HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

CLASS 1: LEADING PROACTIVELY TO MANAGE YOUR EMPLOYEES: Chapter 1 p. 1 to 21 & Chapter 11 p. 304 to 329

Human resources function: human resources management practices dealing with company performance, the well-being
of employees and compliance with laws
- Player: person or entity that is part of the employment relationship that affects human resources management
(employees, manager, senior management, human resources professionals, unions)
- Influencers: an individual, company or external interest group that can influence the organization’s human
resources management (customers, governments, consultants, external suppliers, advocacy groups). Can have
an indirect impact on the way companies manage their employees.

Roles of HRM players:

1. Employees
- Thanks to them that can achieve objectives
- Characteristics of employees have a significant impact on how you manage them (education level, age,
gender, ethnic origin. Ex: if young parents, must be flexible. Older: have interesting pension plans)
2. Managers
- Role is to ensure that your employees exhibit appropriate behaviours and contribute to organizational
performance
- Translate objectives in specific targets
- Responsibilities: communication (conduit btwn management and employees); management; mobilizing (the
employees so ppl can put efforts to achieve common objectives); administrative tasks; problem-solving role
- HR practices: concrete ways of managing staff
3. Senior management
- Organizational objectives (what the company as a whole wants to achieve) are determined at the senior
management level
- Ensure objectives aligned with mission, values and vision
- Mission: raison d’être, why it was created, doesn’t really change over time
- Vision: ideal to be achieved, changes over time. Pursuit of the vision (source of motivation and
commitment). Dictated the organization’s objectives
- Values: principles and guidelines on which it bases its decisions and gives them meaning and coherence
- Implementation of HR policies: a formal rule or regulation that an organization sets up to oversee human
resources management (ex: customer service training)
4. Human resources professionals
- Formalize human resources practices and to design policies that will support the organization’s mission,
vision, objectives and values
5. Unions
- Union: representative of the employees
- Negotiate work conditions

The role of influencers

1. Customers
- Remain loyal or not, boycott
2. Governments
- Laws in response to societal changes
3. External HR consultants
- For ex: for a diagnosis of the organization HR
1
 4. Advocacy groups
- Ex: political parties, environnemental and citizen groups, etc

Objectives and models of the HR function

1. Contribution to organizational performance
- To ensure its survival. Contribute to organizational performance in order to ensure its sustainability
- Called value creation
- HR function mainly contributes to this goal through activities that attract, retain, develop and mobilize
employees
- Staircase model

- Treating symptoms vs the root cause

- Operational results brings organizational results
- p.11 top

2
The 2 models of HRM
Traditional:
• Labour is abundant, employees are interchangeable
• Labour is nothing but a cost or expense
• Labour consists of a homogeneous group
= bureaucratic
= unfocused
- HR management is more reactive than proactive
- Trying to fill a bucket with a hole in it (if high turnover simply hiring new ppl instead of understanding why
ppl are leaving)
- More operational
New (renewed)/ innovative:
• Employees are an asset (that the orga seeks to develop)
• Employees are a critical resource
• Employees are a difficult resource to manage, not interchangeable (scarce resource so value goes up)
• More diverse, less homogeneous, mobilizing
= strategic
= contingent (not bureaucratic or universal)
Want to add value to asset and make them grow

Ask why to understand the root cause

Now more jobs than people, demand is smaller than offer, so value of the candidates goes up
Not interchangeable, not one best way
RH has to be tailored made to fit to everyone

Different configurations of the HR function

Operational activities are much more important in smaller organizations than in larger ones, p.14
Strategic has the same importance in all 3, regardless of size
Dollar store vs high end luxury store will not have the same HR practices

3
HRM Activities/Processes

Creating behavior when for example have commission

If only on numbers, change ur behaviour and will only care about your commission

Objectives of an Effective HRM

To help the organization achieve its strategy by : (goals and objectives) doing it by:
Attracting potentially qualified job applicants; (attract and keep)
Helping to retain the desirable employees;
Motivating and helping employees to grow, develop and realize their potential in the organization and also:
 To improve productivity;
 To improve quality of work life;
 To ensure legal compliance
 To make profits and be competitive

Internal environment
The HRM activities must take into account factors related to the organization
– Mission
– Vision / Business Objectives
– Corporate culture (values)
– Structure
– Technology
– Leadership Style
The HRM activities must take into account factors related to employees
– Portrait of the workforce (number, age, seniority, gender, education, marital status, ethnicity, health
status, etc.)
– Presence of a union
– Employee aspirations
– Work Climate (absenteeism, turnover, number of grievances, strikes, etc.)

4
External environment

MOBILIZE EMPLOYEES
- 3 guys: 1st guy saying he only puts bricks on top of each other
- 2nd guy said he’s building a wall
- 3rd is building a cathedral, he’s seeing the bigger picture and will be the
most mobilized
- Don’t look at their job the same way, diff vision
- Different why, reasons of doing the job
- 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
- Mobilizing employees and managers leads directly to improved organizational performance. Increases customer
satisfaction, productivity and efficiency. Reduces labour costs, absenteeism, staff turnover.
- Highly mobilized  more effective

Managerial roles and responsibilities in mobilization

1. Company management (vision & values)
2. Human resources professionals
3. Managers (ex: demonstrating a motivational leadership style)
4. Employees (mobilizing themselves, imitate a mobilized employee)

Definition of Mobilization
Critical mass of employees:
1. Exceeds expected job performance;
2. Cooperates fully, help others;
3. Participation in internal civic life; (workplace a second home)
4. Welcomes and champions change;
5. Loyal to the organization and its success
- Need only 1 mobilized employee to say that your organisation is mobilized
- If it’s the right person, need only 1 person to mobilize your team (critical mass of employees)
- It’s a behaviour (not attitude or satisfaction) and mobilization is shown through actions (not intentions)
- Mobilization: a set of behaviours, mainly discretionary, that benefit the organization and are adopted by a
critical mass of employees within the organization. Actions that go beyond the requirements found in the
employment contract.
5
 - You must be able to count on a minimum numbers of employees if you want collective mobilization to
produce the contagious effects you are after and the results you expect.
- Everyone is willing to work toward the achievement of a common vision, which leads to better performance.

Observable behaviors/level of mobilization: the 12 main types of behaviours observed in organizations where
employees are mobilized p.310

When everyone works in the same direction, it starts going naturally. Easier to keep going, only requires a little effort. If
you want to change the current way, it requires a lot of effort and may demobilize ur ppl
When ur drunk uncle does a bomb in the pool, it fucks the current (like new competitors coming in, etc.)
Like in the pool when you start a current.
To be mobilized you need to:
- Respect the work contract
- Work dedication: ppl who are committed to their job share a desire to do more
- Etc…
- Proactive coordination with others, do ur work for 4 months and then they tell you it was bad
- Sportsmanship: Put the interest of the group before your own
- Participation in internal life of organization: if ppl are not attending ur events like Christmas diners etc.
- Customer service is everyone’s job in an organization; even for people in the warehouse customer orientation is
still important cuz you manipulate the products, so if you treat the products well (items not broken, broken box,
etc.)

6
Mobilizing environment: a healthy, stimulating work environment where employees feel trusted, supported, recognized
and fairly treated, are empowered and committed to the organization. Employees mobilize when positive interactions
btwn the players in the company

The mobilization model

Read left to right

To understand why ppl are not mobilized, right to left
Leadership provided by managers is the most important one, its super important, it’s a very important lever.
Organization: 4 levers to know: to motivate troops p.319
- HRM practices
o Includes staffing, performance management, monetary and non-monetary rewards, competency
development and information sharing (exchange of information: feedback and about the competitors
and company info sharing from the top. Focus groups to know the employees questions, comments
and suggestions  info sharing from the bottom)
- Vision, mission, values, objectives
o Manager need to transmit them to employees. Employees must find the meaning of the orga values
- Work organization
o How tasks are arranged btwn ppl and jobs
o Mostly felt through empowerment

7
 o Sometimes more or less favorable to mobilization (ex: workload too heavy, tasks split up btwn many ppl
so less dedication
- Leadership provided by managers
o Leadership of manager is important to mobilize employees
o 3 main types of leaders among managers: p.320
 the motivator (relationships of contractual nature. Incentives as rewards. Find solution on
his/her own)
 the mobilizer (source of inspiration and a model for their employees to follow. Give meaning to
their work. Engaging employees in the search for solutions)
 the demotivator (punitive, no one wants those. Only intervene if the problems gets worst)

5 psychological conditions for employer

- Trust (trust is the opposite of excessive control)
- Support
- Justice/ fairness
- Recognition
- 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 organization’s results). Feel that ur job has meaning, what they do counts
- Mobilization is possible when employees: 1) have confidence in their managers and upper management; 2) feel
supported and recognized (satisfy employees’ needs for approval and belonging and affect their self esteem:
thank, congratulate, give public recognition, encourage); 3) are treated fairly; 4) are empowered. P.314

