the work
environment and people who become victims. Employers must also evaluate and set up
procedures to eliminate the risk factors. The following are some examples of risk factors
identified by the CNESST:
- Lack of respect among people
- Long-standing interpersonal conflitets
- Envy or rivalry
- Poor communication within the organization
- Excessive competition
- Ambiguity or role conflict
- Unfair decisions (salaries, distribution of workload, promotions)
- Code of silence (omerta)
- Poorly managed organizational change
- Inadequate work techniques or physical environment
~ Etc.
When developing procedures to correct a situation, the company must prioritize risk
factors, starting with situations that are considered high risk. It must also make certain to
follow the schedules that have been set. It may ask its human resources department to
intervene, or call on external specialists, using rules and practices developed by other
organizations where appropriate.
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In the case involving Marie-Josée, an external advisor could have been hired to arrange a
meeting between Marie-Josée and the other employees to engage in constructive dialogue,
which would have eased the discord. Periodic meetings could also have been organized
to ensure follow-up and evaluate the progress made.
Even more important, employers must settle any cases of harassment as quickly as possible
once they are detected or reported. In Marie-Josée’s case, the director could have intervened after their conversation. Through periodic follow-up, she would have been able to
act before the situation deteriorated further, before Marie-Josée fell ill or before she lodged
a psychological harassment complaint. The CNESST recommends calling in an impartial,
credible and competent third party, whose intervention can take the form of mediation.
(For more information on the characteristics of mediation, see Chapter 9). If the situation
worsens, it is up to the manager to help the alleged victim of psychological harassment by
removing him/her from the unhealthy work environment. The director of the CCC could
have suggested to Marie-Josée that she change teams to get away from the source of the
psychological harassment. Here are some measures suggested by the CNESST:
- Indemnity for sick leave
- Progressive return to work
- Leave with or withour pay
- Psychological support
- Indemnity for medical treatments
l'assurance maladie
- Professional training
or medication
not covered
by the Régie de
When a case of psychological harassment is officially recognized, the employer must learn
from the case, review human resources management practices and improve them. Special
attention must be paid to the company’s values, the effectiveness of conflict resolution,
the quality of the work climate, managers’ leadership styles, the quality of communications
and the organization of work.
In conclusion, as we have said above, you as a future manager will eventually have to
supervise a work team and assume responsibilities with regard to OHS. For example, your
organization will have to choose personal protective equipment and provide it for free to
employees, while you as a manager or supervisor will be required to inform and train new
employees on how to work safely. To do so, you will have to ensure the safety and cleanliness of the workplace, ensure that work organization and techniques are safe, promote
the prevention of accidents and occupational diseases and conduct accident investigations.
As a manager, you will also need to offer preventive measures (listening, support, training
and information, EAP programs, etc.) to employees who have suffered employment injuries,
in order to ensure a healthy return to work and prevent the situation from worsening
or recurring.
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Ata
Glance
In the realm of occupational health and safety, laws and regulations carry great weight. As
a result, technical aspects are very important in this management sector. Nevertheless,
managers must not shirk their responsibilities and duties. Managing health and safety in the
workplace does not fall only on the shoulders of specialists; it depends mainly on the quality
of communications, support, listening and awareness — all of which are the responsibility
of the immediate superior.
You cannot expect the human resources department to detect signs of burnout in your
co-workers or to make certain psychological harassment does not occur in your team. No
one is better situated than you to oversee the physical and psychological health of your team
members, with whom you work closely to achieve the organization's goals. Obviously, situations vary greatly depending on the type of company a manager works for. We have
attempted to illustrate some typical cases, both where human resources are available and
where they are not.
If you work for an SME without human resources department, your responsibilities will no
doubt be much more extensive and may at times include technical aspects. What is important
is to have an overall view of a manager's responsibilities, so you can prevent risks involving
safety and health in the workplace and ensure the physical and psychological well-being of
one of the organization's vital resources.
®
Figure 10.3 summarizes a manager's occupational health and safety responsibilities.
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Figure 10.3
The manager and occupational health and safety
Available HRM tools
Essential knowledge
Pitfalls or mistakes to avoid
— AOHS
= AIAOD
— Accident prevention
— Investigation procerss
— NTA
— Right of refusal to perform a job
= Relationship between demands and
decision latitude
— Making prevention an individual
responsibility
— Trivializing the first signs of burnout
— Attributing the effects of stress to an
employee's inability to cope
— Leaving an alleged harasser in
—
—
—
—
Sequence of causes
Progression of burnout symptoms
List of stress factors at work
Employer's statement concerning
psychological harassment
— Sources of work stress
— Psychological harassment
proximity to their victim
— EAP
Help from HR department
Roles and responsibilities
of the manager
— Good knowledge of personal
protective equipment
and
supervision to ensure equipment
is worn,
Evaluation of risks of accidents
Information and training for newly
hired employees
Organization of work and safe
techniques
Prevention
Investigation afteran accident
occurs
Detection of signs of stress and
burnout
Listening to employees
Elimination of harmful factors at
the source
The manager and
occupational health
and safety
equipment
— Conduct accident investigation
— Analyze workstations
— Design ergonomic workstations
— Provide individual therapy
Roles of other players
297
— Supervise employee's return to work
— Provide medical follow-up
— Wear personal protective equipment
— Promote a health and safety culture
— Serve on health and safety
committees
— Set an example for new employees
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— Interpret legislation
— Develop prevention program
— Choose personal protective
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Are You
Ready?
1. Why is it important for a manager to look after the physical and
psychological well-being of company employees ?
The economic, social, moral and personal stakes in occupational health and safety (OHS)
are major strategic concerns for organizations. Since human resources play a crucial role
in a company’s success, health and safety prevention should not be seen as a cost but
rather as an investment and a competitive advantage. As a future manager, you should
make certain to offer your employees a healthy work environment so you can benefit from
their full potential.
See the introductory section.
2. What can I do to encourage workers to wear their protective
equipment properly?
As a manager, it is up to you to see that employees are made aware of the risks they take if
they do not wear the mandatory protective equipment. The ideal approach would be to set
an example by wearing the equipment yourself and to describe the case of a co-worker who
suffered the consequences of his own negligence by not using the safety equipment.
Employees must be shown how to wear and use the equipment. It is advisable for them to
be able to try different models of equipment before making a final choice, and to select the
one that best suits their tasks and workstation. It is up to you to see that the personal protective equipment is used properly. Don't hesitate to use positive reinforcement. It is better
to congratulate employees who use the equipment than to penalize those who don't, even
though it is sometimes necessary to impose disciplinary measures.
®
See section 10.2.1.
3. What is the best way to prevent accidents?
As regards occupational health and safety, the principal role of a manager or a supervisor is
to inform employees under his/her supervision about the risks involved in their job. You
must provide training and ensure adequate supervision so they can acquire the skills and
knowledge required to do their job in complete safety. A thorough analysis of the workplace
is imperative to identify the characteristics of the various workstations and eliminate contaminants on the premises or hazardous materials in use that might have a harmful effect
on employees’ health and safety. However, the best way to prevent accidents is to eliminate
at the source anything that can harm employee health and safety. Corrective measures are
useful because they modify factors that cause accidents, but they are often used in one
specific instance; nothing guarantees that the changes will have any lasting, permanent effect.
Various preventive measures exist, affecting areas such as purchasing policies (avoid bringing
anything into the workplace that could create a hazard) and training for supervisors and
managers (for example, inspection methods and investigation techniques). An investigation
conducted after an accident will help to identify the most appropriate preventive measures.
See section 10.2.
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4. What role does a manager play during an accident investigation?
When an accident occurs in your workplace and you are responsible for the injured person,
you must see that he/she receives first aid without delay and goes to consult a doctor of
his/her choice, if the situation warrants. Next, you must notify the CNESST if the accident
is serious and has caused serious injury, or has resulted in the death of the employee. After
an accident, you must conduct an investigation to discover the main causes of the accident
and establish the sequence of events. The accident investigation is thus a fundamental step,
as it brings to light factors that must be remedied in order to avoid a similar accident recurring.
It is an invaluable prevention tool.
See section 10.3.1.
5. What are the principal sources of stress?
Stress factors may arise from three distinct sources: society, the individual and work.
Economic and technological changes resulting from the globalization of markets have drastically altered the way companies do business, putting pressure on organizations to increase
productivity. In order to boost profitability and remain competitive with developing economies, many Western companies have tried to cut labour costs by streamlining staff, reducing
job security and increasing precarious employment. These decisions have intensified
demands on productivity and weakened the employment relationship, further aggravating
insecurity and stress. Individual characteristics reflecting sociodemographic and personal
factors, such as age, gender and personality, can also influence how people react to stress.
In addition, tragic life events, such as the death of a loved one, divorce or family or financial
problems, can also affect a person's psychological balance. While work itself can be a major
source of stress, it is the factor a manager can most easily act on. There are four major stress
factors, related to: the physical environment and work technique; the task; work organization;
and psychosocial issues.
See section 10.2.2.
6. What is the manager's role in case of psychological harassment?
Employers have the obligation to take the necessary steps to prevent and stop any kind of
psychological harassment within the company, as soon as they are informed of such behaviour. However, these obligations involve means and not results. In other words, even if all
effective means have been implemented to stop harassment, the employer cannot guarantee
that there will be no harassment in the company. Nevertheless, employers are responsible
for the conduct of their representatives, managers, directors and even employees. Managers
must speak frankly with their employees to make them aware of the problem and inform
them about conduct they should avoid and the consequences of psychological harassment
in the work climate. They must also attempt to detect risk factors that could give rise to
psychological harassment, evaluate them and set up procedures to eliminate them as quickly
as possible.
See section 10.5.2.
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On
Your
Mark,
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Review!
&
coos
yee 20 rs
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1.
As amanager, are you legally responsible for employee safety?
2.
What is the difference between the Act Respecting Organizational Health and Safety
and the Act Respecting Industrial Accidents
and Occupational Di:
?
3.
Do you have an OHS role to play if you work in a sector other than the
manufacturing sector?
4.
Should the immediate supervisor be part of the team in charge of an investigation?
5.
What are the signs of work stress and how can you detect them in your employees?
6.
When can you conclude that psychological harassment has occurred?
Discuss!
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1.
Companies that invest more than their competitors in OHS perform better.
2.
When recruiting new employees, you should analyze their predisposition to safe
behaviour.
3.
All accidents can be avoided.
4.
Men are more at risk for industrial accidents and occupational diseases than
women.
5.
When an employee is experiencing mental health problems that are not related to a
professional activity, it is not up to the manager to intervene.
6.
The principal criterion used to decide whether or not psychological harassment has
occurred is the alleged victim's perception of the situation.
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Your Turn!
Oliver looks after the client accounts in the finance department, where he supervises 12
employees. He was promoted to the position a year ago and his department has quickly
become one of the most productive in the group.
Since his superiors trust him, they gave him an important dossier to look after six months
ago. Subsequent to an administrative restructuring, more than 80,000 accounts had to be
converted into another type of insurance contract that is very different from the previous
one. It was quite a crisis situation, which could certainly result in an excessive workload.
Since then, Oliver's days start at 7:30 in the morning and rarely finish before 9:00 in the
evening. He has to juggle everything at once, from the administrative aspects to his
troops’ morale. He has to keep his team motivated and continually come up with innovative
solutions to client demands.
Little by little, intense physical fatigue has been setting in. Oliver manages his work as best
he can, but he is operating on automatic pilot. There isn’t enough time on the weekend to
recuperate. His natural biological rhythm is getting thrown out of kilter. Some nights, Oliver
doesn't get any sleep and other nights, he falls into a deep sleep lasting 14 hours, but he
always has the impression when he wakes up of not having had a good night's sleep.
He realizes that he tends to forget things, is having trouble concentrating and is experiencing speech problems but he pushes ahead, digging deep into his reserves to fight his
accumulated fatigue. What keeps him going is knowing that the work is progressing very
well. Oliver and his team are even garnering praise for their effective work.
Because he doesn't have enough time for everything, Oliver ends up dropping out of his
workout routines, although he really enjoys them. He isn’t home very much, which is
creating tension in his family. At times, he feels intense fatigue. When the pace of work
speeds up, his blood pressure drops several times a day; he is also experiencing vision
problems and dizzy spells.
One morning while driving to the office, Oliver blacks out for a few seconds. He is travelling
80 km/h and doesn't see the red light or the cars that stopped at the light. He just barely
misses having an accident. Although his brain is still working fine, his body is having trouble
keeping up.
When Oliver consults a doctor, the diagnosis — as expected — is burnout. The doctor
prescribes a period of total rest for Oliver.
Questions
1.
Could Oliver have avoided ending up in such a situation? How?
2.
Shouldn't Oliver’s supervisor have realized what state his subordinate was in? What
advice would you give this manager so he/she could identify work stress and
burnout problems affecting team members more quickly?
