PIVOTAL Integrated HR Solutions
2333 North Sheridan Way Suite 200 L5K1A7 Mississauga, ON, Canada

When it is done correctly, remote working helps employers reduce costs, boost productivity, increase customer service and enhance employee engagement. In fact, a recent survey found that 30% of remote workers would rather quit than return to the office after the pandemic! However, in many organizations including those that have been operating remote teams for several years the rapid and massive shift to remote working has been problematic. It is one thing to have select i...ndividuals work from home. It is another to have the majority (or the entirety) of team members populating the virtual landscape. To address some of these problems, Gartner has highlighted nine tips for managing remote employees during and after COVID-19: Proactively watch for signs of distress. Managers shouldn’t assume that remote workers who aren’t struggling or complaining are automatically doing fine because some will be, but others probably won’t. Remote workers are worried about their health, and the health of their family members and friends. They are also worried about finances, job security, and the future. Naturally, managers aren’t expected to provide solutions for these complex problems, but they should use every opportunity to let remote workers know that they are supported and cared for. 1. Provide all necessary equipment and training. Managers need to ensure that remote workers have the required tools to do their jobs from home, such as suitable web cams, access to cloud-based communication and project management platforms, security software (e.g. anti-malware, anti-virus, virtual private network, etc.), VoIP phones, and anything else. What’s more, managers shouldn’t assume that just because remote workers have the equipment they need, that they know how to use everything properly. Video tutorials, webinars, how-to articles, Q&A forums, and direct access to vendors can all help remote workers close the knowledge gap. 2. Promote Dialogue Contrary to what many people believe, research has found that employees do not necessarily have to like change in order to get behind it. What matters most is that they understand why their organization is making a change... Continues in the full post with 7 other tips: https://www.pivotalsolutions.com/gartner-highlights-9-tips/

Winter in any normal instance can be a difficult season to get through, whether it is due to the cold and lower levels of sunlight or the stress of the holiday season. But because of the added stress, isolation, and demands on our mental health caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has released a great resource designed to give employers the tools to help people cope. The Mini-Guide to Help Employees’ Mental Health Through Winter ad...dresses the most common causes for seasonal mood changes and the challenges presented by the pandemic to employees followed up by helpful tips and instructions on how employers can help their employees learn to balance stress and productivity while coping with what they each face in their lives.[1] As an employer, some of the best things that you can do for your employees to boost morale and improve productivity in the cold months are below: Use Empathetic Communication Communicating is not just about telling an employee what is required of them and then hoping that they overcome all of their personal hurdles to achieve everything that is asked; it requires empathy, especially when things are stressful. How we communicate is just as important as the words that we say, and employers can help their employees by listening with intent and recognizing, understanding, and sharing the thoughts and feelings of employees... Full feature with notes and citations here: https://www.pivotalsolutions.com/hr-management-tips-to-boo/

2020 brought with it a complete overhaul to many aspects of how businesses and organizations function, including how jobs, pay, and performances are reviewed. What matters after everything is that organizations focus on what matters now and not what mattered at the beginning of 2020 while keeping things fair and consistent. But re-evaluating pay and performance management doesn’t need to be as stressful and intensive as it has in the past, and this can actually provide ev...eryone with the opportunity to simplify performance reviews and find novel, unique ways for navigating today’s tumultuous waters... Read full feature with citations/notes here: https://www.pivotalsolutions.com/how-covid-19-inspired-cha/

Like him or not, Elon Musk inspires with visionary concepts. The Tesla Employee Handbook is a peak not only into the visionary mind of Elon Musk but provides a good reference for HR Managers struggling to draft their own Employee Handbooks... http://ow.ly/8TV650yO5aR

Just like all the other sectors in business, the field of project management is undergoing dynamic transformation along with technological advances witnessed in the recent past. This is abundantly evident in the report: 2020 project management trends... http://ow.ly/BtNj50yO3N1

To help protect your team and help managers mitigate the Covid-19 risks Pivotal Solutions brought together the current tactics, rules, and suggestions from government, health experts, and human resource experts (with citations.) ... http://ow.ly/1c0P50yN3z8

55% of U.S. employers surveyed by MetLife Inc. prefer older workers to retire to give room for younger employees to advance while the other 45% said they want older employees to delay retirement to enable a smooth transfer of expertise, skills, and ... http://ow.ly/q6DE50yGXMC

According to a new survey, 32% of employees plan to change jobs in the next 2 years. The report also highlighted that in the last six months, one-quarter of the employees surveyed have been recruited by another company http://ow.ly/H79h50y6981

Creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, and emotional intelligence emerged as the top five soft-skills highly demanded by employers in a new report from LinkedIn... Blockchain and cloud computing are the two most demanded hard skills... http://ow.ly/gZYF50y673n

In the workplace, employees do not have a constitutional right to freedom of expression.... It protects employees from criminal prosecution but does not mean that employees cannot be fired, suspended, or suffer any other non-prosecutorial consequence. http://ow.ly/QG4a50y01wf

