THE NEW REALITY:

1. THE NEW REALITY: Hot Employment and Labour Issues in the Boom Times

2. Introduction • Goal: Keep productive employees at work for longer • Two key aspects to managing and succeeding in the boom times: • Recruitment, retention and return strategies; • Management of illness and disability claims.

3. Job Renters: Transforming a Transient and Temporary Workforce into a Permanent and Long-Term Investment

4. Identifying and Attracting Employees of Choice • An employer of choice will incorporate these key points into their recruitment strategy: • Avoid the black hole of recruiting: Act like a seller, not a buyer; • Leverage your talent pool: Today’s applicant might be tomorrow’s hire;

5. Identifying and Attracting Employees of Choice • Recruitment strategies: • Money talks: Pay the market rate for comparable positions; • Train to be an effective interviewer: Make a good impression in your growing talent pool;

6. Identifying and Attracting Employees of Choice • Recruitment strategies: • Deliver the truth about your organization: Clearly communicate your expectations and goals at the beginning of the employment relationship; • Walk the Talk:Implement your goals and philosophy; and

7. Identifying and Attracting Employees of Choice • Recruitment strategies: • “Great Start” programs: Do more than tour your new employee around the workplace – find ways to implement your philosophy beginning on the first day.

8. Retaining Employeesfor the Long Haul • Focus on retention, not recruitment, to be an employer of choice • Retention is a 2-step process: • Transform unproductive employees into productive employees; and • Extend employees’ productivity for longer.

9. Retaining Employeesfor the Long Haul • Retention strategies: • Get engaged: Employees who are engaged with their work will stay longer and work harder; • Retention and Performance Bonuses: Creates an incentive to stay and perform well;

10. Retaining Employeesfor the Long Haul • Retention strategies: • Provide meaningful work: Single most important key to building employees’ loyalty; • Stop the secrecy: Regularly and clearly communicate to employees “the good, the bad, and the ugly”, and the consequences

11. Retaining Employeesfor the Long Haul • Retention strategies: • Education and Development Agreements: Train new or existing employees, but keep them for your benefit, not that of the next employer; • Bend to avoid breaking: Consider flexible work arrangements; and

12. Retaining Employeesfor the Long Haul • Retention strategies: • Work together, play together, stay together: Increased stress for your employees requires increased laughter too.

13. Exiting Employees and theBattle to Bring Them Back! • When faced with a resignation, focus on two key issues: • Can we convince this employee to stay? and • What can we learn to prevent other resignations in the future?

14. Exiting Employees and theBattle to Bring Them Back! • Focusing on these key issues will yield you three benefits: • Change of heart; • Possibility of return in the future; and • Refinement of recruitment and retention strategies.

15. Exiting Employees and theBattle to Bring Them Back! • Fight a good fight! Conduct exit interviews to focus on your two key issues to get to the core of why employees are leaving. • Making the most of exit interviews: • Meet immediately!: Talk to the employee while he/she is still focused on you, not the next employer;

16. Exiting Employees and theBattle to Bring Them Back! • Making the most of exit interviews: • Slow them down: Help the employee to relax so they’ll tell you more; • Ask questions: Get to the core of what is making your employees leave;

17. Exiting Employees and theBattle to Bring Them Back! • Making the most of exit interviews: • Ask for the employee’s discretion: Give them time to reconsider before making the big announcement; and • Thank them for a job well done: Leave the door open for their return.

18. Exiting Employees and theBattle to Bring Them Back! • Tactics to avoid during exit interviews: • Don’t counter-offer more money: Unless you know money is the problem, this is at best a temporary solution; • Don’t take the resignation personally: Friendly departures are more likely to bring them back;

19. Exiting Employees and theBattle to Bring Them Back! • Tactics to avoid during exit interviews: • Don’t slam the competition: Share information, but be professional; and • Don’t wait for resignations to give praise: Give praise regularly to beat the “too little, too late” syndrome.

20. The Cure for What Ails You: Managing Illness & Disability Claims

21. Human Rights, Citizenshipand Multiculturalism Act • No employer shall: (a) refuse to employ or refuse to continue to employ any person, or (b) discriminate against any person with regard to employment or any term or condition of employment, because of the … physical disability, mental disability … of that person or of any other person.

22. A Balancing Act: • The accommodation process seeks to balance employees’ rights to equal opportunity to employment as against employers’ rights to run a safe, efficient and effective workplace.

23. Obligation: Duty to Accommodate • Employers must take reasonable steps to modify workplace requirements, practices or policies to meet the specific needs of an ill or disabled employee • The burden of proof of illness or disability rests with the employee

24. Obligation: Duty to Accommodate • A few examples of accommodations: • Granting leave of absence, with or without pay; • Modifying work schedules, environment or duties; • Purchasing specialized equipment; or • Providing counseling

25. Limitation: Undue Hardship • Employers must accommodate ill or disabled employees to the point of undue hardship • Undue Hardship: The burden upon the employer is substantial and unreasonably onerous when viewed objectively • Burden of proof of undue hardship rests with employers

26. Limitation: Undue Hardship • Few examples of undue hardship: • Ridiculous financial cost; • Unreasonable disruption of operations; • Interference in normal operation beyond mere inconvenience; • Profound adverse effects on other employees;

27. Limitation: Undue Hardship • A few examples of undue hardship: • Creation of health or safety risks; • Failure to meet bona fide occupational requirements; and • No requirement to create a job where none exists

28. Enough is Enough: Frustration • Frustration of the employment contract occurs when it becomes impossible to perform through no fault of either party

29. Enough is Enough: Frustration • The basic test for frustration considers: • Terms of the employment contract; • Likely length of employment in the absence of illness; • “Key” employee concept; • Nature and duration of illness; and • Period of past employment.

30. Verifying Medical andDisability Claims • Employers’ right to employees’ medical information; • Dealing with “scratch pad” doctors’ notes; • Obtaining employees’ medical information

31. Return to Work Programs • Key elements of Return to Work programs: • Constant and regular contact; • Ongoing evaluation of medical capabilities; • Identification of modified work opportunities; • Established policies and procedures; and • Employee Assistance Programs, counseling and rehabilitation.

32. Attendance Management Programs • Innocent absenteeism must be accommodated to the point of undue hardship; • Culpable absenteeism may lead to discipline or termination

33. Attendance Management Programs • Attendance Management Policies should: • Recognize the duty to accommodate; • Allow for individual assessment; • Distinguish between culpable and innocent absenteeism;

34. Attendance Management Programs • Attendance Management Policies should: • Be consistent with the law of progressive discipline/termination (culpable) and the duty to accommodate (innocent) • Warn that frequent absences may lead to termination, in some circumstances

35. Stress Claims • The frequency and duration of stress claims can be reduced by: • Employee Assistance Programs; • Harassment policies; • Wellness programs; • Workplace flexibility

36. Stress Claims • The frequency and duration of stress claims can be reduced by: • Reduced overtime, callbacks, short deadlines, etc.; • Reorganization/redistribution of work; and • Enhanced training or upgrading

37. Additional Questions? Please contact a member of the Brownlee LLP Labour and Employment Group: Edmonton: Calgary: Steven T. Connors Joanne M. Klauer Colin R. Fetter James Early Kirsten M. Leger Elsy Gagne