Employee
- Commitment
- Motivation
If all of that, in return engaged behaviour mobilization
And will get your performance of human resources
It’s a cycle so that’s why arrows to the left as well, never done mobilizing ppl
Give only give a favor to someone if u trust them, support them, etc… Ex go pick them up at 3am

Fairness/Justice
3 types:
Distributive fairness
….
An assessment employees make
about their contribution to the
company compared to what they
receive from it.
- Ex: gave heart and soul in
company but didn’t get the
supervisor position
- Bonus, choice of vacation
schedule, …
- why he’s always the one
going to the training
sessions
Procedural fairness
An assessment employees make
about how organizational rules are
respected and how they are
applied in decisions concerning
them.
- Based on impartiality
- Applies rules in a neutral
and consistent way
Interactional fairness
An assessment employees make
about the quality of interpersonal
treatment and the credibility of
explanations offered by their
superior regarding management
decisions
- Quality of relationship with
ur superior
- Expect sincere & believable
explanations if say no to
wage increase
- How you treat ppl

8
 - what get/give - If bff hates someone you
will also hate them

Interaction between levers

Consider the external and internal environment before taking decisions

Organization of work
• Modify work in order to make it more
– Participatory (more cooperation, teamwork activities, groups of employees to solve problems)
– Interesting (diversify positions where tasks are repetitive, more responsibilities
– Flexible (flextime and compressed work week; 2 ppl share a full time position; teleworking)
– Meaningful (more fulfilled if ur job has more meaning)
• in order to derive maximum benefit from your employees’ collective intelligence
first must be mobilized yourself and act like a leader and not a general to mobilize ur ppl
Cant force ppl to mobilize, but u can ensure that conditions are put in place to encourage ppl to adopt mobilization
behaviours

Statistics speak for themselves

KPI Less mobilized More mobilized
absenteeism 12.18 days 3.07 days
Intention to stay 24% 94%
Turnover 13.7% 10.7%
Sales / employees $287,570 $332,024
% employees that influence product and 31% 84%
services
% Service level 27% 72%
% improvement at work 19% 68%
Surveys to say if ur team in mobilized.
Happy customers think less, so buy more

9
CLASS 2: MANAGING INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIPS: Chapter 2 p. 22 to 53
Why is it important to know the laws?
- Know your rights
- Don’t want to be sued if u don’t respect them
- If ur boss breaks the laws u will be less mobilized (sends a bad message)
Executive: employee to whom the employer delegates part of his/her authority
As a manager ur an employee in the organization (with rights and obligations) & a manager in charge of other employees
(authority and image of the employer. Must have an exemplary behaviour to have a trust relationship)
Before a HR meeting, you need to gather all the facts and put together the file

As a manager, you must…

• Understand the various laws
• The legal environment you work in is governed by several legal sources: administrative directives,
regulations, employment contracts, collective agreements and laws
• Know where to get resources
• When there’s an issue so you can know where to go the info
• Be aware of the employment contract and the non-discrimination principles
• Have knowledge of the minimum labour standards
• Know about the procedures and terms of ending an employment relationship
• Ways to do it
• Treat each employee with respect and fairness
- Have management rights (through delegation)

Does the company fall under federal or provincial jurisdiction?

Provincial or federal laws
o 90 % of the Canadian labour force is subject to provincial law (QC gov/ QC laws)
o 10 % of the Canadian labour force is subject to federal law
Companies falling under the federal jurisdiction:
- Dealings with other countries: Air routes, air transport, shipping and broadcasting
- Interprovincial links (road and rail transportation btwn provinces)
- National interest (nuclear energy, national defence, currency and coinage, banking)
If the company’s activity falls under federal jurisdiction, federal laws apply to labour relationships. And same for
provincial.

Where product is made is provincial (but transport company might be federal)

Healthcare is provincial
Air and maritime transportation is federal
Banks is federal
Radio and television broadcasting is federal
Pharmaceutical industry is provincial

10
National defence is federal
Education sector is provincial
Retail is provincial (ex min wage)
Cable tv: provincial
Interprovincial transportation: federal
Nuclear energy: federal

Quebec’s Legal environment (we need to know what each law covers) on p.28 names of the laws to know

Protection of human rights

o Charter of Human Rights
o Act Respecting Equal employment access in public bodies
o Establishes a framework for equal access to address the situation of certain groups discriminated against
in employment (women, native peoples, visible minorities and people whose mother tongue is neither
French nor English)
o If in a public company with more than 100 employees (ask if ur a women, minority. They want the
workforce to reflect the environment. 55% women in the environment so 55% women in the company)
o Pay Equity act
o Corrects the wage gap created by systemic discrimination based on gender against people who occupy
predominantly female job classes
o Equal work, equal pay. Women make 0.75$ for every men
o Act Respecting protection of personal information in the private sector
o Ensure the protection of personal information and sets rules concerning its collection, retention, use and
disclosure in the work environment
o Ex: desjardins
o Charter of the French language
o Loi 101. Able to get service in French everywhere in QC
o Protects the French language in the workplace
o Discrimination laws

Law establishing the legal framework of the labor contract and minimum working conditions
o Quebec Civil code
o Basic laws
o Governs relationships of a private nature (an employee going to work for a competitor, it is ok?)
o Act respecting Labour Standards
o Rights of employees, salaries, sick days, holidays, …
o Imposes minimum standards that must absolutely be respected
o Senior management is in principle excluded from its application (senior managers cannot invoke its
provision)
o A public order law (a law whose “command-and-control” provisions are binding on the parties and
determine an absolute standard, like prohibition of discrimination, or set a minimum standard, like min
wage). Cant digress from this law or say it doesn’t apply
o One of the most important laws managers must consider
o Those minimum standards are required in all situations
o Time and money: min wage, min salary

11
 o Hours of work: 40 hrs/ week. After that overtime 1.5%. Doesn’t apply to executives. Can vary depending
on the industry ++ at the bottom
o National holiday act
o Specifically for June 24th
o States that June 24th is a statutory general holiday
o Voluntary retirement saving plans act
o Help organisations put money aside
o Proposes a group retirement savings plan gradually accessible in Qc companies to employees who
choose to join it, the purpose being to encourage retirement savings for all Qc workers

The law governing labour relations

o Labour Code
o Unions, strikes, lockouts, … Don’t deal about this if not unionized
o Deals with collective working relationships

Legislation to ensure the qualification of the workforce

o Act respecting workforce vocational training and qualification
o Professional code
o CPA, les ordres professionnels
o Act to promote workforce skills development and recognition
o Laws of the 1%. Over organization that has over 2M in chiffre d’affaire must invest 1%

Legislation to ensure the physical and psychological integrity of the worker

o Charter or Human Rights
o Quebec Civil code
o Act respecting Labour Standards
o Sets minimum labour standards and grants employees recourses in the case of dismissals (employee
doesn’t want to do overtime, can she be given disciplinary measure?
o Act Respecting occupational health and safety
o To be proactive to avoid injuries and death in the workplace. Prevent accidents and occupational
disease. For ex: do inspections
o Focuses on eliminating hazards to the health, safety and physical integrity of personnel
o Act Respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases
o If although you tried to prevent it, u still get in an accident. Laws to protect you
o Indemnifies the person suffering from occupational injuries
o Compensation, rehabilitation, medical assistance and return to work for victims of work-related
accidents and occupational diseases

Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms

- Fundamental rights and freedoms
- Every person has the right to be treated equally
- Forbids discrimination
- Promotes equal employment access.
- Duty to accommodate (by law need to accommodate ur employees, like a ramp for someone in a wheelchair.
- applies to everyone, not only workers
Exception: if cost is too much for the orga to absorb and it will put them in a bad position, or if it disturbs too much

12
- www.cdpdj.qc.ca

Grounds for discrimination under section 10 of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (qc)
- Everyone has the right to be treated equally
- Characteristics that may not be used as the basis for justifying a decision that affects, for ex recruiting,
transferring, promoting, dismissing an employee
- In the eyes of the charter, the protection of the right to equality is assured by human resources management
activities
Hiring should never be based on those: (discrimination)
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
- But when at the hiring stage allowed to ask for date of birth and stuff

Its not the info you want but how you ask.
Where do you come from? But instead ask Can you legally work in Canada?
If need to travel a lot need to be in the work specifications (ex: 50% of the time ur travelling)
Cant ask if u have kids; need to ask Can you leave for 2 weeks every month? Are you allowed to travel? Yes or no
Don’t ask how old they are but Are you above 21?
If in QC need to speak French, then it’s a job requirement and not discrimination. Job with Mexico, they need to speak
Spanish.
Cant sit in the selection committee of an employee if u didn’t do the training to know which questions to ask.
Not allowed to set the salary of someone based on the age. Ur 16 u will make 9$, but the guy who is 50 is doing the
same job at 12$/hour – not allowed to do this

Exception: May justify a discriminatory standard in the following 2 situations:

1. if it’s a non profit organization/ institution of a charitable, philanthropic, religious, political or educational
nature or of an institution devoted exclusively to the well-being of an ethnic group: a shelter for women that
were abused, wont hire a men. In a church u need someone who is catholic.