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References
Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST).
www.cnt.gouv.qc.ca/en-cas-de/harcelement-psychologique-ou-sexuel/index.html#c8480.
Mental Health Commission of Canada (2016). Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace.
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/Francais/system/files/private/document/mhcc_
®
workplace_promo_fr.pdf.
Dubertrand, M.(2011). Des entreprises championnes de la prévention, 14(4), CRHA. ordre-
crha.org/ressources/revue-rh/archives/des-entreprises-championnes-de-la-prevention.
Employment and Social Development Canada (2018). www.canada.ca/fr/emploi-developpement-social/programmes/sante-securite-travail/consultation-harcelement-violence.html.
Government of Canada (2018). Proposed regulatory framework: Harassment and violence https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/workplacehealth-safety/consultation-harassment-violence.html andhttps://www.canada.ca/conten/
dam/esdc-edsc/documents/programs/workplace-health-safety/Proposed_Regulatory_
Framework-en.pdf
Granger, R. (2018). Directeur Général du Bonheur, what else? www.manager-go.com/
ressources-humaines/chief-happiness-officer.htm.
Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal (2018). www.iusmm.ca/hopital/
sante-mentale/en-chiffres.htmI.
Kuras, D. (2018). McKesson Canada is named one of Montreal's Top Employers. https://
www.meckesson.ca/en.
Institut national de la santé publique du Québec. 2016.
Leka, S. (2004). Organisation du travail et stress: approche systématique du probleeme
4 l'intention des employeurs, des cadres dirigeants et des représentants syndicaux,
Organisation mondiale de la santé. 27 pp.
Pérusse, M. (2014). Le coffre 4 outils de la prévention des accidents en milieu de travail, 4"
edition, Napierville (Quebec City), Groupe de communication Sansectra.
$SQ (2018). ssq.ca/fr/carriere/conditions-travail-avantages-sociaux/politique-sante-mieuxetre.
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Appendix 10.1
Employer's Declaration of
Commitment
Name of the company:
Affirms that respect between people is a fundamental value of the company.
No disrespectful behaviour will be tolerated:
- by a supevisor toward an employee;
- by an employee toward a supervisor;
- by an employee toward a colleague;
- by several employees toward a colleague;
- by a third party toward a company employee.
In addition, each employee has a responsibility to contribute, through his/her conduct, to
the maintenance of a healthy work environment free of psychological harassment.
agrees to:
Name of the company
- prevent psychological harassment in the workplace as defined by the Act Respecting
Labour Standards;
- stop psychological harassment when such a situation comes to its attention.
IN THE EVENT OF A PROBLEM
Any employee who believes he or she is the target of inappropriate or malicious acts or
behaviour may contact
Name and position of the designated person
in complete confidentiality to ask him/her to intervene in order to resolve the situation
quickly.
I give my assurance that my intervention will be impartial, respectful and fair, that | will act
with discretion to resolve the situation and that | will require confidentiality for anyone
| meet during the resolution of the situation. | also guarantee that no employee will be
penalized for requesting such an intervention.
Signature of the designated person
Date
Signature of the employer
Date
Source: waw.cnt.gouv.qc.calfil
i n’ pdfDeclaration_de_|_
pat,
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Mobilizing Your
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11.1 A Manager's Mobilization Goals
11.2 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities in Mobilization
11.3 What Does it Mean to Mobilize Personnel?
11.4 Why Do People Mobilize?
11.5 How to Mobilize Your Troops
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As a manager, one of your principal responsibilities will be to mobilize the
employees in your work team. The answers to several questions presented in
=
this chapter will help you in carrying out this role.
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1, What do we mean by “mobilizing employees”?
2. Why do employees mobilize?
3. What role do managers play in mobilizing employees?
4, Can mobilization have negative effects on some employees?
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Work
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Scenario
Andrea has been at her new job for three months now. She
is in charge of online marketing at CuisiPro, a company that
sells top-of-the-line kitchen products across Canada. Andrea
hesitated for some time before deciding to leave her previous
position with another company. She had built up excellent
relationships with her team members there and, after seven
years with the company, had grown attached to it.
Management at CuisiPro made the young woman a very
attractive offer, which
came
at an opportune
time in her
career. In this new position, she not only had a larger team to
manage, but also gained increased responsibilities in planning
and developing marketing strategies, duties she particularly
enjoyed. In addition, they offered her a very generous salary
package, much higher than her previous employer could have
afforded. The position seemed made to measure for her, or
so she thought.
Her first mandate at CuisiPro was to double the online sales
volume, a goal that her new team hadn't managed to reach
since the company
had undergone
a major
restructuring
nine months before. Encouraged by the experience she had
gained in her previous job, Andrea felt quite self-assured and
very enthusiastic at the thought of meeting this challenge.
She already had a whole raft of ideas floating in her head to
improve her new team’s results.
A few months after starting in her new position, Andrea was
Sophie and Thomas, two employees who seemed quite
mobilized, made some interesting proposals, such as send-
ing some team members to the next international conference
on the latest web transactional technologies, or preparing
focus groups with typical customers to better understand
their needs. However, three of their co-workers immediately
pointed out potential obstacles, such as the fact that it would
increase their workload or that it would not bring anything
more to the data that they already have, which stopped any
new proposals from team members. The result: in spite of all
her efforts, Andrea was only able to reach a quarter of the
objectives that had been set for her.
Her present situation is in sharp contrast to her previous job.
Contrary to what she had been told when she was recruited,
she slowly discovered that the work climate at CuisiPro was
quite intense, especially because many employees were still
bitter about concessions and sacrifices they had to make
during the restructuring period.
Andrea now wonders what more she could do; she is even
beginning to doubt her managerial competencies: "Do |
really have the qualities required to manage employees and
mobilize them? How come everything went so well at my old
job and things just aren't working out here?” When you take
everything into account, did she perhaps change jobs a little
too fast?
brought quickly back down to earth. Several members of her
team were less than enthusiastic about her projects. When
she attempted to convince them to participate in the process,
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This scenario exemplifies a question that is raising a lot of interest in the business world.
Why do certain organizations succeed better than others in reaching their goals or in
outmanoeuvring the competition? There have been many attempts to explain this phenomenon in the history of modern management, but one idea stands out. Organizations
that succeed have one factor in common: they have managed to mobilize the hearts and
minds of their employees by rallying them around unifying goals or meaningful causes.
What does “mobilizing employees’ minds and hearts” mean? In her managerial role, why
isn’t Andrea able to mobilize her new team at CuisiPro? What conditions must be in place
to reach high levels of employee mobilization? What means and strategies can managers
like Andrea use to attain this goal? You will find the answers to all these questions in this
chapter. First, we will describe a manager’s main mobilization goals.
11.1 A Manager's Mobilization Goals
It is generally agreed that mobilization is a shared responsibility among many players in
a company; management, the human resources department, managers and employees. It
would be a perilous exploit to attempt to determine each player's role in exercising these
responsibilities, but it is clear that, as a manager, you will have a crucial role to play,
especially in creating conditions favourable to mobilizing employees. Can we get along
without leaders? The answer is quite likely no! While high-performing sports teams generally have particularly talented players in their ranks, they also have, above all, good
coaches who are able to devise a winning game plan, spark the right chemistry among
players and cement team spirit. In the same way, efficient work teams cannot do without
inspiring managers.
Why worry about mobilization? Why is it so important? The reason is actually quite simple:
mobilizing employees and managers leads directly to improved organizational performance.
A number of studies confirm that a mobilized workforce makes a significant contribution
to increasing customer satisfaction, productivity and efficiency, as well as to reducing
labour costs, absenteeism and staff turnover (Podsakoff et a/., 2009). What could explain
such impacts? On the one hand, employees who are highly mobilized are more effective
in their jobs. Since they have the organization's interests at heart, they willingly help others
improve their performance. These employees are usually absent less often and are less
inclined to leave the organization, resulting in substantial savings for the company. In
addition, collective performance and organizational success spread throughout the entire
workforce. In the sports world, for example, success is often contagious. When a team
starts winning, this success spreads a positive energy and shared enthusiasm among the
players. The energy then mobilizes the team, creating improved team spirit and encouraging
individuals and the team to do even better. One can easily imagine the opposite scenario
as well: repeated losses can, in the short or longer term, have negative repercussions on
player morale. If the coach or management doesn’t do something to turn the situation
around, these failures can end up completely demobilizing the team and even lead to
rebellion. The section next page shows how important it is for organizations to mobilize
all players.
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In the heart of the action
During these times of widespread competition, management
cannot ensure the company’s defence on its own. If everyone
puts their shoulder to the wheel, the organization will become
stronger and much more coherent. Various studies have confirmed the importance of rallying the troops. In 2014, a Deloitte
survey showed that boosting mobilization was a prerequisite
for improving financial performance. More specifically, organizations with mobilized employees had an average revenue 2.3
times higher than others. Meanwhile, a study by AON Hewitt in
2015 showed that highly mobilized sales representatives could
generate almost twice as many sales as moderately mobilized
representatives. According to these studies, the annual shortfall
due to employee demobilization is estimated at more than
$300 billion for American organizations.
Source: Oehler (2015), Stephan et al. (2014).
11.2 Managerial Roles and Responsibilities
in Mobilization
Although managers have a determining influence on mobilizing the members of their team,
they cannot succeed on their own. Company management, the human resources department and co-workers must all contribute to supporting managers in their mobilization efforts.
1. The mobilization role of company management consists mainly in formulating a stimulating vision and inspiring values that will form the basis of the effort devoted to mobilizing
all the employees (Chapter 1, section 1.2.3), Senior management must also ensure transparency in the information that is communicated to employees and support leadership
development for managers.
®
2. The main responsibility of human resources professionals is to propose inspiring human
resources policies and practices (Chapter 1, section 1.2.4). They must also equip managers
with the tools to mobilize, including training and awareness of the positive consequences
associated with a mobilizing leadership style. In addition to the HR policies discussed in
previous chapters (staffing, compensation, skills development), human resources professionals must ensure that managers keep the work optimally organized. Given the constraints
in the work environment, the nature of the jobs and the skills of the employees, they must
ensure that managers make the work as engaging as possible for employees. Also, it is
important to note that, if the company does not have a human resources department, this
responsibility will often fall to members of upper or middle management.
ot
3. As we will see in this chapter, managers can have a significant impact on the mobilization
of their employees, including demonstrating a motivational leadership style, as well as linking
the work and contributions of their employees to the organization's priorities and values. In
many organizations that favour a decentralized management style, managers also have the
responsibility to apply the human resources management practices put in place by their
human resource colleagues.
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. Although legally the organization has the right to require a minimum work performance from
its employees as per their contract, mobilization goes well beyond this. In particular, it is by
continually seeking to improve, by adhering to policies and organizational changes, and by
collaborating with their colleagues, that employees will contribute fully to the organization.
By mobilizing themselves, managers will set an example for other employees; as these
employees become more inclined to imitate them, mobilization will spread throughout the
entire company.
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In order to answer the questions presented at the beginning of the chapter and to improve
your understanding of mobilization, the rest of this chapter is divided into three sections.
First, we will define the concept of mobilization. In the second section, we will analyze
the reasons that encourage employees to mobilize, as well as the four conditions that favour
the creation of a stimulating, dynamic climate essential to mobilization. In the third part,
we will explain how, in your role as manager, you can encourage and support the mobilization efforts of your employees by using four time-tested levers to improve the atmosphere in the company and mobilize employees.
11.3 What Does it Mean to Mobilize Personnel?
To begin, we should note that mobilization is not a question of attitude or satisfaction, but
rather of behaviour. Mobilization is a concept associated with action, not intentions.
Furthermore, in an article devoted to this concept, Tremblay and Wils (2005) define
mobilization as “a critical mass of employees who accomplish actions (that may or may
not be part of their employment contract and may or may not be remunerated) that benefit
the well-being of others and their company and contribute to the accomplishment of a
collective endeavour.”
.
.
.
a
Let's go over the main elements of this definition. First, mobilization behaviours benefit
the organization. Even if the employee who accomplishes this kind of action does reap
positive effects, these behaviours mainly profit his/her colleagues and other members of
the organization. Secondly, these behaviours are, for the most part, organizational citizenship behaviours, since they go above and beyond the requirements found in the
employment contract. Remember here the case of Thomas and Sophie in the scenario at
the beginning of the chapter: these two employees were trying to find innovative ways to
achieve the objectives of Andrea’s team. These actions are also discretionary — one
cannot oblige a team to mobilize for a common cause. On the other hand, as we will see
in the next section, all employees are under the obligation to respect the requirements
related to their position and provide minimal performance. Third, mobilization is a question of numbers: one cannot speak of mobilization when only a few of the team’s or the
organization's employees decide to voluntarily adopt such behaviour. This is, in fact, the
case in Andrea's situation described at the beginning of the chapter. Even though Thomas
and Sophie seem to be mobilized by Andrea's projects and appear interested in her proposals, we can't say that the team is very mobilized since the other employees are trying
to foil Thomas and Sophie's efforts. Unfortunately, this working at cross purposes had only
one effect; it neutralized the team’s potential and prevented the team from giving the
superior performance Andrea expected. Mobilizing an entire team on a constant basis is
simply a pipe dream. However, the notion of critical mass remains a basic concept. You
must be able to count on a minimum number of employees if you want collective mobilization to produce the contagious effects you are after and the results you expect.