According to a study by Reflektive, about 85% of employees would quit if they believe that their performance review was unfair. http://ow.ly/6QNr50xZZee

his combination of increased hiring with a shortage of skilled labour inevitably leads to complex HR management and recruiting issues, including competition, increased migration of existing team-members, production gaps, and higher salary expectations. http://ow.ly/KmTA50xSX8T

In 2020, the top ten best jobs evaluated based on work-life balance to salary to stress are: 1. Software developer 2. Dentist 3. Physician assistant... 4. Orthodontist 5. Nurse practitioner 6. Statistician Read more ... https://www.pivotalsolutions.com/with-emphasis-on-work-lif/ See more

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"A quick review of occupational safety reveals a frightening scenario for managers and directors, with collectively millions in fines each year. The court bulletins on the Ontario government site list 256 convictions. Directors are especially vulnerable, as the conviction of Rex Paks director/officer demonstrates. Here are just some of the latest convictions: In January, Ottawa Permanent Roofing fined $80,000 for Occupational Health and Safety violations, after a fire b...roke out. [2] Canadian Natural Resources: $122,000 for H2S leak. [3] Dyno Nobel Canada fined $40,000 for a fly rock. [4] Prokleen Washing Services fined $105,000 in the asphyxiation death of a worker. [5] Just last week, a second conviction for Monaghan Mushrooms Ltd, after a collision between a pallet truck and forklift; fined $90,000 plus a victim surcharge. A previous conviction for fatality $140,000. [6]. ... These are just recent convictions (last two months). There are many charges still before the courts." Much more in the full feature: http://ow.ly/VptH30nFap8 See more

With health medical benefit costs set to rise another 6% in 2020, HR Management teams are focusing on preventative care. Globally, costs for employer sponsored medical plans is expected to increase 8 percent in 2020, up from 7.8 percent in 2019. http://ow.ly/l4Um50xCchU

Human resources managers are grappling with a recent ruling from the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal that set a precedent in discrimination policies and penalties. With damages assessed at $120,000... read more>> https://www.pivotalsolutions.com/120000-award-to-a-non-emp/

With voter turnout in the last election at 66 percent, we ask: What are the employer obligations for elections? Voter turnout in the 2019 Federal elections was down to 66 percent. How much of that is due to the inconvenience of voting day. On paper, the rules in Canada seem good employers must be supportive of their employees need to vote. There are some interesting rules to pay attention to, particularly in fields such as logistics, where truck drivers have unique ru...les. Prior to the election, Pivotal Solutions sent out a letter outlining the Canadian Rules, per the Canada Elections Act, which covered everything from Mandatory Time Off to no explicit or implicit interference to pay requirements reproduced in the original blog post for handy reference and planning. https://www.pivotalsolutions.com/with-voter-turnout-in-the/

he majority of employees in Canada reported they are not satisfied with their income as compared to what they find as an online average. 51% of those surveyed claimed they were not satisfied with their annual pay. http://ow.ly/mH2R50wx5JH

The majority of companies are currently investing and committing to increasing their employees salaries only six percent decided to freeze executive wages this year. This figure drops to 4.8% for non-executives. Out of the 652 companies surveyed, 57% intend to keep their current wage increase rates at the same level for 2020. http://ow.ly/PReN50wx53J

Unauthorized overtime pay can be challenging to mitigate for a business of any size, with Canadian law mandating that a business must pay employees for overtime, even if it was not pre-approved or needed.http://ow.ly/9PRD50wx4XM

Employers will have a difficult time with the new guidelines, which move away from flexible guidelines to require: 96 hours of written notice of a work schedule change Twenty-four hours written a notice of a shift change.... http://ow.ly/uysn50vwshA

Survey: Of the two-thirds of employees who are paid every two weeks, 40 percent of these would prefer a weekly pay cycle. And, increasingly, flex pay is growing in appeal, with 35% of respondents preferring it... for younger team members, this is 56%. http://ow.ly/miVQ50vk5vg

"A Facebook account... might tell an employer if the candidate is a parent if they like to party... how they lean politically... some of it could run an employer into human rights issues. http://ow.ly/lCoG50uXYZl

No challenge in HR management is more daunting than the High Conflict Personality (HCP) or difficult team members. Often, they are the top performers; their aggression, exaggerations, narcissism, or lack of empathy may have helped them overcome challenges in the workplace, or driven them to succeed no matter what. On the other hand, this makes them a problem for the rest of the team. HCP team members can be productivity-killers and morale-busters. They can also be legally r...isky; the team members who are difficult in the workplace are the most likely to sue for removal or disciplinary action. The usual signs of a problem are team-members who exhibit chronic: Dishonesty and exaggeration Attention-seeking behaviour Aggression with other team members Diversion of blame when issues arise Lack of empathy for other team members or clients Abusive and habitually sarcastic behaviour Unreasonable deadlines, goals or demands Unable to handle feedback Arrogance or entitlement. Much more in the full feature, plus six management tactics to help manage High Conflict Personalities... #PivotalSolutions #hrmanagement #Humanresources https://www.pivotalsolutions.com/six-ways-to-manage-high-c/