13
 2. if the grounds for discrimination under section 10 constitutes a quality or ability objectively required for
employment: jobs requirements. Need to see for example
But in 99.9% of the time can’t do this

Types of discrimination prohibited

Direct
o Deliberately refusing to hire, train or promote on any of the prohibited grounds (list above)
Indirect and systemic
o Imbedded in policies and practices that, although appearing neutral on the surface have adverse impact on
specific groups for reasons not job related
o 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
o Ex: ask everyone to work on Sundays, but discriminatory for Christian ppl

- The type doesn’t affect the consequences, same consequences, but lets us better identify situations of
discrimiantion
Ex: want ppl over 6ft tall, then most candidates will be men (indirectly ur discriminating)
Need to be able to lift 50pounds boxes 100 times a day, then its not discrimination cuz that’s what u need for the job

Reasonable accommodations: 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. Ex: use techno adapted to visually impaired
ppl. Change schedule for religious reasons
Limit: - the actual cost of the requested accommodation taking into account the nature od the enterprise and its
financial health. Discrimination on the other members of the orga bcuz of this accomodation

Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST)

- Labour standards
- Pay equity
- Health and safety

Contract of employment
Contract of employment (or collective agreement for unionized employees)
« A contract of employment is a contract 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,
article 2085 »
Written or verbal contract For unionized and
non unionized
Employment contract employees
Contract
- Can be written or verbal (C.c.Q., art. 2085)
- Indeterminate or fixed term duration (C.c.Q., art. 2086)
- Indeterminate term contract and fixed-term contract. Tacit renewal agreement: if work for at least 5
days after the expiry of the term p.43

14
 - Droit de rupture (C.c.Q., art. 2091 et 2094)
- must give a reasonable notice of termination (an exact date, or an event)
Managers obligations (C.c.Q., art. 2087)
- Protect health and safety of the employee
- Allow performance of the work and pay for it
- Preserve the dignity of the employee
Employee’s obligations (C.c.Q., art. 2088 et 2089)
- Perform work under supervision and control of the employer
- Carry out work with prudence and diligence
- diligence so the quality and quantity of work that employees are expected to perform and that the
employer has the right to require
- Demonstrate discretion and act faithfully
- discretion: respect the confidentiality
- Honesty, good faith, loyalty
Manager and employee both have obligations

Job/service contract=consultant=self-employed worker

Hire consultant when u need a specific expertise at a given time to deal with an urgent matter. Will send invoices with
the # of worked hours and contribute to the benefit plans himself. Managers exercise no disciplinary authority and will
have control over their work only once its finished. Can’t claim overtime or holidays since they are not employees
Cannot control the work of a service contractor (consultant) – just need the job to get done
Managers sometimes try to hire someone as a service contractor, but treat them as an employee (loophole, can fire him
anytime)
Employment contract: if don’t do the work u won’t get paid
Insurance of consultant is more expensive
Can lose money if ur a contract worker (ex: said will do the project in 2 months, but 6 months later ur still not done
Cant write anything illegal in the contract. Illegal clause
- Employment relationships (collective and individual) are subject to a legislative framework that includes public
order laws (a law whose “command-and-control” provisions are binding on the parties and determine an
absolute standard, like prohibition of discrimination, or set a minimum standard, like min wage)

15
 - Even if u hire an employee without an officially signed contract, the law stipulates a series of rights and
obligations that pertain both to the employee and the employer (legal system still applies “by default”)
- Legislation thus creates the framework within which the parties may agree on working conditions that will be
specified in the employment contract or collective agreement. Employer can add rules tho
- Diversity in the workforce=diversity of contracts (full-time, part-time, on call, temporary, self-employed workers,
employment agencies, subcontractors)

Termination of an employee/employer relationship (qc civil code) p.47

- Resignation
- Employee’s initiative
- Dismissal
- Employer’s initiative because of a disciplinary or administrative fault (bcuz of competence or behaviour)
- Notion of constructive dismissal (when ur boss changes ur work conditions: say Monday to
Friday, but then change to Wednesday to Sunday nights. Boss will need to pay like if u got fired
- Constructive dismissal: an action by which the employer unilaterally makes substantial changes
to the essential terms of an employee’s contract or uses harassment to goad an employee into
resigning.
- Permanent layoff
- Employer’s initiative due to economic reasons (for ex: reorganization, company not going well, they
need to cut employees). Internal reasons or reasons involving the economic life of the company
- Temporary Lay off
- Employer’s initiative due to economic or organizational reasons, but only temporarily. Suspend the
employment contract temporarily
- Mutual agreement

No law saying you need to give 2 weeks

Breaking the employment relationship is a right enshrined in the Québec Civil Code

Requirements for terminating the employment relationship:

- a notice (written)
- basic minimum time for giving notice in act respecting labour standards p.47
- a reason (not discrimination for example)
Does not cover - Upper
management
Key Law Labour standards Act
Self employed-workers
 Salary (min wage 13.10$)
 Workweek (if more than 40 hours, its overtime, 1.5)
 Rest
 Vacations (mandatory vacations decided by this act) (annual leave with pay (vacation))
 Reference period: may 1st to April 20th p.41
 Less than a year: When start job, eligible for a leave equal to one day for each month of service (4%)
 1 to 3 yrs: 2 uninterrupted weeks (indemnity of 4%)
 3+, 3 weeks, 6%
 Holidays
Unionised or non
 7 statutory holidays +June 24, national holiday act p.42
unionised workers
 Sickness or parental leaves

16
  Includes: absence owing to sickness, accident, domestic or sexual violence
 Absences and leaves for family reasons
 Paternity leave, maternity leave, parental leave
 Termination
 Child work
 Psychological harassment
National holiday act : June 24 (only that day. Has a law of its own)
www.cnt.gouv.qc.ca

Labour standards act: Exceptions

o Senior management (these laws do not apply to senior management ex: vacations)
o Self employed workers (no vacation, low salary, etc. But as soon as you hire someone, all the laws apply to
them)
o Interns (interns don’t get minimum wage)
In a collective agreement, u can give more than the minimum but not the contrary (35hrs/week is a regular work week,
but paid time and a half only at the 41st hour)

Psychological harassment
Vexatious behaviour
o This behaviour is humiliating, offensive or abusive for the person on the receiving end. It injures the person’s
self-esteem and causes him anguish. It exceeds what a reasonable person considers appropriate within the
context of his work.
Repetitive in nature
o Considered on its own, a verbal comment, a gesture or a behaviour may seem innocent. It is the accumulation or
all of these behaviours which may become harassment.
Verbal comments, gestures or behaviours that are hostile or unwanted
o The comments, gestures or behaviours in question must be considered hostile or unwanted. If they are sexual in
nature, they could be considered harassment even if the victim did not clearly express his refusal.
Affect the person's dignity or integrity
o Psychological harassment has a negative effect on the person. The victim may feel put down, belittled,
denigrated both at the personal and professional levels. The physical health of the harassed person may also
suffer. (saying that’s a stupid idea)
Harmful work environment
o Psychological harassment makes the work environment harmful for the victim. The harassed person may, for
example, be isolated from his colleagues due to the hostile verbal comments, gestures or behaviours towards
him or concerning him.
- If ur employees keep calling another employee a certain name. It’s the job of the employer to put measures in
place to avoid this

Psychological harassment : Employer’s obligations

Provide a workplace free from psychological harassment
The employer is required to provide his employees with an environment that is free from psychological harassment.
• Prevent any psychological harassment situation through reasonable means
• Act to put a stop to any psychological harassment as soon as he is informed of it, by applying the appropriate
measures, including the necessary sanctions.

Manage with a view to preventing psychological harassment

17
 • The employer must adopt management practices that make it possible to prevent psychological harassment
situations.
• The employer must also take into account that the harasser may be someone outside his enterprise: customer,
user, supplier, visitor.
Easier to manage when it comes from another employee (disciplinary measures: suspensions and them measure)
If from outside: harder need to be aware of that (ex)

Workshop in class
- Cathy is in an interview for a new job and is on the verge of giving birth: Charter of human rights (discrimination)
- John is 17 and wants to work as a barman: civil code
- Karl works in a warehouse. Doesn’t have the license to drive the lift, not allowed: act of health and safety
- Unionized group go on strike after their boss promoted a colleague, not allowed: labour code
- Never pay for ur uniform if it has the logo on it: labour standard act

Employee handbooks
Why?
To define specific policies and key information (but not too specific. Dumb proof so if 10 managers read it they
understand the same thing) usually first draft is done by HR ppl
- May include the human resources management policies (part of the employer’s rights)
- Must be carefully written, clear and precise, to avoid confusion and lack of precision which may give rise to
interpretation (study leave, academic or sailing?). unambiguous

Type of info
- Mission, vision (presentation of the company)
- Working conditions
- Specific company policy

Recommendations
- Must be specific
- Acknowledgment has to be signed by employee
- Applied uniformly and consistently

Very important
Under the province of Quebec’s legal system : Ignorance of the law is no excuse
That means : you can’t defend your actions by claiming you didn’t know the law.