= -_
— Mobilization
pebrhoeandaror
AR
organization and are adopted
by a critical mass of employees
within the organization.
Figure 11.1 illustrates the main types of behaviour observed in organizations where
employees are mobilized. The 12 behaviours are divided into three categories: the employment contract, individual motivation and individual mobilization. These categories are not
part of a linear process, since an employee may exhibit individual mobilization behaviours
(for example, helping and coordinating with co-workers) without necessarily showing
obvious signs of individual motivation behaviours (for example, dedication to work or
competency development). However, the more inclined an employee is to adopt these
different behaviours, the more mobilized he/she will be. Having a large number of employees who are highly mobilized on an individual level will lead to real collective mobilization
throughout the company. Let's have a close look at these 12 behaviours.
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Figure 11.1
Behaviours related to mobilization
obilization
Participation
in intemal
civic life
Collective
endeavour
a
ontinuous
ance with employmens =
Nr. a,
%
improvement
Sportsmanship
(fair play)
KS
Coordination
with others
Source: Translated
from M. Tremblay and T. Wils (2005).
Critical mass
11.3.1 Compliance with employment contract
The “compliance with employment contact” prerequisite involves two types of behaviour:
(1) performance of prescribed duties; and (2) professional and ethical behaviours. If you
want to have a minimum of success as a manager, you have to ensure that, first of all, the
people you are responsible for do the tasks assigned to them, in other words meet the
“normal requirements of the job.” Chapter 2, as you will remember, deals with the duty
of diligence that employees must respect. This refers to the quantity and quality of work
employees must normally provide to their organization. (section 2.3.2). Job descriptions,
presented in Chapter 4 (section 4.3.1), usually allow us to gauge performance, since they
provide a fairly detailed description of regular, normal job duties employees must accomplish. Performance in one’s role or in the assigned tasks is the starting point of mobilization,
because employees whose performance is unsatisfactory, whether through a lack of will
or skill, can hardly help their co-workers. Their poor productivity may even harm the
collective performance of the team or unit. However, employees who perform their usual
duties adequately but with little regard for other employees or the common cause are
certainly not the most mobilized. In this vein, it can be said that compliance with the
employment contract is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for mobilization.
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The second type of behaviour associated with employment contract compliance involves
“ethical or professional integrity” behaviours. These behaviours also stem from the employment contract; employees who do not respect them may face serious disciplinary sanctions
(see Chapter 9, section 9.2.4). The Toolbox provides examples of behaviours reflecting a
low level of professional integrity, which are often detrimental to any attempt at mobilization
because they increase co-workers’ workload, make coordination more difficult and reduce
the quality of customer service. On the contrary, behaviours that reflect professional integrity
are necessary for maximum mobilization because they offer numerous advantages (such as
improved productivity, less absenteeism, fewer errors) and reinforce a mobilizing culture
that values employees’ presence and efforts.
Toolbox
Behaviours reflecting low professional integrity
= Pascal is not punctual. He often arrives 10 or 15 minutes late for work, because
he is not a “morning person” and has trouble getting up.
- Jacinthe often extends her breaks by several minutes to chat with her
co-workers about things that have nothing to do with work.
- Jonathan has been absent three times in the last three months, without letting
his immediate supervisor know.
- Fatima often extends her lunch break to have a smoke. She feels that since
other employees do it, why shouldn't she!
- Julie often surfs the Net during work hours, paying bills, doing her banking and
planning her holidays, and she doesn't necessarily make up the time later.
11.3.2 Individual motivation
Although the first behaviour category results in minimal but acceptable performance, the
second offers the hope of superior performance, thanks to strong individual motivation.
As shown in Figure 11.1, this category brings together two kinds of behaviours: (1) dedication to the job; and (2) competency development. People who are committed to their
job share a desire to do more: devote more time, assume more tasks and accomplish more.
= _
_ Individual motivation
cn eneray tam bal
tiie aupactasons of ihe
— employment contract, as
As a manager, you will enjoy working with these employees because they add value to
seared eos
your work team. If you ask them to put in extra work when the team is overloaded, they
will usually agree. They are also willing to take on extra duties and work harder than is
normally expected of them when the situation warrants. Such enthusiasm can only be
voluntary, since enhanced performance stems from strong personal motivation and goes
above and beyond the job itself. It would be difficult for you to oblige employees to act in
such a manner. However, as a manager, you can create conditions that have the most
chance of stimulating employees’ devotion to their job.
professional development.
ites
The second type of behaviours linked to individual motivation relates to competency
development. Like dedication, these actions do not stem from the employment contract,
but they can benefit both the individual and the organization. Professional development
refers to steps an employee takes to acquire new knowledge, improve skills and be well
informed about the company’s products and services as well as of changes within the
organization. Employees who do this can become strategic resources when changes or
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strong competition occur. As we saw in Chapter 8, one of managers’ responsibilities is to
develop their employees’ competencies. With regard to mobilization, you must not only
encourage this growth, but also support your employees in the development projects
they undertake.
To summarize, we see that individual motivation behaviours are important for several
reasons. On one hand, they offer employees the possibility of performing better in their
present position or of independently and effectively assuming additional responsibilities.
In addition, these employees will be better able to solve problems and propose valid
changes as alternatives. Although motivation is seen as an asset for managers, employees
driven by individual motivation are not automatically motivated at the group level. To
illustrate this idea, let's think back to Andrea’s situation presented at the beginning of the
chapter, and revisited in the section below.
In the heart of the action
Andrea has been at her new job for a few weeks now. She
has had an opportunity to observe Marc-Antoine’s exemplary
performance. To further mobilize her team, she has him come
to her office, and suggests that he talk about his experience
with his co-workers and offer them some of his best “tricks of
the trade”
his co-workers, and he thinks some of them just don’t want
to work any harder. “Take Gilles, for example,” he explains
to Andrea. “He only has two years left before retirement and
spends all his time thinking about what he'll do when he can
stay home for good. Do you think he can really be convinced
to work harder? | don’t think so.”
Andrea is caught off guard when Marc-Antoine quickly declines
her suggestion. He doesn't really get along well with some of
You've probably all had an occasion to meet people like Marc-Antoine. They are strongly
motivated, high-performing individuals, but unfortunately, they pay little attention to their
colleagues and do not subscribe to collective team goals, The only things that count for
them are their own performance and success. Although such people are motivated, they
exhibit almost no individual mobilization. Since they are not open to others, mobilization
is impossible. This is why, when we consider the concept of mobilization, we reject the
idea that the sum of individual performances, as remarkable as they may be, constitutes
the best possible equation for effective action..
11.3.3 Mobilization: the art of improving others
In order to work towards greater mobilization, you must be open to other people. This
collective orientation is based on the idea of helping others perform, contributing to the
vigour of the social climate, other people's well-being and the sustainability of the organization. There are at least eight types of behaviour found in this third category, individual
mobilization. Without going into the details, the Toolbox on the next page presents examples of each one of these behaviours.
As mentioned above, the concept of mobilization means that a critical mass of employees
accomplish positive actions and agree to devote energy to the vision and mission charted
by the company. A handful of mobilized employees is insufficient to create a mobilized team
or company. The majority of employees must adopt several of the mobilization behaviours
described in this section, if the synergy created by the sum of individual mobilization is to
be transformed into collective mobilization and superior organizational performance.
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Toolbox
Examples of individual mobilization behaviours
Behaviour
Examples
Helping others
me
~ Share your knowledge and competencies with
your colleagues.
~ Look after a new employee.
~ Help out a colleague who is overloaded with work.
Facilitating
relationships
with others
~ Listen, encourage, congratulate and support others.
~ Defuse conflicts that flare up among team members.
- Cement team spirit and draw team members together
Acting in coordination
with others
~ Think about other people before taking action.
z
- Consider the effects your actions may have on other people.
~ Coordinate your actions with those of other people.
~ Accept the organization's constraints, principles and
a ard
—
:
;
- centuate e positive, eliminate the negative.
~ Avoid making mountains out of molehills.
= Stand behind decisions that are made.
Showing
sportsmanship
Being concerned
~ Suggest constructive solutions.
with continuous
- Support organizational changes, get behind them and
improvement
implement them.
Participating in the
~ Attend meetings.
company’s internal life | - Participate in social activities.
~ Take the organization's side when it is the object of criticism.
~ Encourage competent people to offer their servicesto
the company.
~ Participate in community activities.
~ Promote the organization's products and services.
Being loyal to the
company
~ Provide high quality service.
~ Be courteous and professional, even when dealing with
difficult clients.
Focusing on customers
~ Look for ways to improve customer service.
11.4 Why Do People Mobilize?
Now that you have a clearer idea what mobilization is, it's important to consider how it
can be encouraged. Why do people mobilize? While the answer may appear oversimplified,
_
Mobilizing environment
in general employees mobilize when there are positive interactions between the various
—_ 4 healthy, stimulating work
players in the company, as well as a healthy and stimulating organizational climate base
on a number of conditions. Your main responsibility as a manager is therefore to acton
feel trusted, supported,
_ recognized and fairly treated,
1
inth
1
health
d
stimulati
izational
climate
based
the conditions that will contribute to positive exchanges and establish an organizational
a
Pe
st98
.
climate that favours mobilization (mobilizing environment). In other words, you cannot
force your employees to mobilize; you have to prepare the groundwork so that they will
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environment where employees
3" empowered and committed
to the organization.
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participate in efforts to mobilize. As shown in Figure 11.2, mobilization is possible when
employees: (1) have confidence in their managers and the organization's upper management; (2) feel supported and recognized; (3) are treated fairly; (4) are empowered. In
organizations where these conditions prevail, there are higher levels of individual engagement, and employees have greater pride and enthusiasm in their work, It is the reciprocity
between positive employee reactions and the conditions for mobilization that creates an
organizational climate that can encourage employees to mobilize. Each of these conditions
will be explained in detail below.
Figure 11.2 Organizational climate favourable for mobilization
Conditions for
mobilization
.
———.
Employees reactions
_—>
+ Commitment
:
Reciprocity
ig
+ Enthusiasm
11.4.1 The role of trust
Oy
Trust is probably the main condition for creating a climate of mobilization. It is at the heart
of all exchanges between employees and their superiors, and is indispensable for collaboration
among employees working on the same team. Trusting other people means taking a risk.
As a manager, trusting an employee may put you in a vulnerable position, since in most cases
you are responsible for the results. Trust is based on what you know about other people,
their competency or their reputation. Although trust is built up gradually through frequent
day-to-day actions, it often takes only a single act to undermine or destroy it completely.
Studies show that in organizations where employee trust is high, employees are more satisfied,
more productive and more energetic. At the same time, they are less stressed, absent less
often and have a lower burnout rate. When trust is not there, cynicism takes over and this
leads, in the longer term, to a destructive climate of mistrust and disengagement on the part
of employees. So how can we build trust on a daily basis? The solutions are numerous and
quite simple, according to experts. It is mainly about giving the right facts, being transparent,
consulting employees and encouraging them to develop (Roulez, 2018).
To a certain extent, trust is the opposite of excessive control. The stronger the trust
between you and your employees, the less control you will need to exercise. Obviously,
employees will gladly mobilize if they are convinced you are not taking advantage of their
good will and if they feel your actions are benefitting the entire team, not just your own
career. The following Toolbox offers some practical advice to help you create and maintain
trusting relationships with your employees.
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Toolbox
Practical advice for creating and maintaining trusting relationships
with employees
- Act with honesty and integrity. The principle is simple: treat other people the
way you would like to be treated. Be honest with your employees. Dare to admit
your mistakes, because you can’t fool your employees — they understand you
are not perfect. You will soon see an atmosphere of trust grow between you and
your employees.
- Don’t make promises you can't keep. In order to dodge a problem or get
rid of an employee who is making a request, some managers are tempted to
make promises without thinking them through. When the annual performance
appraisal comes, for example, supervisors might, to keep the peace, tell an
employee they have just turned down a promotion but that he/she stands a
good chance of getting it next time, even if the manager doesn’t necessarily
intend to grant it. The employee's confidence in his/her superior will probably
be shaken when refused the promotion a second time, and he/she will be all
the more demobilized.
- Be coherent and consistent in decisions you make dealing with your
employees. Because they feel they are being treated fairly, your employees
will have more trust in you. Don’t forget to practise what you preach to your
employees, so your actions are consistent with your words.