Granted, the speeding ticket was to make a client meeting on time, and the cowboy boots were to wear to a client meeting in Calgary [2] but after the initial chuckle-factor, companies have to deal with swelling, and inappropriate expense claims... http://ow.ly/ZwDi50uRPOS

When weighing job offers, more than 50% of dog owners considered pet perks important, with one in five rating it critical. That represents 20.5% of all Canadians, given 41% of Canadian households have dogs. @pivotalHRCanada https://www.pivotalsolutions.com/pet-perks-how-important-a/

Data on GoogleTrends and internet search information helps broaden our understanding of what sought-after employees truly care about giving you the edge in both recruitment, and in managing your existing teams, especially in Canada... More>> http://ow.ly/gi1A50uJ4ho

In Ontario, 19% of companies expected an increase in hiring. The top sectors across Ontario were: Public Administration: 38% Construction: 25% Transportation and Public Utilities: 22% Manufacturing Durables 19% Read the full feature>... http://ow.ly/CUgJ50uJ1Bg See more

While many absentee team-members have legitimate reasons for absence, this does put a significant burden on the remaining workers to increase their productivity; or, alternately, critical deadlines are missed, with, often, high costs or loss-of-business. http://ow.ly/idna50uu3hY

"Some 150,000 deaths in the United States each year, and as many as 1 million in China, can be attributed to overwork. Tips for how to coach your teams to productively work fewer hours... http://ow.ly/5MZ650utXUR

Some of the many variables in calculating holiday pay include: when an employee is in layoff; substitute holidays; rules for entitlements when the public holiday falls on a non-working day; how to calculate for employees who do not usually work that day. https://www.pivotalsolutions.com/ontarios-payroll-nightmar/

Contributions will be one percent higher by 2023 which can be significant in companies with large payrolls especially if they operate on lean profit margins to remain competitive. This puts the onus on Payroll Managers to try to preserve the bottom line http://ow.ly/1dbb50u9Tqf

From part one of how-to: "When employees are offered a four-day work week a growing trend they are explicitly cautioned that they must at least equal current productivity. The goal is an increase, but the minimum success benchmark is to equal productivity with 20 percent less time. As a natural process, employees fall into Triage Productivity putting whats important first, dismissing the unimportant abolishing time-wasting tasks. Later, well explain some of the me...thods that work for Triaging. Very few companies have failed after piloting these programs. Across many sectors, most companies report increases in overall productivity, not decreases. Enthusiasm and efficiency improve. Teams become smarter and more productive. There is no time for social media breaks teams want to get their work done in the four days, to preserve their 3-day weekend. (And, they now have a 3-day weekend for all their social activities.) One of the fringe benefits of companies with four-day work weeks on the same pay is recruiting top talent who are naturally efficient and productive. The best people beg to work at your company. They come knocking. The best-of-the-best will find you." TRIAGE PRODUCTIVITY In part 2, well cover these tips in greater detail, but, for now, heres a quick overview of things that can rescue your Fridays: 1. Triage Tag Everything: Red, Yellow, Green, Black Be fast and ruthless. Dont waste time with productivity software, unless it speeds you up. Dont add other colours just black for dead already; red for urgent, fix this; yellow for delayed but important, and green for can do any time. If its going to take too many resources, black or green tag it! If its a pipedream, black tag it! If its an important milestone, yellow tag! If its mission critical, red tag! If it cant wait even one day, red. If its just nice to have, green tag. 2. Result-specific goals only: Make all your goals results milestones. Productivity goals should never be about how many hours you worked, how many hours you were at your desk, how many hours you were in meetings. Only results matter. Period. If someone out-performs the team but works only 20-hours a week, the person deserves a raise. 3. 30-Hour planning Even if you work a 40-hour work, plan as if you only have 30 then achieve within those 30. Before you know it, youll be given Fridays off! Or, youll have lots of time for those pesky green tags. Dont waste even one moment on the black tags. Bury them, and move on with ruthless dispatch. (Dont miss part 2 of this how-to feature tomorrow.) https://www.pivotalsolutions.com/triage-productivity-metho/

The important takeaway ... is that an Ontario employer will not be liable for severance payments if the companys Ontario payroll is less than $2.5 million, even if the Ontario employers parent company has a global payroll in excess of $2.5 million." http://ow.ly/7P5i50u5kJk

Understanding what drives each generation can be a key to forging harmonious work relationships... older workers may want more job security, are usually more dedicated to the job and are more likely to stay put, while younger ones prefer flexibility... http://ow.ly/fJmE50u5edM

8 tips for correct screening, including: Avoid reporting language that appears to conclude a personality profile from a social media review. Personalities demonstrated on social media are often contrived. https://www.pivotalsolutions.com/social-media-candidate-sc/

In Triage, red, yellow, green, black tags determine life or death so-called culling Here, weve adapted it to a productivity concept for the workplace: red means IMMEDIATE; yellow is URGENT; green means DELAYED and black is Dead." http://ow.ly/TnBO50u5aTN

I have the puppy theory. When the puppy pees on the carpet, you say something right then because you dont say six months later, Remember that day... when you peed..." That doesnt make any sense. This is whats on my mind. This is quick feedback. http://ow.ly/UTGw50tULms