18
CLASS 3: MANAGING IN A UNIONIZED ENVIRONMENT chapter 3: p. 54 to 83

Walmart vs Costco. Walmart sees their employees as a cost

Quick-reminder:
- Main laws governing employer-employee relationship
- Human charter act: discrimination (age, handicap, etc)
- Labour standard act (mínimum wage)
- Act respecting health and safety
- CCNST is the public buddy enforcing these laws
The employer the employee’s obligations
Differences btwn an employment contract and a service contract: who does the work, employer provides your tools,
employee u do the job ur boss tells u to do; contract u need to provide the service but the how u do it doesn’t mater
Grounds for discrimination

Key elements of the labour std act: min wage, holidays (expect the June 24 th), workweek, psychological harassment,
child cant work BUT doesn’t apply to senior management, interns and self employed

What is a Union? (syndicat)

• A legally constituted organization that represents employees’ interests
• Employees participation in administering the union through electing union officials and supporting it financially
through union dues. (0.5 or 1% of each paycheck goes to the union, but also get a vote)
• The right to form and participates in unions is protected by law (so the store won’t just close down and move
when their employees want to unionize)
- If theres an union, u don’t have as much flexibility. Can see them as an enemy or a partner. If u see them and
treat them as a partner, they will become a partner.

Union: a group of employees whose purpose is to study, safeguard and develop the economic, social and educational
interests of its members, and in particular the negotiation and applications of collective agreements.

Why union?
Cheers to unions. Because unions are the only reason you have weekends, breaks, vacation, overtime pay, 8hrs work
day, sick leave, etc

19
 o Only employees (ppl working for an employer and remunerated) may participate in the formation of a union
(excludes employer representatives such as executives, manager, supervisor, etc). Cant be someone with
hierarchical authority over other employees
- A union is a very important player in a company. 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
- If it works well depends on the willingness of the parties to act in concert
- In an unionized environment, good managers are recognized for their ability to manage by using influence rather
than power. Managers who over see the day to day application of the collective agreement
- Unionization zone: employees with qualifications and who share collective interests (facilitates collective
bargaining for their working conditions) (alone not much bargaining power but collectively yes) p.59 schéma
- Employers often resist to unions cuz they don’t want to lose some of their decision-making power (but can be
good since u don’t need to negotiate the working conditions with every employee, etc.)
- Self-employed workers are not recognized as employees within the definition of the Labour code(ppl working
for an employer and remunerated, need a legal subordination relationship), and therefore cannot join an union
and enter in a collective agreement
- Unions respond to the needs of some workers who succeed in increasing their power and improving their
working conditions by joining forces
- Robotization: elimination of traditional unionized jobs

Union presence in 2012

Higher here because of cultural reasons

Union presence in 2011

20
Much higher in the public sector than the private sector
In public sector, ur boss is the government, so go through the union to negociate ur working conditions. Like 50
hierarchical steps, so one union rep can talk for 200 000 people. More influence this way than if ur alone
One of the goal of the unions: protect the employees

Can sometimes lead to problems

For example, they went on an illegal strike: got a fine (exception rather than the norm)

Three major factors at the source of unionization (why do workers join unions?) (all related to management styles)
1. Insecurity (p/r to the job or working conditions)
• Too much change
• Schedule changes (pas de set schedule)
• Changes in policies
• Unilateral management decisions
2. Perceived injustice
• Lack of equity (in for ex salary increase)
• Salary injustice
• Arbitrary (imprecise and unjustified promotion criteria)
3. Feeling of powerlessness
• Standards imposed by management (inability to express one’s point of view
• Health and security
Another reason behind unionization is the desire to improve working conditions (higher wages, flexible hours, better
work-life balance, pension plan, …)
CN went to strike bcuz of their schedule and health and security

As a manager or HR person can avoid those feelings by:

- Transparency
- communicate
- Ask for feedback (bottom up instead of top down)
- Respect the laws
- Participation in decision making
- Rules, politics (and make sure u apply them with equity)

The main 3 stages of labour relations are governed by the Labor Code
21
Forming a union is an employee right guaranteed in the Labour Code, the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms and
the charter of human rights and freedoms of québec

The Labor Code

Law governing the establishment of collective labor relations (between an employer and an association of employees
certified), including:
o Law / Freedom of association
o The union certification
o The union's duty of representation (by law they need to defend you)
o The collective bargaining process
o Arbitration of disputes and grievances
o The right to strike and lockout

1. The creation of a bargaining unit

 The right to union certification is only open to an association of employees within the meaning of the
Labour Code (Similar characteristics (ex: same jobs, same qualifications, schedule, etc)) (so not
managers)
- In 2012 they were not doing a strike cuz they were not employees
- Blue-collar workers (manual workers) and white-collar (office workers) are generally grouped together in
separate bargaining units. + police; so 3 different collective agreements cuz not the same job
- 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
(group of ppl with similar characteristics)

Union certification. Steps to be followed by employees

1. Signature of membership cards and pay union dues (min 2$ )
 Forbidden solicit membership during working hours (allowed on breaks tho)
 Forbidden to use intimidation or threats to induce anyone to become member
 50% + 1 signatures  Introduction and analysis of the request by the CRT and if
irregularities, imposition of a secret vote
 Between 35% et 50% signatures  CRT will inquire and require secret vote
2. With the filing of the application for certification
- WORKING CONDITIONS MUST BE FREEZED

Employer’s side (also valid during renegotiation of the collective agreement)

NO (what you cant do)
• Force employees to listen (can do a meeting, but no one is obliged, can’t be mandatory)
22
 • Undermine the credibility of the union
• Seek to raise emotions (playing on the guilt or fear) or make promises (ex; drop the process, ill raise ur wage)
• Not interfere with, dominate or finance the formation of a union
• Not seek to know the names of employees involved in organizing a union or signing of membership cards and
not to discipline them
- Intimidate or threaten workers to refrain them from becoming members
- Not allowed to refuse to hire employees because of their union activities, or endeavour to compel employees to
refrain from or cease participating in union activities
- Take action against an employee for making union solicitations
- Dominate, hinder or finance the formation or activities of a union or to participate therein (actions that would
facilitate setting up a union is prohibited like allowing meetings to be held at the workplace)
- Cant encourage workers to join one union rather than another
- Promising better wages or benefits in return for declining to join a union
YES
• Explain facts
• Objectively present the consequences of the union claims
• Express their preference (for maintaining a work environment without a collective intermediary)
• Correct inaccurate information in propaganda concerning them
• Expose the context

1.the creation of a bargaining unit

Rand formula is good cuz this way everyone is treated in the same way. Ex employer takes a bi monthly payment and
send it to the union. Because all employees within a bargaining unit benefit from the advantages of the collective
agreement, they should all pay union dues
Its part of the contract, you don’t have a choice once an establishment is unionized to pay.
You can’t deunionized individually, if u don’t like it change job
The employer then does no longer have the authority to negotiate working conditions directly with employees

The main players in a union

Typical structure of a union local: p.65

23
 Being affiliated to a central labour body offers many advantages (access to greater expertise, better material
resources, increased visibility etc. + involvement of a union representative (not an employee paid by the company,
but rather by the central labour body (job is to advise and support the local union in its activities)
The supreme authority of the union is the general assembly (held periodically in which the members of the union
participate)

Role and responsibilities of the federations

Support request for certification
Help local unions with:
- Negotiation of a collective agreement
- Settle grievances
- Prepare and support strikes
Take position publicly on various topics

Executive committee and union steward are members

24
Union steward: an employee who had been elected or designed by his/her colleagues to represent them, to accompany
them when making claims and to oversee the application of the collective agreement. Main task is to defend members
in dealing with their immediate supervisor. Familiar with the collective agreement, employees rights and unions rights.
(sometimes one steward per supervisor) the union decides how many delegates they want (1/shift, 1/ department, for
example)

2.Negotiation of a collective agreement

Collective agreement: a written agreement btwn a union and an employer that sets, for a limited period of time, the
conditions of employment applicable to all employees within a specific bargaining unit. (Written agreement setting
working conditions for employees for a period of time)
Collective bargaining: a process of free discussion btwn employer and union for the purpose of reaching a collective
agreement relative to working conditions
Types of clause in a collective agreement

Monetary is the most common reason for ppl to complain

Work conditions; staff movement (where do we post the job openings (internal or external?), tryout period), schedule
(overtime, etc)
Contractual: grievance: when the rules of the collective agreement were not applied properly. Then if those are not
applied properly go to arbritation