11.4.2 The role of support and recognition
Support and recognition are essential components of mobilization; they show employees
that their superior is concerned about them and their company values them. These factors
have important repercussions, because they satisfy employees’ needs for approval and
belonging and affect their self-esteem. Recognition goes back to the notion of positive
feedback discussed in Chapter 7 (section 7.2.3). In concrete terms, it is the way an
organization or a manager expresses appreciation for employees’ efforts and achievements.
Recognition of the role played by employees can be expressed in the following ways.
- Thank employees who collaborate with others.
- Congratulate employees who make major contributions, which are too often ignored.
- Give public recognition to the work of certain employees.
- Encourage employees to persevere in difficult situations.
Almost half of managers report a lack of time and resources to recognize their employees.
However, they should consider that there is a great need for such recognition since, for
more than 90% of employees, acknowledgement of their daily efforts plays a major role
in their mobilization (Brun, 2013). Recognition appears not only in relations between
supervisors and employees, but can also come from co-workers or clients. We should point
out that customers’ expressions of satisfaction with the service they have received is an
extremely mobilizing form of recognition. Your employees will feel supported not only by
the recognition you show them, but also the help you provide when they are having trouble
at a professional or personal level. As far as work is concerned, your support can take the
form of timely assistance, either direct or indirect. In the first case, you could be more
available for employees who are experiencing conflict, help out someone who has been
given new responsibilities or advise an employee about his/her career in the company. In
the second, you could ask an experienced employee to answer a new employee's questions
or help an overworked colleague. At the interpersonal level, support can be expressed by
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taking a person's personal problems into account in scheduling work, listening more closely
and showing more empathy. Recognition and support will clearly help to preserve a mobilizing environment, because mobilization must be supported! The section that follows
presents a case study highlighting various measures to recognize employees.
In the heart of the action
Following various organizational surveys, La Capitale Insurance
and Financial Services has targeted its workplace recognition
practices as its main employee mobilization strategy. In order
to create a real culture of recognition in the organization, the
company’s HR department has implemented various practices
and strategies, such as creating formal recognition programs
for managers and peers, orienting managers’ competency
profiles more toward recognition and proximity management,
and incorporating the recognition aspect into the company’s
strategic planning initiatives. Figure 11.3 presents the different
recognition practices adopted by La Capitale in recent years
(Brun and Parent, 2014).
11.4.3 The role of justice
It is increasingly understood that the trust and support perceived by employees are strongly
coloured by their judgment of how they are treated within the organization. This judgment
is usually based on three elements, as illustrated in the section below, Mirza, Nadine and
Justin work for a small company that manufactures organic household cleaning products;
they are talking about their annual performance appraisal that has just taken place.
In the heart of the action
Mirza feels especially bitter because he didn’t get promoted to
the supervisor's position. "I've given my heart and soul to this
company for six years, and now | learn that they've recruited
some new guy from the outside for the supervisor's position.
They knew | was really interested in that job. They even told
me last year that | had a good chance of getting it. That's really
not fair!”
Nadine has her story too. She can't figure out how Mark, the
company accountant, calculated the employees’ annual performance bonus. “I'm happy enough to have gotten $1,500 this
year, but | heard that the employees in the quality control team
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got almost twice as much. If that’s really true, I'd like to know
why.” Mirza responds with: "No sense wondering about it too
much. There's such a difference in bonuses from one year to
the next and from one person to the next! After all this time, |
still don’t understand what criteria management uses to decide
who gets how much for their annual bonus.”
“It really is frustrating,” adds Justin. “When | asked Mark why
my raise was barely 1.5% when my performance was excellent
all year long, | had the impression he answered with the first
thing that came into his head. It wasn’t much of an explanation.”
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Figure 11.3
Examples of recognition practices adopted by La Capitale
[- Managers’ sensitization workshop or conference
v
Reviewing internal monetary recognition programs
v
Actions that foster
Online training and distributed checklists for all staff
the adoption of
management
recognition practices.
o
a
a
5
managers’ competency profiles
Validation throughout
the selection interview
v
Inform senior
management
L_ Granting a discretionary recognition budget
|
v
of progressive
developments to
ensure transition
and continuity
[Integrating recognition culture into the business's strategic planning
Instituting official peer recognition programs
v
Training workshop for all managers
Actions that
foster a culture
of recognition
Communicating recognition practices to all staff
v
Creating a network of ambassadors
Vv
ee
Holding recognition workshops
v
L Improving the welcome and integration program for all staff
Source: Adapted from Brun and Parent (2014).
First, you can see that Mirza is questioning the decision made about his request for a
promotion; he feels it is unfair that he didn’t get the job he wanted. Then, Nadine wonders
about the criteria for allocating annual performance bonuses — she doesn’t know what
rules or procedures are used. Finally, Justin doesn’t think the explanations given by his
superior about his salary increase are satisfactory, which shows how poor relations are
between the two, These three situations involve the concepts of distributive fairness (Mirza),
procedural fairness (Nadine) and interactional fairness (Justin), which we will analyze below.
Distributive fairness deals with management decisions to distribute concessions, for
= —
Distributive fairness
An assessment employees
example: help or attention given an employee; organizational rewards, such as salary
ier inka se spapeeeiearen
increases, promotions, performance bonuses, granting of mandates or choice of vacation
schedules. In this case, individuals make a global assessment of what they have invested
in the company compared to what they receive, basing their judgment on criteria that go
back to the principles of fairness discussed in Chapter 6. Even if employees feel that
distributive fairness has been met, this opinion will not automatically result in major mobilization. However, employees who feel they have benefitted from an undeserved reward
will not necessarily make a larger contribution. As a manager, you will sometimes witness
behaviour on the part of employees who believe they have been unfairly treated, and so
offer less assistance to their co-workers or are less enthusiastic about their job.
hat they receive from it.
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‘Riacasees
ten
An assessment employees
make about how organizational
rules are respected and how
they are applied in decisions
concerning them.
Interactional fairness
An assessment employees
make about the quality of
interpersonal treatment and
the credibility of explanations
offered by their superior
regarding management
decisions.
Procedural
fairness refers to rules that govern the decisions you make as a manager.
Chapters 5, 7 and 9, which deal with selection, performance management, discipline
and conflict management, highlight how important rules are in the proper handling of
these activities. The evaluation of procedural fairness is largely based on the notion of
impartiality. Your employees will have questions about the existence, distribution and
knowledge of organizational rules you use in your decision making, They will also evaluate
whether you have applied these rules in a neutral, consistent fashion over time. An employee
who understands your company’s overtime rules may find it unfair, for example, that a
co-worker gets two days off for successfully completing an important deal with a client,
whereas two months earlier he/she only got one day off for doing the same thing. We
should point out that in cases like this, appeal mechanisms established by the company
can increase the feeling that procedural fairness is respected, as they allow employees to
express their point of view and eventually reverse an unfair decision.
Lastly, interactional fairness is based on employees’ evaluation of the quality of their
relationship with their superior, subsequent to a management decision. This judgment
usually involves the quality of interpersonal treatment and the credibility of the explanations
offered. Most of your employees will pay particular attention to the empathy and respect
you show them when you make an unfavourable decision (for example, refusing a salary
increase or promotion). In addition, they will expect your explanations to be sincere,
believable and reasonable. In other words, employees do not want their supervisor leading
them down the garden path. They would rather know how things stand, even if decisions
are not in their favour.
11.4.4 The role of empowerment
Empowerment
A perception by employees
that they are in control
of their work, and that
what they accomplish can
influence their team’s or their
Empowerment is defined as the perception of being in control of the tasks involved in your
work — of being “in charge.” Employees must feel that their job has meaning, that what they
do counts in their own eyes as well as in the eyes of others. When they are empowered,
employees have the impression that they can influence the results of their work, their team
and even their organization. Let us see how this applies to Aminata’s case, in the section below.
organization's results.
In the heart of the action
Aminata has just got her first summer job at Bureau Dépst,
in customer service. Her main duties are to answer phone
calls from customers who have questions about products
or complaints. She also deals with customers returning
merchandise to the store. As explained by her supervisor, her
main objective is to ensure complete customer satisfaction.
She
is very anxious to find solutions to the customers’ problems,
but realizes that her task is not so easy.
Although Aminata tries her best to satisfy customers, she has
the impression that she spends her time arguing with them.
The reason is that the new store manager insists that customer
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service employees follow the rules for returning merchandise
to the letter. Last week, for example, a dissatisfied customer
wanted to return a product, and Aminata had to refuse
because the customer's request came one day past the usual
14-day refund period. She also couldn't refund a customer
who brought back a product with the original packaging
damaged. Aminata is not happy with the way things are.
She feels the company is not providing her with the tools
she needs to perform her work properly to offer “complete
customer satisfaction.”
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As this example illustrates, there is nothing more frustrating for an employee than not
having the means to act. Even though Aminata is a mobilized employee, her efforts are
seriously limited by the company directives, which are inconsistent with the goals of her
job. Finally, keep in mind that employees generally mobilize when they believe that the
cause or goals to be met are important, that they are accomplishing useful tasks, or that
they have the power to act and influence results.
11.5 How to Mobilize Your Troops?
The four conditions we have just discussed encourage employee mobilization by producing
a pleasant, stimulating organizational climate. How can you, in your role as manager,
contribute to creating this kind of environment? What are the driving forces? They are the
following four organizational levers: (1) managerial leadership; (2) organizational mission,
vision and values; (3) HRM policies and practices; and (4) organization of work. The first
of these levers concerns you directly, while the last three involve mainly company management or the human resources department. You will, nevertheless, have a role to play as
manager in applying each of these elements and putting them into practice. Figure 11.4
illustrates the four mobilization levers.
Figure 11.4
Mobilization levers
Managerial
leadership
Conditions for
mobilization
Organization
9
of work
a
Employees reactions
————-
+ Commitment
+ Pride
Vision,
sare
mission,
+ Enthusiasm
values
:
¢
Reciprocity
HRM
“en
practices
Source: Adapted from M. Tremblay
et al. (2005).
11.5.1 Developing your leadership
As the above example indicates, employee mobilization is a major challenge for managers.
It appears that some managers more than others have the leadership qualities required to
mobilize employees. Generally, there are three main types of leaders among managers:
the motivator, the mobilizer, and the demotivator. Table 11.1 presents some of the
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characteristics of each of these profiles. Even though managers may borrow characteristics
from all three profiles, most of them tend to display one dominant style. Fortunately for
you, these abilities are not innate and can be learned.
Table 11.1
Characteristics of leadership styles
Motivating leader
Mobilizing leader
Demotivating leader
Employee
~ Founded on rewards related
to performance
~ More directive style
~ Based on trust, support and
mutual respect
z
~ More participatory style
~ Interventions usually negative
when
' errors
° or problems occur
~ laissez-faire style
- Defines and clarifies short-term
.
performance expectations
.
waa
is
- Aimed at individual interest
~ Provides long-term vision and
Shika
akin cih
unifying objectives
:
~ Aimed at collective interest
~ Does not provide
‘i
‘
ee
stimulating objectives
ee
~ Favours maintaining status quo
mecogmtion
~ Related to performance
~ Mainly monetary
~ Personal
~ Usually not monetary
~ Rare
~ Related to reprimands
Effects on
employees
- High individual motivation
- Low mobilization
~ May increase stress and fatigue
~ High level of mobilization
- Cooperation facilitated
~ Well-being and positive stress
~ Low motivation
- Demobilization
~ High stress and physical and
mental health problems
relationships
Setting
objectives
Source : Adapted from Tremblay et al. (2005),
A motivating leader usually establishes relationships of a contractual nature with his/her
employees, based on individual interest. These leaders concentrate on results and employee
behaviours, rewarding those who meet the requirements and punishing those who fail. They
offer incentives that employees value (for example bonuses, holidays, congratulations, etc.)
in exchange for results such as increased effort for specific objectives, If your leadership style
resembles that of the motivating leader, you are probably quite able to take advantage of the
entire range of incentives available in the organization to motivate your employees and
encourage them to reach individual performance levels that exceed expectations. Using
these measures aimed at individual motivation, you will encourage employees to show
dedication to the task at hand. However, that doesn’t mean that they will adopt helpful and
cooperative behaviours. A recent study has shown that, although motivating leaders positively
influence the mobilization of their employees, the impact of mobilizing leaders is 40% greater
(Piccolo et al., 2018).
Oy
Mobilizing leaders are a true source of inspiration, a model for their employees to follow.
They have the qualities of a good coach and their style is all about participation. They
have a good grasp of their employees’ strengths and weaknesses, encourage them to
improve, and stimulate them intellectually to see things from a different angle. As a manager,
you reflect this mobilizing style when you “walk the talk” and suggest goals that inspire
optimism and enthusiasm. By giving your employees a direction, you reflect the image of
someone who knows where they are going and give meaning to your employees’ work.
Supervisors who exercise this leadership style also know how to act fairly and recognize
individual and collective contributions. By being attentive, empathetic, respectful and good
listeners, mobilizing leaders help to create a climate of trust and support that will go a long
way towards encouraging employees to adopt mobilizing behaviours.
