HR Planning

Ontario Employments Statistics: Oh, How Things Change

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Canada’s employment numbers are on a teeter-totter; every month they’re up and down. A look at employment numbers in August 2018 versus July 2018 reveals how much things can change.

Statistics Canada reports that the unemployment rate went up 0.2 of a percentage point from 5.8% to 6.0% in August 2018. You might think that doesn’t seem like much, but it is interesting to look at the figures behind the percentages; they are what should be of interest to the HR practitioner.

Across Canada there was an astonishing loss of 92,000 part-time positions in August, but on the other hand 40,400 new full-time positions were created. It could be argued that though more jobs have been lost than created, an increase in full-time positions represents movement towards higher quality, more secure, jobs.

Another interesting employment statistic is that Ontario lost a whopping 80,100 jobs in August 2018, having gained 60,600 in July. An even more alarming static is the loss of 22,100 positions in the professional fields. These jobs in sciences and the technical industry are supposed to be in demand, and in theory a little more secure than those in other fields, but that may not be the case.

Click here to read the full CBC article on August’s job numbers.

So, what do all these employment numbers mean to the HR practitioner? It’s very hard to know if we’re seeing a blip or the start of a downward trend. However, what is certain is that HR departments need to be aware of monthly employment numbers as they shift, and develop proactive recruitment and HR planning strategies that enable future labour shortages or surpluses to be addressed.

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. What could be the cause of such drastic changes in Canadian employment levels?
  2. If you were called into an organization as a recruitment consultant, what steps would you recommend the HR department take to be proactive?
  3. How have these lower employment numbers affected Canadian wage rates?
  4. Identify three things an employer can do if they feel a labour surplus issue is on the horizon for their organization. Identify the pros and cons of each strategy.

 

 

 

HR is More Important Than Ever

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The HR profession has evolved drastically over the years. HR professionals have seen a general shift from a transactional focus to a focus on strategic activities. HR also has an increased presence at the executive table and can truly influence an organization. In fact, HR may be more critical now than ever—indeed, not having an effective HR system in place may be the demise of an organization.

The quest to hire and to keep employees is at a critical juncture in North America: organizations that are able to retain employees will prosper, while those that are not will perish.

The statistics coming out of the USA are alarming. The Seattle Times states that American workers’ willingness to quit their jobs is at a 17-year high, and that “there are now just 0.91 unemployed workers for each available job, the lowest on record”.

Click here to read more about the hiring crunch.

These statistics are alarming for any employer that is trying to hire or keep employees. The potential supply of employees is small, meaning companies will have to do things differently to be successful — and HR has to be at the heart of this activity.

The activities HR must do differently include the following:

  1. Speed up the hiring process. Would-be employees do not wait for HR to get back to them, employment candidates move on very quickly.
  2. Focus on turnover rates. Find out why employees are leaving and address the issues.
  3. Be flexible. Millennials and older members of the working population represent two of the largest available hiring pools, but both of these groups want flexibility in the employment relationship.

HR has always been the gate keeper for hiring, and HR professionals now have to find ways to draw potential employees in as fast as they can by offering competitive wages and flexible policies.

 

Discussion Questions:

Research whether or not using applicant tracking software speeds up or slows down an employer’s ability to hire?

What can HR do to hire suitably qualified employees in a timely manner?

Upcoming HR Trends, 2018

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HR trends may not be radically changing year after year, but they are becoming more intense and more critical to organization success. Every year the HR professional should consider what the current success driver for HR is in their industry. You never want to be the dinosaur asking, “does anyone else feel it’s getting colder here?” To avoid becoming obsolete in your profession you need to stay on top of what is happening in the external business world, and reflect on industry trends.

  • Here is a 2017 survey that sums up some of the current HR trends:
  • Less transaction, more strategy
  • Less formal but more frequent feedback
  • Less manual process, more data

Click here to read about the Paycor HR trends survey.

These are not radical trends, nor are they particularly disruptive, but they are important changes in HR. Each one should be reflected upon by the HR professional. All HR professionals should ask themselves the following big questions every year:

  1. Which transactional activity does HR do that is obsolete?
  2. What is the most important area of business strategy I should focus on this year?
  3. How can HR improve the employee performance management system this year?
  4. What HR data should we keep tracking? What data should we stop tracking? What data should we start tracking?

Doing this on a regular basis will keep you and your organization current, and will enable your organization to be proactive instead of reactive. This is what Jim Collins calls the flywheel effect in his book “Good to Great”.

Combine the flywheel concept with a reflective HR practice and there is business success in the forecast.