Labor code defines the process for negotiation

25
Like it or not, sign here and that’s it.
The renegociation can be initiated by either party
Unions are your stakeholders, you want to invest in your employees

Labor code of Quebec: Exceptions

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

Strike (initiated by the employees; a concerted cessation of work by a group of employees) and lockout (by the
management; the refusal by an employer to give work to a group of its employees in order to compel them to accept
certain conditions of employment, or to similarly compel employees of another employer): in bothe cases, the objective
is to force the other party to accept the working conditions proposed in collective bargaining
These are negotiating strategies
Who is not allowed to go on strike? health sector (first responders), firefighters, police officers (they all offer essential
services)
Organizations not allowed to go on lockout: hospitals and local government (unbalance of power)
Strikes and lockour are forbidden while the collective agreement is in effect

26
Pressure tactics (need to be applied in compliance with the contractual obligations provided for by law, the employment
contract and the collective agreement
Legal:
• Strike
• Lockout
• Picketing (a group protest that usually takes place during a labour conflict or a work stoppage, aimed at
informing various players involved with the company (clients, suppliers, etc) that there is conflict and convincing
them to stop doing business with the company until the conflict is setteled.) authorized by the criminal code if
its only informing the parties (no threat, intimidation, etc). Cant take place on employer’s property
• (Injunction)?
Illegal
• Anti-scab (when u go on strike and they hire someone else to do ur job; job gets done anyways. The labour code
prohibits the use of replacement workers (or strikebreakers: worker hired specifically to do the work of an
employee on strike or locked out)) in the event of a strike or lockout. (but the establishment does not need to
close can get the work done by other people)
• Slowdown (taking ur time to do your job; prohibited under any circumstances by the labour code)
• work-to-rule (doing exactly what they need to do, so lower efficacity)
• solidarity strikes (can’t go on strike if u still have ur collective agreement)
- Cant be done on the organization’s grounds (needs to be in the street)
- Sometimes beyond work stoppage: wear clothes that do not comply with the dress code, hand out
pamphlets to customers
When on strike u don’t get paid, get an allowance from the strike funs (lower than usual salary)

Work stoppage: Strikes and lockouts (depends on who initiated it)

Allowed to work not allowed to work

Managers hired before need to work, but not those hired during

27
Managers cannot be unionized
Cannot ask a colleague to do the job of the person on strike (or giving it to subcontractor)
Anti-scab: if ur on lockout or strike: cant hire someone else to do ur job

The duties of employees on strike or locked out may be performed by the following ppl:
- Executives working in the organization (hired before the negotiation began)
- Volunteers
- Subcontractors (but they must not work on the premises of the organization affected by the conflict
- Reste dans le tableau

Dispute settlement and return to work

If pressure techniques don’t work can resort to conciliation or dispute arbitration.
In the event of a dispute, there are 2 procedures management and union parties can resort to for help in their
negociations
1. Conciliation
- A procedure involving the intervention of a 3rd party, who has no coercive power, to bring the parties at
conflict together, facilitate dialogue among them and help them to agree (help the employer and the union
negotiate their collective agreement. The parties are not requires to accept the conciliator’s
recommendations
2. Dispute arbitration
- Intervention of a 3rd 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 1 to 3 years (step when the intervention of
a conciliator has been unsuccessful). Once the arbitration process has begun, the parties must put an end to
the strike or lockout
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 covers employee return to work procedures, employee working conditions during the work
stoppage, etc)

Collective agreement: set of rules that need to be respected

Negotiation of a collective agreement

1. The agreement must be in writing
2. The authorization for the union to sign the agreement by secret ballot.
3. The official version must be written in French. (even if most ppl speak in English in your orga)
4. Provisions dealing with working conditions must not be contrary to public order or prohibited by law.
5. The term of a 1st collective agreement must be no less than one (1) year and no more than 3 years. The term of
subsequent agreements must be no less than one (1) year. (no maximum)
6. Two copies must be filed with the Minister of Labour

28
3. Application of a collective agreement

29
HR is in charge of the procedure for settling grievances

Success conditions according to Reed (1995)

• Know the applicable labour laws well
• Learn and master the collective agreement
• Familiarize yourself with the history of labour relations in the company and know the players
• Be familiar with the grievance settlement procedure and try to solve grievances at your level
• Build relation of trust with the union
• Use your influence rather than your power or authority
- It is possible to mobilize ppl in an unionized environement
- Don’t have control on the HR practices, but you can respect them, consider them as a partner, motivate,
LEADERSHIP of the manager
- The psychological conditions: recognition, trust, …

When the collective agreement comes in place, causes a shock in the organization: higher labour cost but want to stay
competitive so will want to improve efficiency. Seek to optimize operational management

Positives and Negatives impacts of a Union

POSITIVES (4 + impacts frequently felt when start being unionized)
• Restricted arbitrary of employer (no dismissal without just and sufficient cause. Etc)
• Employees have the opportunity to express themselves more freely
• Investment in training and skills development
• Adoption of work practices that contribute to productivity

NEGATIVES
• Reduced flexibility (limiting subcontracting or hiring ppl with precarious employment status)
• Not inclined to variable pay
• Reduced flexibility in staffing process (often restricted to recruit first from within according to specific criterias
including seniority)
• Less use of formal performance evaluation systems

30
 - Less direct communication btwn managers and employees (since unions position themselves as the sole
representative of the employees)

Evaluation will never be objective

The + and – will depend on how the relationship with the union is managed. Negotiate and never impose

The managers must keep in mind 2 important principles related to collective agreements: respect for public policy laws
(cant be discriminatory, follow the minimums etc) and the assertion of residual management rights (anything not
regulated and provided for in the collective agreement may be the subject of a unilateral decision by the employer, so
managers have all rights in respect to the management of the company expect those limited by the agreement 
residual management rights theory in the article 4 – Management rights: includes conditions specific to each workplace
that will define the manager’s room to manoeuvre in leading a team of unionized employees

In a unionized environment, the managers 1st reflex should always be to consult the collective agreement or the HRM
specialist before making decisions regarding working conditions, otherwise possible grievance/plaintes

APTS
ARTICLE 4-MANAGEMENT RIGHTS
4.01 The Union recognizes the Employer’s right to exercise his executive, administrative and management duties. This
right must be exercised in a manner that is compatible with the provisions of this collective agreement.
4.02 Upon request, the Employer gives the Union a copy of written regulations concerning staff, along with any
amendments, if such regulations exist.
4.03 Any provision in a regulation that is incompatible with the current collective agreement is null and void.

Collective agreement is in the HR strategy

HR results in a unionize environment

• Numbers of grievances (employees or unions may file a grievance, costly and may affect company’s performance
and the quality of work relations)
• Cost of grievances (shared equally btwn union and the employer in the private sector
• Time spent on grievances
• Mobilization
31
 If 20 ppl all on the same clause, the clause is probably not well written. Sit down to clarify it
Training session if managers don’t understand one of the clause
Grievance: any disagreement respecting the interpretation or application of a collective agreement (a complaint based
on clauses in the collective agreement)
Grievance arbitration : a process by which the signatories of a collective agreement call upon a 3rd party to make a final
settlement of any disagreement relative to the interpretation or application of the agreement (neutral party, final
decision)
Walmart in Jonquière
- Ppl unionized and all of a sudden they weren’t profitable anymore and shut down. Went in a legal fight cuz
the employees went in a legal fight saying they closed because of the unionization of the employees instead
of a lack of profitability.

Different approaches in managing labour relations p.77 tableau

- Traditional approach (conflict, each side wants max benefits
- Collaborative approach (cooperation, work together, converging interests
- Realistic approach (conflict and cooperation)
o The choice must be shared by both sides (union and management)

Key points
• Why do people wanna unionize
• Insecurity, powelessness, unfairness
• Steps to create an union
• Creating of the bargaining unit, negociation of the collective agreement (can explain facts, objective
consequences, address rumors; CANT treats, ask for the names, intimidation, cant force them to come)
• Do’s and dont’s during the creation of the bargaining unit
• Type of clause in a collective agreement
• 3 types

32
Presentations on: Management of diversity and inclusion & Expatriation
CLASS 4: HR PLANNING Chapter 4 p.84 to 102
HRM Activities/Processes

internal and external environment is still very important

Actors and influencers of HRM

Try to find a common ground with all department managers

Unions are in the middle: because they represent the employees and sometimes some strategic decisions will not be
accepted bcuz of unions so play a role

HR staffic process in 4 major activities

Staffing: the process of filling a vacant position (a process that has 4 steps):

33
 1. Personnel planning: how many positions and ppl we need to successfully carry out our activities, who do I need,
and when. Determine their competency profile.
2. Recruitment: where can we find the people. Attracting good candidates to apply for positions in the company.
(external or internal)
3. Selection: make your decision on who you want (the one person among the candidates that best fits the profile
of the person required for the position)
4. Orientation: training/ formation. Making sure the new employee quickly becomes efficient in their job
The responsibilities of staffing are shared btwn senior management, HR and managers