At the other end of the scale we find the opposite of these first two leadership styles, the
demotivating leaders, — the one no employee wants to have as their supervisor. These
leaders are fundamentally punitive. They are either constantly observing their employees,
ready to reprimand them at the first sign of a mistake, or else waiting for the situation to
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get worse so they can deal harshly with the offenders. In either case, the punitive aspect
takes the upper hand. These leaders are mainly interested in surveillance and offer little
support. You can understand the negative effect this kind of leadership has on all the factors
involved in mobilization, but also on their commitment and performance, adding to the
stress of employees and the likelihood of their leaving the organization (Schyns and
Schilling, 2013). Since they have little inclination to recognize their employees’ contribution
and are concerned mostly with avoiding problems, demotivating leaders undermine any
desire employees might have to mobilize.
Let's now look at how each of these leadership types would react in the context of current
management situations, In Table 11.2, you can see that motivating leaders, themselves
high-performing employees, usually attempt to come up with the solutions to employee
conflict and other problems that arise, whereas mobilizing leaders put their energies into
engaging employees in the search for solutions. In contrast, demotivating leaders will only
intervene when a problem gets worse or persists.
When it comes to change, mobilizing leaders never take anything for granted. They invite
employees to suggest improvements and encourage creativity in their work. Motivating
leaders usually play their cards by asking employees to increase their efforts. On the other
hand, the demotivating leader is a cause for concern in organizations that are undergoing
major changes, because they value stability and routine above all. The matter of employee
development is a constant preoccupation for mobilizing leaders, who derive satisfaction
from seeing their employees advance. Although neither motivating leaders nor demotivating
leaders take much initiative in this area, the former are more effective than the latter
because they know how to play to employees’ strengths.
Table 11.2
Leadership styles in management
Motivating leader
Problems and conflicts
- Finds solutions to problems on
his/her own.
among
- Open to suggestions
employees
Mobilizing leader
- Delegates and empowers.
~ Encourages risk-taking
and creativity.
Demotivating leader
~ Hopes problems will
solve themselves
~ Only intervenes in extreme cases
from employees
Improvement and
cha
- Creates improvement by
asking employees to increase
;
their performanc
~ Creates change by challenging
and stimulating ideas.
~ Favours maintaining status quo.
Professional
- Knows how to use each person’s
| - Works towards helping everyone
| - Shows little interest in individuals
development of
employees
competencies effectively.
- Takes few initiatives.
Inge
develop their full potential.
or their professional development.
11.5.2 Managers need to transmit organizational vision, mission
and values
The second lever that managers have at their disposal relates to the company’s vision,
mission and values. Successful mobilization is founded on common beliefs that give
employees reason to mobilize. The driving force for this mobilization comes from company
management; the aim is to inspire employees by presenting exciting projects, a vision or
a unifying ideal. But this is not always the case, as illustrated in the section next page.
When a critical mass of employees support these fundamentals — focused on the future
and the collective identity — mobilization acquires a sense of sustainability. Common
values reinforce convictions, create feelings of solidarity and instill a sense of commitment
and pride. By giving direction to the employees’ mobilizing energy, these elements, especially organizational values, enable them to attain a superior level of performance. This
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influence is felt even more when there is a strong convergence between personal values
and the values advocated by the organization.
Managers have a significant responsibility for this lever, although they don’t often participate in developing and defining the organization's mission, vision and values. As in
Chapter 7 (when it was a case of appropriating the strategic context), your role here is to
understand the meaning of these three fundamental aspects in order to be able to decipher
and transmit them to your employees. While all organizations have a mission and a vision
and advocate values, stating them on paper does not guarantee that they will mobilize
employees. Employees must perceive and experience them daily to find meaning in them.
In addition, they expect to find cohesion between the company’s mission, vision and values
on the one hand, and their goals and tasks on the other. For this reason, you must not only
put these values into action but also communicate them to your employees in simple,
concrete terms that are directly related to their work.
In the heart of the action
Arecent study came up with the disappointing finding thatonly
40% of employees were aware of their organization's vision.
| who embody the corporate vision in their work; they link the
organizational vision to team and individual goals; and they
For a vision to have any effect on employee engagement, it
‘ecognize and reward employees who put the organization's
must be reinforced among the employees by making it more
values into action.
visible and alive every day. To this end, companies such a5
source: Lavoie (2017). How to engage employees through your company
Ikea and Zappos have led the way: they promote employees _ vision statement; www.entrepreneur.com.
11.5.3 Managers must make good use of human resources practices
The human resources practices lever involves various activities, including staffing, performance management, monetary and non-monetary rewards, competency development,
and information sharing. This section will deal only with information sharing, since the
other points have been explained in detail in the previous chapters. However, the Toolbox
on the next page lists some tips on staffing, performance management, skills development
and rewards with a view to mobilization.
An important practice as an incentive to mobilization is the exchange of information, which
by definition is a two-way process. First, top-down information transmission includes the
ways in which the organization communicates relevant information to employees. This can
take the form of messages from the President or management, press releases posted on
bulletin boards or published in the company’s internal newsletter, information sessions,
etc. This practice is effective, because employees need information to know where to focus
their efforts in order to be mobilized. The exchange of information is also fruitful because
employees generally like to know how a major project undertaken by the company is
progressing, what new competition has appeared on the market, or what the company’s
financial situation is. As a manager, your role is to make your employees aware of the
importance of the information offered by the organization so they will be encouraged to
read and understand it. Regular feedback, whether positive or corrective (see Chapter
7), is also essential to help employees understand their role and results of them.
Second, information sharing from the bottom up represents the consideration organizations
give to employees’ questions, comments and suggestions. Practical examples include
employee focus groups or quality circles, as well as suggestion boxes. Using these tools is
usually a source of mobilization, because employees have the feeling that their opinion
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Toolbox
Staffing
- Look for personal characteristics related to mobilization, such as empathy, focus
on others and professional conscience.
- Avoid recruiting candidates who could harm the team’s mobilization.
- Favour internal recruiting in order to offer your employees opportunities
for advancement.
Performance management
- Set ambitious expectations and link them to the organization's priorities.
- Provide ongoing feedback to employees so they know where they stand.
- When doing their evaluation, discuss their strengths and their needs.
Rewards
- Focus on non-monetary rewards (for example, expressing
thanks, congratulations).
- Favour group monetary rewards over individual rewards because they
encourage cooperation and sharing among employees.
Competency development
- Put your employees’ abilities and strengths to their best use. Underusing job
skills is a strong factor in decreased mobilization.
- Encourage training and development to motivate and mobilize
your employees.
= Discuss future promotion opportunities and ways to fulfill them.
counts and their contribution is valued. As a manager, you can of course participate in
these official consultation mechanisms. But in a more spontaneous way, your role is also
to listen to your employees and speak often with them about their ideas and recommendations for improving work methods and how their team or the company runs. This
openness is particularly important for mobilization, as it allows you to create a climate of
trust with your employees.
In summary, remember that as far as mobilization is concerned, it is important to keep up
to date with the organization’s current human resources practices. This will enable you to
make maximum use of the system in place to support and mobilize your employees. You
will also notice the notable appreciation of an employee whose efforts you have recognized
or to whom you spoke about a new professional training program.
11.5.4 Managers should organize work in order to offer
opportunities for mobilization
The last lever involves practices related to the organization of work, in other words how
tasks are arranged between people and jobs. The way work is structured has a determining
influence on possibilities or opportunities for employees to mobilize. This influence is felt
mainly through empowerment; a diversified job that offers autonomy in an environment
that is not overly bureaucratized will generally be more favourable to mobilization. Despite
employees’ good will, the way work is organized can complicate the adoption of certain
mobilization behaviours. For example, cooperation is more difficult when employees work
on individual tasks. Also, dedication to tasks is rarely exhibited when they are split up,
repetitive or when employees are physically isolated. Finally, helping others will probably
be at a minimal level when the workload is too heavy.
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From this point of view, as a manager supported by a human resources department, you
should be interested in aspects like multi-skills, decision-making autonomy and teamwork.
You will need to organize work, to make it more participatory, interesting and flexible,
in order to derive maximum benefit from your employees’ collective intelligence. Table 11.3
lists various measures that, if appropriate to the work context, will enable you to reach
these three objectives, In some situations, especially in big companies, it probably won't
be possible for you to change the work organization structures. You can, however, mobilize
your employees by using various methods: consult them on the best way to accomplish
their work effectively, delegate certain responsibilities and even consider using teamwork
at times to solve specific problems. These measures will encourage employees to develop
certain collective behaviours, such as better coordination and coming up with suggestions
for changes or new ideas.
Table 11.3
A talent for organizing work
Modify work
organization to
make it more ...
Means at a manager's disposal
~ Reinforce interdependence among employees to increase cooperation and coordination...
- Set up teamwork activities if appropriate to work
f context.
~ Use groups of employees who meet voluntarily (for example, quality circles) to solve specific problems that
Crop up.
Participatory
~ Diversify positions where tasks are repetitive or split up.
. Offer employees with routine jobs the possibility of trading positions at specific intervals.
- Give employees greater freedom by assigning increased responsibilities.
- Consult employees about ways to improve work methods,
Interesting
®
~ Set up flextime work schedules or a compressed work week, either for the entire year or during slower periods.
Flexible
~ Allow two employees who want to work part-time to share a position.
~ Offer employees the possibility of teleworking if the nature of the work allows.
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Figure 11.5 summarizes the main elements of this chapter. Supporting efforts at mobilization is a complex, uncertain undertaking that is never completed. Management that inspires
mobilization requires authentic commitment on the part of the supervisor, exemplary
leadership qualities and strong consistency between words and actions. Before thinking
about mobilizing others, you must be mobilized yourself and act more like a leader than a
general. Mobilization requires constant effort on the part of all members of the organization.
It is worth the effort, however, as mobilization reinforces employees’ physical and mental
health and channels collective energy towards improved organizational performance.
HRM tools available
Pitfalls or mistakes to avoid
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AZZ
Are You
Ready?
1. What do we mean by “mobilizing employees”?
Mobilization behaviours are behaviours adopted voluntarily by employees that fall, for the
most part, outside employment contract obligations. Obviously, these actions benefit the
people who carry them out, but they also have positive repercussions on co-workers and
other members of the organization. Mobilization also requires a critical mass of employees,
since a small number of mobilized employees is not sufficient to ensure collective mobilization throughout the company and increased organizational performance. The three
major categories of behaviour associated with mobilization are compliance with the
employment contract, individual motivation and individual mobilization.
See section 11.3.
2. Why do employees mobilize?
Mobilization cannot be decreed; you cannot oblige employees to mobilize. However, you
can ensure that conditions are put in place that encourage employees to adopt mobilization
behaviours. Employees are usually more mobilized when they work in an organizational
environment they consider healthy and stimulating. To create these conditions, managers
must devote energy to developing trusting relationships with their employees, support
employees and recognize their efforts, treat them fairly and with respect, empower them
and ensure that they are affectively committed to the company.
&
See section 11.4.
3. What role do managers play in mobilizing their employees?
Managers can encourage and maintain employee mobilization by creating a favourable
work climate in the company. They can intervene at four different levels, corresponding
to each of the four mobilization levers. First, managers must acquire a leadership style
based on mobilization. Second, they must work at communicating the company’s mission,
vision and values to their employees, making certain they have been translated into simple,
concrete objectives that are directly work-related. Third, managers must learn about the
company’s HRM practices in order to support and reward employees and help them in
their training and development projects. Fourth, managers, together with human resources
departments, must organize work so that it becomes more rewarding for employees and
they can then make a real contribution to the organization's success.
See sections 11.1 and 11.5.
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4. Can mobilization have negative effects on some employees?
Managers must address two aspects that can, if not duly considered, lead to unexpected
results. First, those employees who are the most mobilized may not be adequately rewarded
(salary increases, bonuses, promotions) for their contributions, and may even be less
rewarded than some of their colleagues who focus their efforts on individual performance
and competition, to the detriment of team performance. The manager must absolutely
avoid punishing the most mobilized employees, i.e. those who work selflessly, which is
often difficult for the immediate supervisor to detect. Second, managers must be sensitive
to the fact that, when employees have no discretion in managing their daily tasks, or worse,
when they are overloaded, subsequent encouragement of excessive mobilization can lead
to “mobilization fatigue.” When this persists, it can cause any number of health problems,
such as psychological and physical burnout. As with any good thing, the manager needs
to know that moderation is always the key!
See sections 11.5.1, 11.5.3 and 11.5.4.
On
Your
Mark,
Get Set...
Review!
1.
What kind of mobilization behaviours would you associate with the following
examples?
- An employee
the company.
-An employee
file.
-An employee
- An employee
- An employee
who endeavours to participate in all the social activities organized by
who works a little harder for a couple of days to finish an important
who is punctual and respects the time alloted for breaks.
who always tries to offer good service to the company’s clients.
who makes sure his/her actions are not harmful to co-workers.