Discussion questions:

Read the Paycor HR trends and survey. Pick the HR trend you feel is the most important, explaining your decision. In addition, research a company that is a leader with respect to that trend.

Click on this link. Pick one of Jim Collins’ articles and create a 3-minute presentation summary of the topic.

 

Faster, Better, Cheaper – Really?

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Outsourcing concept with hand pressing social icons on blue world map background.
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“Optus cut jobs by outsourcing HR and finance teams.”

How can outsourcing HR and finance staff, in order to cut costs, be a sound organizational decision? For HR professionals, the headline in the article for this particular blog topic brings up some key strategic questions.

Click here to read the article.

First and foremost, the decision to cut jobs is financial. Given that the biggest expenditure on a corporate balance sheet is usually employee compensation, it is a natural correlation to make – cut the biggest expenditure to curtail the financial losses.

It is, however, a deceptively easy solution that does not always produce the desired result.

In this particular article, the outsourced HR functions are in the areas of data analytics and trend analysis. These data management tools are used by HR to promote organizational and business systems decisions and sound strategic planning. If HR is to deliver value on these strategic functions, of course, the search for the ‘fastest, cheapest, best’ solutions should be an ongoing part of strategic evaluation. These are critical functions that HR should be driving in order to provide technology based solutions that contribute to lines of business success and organizational growth.

Outsourcing routine, technology-based processes seems to offer an easy solution. It may be ‘easier’ but, as a long-term sustainable solution, it too may miss the mark in supporting organizational success.

On the other hand, digital systems integration and data-management platforms can harness the technical complexities of critical HR systems. Automated processes can be implemented internally to produce significant cost-savings and improve operational results.

Outsourcing appears to be a cheap and fast solution. Is it the right solution? In this case, we do not have the full account of facts and insights behind this specific organizational decision.

It does, however, emphasize the need for HR to understand and monitor technology-based systems. Further, HR must have an active voice as part of data based operational processes so that outsourcing any function (including HR) comes as one alternative in a range of sustainable solutions.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Why do you think Optus is choosing to outsource as the preferred solution in this case?
  2. Identify four HR administrative functions that can be automated using current technology based solutions.
  3. As an HR professional, what advice will you give to Optus about the impact of outsourcing on employee engagement and morale?
  4. What decisions would you make about outsourcing HR functions in this particular case?

HR Analytics – Use it. Own it.

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It is time for Human Resources to own the numbers.  After all, the words ‘Human’ and ‘Resources’ are used together for a reason.  Human Resources is not just about leading the humans.  It is also about the powerful management and leadership of resources associated with what the humans bring to the success of the organization.

Our role, as effective Human Resource leaders, is to ensure that we are constant in bringing forth both the human and the resource elements to the strategic management table.  One of the most powerful resource tools at our fingertips is Workforce Analytics.  Using the analytics tool effectively is key to ensuring both functional Human Resources and operational strategic success.

When we fail to bring both parts of the human and resources equation forward, we fail at our jobs as Human Resources leaders.  Failure is pretty easy as noted by Mark Barry, a successful Human Resources leader in the United States.  Mr. Barry offers us a step-by-step approach to how HR Analytics should be used as the resource tool, from the perspective of learning from one’s mistakes.

Click Here to Read the Article

What we learn from our mistakes, is how to change the outcome from failure to one of success by using HR Analytics effectively.  Of the seven Human Resources lessons learned from this article, there are two in particular that bear closer scrutiny.

First, where does HR Analytics report?  If the function of Human Resources is not responsible for the ownership of resources through understanding the people numbers, implementing the metrics, evaluating the measures, and leading everything that is data driven and comes from the organizational workforce for purposes of decision making, then the Human Resources function is not accountable for any of it.  If the Human Resources function is not responsible nor accountable for analytical resources, then that resource part of the Human Resources equation is lost.

When the power of analytical resources goes to others in the organization, Human Resources will have given up the fundamental strength that comes with workforce planning and development, which must be vested within the Human Resources function.

This leads to the second lesson, Human Resources needs to position itself strategically.  Again, if the Human Resources function is able to leverage the knowledge that comes from owning the resource of analytics, we can influence decision-making based on the powerful combination of putting the humans together with the resources to drive organizational success.

Discussion Questions:

  1. If analytics are not vested in the Human Resource function, where would they reside in an organizational structure? What impact will this have on Human Resources?
  2. What are the benefits of having organizational analytics available through the Human Resources function?
  3. Identify three Human Resources activities that can be measured and link directly to effective organizational performance.
  4. Identify three strategic decisions that HR can influence by bringing forward both a human (workforce) and resource (analytical) based plan or proposal to the corporate table.