STEP 1: HR PLANNING
Personnel needs: the # of full-time positions and competency profiles requires to successfully carry out the
organization’s activities

Planning to have an idea, estimation

Quantitative planning: allow managers to be certain they have enough ppl at the right time (# of ppl we need and # of
ppl available) (based on a number of hypotheses or presuppositions)
Qualitative planning: have the right people with the necessary competencies to do their job. Results from qualitative
help establish the candidate profiles and the selections criterias

a. QUANTITATIVE PLANNING
To determine personnel needs, need to take into account:
- Expected changes in activity within your department (ex: growth in sales, decrease in sales cuz of recession)
- Structural changes expected for your department. Expansion, merge,…
- Constraints you have to deal with or opportunities that arise, within the company or from outside
(competitors, diversity of staff, etc)
1) HR Planning: How to assess needs

To help determine human resources demand:

- Identify trends in the environment that could affect your department (and the possible repercussions on the
RH demand)

34
Planning HR demand: knowing the # of positions required (calculated on the basis of full-time employment); the
general responsibilities involved in these positions; the time when these positions will be required

2) Human resources availability

Personnel availability: the # of full-time ppl available to work in the organization and their competency profiles. (to
project how many ppl will actually be free and able to fill positions in your department)

Economic: are we going into recession, cycles, peak seasons, etc

Education system: do the schools in my area offer the training that’s I need
Immigration: that’s how we are getting our workforce in Qc now

Internal: retirement: check the average age to know when you will need to start recruiting
Leaves: temporary
Average turnover: gives you an idea on how many ppl will quit next year
Dismissal: leave organization involuntarily bcuz of incompetence or disobedience
Permanent layoff: leave orga involuntarily for economic or structural reasons. Just layoff is temporary
Tells you what type of people you have and who you need

Quantitative planning: forecast human ressources

35
Projected departures: how many ppl do you think will leave in the next year
Hard to predict tho, don’t know who will resign. Base predictions on department averages over the preceding years

3) Balancing demands and availability

Want to reduce the gap btwn demand and availability. For ex can fire ppl or train them to do the job you rly
need. Transfer ppl

Pitfalls:
- Presuming all employees work full-time (person that works half-time = 0.5)
- Presuming future demands will be similar to past demands (but gives an idea)
- Presuming personnel currently available will continue to be in the future
- Presuming staffing is the only way to deal with an anticipated shortage of personnel (also traning, overtime,
reorganization of work)
- Presuming planning cannot be modified (planning can be modified as anticipated trends are confirmed or
rejected)
At the end of the quantitative process, managers will know:
- The number of ppl they need to successfullt carry out their dept activities
- When they will need them
- The steps to take to ensure that these ppl are actually on the job at the right time and at the least possible
cost

HR Planning: Action plan (Quantitative)

If there’s a shortage in quantity:
o External recruitment
o Postponement of retirements
o Call-back of retired employees
o Reorganization of work assignments and tasks
36
 o Work-time Increases
o Production increases through different technologies (technologies replacing our jobs, non-added value tasks will
be taken over by technology)
o Moving production
o Decreases in production
Shortage in quantity: recruit externally
Because of the lack of employees these are other ways to retain your workers like the other points
Be flexible with employees you really want to keep, older ppl with a lot of knowledge allow them to work 2 days a week,
go play golf, etc.
Be proactive to keep your employees.
Reorganize tasks and do only what is the most relevant (cuz if you split the workload of the ppl not there, risk of
burnout)

Surplus of workers:
o Layoffs, Permanent layoffs
o Part-time work
o Reduction in number of working hours per day or week
o Early retirements
o Job-Sharing
o Leaves of absence (don’t get paid but keeps the job), demotions, resignations (p.124) (if they trust you they can
talk to you and you know more in advance when people are planning to quit or plans like trips)
Man power planning

b. QUALITATIVE PLANNING
The competencies, tasks, responsibilities of the ppl
1st step in qualitative planning is to describe the tasks performed by the person who holds the position (incumbent),
then determine the competencies required to perform the activities successfully

Competency profile
Competency profile: list of characteristics that will result in work well done (found in the job description). Only skills
required to perform the work can be part of the competency profile (to prevent discrimination)

Skills: what you can do: knowing how to do (need to do something to improve your skills, do a financial report)
Knowledge: in your head: read the recipe (books, …) ; skills: be able to do a good cake
37
 Attitude: can work on it
Other job requirement: need a driver’s license to do the job, be able to travel out
Look responsibilities in the job description to know the competencies needed
The more competencies you require, the more difficult it is to find enployees. And with more qualifications, you want
a higher salary
It is important that the proficiency level of competencies required for a position truly corresponds to what is needed
to perform the tasks adequately & correct definition of the competencies
Can rank the importance of competencies: essential competencies, important, asset

Workshop
Write your own competency profile
- Knowledge: I know… diplomas and experience in the field
social science commerce diploma from John Abbott college.
- Skills: I know how to do…
to speak and write in French and in English, use excel, communicate, how to apply pythagore, problem
resolution
- Attitudes: I know how to be… organized, hard-working, teamwork,
Understanding a language is a knowledge, but speaking and writing is a skill

HR Plan: Action plan (Qualitative)

Shortage: (of competency)

o external recruitment
o Training (internal recruitment)
o Coaching

Surplus:
o Participative management
o Career Management (but can start training someone for a job in a year or 2, and this way they stay)
o Increasing employee responsibilities (job crafting) (if too good you will get bored)

HR Planning: Step by step to fill a position

38
Selection criterias: the most important criterias we want the person to have to do the job. Things the person needs to
have before starting the job

Qualitative planning
Job analysis: Collect and analyze information about job tasks and responsibilities, about the work context (especially
physical working conditions), about the materials used on the job, and about the level in the organization’s hierarchy.
gathering info on tasks and responsibilities involves in a position, as well as the work context (and physical working
conditions, hierarchical levels, etc) type of questions to answer p.85 through observation, questionnaires, company
documents
Who? What? How? Why? With whom? With what?

Job description: Synthesis of the information collected during the job analysis

Then can draw up a profile of the ideal candidate

Criteria of pay equity can be used to standardize the analysis description:

-required auqlifications
-assumed responsabilities
-Required effort
-conditions under which work is performed

Methods to collect information for job analysis

39
Sometimes do a job analysis for a job that doesn’t exist (for new jobs and that’s more challenging cuz u don’t have all
those tools so you need to be more creative)
If you work in HR, validate with the manager.

The content of job description:

o Title of the position
o Purpose of the position
o Unit or division
o Title of supervisor
o Summary of main responsibilities
o Main responsibilities and list of detailed tasks for each one of them
o Other information such as:
- Number of employees supervised
- Financial responsibilities
- Responsibilities for materials
- Working conditions (Work schedule, classification, etc.)
o Date written and name of person who wrote it (date written to make sure the job descriptions are up to date:
competencies and salaries)

40
Workshop:
Write a competency profile based on this job description:
Knowledge: human resources laws, bac in administration, experience in RH
- Undergraduate degree in human resources or a related field or equivalent
- Minimum 5 years comparable human resources experience (for ex can compare to similar jobs in the
company like if finance ask for 5 years
- Advance knowledge of word processing and spreadsheets
- Solid knowledge of databases
Skills: master French & English, communication skills,
- Ability to communicate in French and English
- Strong organization skills
- Analytical and writing skills
- Good interpersonal- relations
Attitudes: leader, team work, collaboration, understanding, organized,
- Autonomy
- Demonstrated flexibility and effectiveness within a rapidly changing environment and tight deadlines
Others:
- Possibility of occasional travel in Canada

In your resume: teamwork, patience, collaborative, setting objective, working under pressure, empathy, dealing with
ambiguity, languages. Link btwn job experiences and competencies

Use of job analysis for job description

Job Analysis

Job Descriptions
and Specifications

Recruitment Job Evaluation – Training,

Performance Labour
HR Planning And Wage and Salary Development, Job Design
Appraisal Relations
Selection Decisions and Career Mgmt

Training development and career mgmt.: you know that X would be a good director but he doesn’t have the skills yet so
you start preparing him slowly

41
Process to establish selection criterion

Selection criterion: a competency used to screen candidates during the selection process. Based on the competency
profile to know which criteria to use and how to measure them
Ex: wont chose someone based on if they know the rules of a specific organization, that’s something you can learn when
u work there. Product knowledge and knowledge of regulation is not a good criterion to screen employees (cant expect
external candidates to have this knowledge, that’s something you will learn)
Questions to establish the selection criteria
- Is the competency important?
- Is the competency necessary at the beginning of the job?
- Does the competency allow us to evaluate applications?