2.
What are the main reasons that encourage employees to mobilize?
3.
What is the difference between procedural fairness and distributive fairness?
4.
What actions can managers take if they wish to reinforce their employees’ feelings
of trust and support?
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5.
What lever(s) should managers concentrate on if they want to increase employees’
perception of empowerment?
6.
What role must a manager play with regard to the mobilization lever founded on
organizational mission, vision and values?
7.
If managers cannot make any direct changes in the way their team's work is
organized, what other measures can they take regarding this lever?
8.
If employees comply with their employment contract but make no attempt to adopt
other mobilization behaviours, should they be considered demobilized employees?
&
MyBookshelf > My etab > Documents
> Review Questions Answer Key
i
I
Discuss!
6
1.
Isit harder for the organization and for managers to mobilize employees in
unionized companies?
2.
Is it easier to mobilize employees in times of crisis or major organizational change
than it is when everything is going right?
3.
Does technical innovation, such as telework, videoconferencing and smart phones
(for example, BlackBerry and iPhone) facilitate or hinder efforts to mobilize
employees?
Your Turn!
Marie-Claude has just been chosen by members of her team to replace her supervisor,
Charles, who recently decided to take up new challenges, on management's strong recommendation. Although she is pleased with her promotion, Marie-Claude feels a little ill
at ease in her relations with co-workers, especially with France, who was recruited five
years before her and also coveted the position. Her promotion will be officially announced
next week and she will probably have to organize her first meeting with former co-workers,
who have now become her subordinates.
One thing is certain: Marie-Claude has no desire to behave like her predecessor. The
members of his work team didn’t like him much, which may have been one of the reasons
he left the company. Charles was authoritative in his management style and was not very
open to new ways of doing things. In addition, while he rarely congratulated employees
on their efforts and success, he didn’t miss a chance to reprimand them whenever they
made mistakes. Some employees felt they were being treated unfairly, since his decisions
often appeared arbitrary and he seldom took time to explain them. It was clear that Charles
applied a strict definition of roles: he was the supervisor and the employees’ only job was
to do the work required of them. For example, dividing up clients among his employees
created friction, because he gave the most interesting files to a small number of people
— always the same ones — and left the routine work to the rest. Charles could also be
inflexible if he wanted to, For example, he refused a request from Julie, a new mother, to
come to work 30 minutes early every day so she could leave before regular quitting time
and thus coordinate her schedule with her child's daycare centre. His answer was, “That
might create a precedent and I don’t want to spend my time juggling everybody's schedules.” In another instance, he refused permission at the last minute for three employees
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A
to take an extremely helpful training session. Even though the company had already
authorized the expenditure, Charles decided the training was too expensive. When the
employees protested, he finally agreed to let one of them take the course. He asked them
to choose which one of the three should go and then come back and share the content of
the training session with the others. This only made the situation worse.
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Marie-Claude wonders how she will be able to rebuild a harmonious climate among the
employees and mobilize her new team. She also wonders how to manage the change in
her relations with her former co-workers (now her subordinates), especially France, who
was after the same position. What advice would you give Marie-Claude, who wants to start
off on the right foot in her new managerial duties?
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References
Brun, J.-P.(2013). Management d‘équipe: 7 leviers pour améliorer bien-étre et efficacité au
travail, 2 edition, Eyrolles, Paris, 174 pp.
ce
Pee
oe en ib
AA
tag une culture de reconnaissance : c'est essen-
AZ
Lavoie (2017). How to engage employees through your company vision statement, article
consulted on the web, www.entrepreneur.com, November 15, 2018.
Oehler, K. (2015). Aon Hewitt’s Model of Employee Engagement, 10 pages.
Piccolo, R. F., Buengeler, C., and Judge, T. A. (2018). Leadership (is) organizational citizen-
ship behavior: Review of a self-evident link, in The Oxford Handbook of Organizational
Citizenship Behavior, Podsakoff, P.M., Mackenzie, S. B., and Podsakoff, N. P. (editors), Oxford
University Press, New York.
Podsakoff, N. P., Whiting, S. W., Podsakoff, P. M., and Blume, B. D. (2009). Individual and
organizational level consequences of organizational citizenship behaviors: A meta-analysis,
Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 122-141.
Roulez, J. (2018). Enjeux organisationnels : construire la confiance dans un monde en
changement, Revue RH, 21(2), April-May-June.
Schyns, B., and Schilling, J. (2013). How bad are the effects of bad leaders: A meta-analysis
of destructive leadership and its outcomes, Leadership Quarterly, 24(1), 138-158.
Stephan, M., Vahdat, H., Walkinshaw, H. and Wals, B. (2014). Global Human Capital Trends:
Aw
AZ
Engaging the 21st-century workforce, Deloitte University Press, 151 pp.
Tremblay, M., and Wils, T. (2005). La mobilisation des ressources humaines : une stratégie
de rassemblement des énergies de chacun pour le bien de tous, Gestion, 30(2), 37-49.
Tremblay, M., Simard, G., Chénevert, D., Lapalme, M.-E., and Doucet, O. (2005). Agir sur les
leviers organisationnels pour mobiliser le personnel : le réle de la vision, du leadership,
des pratiques de GRH et de l’organisation du travail, Gestion, 30(2), 70.
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PART4
Fostering a Stimulating Work Environment
Managing Using
HR Indicators
Michel Cossette
SUMMARY
p.333_
p.335_
p.337_
p.353_
12.1 Human Resources Management Using Indicators: A Shared Responsibility
12.2 Use of Indicators
12.3 What Can Be Measured?
12.4 Positioning Indicators in an Organizational Value Chain
ON YOUR MARK...
As a manager of a team of employees, you will have to make many decisions for
which you will need performance indicators. This chapter will help you answer the
following questions:
1. What are your responsibilities in measuring HRM-related aspects?
2. How and why are indicators important in decision-making?
3. What are the most relevant indicators for managing a team of employees?
4. What part do indicators play in achieving organizational performance?
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Work
|
Scenario
:
—wil
Marco has been leading a team of 12 customer service agents
In short, Marco has a number of questions about his team.
at the customer contact centre of Communications XXI Inc., a
Does Communications XXI Inc. recruit the right agents? How
does the organization develop their skills? Do the agents
company that offers residential and mobile phone products
and services, as well as Internet and television products and
services. He accepted this position because he likes challen-
ges, and there are many to be found in organizations in this
sector. A number of other companies offer similar services.
Competition is fierce, but the product and service offerings
are similar. Marco is well aware that the ability of organizations
in this sector to capture market share and build customer
loyalty is based primarily on the customer service skills of
their agents.
If the equation “employee service skills = organizational service quality” seems simple in theory, its day-to-day application
reinforce their skills enough during their training? Marco can
see that the HR advisors are selecting and training new agents
every month, but are they the best candidates available? He
realizes that agents are likely to consider employment opportunities not only at Communications XXI Inc. but also in other
organizations. Is it a coincidence that employees don't show
up on a daily basis and others have left the organization? What
should he expect for the next few days? The next few weeks?
The next few months? These are all questions he must answer
in order to manage his team and optimize its performance.
is much more difficult than Marco expected. The service skills
reside in the agents, who must put them to work every day for
the team and the organization.
To do this, agents must be present and motivated to give their
best. Marco finds that he is missing one or two players every
day. He also sees new faces on his team, while others are gone
and will not be coming back, as he recently learned from the
human resources department.
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12.1 Human Resources Management Using Indicators:
A Shared Responsibility
As discussed in previous chapters, managing human resources requires making decisions
to function well on a daily basis and also in the near future. These decisions must be aligned
with organizational objectives. Managers, like pilots, must know their destination (the objectives to be met), their routing (the action plan) and the resources at their disposal to achieve
those goals (number of people, time, budget, etc.), since their help will enable them to achieve
their goals (or not!). The managers must therefore learn to monitor whether objectives are
being achieved by observing the indicators.
12.1.1 The manager and indicators
The manager's mission has three elements, First, managing requires that you set performance
objectives, which will be achieved by using resources such as time and money. The use of
indicators will be extremely useful to you as a manager in making decisions and checking
whether they are helping you achieve the set objectives (effectiveness), based on the time
and budget allocated to you (efficiency). This chapter will deal with these aspects as they
apply to the different areas of HR.
Second, managing requires making adjustments along the way. In today's economic climate,
many changes are taking place in organizations’ external and internal environments.
Therefore, it is important for you as a manager to be able to react and correct situations to
help you achieve your overall objectives, while adhering to budgets and deadlines.
Third, managing is an exercise in monitoring the variations between results achieved and
objectives set. As a manager, when you notice such discrepancies, you will need to analyze
the causes in order to adjust your action plan or to modify the objectives if necessary.
The following section explores the three elements of the manager's mission.
Indicator
Formed from a set of data or
observations, the indicator
informs the manager about a
given phenomenon in order to
facilitate decision-making.
Effectiveness indicator
A parameter used to assess
whether a person possesses a
given competency.
Efficiency indicator
An indicator that informs the
manager about the amount of
resources required to achieve
the expected results.
In the heart of the action
First, let's explain the manager's roles based on the example
of Marco in the scenario presented at the beginning of the
chapter. If his sales team's goal is to sell $1,200,000 worth of
products and services during the year, this objective can be
broken down by quarter ($300,000 per quarter) or by month
($100,000 per month). If results are not achieved in the second
to take a close look at why the objectives are not being met.
One of the causes could be the arrival of a major new player
in the telecommunications sector. In this situation, it might be
advisable to reduce sales targets to avoid demobilizing the
team, or expand the number of agents to increase their ability
to reach customers.
quarter, Marco and his organization's management will need
12.1.2 Sharing responsibilities for the development and use
of indicators
Based on these guidelines, three main players share responsibilities for indicators and HR
management: senior management, operational managers and employees, and HR professionals.
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As discussed in Chapter 1, senior management is responsible for setting the overall business
goals. As a manager, you will need to align your objectives with those of the organization,
by translating them into more specific objectives for your department or work team.
Ultimately, your team’s objectives will then have to be broken down into individual objectives
for each employee. For Marco, the sales target necessarily flows from that of senior management (e.g. acquiring new market shares, consolidating existing ones), which is then applied
to the various sales teams and to each employee.
However, these objectives must take into account the challenges and resources at your
disposal. It will be up to you, as a manager, to ensure that the objectives are realistic, for both
your team and your employees. You will also need to ensure that the employees have the
necessary resources to be effective in their work (Chapter 7). These resources include the
time employees are given to reach their objectives, the coaching you offer them about the
best sales techniques, access to computer tools that work optimally, etc.
Your role as a manager will therefore be to plan the work (who does what, when, where, how,
with whom, etc.), organize it so as to boost the individual and collective performance of your
employees, lead your group's efforts and monitor the results. To perform these four fundamental roles effectively, you will need to use indicators. Here you can be supported by the
HR department.
In the heart of the action
May 1. Martine is an HR business partner at BioMed
International, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company
whose flagship product is alzcomelophrenodonamine®, or
AZP®, a drug that dramatically slows down the symptoms
associated with Alzheimer's disease. Martine’s role is to support the marketing team managers, including Zoheir.
Zoheir has observed a number of absences in his team in
recent weeks. It must be said that it was a particularly busy
time due to increased demand for AZP©. In order to deal with
the absences, Zoheir calls Martine for advice.
To do her job well and avoid managing blindly, Martine
asks the IT department for data on absenteeism at BioMed
As the results of the table suggest, Zoheir's observations
turn out to be misleading! Yes, in April, there was a 0.1%
increase in absences compared to March, but this increase
is rather insignificant. Compared to February, there was even
a decrease, not to mention that the absentee rate was lower
than the previous year for his team and lower than the general
absenteeism rate at BioMed.
The use of indicators and benchmarks shows that perceptions
can lead us down the wrong path. But here the indicator used
on the absenteeism rate helps Martine to reframe Zoheir's
perceptions; in other words, the results suggest there is no
cause for alarm.
in recent months and for Zoheir's team in particular. The IT
All the same, these percentages do not provide any informa-
department is very helpful in retrieving the necessary data for
the indicators, including data associated with absenteeism.
Martine gives Zoheir the data on absenteeism for the past
six months.
tion on the reasons for employee absences. If such information
Month
last year
Absenteeism BioMed
tension in the workplace needs to be addressed (Chapter 11).
71%
January
6.1%
6.9%
February
6.3%
7.3%
March
6.0%
7.2%
April
6.1%
7.5%
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is relevant, it is important to collect data from the absentees
themselves to determine whether the absences could be controlled by the company. For example, employees may come
down with more viruses during the winter, or for some reason
the work environment may be tense. In the latter case, the
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The HR department generally has no hierarchical authority: it supports managers in the
performance of their duties, But this support should not be underestimated. Indeed, the HR
department's responsibilities include proposing solutions to managers in managing their
employees. The professionals in this department are experts in HR program content and
should be able to diagnose issues related to employee management.
To contribute to the diagnosis, the HR department must be able to develop relevant HR
indicators for day-to-day HR management over an extended period of time (quarterly,
monthly or annually). We will see in the next few sections some examples of indicators that
can inform your decisions as a manager throughout an employee's tenure in the organization.
Once the HR department has collected the key information, they can develop valid data,
produce relevant indicators and thus better support you as a manager in making your HRM
decisions. Let's go back to the example of Marco: getting help from HR professionals can
shed light on the severity of the absenteeism and turnover in his team, as well as on the
quality of staffing and training processes,
HR professionals in many organizations act as business partners (Ulrich, Kryscynski, Ulrich
and Brockbank, 2017). In doing so, they are better able to position indicators in a value chain
that links HR decisions to service and possibly organizational performance (Cossette, 2015).
12.2 Use of Indicators
In an age when access to information is becoming easier and easier, more organizations are
obtaining and using HR data to inform their decision-making about employees. A number
of challenges are bound to arise (access to good data, confidentiality of some information,
expertise and time required to analyze the data, etc.) in terms of the optimal use of indicators
(Figure 12.1).
Figure 12.1
Optimal use of indicators
Compare/
Break down
Collect data
Measure
Analyze
Decide
Evaluate
Decide/Announce
an action
Evaluate/Make
a judgment
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The figure shows that optimal use of indicators requires data collection as a first step. In the
absence of quantified data on a phenomenon such as absenteeism, you will have to manage
solely on the basis of your perceptions and intuition, which can be deceiving.
Once you have the data to create an indicator, the second step is to analyze the results
obtained. It is important to understand that a single numberis not enough to make a decision!
It must be compared with a benchmark such as a predetermined standard or threshold.
Third, the evaluation of results consists in making a judgment on the situation. While the
data collection and analysis are more objectively based, the results evaluation stage is more
subjective but equally important.
Lastly, the judgment you make about the results obtained determines the fourth
decision-making step, which consists in setting up a certain number of actions. You may also
decide not to make any changes to your action plan, but if that is the case, it still amounts
to a decision!
To illustrate these steps, let us apply Zoheir's case in Figure 12.2, where he was initially
convinced that there was an absenteeism problem within his team. As the company has data
(from the data collection stage) on absenteeism and the capability to provide results for the
Zoheir team, the result is found to be 6.1%.
Figure 12.2 Application of the optimal use of an indicator
Measure
Analyze
* Collect data
* Compare/
Break down
Oy
Evaluate
* Evaluate/Make
a judgment
Decide
* Decide/
Announce
an action
Absenteeism rate
of 6.1%
< than the organization's
overall rate (7.5%)
Acceptable result,
although absences
affect sales
Raising employee
awareness of the effects
of absences, but no
sanctions to be imposed
This result suggests nothing in itself if it is not compared to something else. Here, the
comparison is based on the organization's overall rate of 7.5% (analysis stage). It therefore
seems that Zoheir had misunderstood the problem, which could be related to the fact that
the workload had increased in response to the growing demand for AZP© and that his
employees suddenly found themselves busier and under more pressure than usual. Zoheir
and Martine were able to compare not only the absenteeism rate of the team with that of
the organization, but also the rate in April for the Zoheir team with that of the previous
months. It should be noted that an external comparison can also be made (e.g. absenteeism
rate in a given sector). In such a case, as in the compensation survey (Chapter 6), it is
important to choose a benchmark market (size of organizations, type of industry, types of
jobs, etc.).
Although the absenteeism rate of Zoheir’s team for April is significantly lower than that of
the entire organization, Zoheir believes that absences on his sales team have generated an
overload during this period, and with fewer absences this would have been better distributed
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among the employees. His interpretation is quite valid, even if the comparisons do give a
positive picture of the situation (evaluation stage).
Lastly, although the absenteeism rate results are favourable to the Zoheir team and it seems
appropriate to maintain the course, deciding to keep things as they are might not be the best
solution (decision stage). Martine might propose not penalizing the employees, but rather
sending messages warning them about the consequences of absences or, conversely, positive
messages about employee attendance.
12.3 What Can Be Measured?
We mentioned above that, as a manager, you will have to achieve performance objectives
within a specific timeframe and based on a finite budget. However, to facilitate your
decision-making, you will need to obtain a number of indicators in order to have a better
picture of your HR management situation.
HR management activities can be monitored to document the effectiveness and efficiency
of each one. When applying this strategy to a specific HR management area, we have in
mind operational HR dashboards (Cossette, 2019). A dashboard can be designed for
staffing, training, compensation, performance management, etc. In the presentation of some
of these tables, we will take a perspective that allows us to see the career paths of employees
in an organization (Figure 12.3). We will summarize each step of these paths on the pages
that follow.
Figure 12.3
HR operational dashboard
A dashboard that informs
decision-makers about the
achievement of HR domain
objectives (effectiveness of
staffing, training, occupational
health and safety practices,
etc.) and the use of time and
financial resources to achieve
these objectives (cost and
duration of staffing, cost and
duration of training, cost of
workplace accidents, etc.).
Dashboard
A management tool consisting
of a set of indicators that
gives the most complete and
exhaustive possible picture of a
complex reality.
Career paths of employees in an organization
Attracting,
selecting and
integrating
candidates
Compensation
Performance
management
Skills
development
Fostering the
right attitudes
and behaviours
Planning
Recruitment
Internal, external,
individual and
Performance
management
Training
Satisfaction
Commitment
Selection
collective equity
cycle Monitoring
Attendance
Orientation and
Integration
Compensation
components
the achievement
of objectives
Retention
Efficiency
Duration and costs
Effectiveness
Achievement of one or more objectives
12.3.1 Indicators related to attracting, selecting and integrating
candidates
Staffing involves many steps that require certain investments in time, money and people
(Chapters 4 and 5). Each of the steps also has different objectives. That said, you can also
measure total staffing in order to provide a more general picture of the investments needed
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and the achievement of objectives. The next few paragraphs provide examples of relevant
indicators for each step, which can be used as the staffing dashboard.
In the process of workforce planning, various objectives need to be set. First, let us recall
that the purpose of quantitative planning (Chapter 4, section 4.2) is to determine the number
of positions necessary for an organization's operations to run smoothly; it also aims to
determine the availability of personnel for these positions in order to establish balance.
Undertaking this planning will mean calling upon, for a certain period of time, players who
have to be remunerated for the time devoted to it, thus generating costs for the organization.
Second, qualitative planning (Chapter 4, section 4.3) involves defining jobs in terms of tasks,
responsibilities, tools, etc. The various tools resulting from this planning must be relevant
and useful to the different players in the organization. Once again, to carry out this activity
requires investments in time and money. Table 12.1 provides examples of indicators used
in assessing the planning stage.
Recruitment involves generating a pool of good-quality candidates in sufficient numbers
(Chapter 4, section 4.4), Several parties may be involved in the various recruitment steps,
each working to achieve the recruitment aims but also consuming time and generating costs
for the organization. Table 12.2 gives examples of indicators used in recruitment.
The selection of personnel itself (Chapter 5) involves a number of steps and requires the
use of certain tools to assess candidates’ competencies and determine the best people for
the positions to be filled. Several players can play a role at the various stages of the selection
process, including the HR department and managers. Table 12.3 suggests indicators that
can be used in assessing this staffing step.
The effectiveness indicators in Table 12.3 can be analyzed in terms of groups protected by
the Charters (Chapter 2) to check whether they are being disadvantaged by the selection
tools. In the management of an equal access to employment program, this analysis can be
extremely useful in checking whether the practices are resulting in direct or
Oo
systemic discrimination.
Table
12.1
Efficiency
Examples of efficiency and effectiveness indicators related to workforce planning
~ Time spent on quantitative planning
~ Time spent on qualitative planning
~ Timelines
for updating all job descriptions
~ Costs dedicated to quantitative (or qualitative) planning
~ Number of job analyses per analyst
~ Timeframes for reconciling the differences between workforce forecasts and actual numbers of employees used
~ Costs of measures taken to reconcile gaps
~ Costs associated with producing or updating job descriptions
= Percentage of positions analyzed
~ Percentage of women, people of non-Caucasian origin, people in the 20-30 age group, etc.
~ Fairness of predictions (actual number of employees versus expected availability, actual productivity versus productivity
expected, etc.)
Effectiveness | - Proportion of units with a replacement organizational structure (or competency inventories, succession plan, etc.)
~ Usefulness of forecasts (frequency of use by managers, satisfaction of managers with the usefulness of the planning, etc.)
~ Impact on workplace climate of measures to reduce gaps (e.g. employee satisfaction survey)
~ Impact of measures on composition of the workforce
- Quality of job descriptions
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Table
12.2 Examples of efficiency indicators and
effectiveness related to recruitment
Table 12.3 Examples of efficiency indicators and
effectiveness related to selection
~ Total number of applications received
~ Number of applications received per position
~ Number of days between the different
z=
ae
reads
7 —
—
analyzed per month
7 Whenber of pend
cases
7
ng
~ CV analysis time (total or per application)
recruitment steps (hiring authorization,
announcement, receipt of CVs)
Effici
ony
Number
ne
Efficien:
~ Total costsof the different recruitment steps (job
A
:
advertisements, salaries of persons involved,
‘
;
ey
promotional material, travel costs, etc.)
of days
from
eta
beainni
te
endof
MA
suse to sted Lely =
eee
- Number of candidates interviewed
by interviewer
~ Duration of each selection ste;
~ Recruitment costs per candidate (total costs
divided by number of applications received)
A
P
~ Percentage of time spent at each selection step
~ Total costs of the selection process
~ Quality of CVs received
~ Ratio of number of applications received to
positionsto be filled
~ Percentage of applications from groups
Effectiveness | protected by the Charters
~ Number of applications from
internal candidates
~ Percentage of applications
from within
the organization
- Number of applications retained as percentage
of total received
~ Number of candidates who passed a test
~ Percentage of offers accepted
Effectiveness | - Percentage of positions filled
~ Percentage of positions filled internally
~ Percentage of successful recruits
~ Percentage of recruits remaining after a
certain period
Once the applications have been analyzed and a choice made, recruits must be welcomed
and integrated into the organization (Chapter 5, section 5.6). This step is fundamental for
organizations and should not be taken lightly. Table 12.4 provides examples of indicators
used in this step.
Table
12.4 Examples of indicators of efficiency and effectiveness for orientation and integration
~ Number of days spent on orientation and integration
~ Total costs of orientation and integration
~ Total costs of orientation and integration per recruit
Efficiency
~ Satisfaction of recruits with orientation and integration efforts
~ Satisfaction of recruits with the job after x months
~ Concordance between recruits’ expectations and reality
Effectiveness
~ Satisfaction of recruits with their manager
~ Satisfaction of managers with recruits
Using the tables above, we can establish rationales for measurement indicators based on
each step of the staffing process. While this approach provides a wealth of information for
assessing the performance of each stage of staffing (planning, recruitment, selection and
orientation-integration), it also requires a significant amount of time and effort. It may therefore be appropriate to measure the staffing process as a whole. This produces fewer data,
which in principle may be easier to interpret. However, if the performance is inadequate and
there are no indicators to document the various staffing steps, it becomes impossible to
determine whether the result obtained is attributable to one or more of these steps. Thus, a
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®
general measurement is easier to make, but in the event of a negative judgment on staffing
performance, it will be harder to analyze and evaluate indicator results, which will have
consequences on decision-making (Figure 12.1).
An example of a general staffing measure is the time it takes to fill a position. This staffing
efficiency indicator is very popular in organizations. According to Cossette (2019): “It can
certainly be useful in determining the organization's ability to quickly fill positions. However,
as a whole, it will not allow a [manager] to know which step(s) require more time.”
In the heart of the action
Alex manages operations at A l'eau, a company that manufactures and installs various types of swimming pools. The
company's operations are cyclical: in the spring, summer and
early fall, sales and installations are well underway, while the
rest of the year is quite slow.
Every year, it’s the same story for Alex: he has to hire employees to handle in-store sales, but he also needs installers. He
has a stable team to ensure year-round sales activities, made
up of six full-time salespeople. From May to October, he uses
casual employees to meet sales staffing needs and to oversee
the pool installations.
When recruiting, he gives priority to employees who have
already worked for the company, provided they received
good performance evaluations.
To fill the remaining positions,
he uses Emploi-Québec offices, posts on recruitment sites
and advertises on Facebook. The selection steps include a
structured interview that includes, depending on the type of
position, scenarios for selling or installing pools and verifying
references with former employers.
To help him plan his hiring, Alex uses his “time to fill a position”
indicator. This is calculated by counting the number of days
between posting a position and when the candidates are on
the job, ready to serve customers or install pools. His indicator
has fluctuated somewhat over the past two years, ranging from
28 to 32 days. So he knows that if he wants to have people
ready to work at the beginning of May, the process must be
started by early April each year.