If like don’t have the skills, then the first few days will be intensive training
Specific degree or diploma and experience are not in themselves competencies, they are competency indicators (way of
ensuring that the candidate does possess certain skills/ competency. Usually these indicators appear as part of the list of
selection criteria
By choosing selection criteria to screen candidates, the 3 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

HR Indicators

42
 : gurou in RH measures
Tells you if your going in the right direction
On going cycle. Can measure what you do in RH. (ex: measure the cost of turnover)

2 types of indicators :
 Effectiveness : Achievement of one or many objectives (did I hit my target or not?)
 Efficiency : Amount of resources used (money, time) (did I only use the resources I was supposed to use)

HR Indicators (manpower planning)

A few examples :
Effectiveness :
- Percentage of job analyzed
- Usefulness of the prediction (survey)
- Percentage of department with replacement charts
Efficiency :
- Time used for quality planning/quantity planning
- Number of job analyzed per analyst
- Delay to update all job descriptions

Link btwn manpower planning (qualitative and quantitative) and mobilization

Trust, support, justice, recognition and empowerment
- Empowerment if right person and job and will be mobilized
- When people leave a lot, you don’t feel very supported and not so much trust

STEP 2: RECRUITING CANDIDATES

- Staffing process also consists of making potential candidates aware that a position is available in the
organization and inviting them to apply
- Objective: attract a sufficient number of quality candidates (ppl who meet your chosen selection criteria, within
a short time frame and at a reasonable cost)

Review:
The 4 activies of the staffing process
- Planning, recruiting, etc
Things to consider for manpower planning
- Qualitative and quantitative

43
Tools available for doing a job analysis
- Take notes, observe, interviews
!st steps to fille a position
What to put in a job description
- Title, main responsabilities

SESSION 5: RECRUITEMENT Chapter 4 p. 102 to 115 & chapter 12 p. 330 to 338

Use of IT In recruitement
External more frequent then internal
Recruitment is to find the best candidates. Which tools you use and where you post your job postings?

Staffing

As a manager, ur the best suited person to determine what selection criterias to use to fill a position. But recruitment is
mostly in the hands of HR.
Recruitment: making potential candidates aware that a position is available in the organization and inviting them to
apply. Attract a sufficient number of quality candidates (ppl who meet ur chosen criterias, within a short time frame and
reasonable cost)
The choice of source and methods depends on previous personnel planning, the nature of the position and the desired
competency profile
Recruitment sources
44
 o External recruitment: outside the company, indeed, LinkedIn
o Internal staffing: in the organization

EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT
Recruitment sources
 Online recruitment
 Agencies (usually have a bank of candidates, charge a fee 8% of salary for ex)
 Head hunters (20-30% of the director salary, so very expensive, offering to ppl not looking for jobs, high-level
positions)
 Government agencies
 Job fairs
 Schools, universities
 Unions, Professional associations (ex CPA website)
 Networking (not what you can do but who you know)
 Job posting in print medias (declining)
- You want to mix the sources

 Private agencies
- Intermediaries between potential workers and employers (supply a bank of applicants, and seek out
candidates); quality personalized service, but costly and mostly skilled candidates
o Quantum
o Addecco
o Randstad
- Types of service
o Short-term mandates (like 3 months to replace someone) (temporary employment agencies; it’s
the agency personnel and not yours)
o Long-term mandates (employment agencies or executive search firms/head-hunders)
- Recruiters (Head hunters) (no bank of candidates. They use their networks to go out and find potential
candidates. A lot of networking, screen ppl and then decide on who you want. They do everything,
preselection, screen, hiring and also give a guarantee (if the person doesn’t fit within 6 months they will
find someone else). Bill 30% of their salary. PPl not looking for a job

 On-line recruitment (human aspect is disappearing) (easy access to many candidates at a low cost)
- Used frequently
- Essential to focus utilization
- Three types of websites:
o Company websites**Preselection functionalities, make sure they are good, like the right key words,
etc. promotes the organizations image as an employer. Disadvantage: limited to ppl who know the
company
o Government sites (generally aimed at lower-qualified workers)
o Private sites:
Jobboom, Workopolis, Indeed
- social media: (ppl looking for a job and not looking will see it)
 Government agencies (free access, mostly for low-skilled labour)
- Center for youth
- Emploi Québec
 Job fairs
45
 - Direct contact with a large number of potential candidates (take time so only justified if you need to hire
many people)
- Types of events
o Campus fairs (good for student training session, entry-level jobs, summer, part-time job, co-op)
o Specialized fairs (ex: health profession fair)
o Theres also open job fairs (general, no particular skill or profession, low-skilled labour) and virtual
lounges (online platform that replicates the environment of a traditional career fair and connects
employers and candidates. No geographical and temporal barriers
 School and Universities
- Potential candidates (most schools offer some job postings)
o Students
o Interns
 Professional associations
o If want someone with a specific professional qualification
 Unions
 Networking (linkedIn)
o To improve networking (quality and quantity of recruited candidates)
o Recommendations made by personnel. (compensation for the person who refered)
o Unsolicited applications: if u have a good reputation, ppl will apply whether u have jobs available or not
(spontaneous applications)

 Employee reference*(refer ppl like you, white male will reference white males so might cause discrimination)
Top 5 facts about employee referral program
1. Employee referrals have the highest ROI
82% of employers rated employee referrals above all other sources for generating the best return on investment
(ROI). (Source: CareerBuilder)
2. Employee referrals reduce time to hire
Referred candidates are 55% faster to hire, compared with employees sourced through career sites. (Source: HR
technologist)
3. Employee referrals improve the quality of hire
88% of employers said that referrals are the #1 best source for above-average applicants. (Source: Dr. John Sullivan
research)
4. Employee referrals reduce the turnover rate
After two years, retention of referred employees is 45% compared to 20% from job boards. (Source: FirstBird)
5. Employee referrals generate more profit
Employees who were hired through referral programs produce 25% more profit for their companies than new hires
hired via other sources. (Source: FirstBird) (cost less to hire, good employees, more profits)
- When ur referenced you do a good job to make sure it doesn’t look bad on your friend
- Not always a good program because you need to diversify your workplace. If you want to change the
culture of the organization, need to diversify your methods and change your recruitment sources or
your profiles. You want new ppl with the new mindset

Criteria for choosing external recruitment

46
Depends on (a range of criteria)
o Type of position (candidate profile / job location)
o Budget (headhunter is a lot more expensive for ex)
o Job market context (the higher the level of ur job, the more ppl will be ready to move for a job)
o Delays (time to fill the position)
o Visibility of the organization (if you have a strong visibility, you don’t need to spend too much on recruitment,
ex: apple or google)

INTERNAL RECRUITMENT
 Job posting on bulletin boards
 Intranet
 Notice on pay slips
 Internal referrals
- A lot less sources of internal recruitment

Difference between a job posting and a job description

List responsibilities: for a job to look interesting

List competencies: selection criterias that are a must

Job advertisement/ job posting

47
  Grab the attention of the candidate
 Make the position interesting for the candidate (Interest) (clearly identify the ideal candidate profile and the
industry involved)
 Create a desire to apply
 Provide enough information for the candidate to apply (action)
 AIDA model to catch the candidates’ attention and stand out from the competition
- Make sure it reflects what the organization really is
- Try to have the least possible clicks to apply for a job

Job advertisement (Contents)

 The name of the organization and a brief description of it
 Job Title
 Who you report to
 Brief job description (general nature of the work and its objectives)
 Requirements (experience, education, competencies (KSAO) ) (the essential selection criteria in a clear manner
in order to attract qualified candidates and dissuade those who are not
 Place of work
 The way to apply (list the documents to be sent: cover letter, cv, letters of recommendation… & deadline for
submitting applications
 Specifics work conditions (work nights/ weekends, necessary travelling)
 Good to add : Compensation (salary, put a salary scale), equity in the workplace commitment

Make your ad different to stand out of the competition but still send a clear message to your target audience (dynamic
style that reflects the company’s image

To avoid :
- Too much punctuation, such as too many exclamation points !!!!!!!
- Too many symbols
- Too many CAPITAL LETTERS
- Repeating, especially if irrelevant
- Writing mistakes (grammatical, spelling)
- A posting that is too long
- Cant have any info or requirement involving one of the illegal grounds for discrimination (especially regarding
age or sex)

Job posting should be more interesting than the job description. Job advertisement must be eye catching

To measure RH: can calculate with the number of quality applicants you get
- Example of IKEA: 0$ and got 4000 quality applications. Target ppl who like the brand, ppl that live around the
area of the store (cuz went there to go buy your stuff).
- Job advertisement can be very creative: Swedish armed force: got twice as many candidates as they wanted.
Only attract Swedish ppl cuz you need to be physically there. Mindset is doing something big, which is the
mindset ppl who did it have. People who like challenges. Used social media to target young people (their goal).
Have a more socialist culture so it worked better than it would work here. Adapt on where you recruit.