The problem with this indicator is that the results obtained
do not show whether any one of the recruitment sources is
faster than the others and, above all, whether candidates from
one source perform better than those from others. Alex could
refine his indicators by counting the hiring time by source
type (former employees, candidates from Emploi-Québec,
candidates from Facebook), which would enable him to better
understand the efficiency of each source. Also, he could verify
the performance levels of the employees recruited from each
source in order to assess whether any one source provides
better performing employees.
Once employees are selected and join the organization, they become contributors to their
team's performance and to the organization (some more than others, at least at times!) The
organization must compensate them for their time, loyalty and performance.
12.3.2 Compensation management indicators
As we saw in Chapter 6, there are several compensation models. Direct compensation
consists of base salary, salary increases, cost of living and market adjustments, incentives
and profit-sharing schemes. This type of compensation can be divided into a fixed portion
(e.g. base salary) and a variable portion (e.g. individual performance incentives). Indirect
compensation includes benefits, paid time off and services that employees can receive. The
total of all employee compensation arrangements makes up the payroll, which is a component
of an organization's financial statements.
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Compensation is not only a cost for an organization; it can be a real lever for creating value.
When it is well-managed, compensation helps achieve the objectives of attraction, retention
and mobilization. But for this to happen, management must be equitable in various ways
(Chapter 6). Compensation must be fair depending on the nature of the position and its
value within the organization (internal equity). It must also be competitive with similar positions in comparable organizations (external equity). And it must reflect employee loyalty
and performance (individual equity). Lastly, it must take into account the collective efforts
of employees in achieving the organization's objectives (collective equity).
As with other HR activities, the compensation file can be managed using indicators of efficiency and effectiveness. As a manager, you will undoubtedly have to monitor the overall
compensation paid to your employees in ensuring you meet your operating budget. Each
year, there is a good chance that this payroll will increase. Some organizations set targets to
keep costs under control; tracking the percentage increase in payroll can help you exercise
this control. Since variable compensation is common in sales-related jobs, Marco could
complete his dashboard by noting the percentage of variable compensation in relation to his
team's total compensation. Also, in order to improve the efficiency indicators, he could
calculate the amount generated by his team’s sales and divide this amount by the total payroll.
This is an indicator of compensation productivity (Cossette, 2019). The section below
describes an application of this indicator.
With respect to compensation effectiveness, we mentioned several objectives, including
employee retention and engagement. It should be noted that among the most important
determinants of retention and mobilization are employee satisfaction and a sense of fairness.
Thus, Marco could track the percentage of employees who are satisfied with their compensation as part of his team. This satisfaction level is generally assessed through an employee
survey. If he doesn't have the opportunity to conduct such a survey, Marco can survey his
employees himself by asking them, for example, questions about their total compensation
and also their satisfaction with benefits, with the variable portion of their compensation, their
feeling of being fairly treated in terms of their needs matching the compensation portfolio,
In the heart of the action
In the scenario at the beginning of the chapter, we mentioned
that Marco supervises 12 agents. Of these, 8 work 35 hours
a week. The other 4 work part-time, or 17.5 hours per week,
therefore being equivalent to 2 full-time agents. As a result,
Marco has the equivalent of 10 people working full-time. Each
of these is called “full-time staff.”
Let's say that each full-time employee receives a salary of
$30,000 per year and that the team of 10 full-time employees
meets the annual sales target of $1,200,000. The contribution of team members can be calculated in at least two ways.
The first is to divide the annual sales target by the number
of employees:
The second way to represent the contribution of human
resources to sales is to consider the investment made in each
individual rather than the number of employees. This investment is their remuneration. The $30,000 paid to 10 full-time
employee results in a payroll of $300,000. In order to calculate how many sales each dollar of compensation invested
yields, the amount of sales must be divided by the amount of
the payroll, resulting in $4 ($1,200,000 / $300,000 = 4). The
interpretation of this indicator suggests that, for every dollar
invested in payroll, 4 dollars of sales are generated.
The value of these indicators does not lie in the figure itself,
$1,200,000 /10 = $120,000. This indicator,
butin its evolution over time. Therefore, Marco should closely
which represents the average contribution of each employee,
suggests that each full-time employee contributes $120,000
monitor the results of this indicator in order to evaluate the
performance of his team.
in annual sales.
Obviously, each person's actual scores are on
either side of this average.
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etc. The results of this can give Marco information on employee perceptions regarding
internal, external, individual and collective equity. Table 12.5 provides examples of
compensation indicators,
Table 12.5
Examples of compensation management indicators
Efficiency
~ Team payroll
- Percentage of annual increase in overall payroll
~ Percentage of compensation devoted to the variable portion
~ Sales per full-time equivalent staff
~ Sales amount divided by team payroll
Effectiveness
~ Percentage of employees satisfied with their total compensation
~ Percentage of employees satisfied with their benefits
- Percentage of employees satisfied with their bonuses
~ Sense of fairness in their compensation perceived
~ Degree to which employees perceive their compensation portfolio to match their needs
~ Improvement in performance after the introduction of a variable portion in the remuneration
12.3.3 Performance management indicators
Performance management is itself a measurement exercise since it requires evaluating each
employee through several steps (Chapter 7). More specifically, as a manager, you will have
to know the strategic context of the company (mission, vision, values, priorities, objectives),
communicate the objectives and explain them to your employees. This step involves taking
ownership of the organization's strategic context (section 7.2.1), which leads to the second
step: setting clear expectations for your employees. Section 7.2.2 specifies several types of
expectations, including the establishing of SMART objectives. The next step is to support
your employees' performance (section 7.2.3) by delegating tasks or projects, promoting
constructive discussions, becoming a better listener, providing positive or corrective feedback,
and doing appropriate follow-up. Then comes the time to evaluate performance (section
7.2.4). In doing this, there are several types of indicators, each aimed at quantifying the
performance of your employees. The performance management cycle ends with the adoption
of an action plan (section 7.2.5).
®
When you are at the performance evaluation stage, your analysis should focus first on each
employee in your team (individual level of analysis). Of course, it is important to manage
each person so that everyone contributes appropriately to the performance of your team.
But managing a team also requires making decisions affecting entire groups of employee
(group analysis level). In addition, of the various HR activities in which you will be involved,
performance management will take up a lot of your time. To achieve your team’s objectives
and optimize the use of your time, you will need to employ indicators to manage your team’s
performance. More specifically, it will be necessary to assess the efficiency and the effectiveness of this activity.
To optimize the use of your time, you could specify how much time you spend on each of
the performance management steps stated above and in Chapter 7. By analyzing the time
devoted to each step, you can plan your working time and optimize each of your interventions.
That being said, it might be easier to determine the total time you devote to performance
management for all the steps combined. This will give you a general indication of the time
dedicated to this activity.
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To ensure that all your employees receive your support, evaluations and feedback, it may
be worthwhile to track the number or percentage of evaluations completed per performance
management cycle (three months, six months, one year). And in order to maintain good
relations with the HR department, it is advisable to provide evaluations within the
specified timeframe.
In terms of effectiveness, the overall objective of performance management is to achieve the
right performance for your entire team. To calculate your team's total performance, you can
use the average performance score of all your employees, However, to achieve the overall
performance objectives, each employee should have a specific action plan of their own.
Applying the indicator for the percentage of employees with an action plan ensures that all
members of your team know what to do. Your role as a manager will require that you provide
feedback to your employees after you have evaluated them. It would be beneficial to see
how much your feedback helps improve your employees’ performance. To find out, you will
need to compare the performance level of your employees BEFORE and AFTER the feedback.
Lastly, note that, while performance management can contribute to this, it can also lead to
dissatisfaction among employees and managers. An indicator for checking the level of
employee satisfaction with the performance management process can be useful in preventing
perceptions of unfairness from taking hold. Once they have, they are difficult to reverse.
Table 12.6 provides examples of indicators of efficiency and effectiveness in relation to
compensation, and the section below illustrates how Marco can apply performance management indicators to his employees.
Table 12.6
Examples of performance management indicators
Efficiency
Effectiveness
~ Time spent setting expectations, supporting performance, meeting employees, evaluating performance,
developing action plans
- Total time spent on employee performance management
~ Percentage of performance evaluations completed within the specified timeframe
~ Overall employee performance level
~ Number or percentage of performance evaluations
~ Percentage of employees with an action plan
~ Degree of performance improvement following the evaluation
~ Level of satisfaction of the various players involved in performance management (perceived fairness!
usefulness of the exercise, etc.)
In the heart of the action
Let's go back to Marco's situation in the scenario at the beginning of the chapter. The sales objectives of his unit can be
broken down for each agent into objectives as precise as the
amount of sales per hour. For Marco, it may be useful to track
be analyzed by type of employee (full-time and part-time;
permanent and casual; recruits and senior employees, etc.).
Marco can then make a judgment on employee performance
and can implement an action plan for each employee (e.g.
the results of each employee, but he will also need to know
training), but also a more general action plan to stimulate
how effective the whole team is. If we go back to the cycle of
performance (e.g. team building activity to stimulate team
spirit and improve the work environment).
optimal use of indicators (Figure 12.1), the team's sales can
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12.3.4 Competency development indicators
A competency development activity is an individual or organizational arrangement aimed
at acquiring or improving competencies (Chapter 8). As a manager, you will have to think
about the operations of your department and the professional development of your employees. To do this, you will need to ensure they have the competencies relevant to their position
(section 8.4), otherwise you will have to direct them toward competency development
activities (section 8.5) Certainly, developing relevant competencies is necessary, but it may
not be sufficient, since employees must then put them into action in their work in order to
optimize their performance. Put another way, they must translate their learning into skills
(section 8.6). This transfer, when it is carried out by a large number of employees, determines
the operational performance of a team, or even of the organization, While these principles
may seem easy to understand, they are more difficult to implement. To better manage the
“competency file" of your team, you will need to use some indicators to help you make
decisions in this matter.
Remember that the Act to Promote Workforce Skills Development and Recognition requires that
organizations with a payroll of more than $2 million invest the equivalent of at least 1% of
their payroll in activities aimed at developing the skills of their employees and report the
amount to Revenu Québec (section 8.2). The percentage of the payroll invested in training
is thus a first indicator for measuring the efficiency of activities development, as it represents
the resources invested in this area. For your team, a more targeted indicator could be the
budget devoted to the skills development of your employees.
While the financial dimension is important in organizations, it should be remembered that
this is only one facet of efficiency. The time required for skills development is also an
important consideration for any manager. Any training course will require a minimum amount
of time to produce a maximum amount of skills. It is therefore advisable to measure the time
required for employees to fully develop their skills. This indicator may be useful to you, but
it is sometimes complicated to calculate. An alternative could be the average training time
of an employee per unit of time (month, year). This option may help you to better manage
your employees’ schedules and check if they have access to training. Table 12.7 presents
other competency development indicators.
®
Table 12.7 Examples of efficiency and effectiveness indicators for
competency development
~ Percentage of payroll invested in competency development activities
- Budget dedicated to employee development
~ Time required to develop skills
- Training time per employee per month
Efficiency
~ Satisfaction with development activity
Effectiveness
~ Learning achieved
~ Transfer of assets
~ Improvement of the team’s operational performance
In addition to efficiency, it is important to address the effectiveness of competency development activities. The most popular model in the literature on evaluating training effectiveness
is the one popularized by Kirkpatrick (Figure 12.4). It breaks down the effectiveness of
training into four categories, called evaluation levels. They are: reaction (N1), learning (N2),
behaviour or transfer (N3) and results (N4).
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Figure 12.4 The four-level model of learning evaluation (see Bouteiller, Cossette and Bleau, 2016)
N1,
Reactions
Behaviour
Satisfaction level
Knowledge level
Level of knowledge transfer
operational
Level | of of operational
|
|
improvement
The first level of evaluation measures your participants' reactions to their training. While the
four-level model is the one most widely-used in organizations, the way that participants react to
their training is the value most frequently measured. The objective is to identify which training
components your participants liked. This evaluation can be useful for the "logistical" components:
location, trainer, usefulness of the training, amount of preparation for the training, strategies used
by the trainer to facilitate learning and transfer, etc. (Bouteiller, Cossette and Bleau, 2016). The
Toolbox below provides questions that can be asked to measure participants' reactions.
Toolbox
Content of the
The trainer explained the concepts well.
1
2
3
The trainer held my interest.
1
2
3
The content of the training will be very useful for
my work.
?
2
1
2
3
eo
os
training
+
4
5
4
5
4
5
Averages by
gs
question or
category for all
“uv
Strongly agree
Trainer
23
ae
Indicate how satisfied you are
with the following elements of
your training
Slightly
disagree
Reaction to:
Slightly agree
Sample questions (with their measurement scale) to assess participants’ reactions to training
+
The teaching strategies were stimulating.
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
The training room helped in learning.
1
2
3
4
5
The dates
1
2
3
4
5
Prepar