Limits of HR
- Respect the laws
48
 - The budget/ cost
- Collective agreement
- You can be as wild and creative as possible as long as you respect the limits
- Usually egos, fear of change, politics try to make the square of possibilities smaller. But need people who think
outside the box

Then interviews to evaluate candidates. Prepare for the interviews

Selection tests: tests (many forms) aimed at assessing certain competencies or qualities (to provide additional info to
what is gathered during the interview) p.135
- Achievement tests (ex: certification exams for professional orders, an English test) (but it only tests theoretical
knowledge)
- Performance tests (doing a part of the actual work in the position to be filled, usually involves manual skills
required for a job (keyboarding tests)
- Personality tests: asses the characteristics of personality of the candidates (attitude). Usually fo professional or
executive positions, where personal characteristics form an important part of the desired competencies, quite
expensive
- Physical fitness test: verify physical abilities. Need to make sure its rly necessary so that theres no discrimination
Then can do a background check if necessary
- Employment history (call references)
- Other checks (criminal record, credit rating) if necessary
Finally, the final choice is up to the manager

HR Indicators p.355

Use of an indicator

49
HR indicators
2 types of indicators :
- Effectiveness : Achievement of one or many objectives
- Efficiency : Amount of resources used (money, time) (to
achieve set goals)

HR Indicators (recruitment)
A few examples :
Effectiveness :
- Amount of quality resumes (if the resumes ur getting r ppl too qualified, then change the posting)
- Amount of internal candidacies
- Amount of resumes per recruitment source
Efficiency :
- Cost of recruitment
- Cost of recruitment per candidate
- Delay between each step of the process (demand, permission, posting, receiving resumes)

In-Class Assignment: Write a job advertisement

Based on this job description, you have to write a job advertisement.
- The job advertisement is for Loblaws
Loblaws Inc. HR manager
Organization: Loblaws Inc. is a Canadian supermarket chain
Job Title: Human resources manager
Reporting to: VP finance and corporate service
Job description: Manage the human resources (recruitment and development)
Requirements:
- Undergraduate degree in HR or a related field or equivalent
- Minimum 5 years comparable HR experience
- Advanced knowledge of word and excel
- Solid knowledge of databases
Place of work: 1 Presidents Choice Cir, Brampton, ON L6Y 5S5
Work conditions:
- Monday to Friday 9-5
50
 - flexible hours
- some travelling in Canada
- Competitive salaries!

Apply directly on the website or Linkedln!

Key points:
- Recruitment sources and when to use them
o External and internal (employee references, board, internet,..)
o To decide which on is the best: budget, delay, type of position, visibility of the organization, job market
- Things to consider to choose the best source(s)
o Visibility of the orga
o Job market context
o
- What is the objective of a job advertisement and what does it contain
o AIDA: Attract, interest, desire to apply, enough information to take action
o What is needed in a good job advertisement: short job description, title of the position, salary, working
conditions, place of work, key competencies and how to apply

SESSION 6: CHOOSING THE RIGHT EMPLOYEES AND ORIENTING THEM

Chapter 5 p. 116 to 149 & chapter 12 p. 339 to 340
IT in recruitment
Why important: want the right person (attitude and skills) (hire for skills, fire for attitude)
Staffing process

86% of ppl hired after only one interview don’t work out

Selection in 3 steps
The main purpose of the selection process is to
predict how well a candidate will perform
on the job and integrate into the company.

51
 Cuz ppl hire based off instincts

Selection: the choice of candidate after an interview, and sometimes testing and conducting a background check

1. Preselection

1st screening: motivation letter, skills (if they have the selection criterias you have determined for the position, concrete
elements in CV not attitude and personal qualities)

2nd screening: no maybes (yes or no) usually 15-20 min.

Want to validate certain key aspects

Then set an appointment

Phone interview (screening interview)

- Short (15-20 min)
- Verification of
- Training/education
- Professional experience
- Language skills
- Motivation (why u want to work for us)
- Availability (can ask if they can work on Sundays)

- Also allows to get a better understanding of the resume

- Friendly advice : give a realistic job description
- (often RH who does it) but if the candidate asks very precise questions on the job then u don’t know
what to answer (try to do it with the hiring manager)

When do u start building trust with an employee: when he’s a candidate

Preselection competencies evaluation

Create a screening grid to analyse and sort the applications
Using the screening grid can divide the résumés in 3 groups:

52
 A- Yes, interview (3-6 ideally) (can do phone interviews to reduce the number of ppl in this pile, like to check
their level of french and english)
B- Maybe pile, close to desired profile, if A don’t work out
C- No pile, not qualified for the job

2. Selection
Now only have a small number of candidates who a priori have the qualifications you are looking for.

Selection test and interview sometimes change position

3 types of questions in face to face interview:
- Behavioural questions
- Simulation
- Role play
Then ask references to verify the info

Global evaluation: 2 types:

53
 - Do it at the end of the whole process
- Or like the playoffs (we keep the best at each step) 10 then 5 then 3 then 1
- Depends on the type of job and who ur hiring

Criteria evaluated at selection

Selection tools
A. Face to face interview
o Structured interview to verify if the person has the required competencies
o Questions to avoid
• Not linked to selection criteria (useless)
• Too vague
• Too theoretical
• Biased
• Discriminatory
• Leading questions
o Recommended types of questions
• Behavioral (validate something that the person did in the past, validate info in their resume,
how did you handle something that happened)
 Complete with STAR (follow up questions)
 S: situation
 T: task
 A: actions
 R: results
• Scenarios (what would you do, future)
• Role play (what would you do, future)
Types of questions:

54
Behavioral questions
• a Specific question about past behaviour (to verify competencies of the candidate)
• - Avoid theorical, abstract and close ended questions
• - Verify competencies
• - Questions on concrete realisations
• - Questions must be linked to job description and the selection criterias
The STAR process for behavioral follow-up questions
S – Situation
Could you give me more information about the situation?
T – Task, what needed to be done
What specific task was assigned to you?
A – Action, what was or has been done
How did you convince the others to go along with your idea?
R – Result, results of actions or lessons learned
What consequences did your action have?
Scenarios
- a description of a hypothetical job-related situation used to assess the candidate’s reaction (what they would
do in those circumstances, but don’t actually do it)
- Describe a realistic job situation (gives you a good idea of what the job will be like)
- Refer to actual work situations
- One or more competencies must be included
- Details around the job context must be included
Role play
- a type of scenatio in which the candidate “becomes” one of the characters and act as they would in real life
- stems from actual situations experienced by the person holding that job
- Act a specific character (the job you would have and the employer plays the other person)
- Based on concrete elements relevant to the position
- Answers must be close to a realistic situation

Interview guide

55
Expected answers: for ex the values you need to have to be in the organization
3 they are gonna be a good employee, but 4 or 5 very good and proactive
Need to set in advance the answers and behaviours that earn the highest and lowest rating on the scale
Each question must allow you to measure one or more of the competencies indicated in the list of selection criteria

What to evaluate in face to face interview

Having a structured process helps you and adds credibility to the whole process. For example someone can’t go to court
against you have clear reasons for not selecting them (when ppl think they were not hired bcuz of their skin colour for
example)

Behavioral

56
 When a group of people work closely together, it is almost inevitable that conflict will arise. Tell me about the
most serious disagreement that you had with a co-worker.
- What was the context?
- What was the task at hand?
- What did you do?
- How did it end?
Scenarios
Let’s suppose you are a new manager and that one of the long-time employee is contradicting you in front of the
staff, what would you do?
Role play

Some questions are better than others

What is your greatest weakness is not a good question, but if you ask: if I call your employer what would he say is your
greatest weakness

You will never find the perfect candidate. Be quick to confirm if u know he’s the one you want, so they won’t accept
another job in the meantime

Heineken video on the candidates

- 3 tests: hands, medical help and alarm
- Gives you a proper idea of who the person really is. Working under pressure
- Leaders never trip on dead bodies (they are in front)

Exercise:
Choose a competency on your dream job posting and develop an interview question (behavior, scenario or role play)
Dream job: Director manager of Supreme
Behaviour:
- In which ways did you demonstrate your leadership in your previous jobs?
STAR questions to follow-up
- Which techniques have you used in the past to fire people?
- Which actions have you done in the past to make sure every employee is working towards the same goal?
Scenario:
- Your employee is not following some rules. You need to remind him of the rules and how important it is for
him/her to respect the rules.
- How to motivate your team in a hard pass?
Role play
- Fire someone (like the interviewer) and then he starts crying (to see how the person deals with it) and then
screeming, etc (more active)

Want to evaluate communication skills: the interview

Evaluate their writing skills; performance or skills test

57
Interview step by steps
Welcome candidates
Measure selection criterion
1. Introduction
• Presentations
• Info on interview process for example: note taking. Basics: give pen, paper, glass of water
2. Conversation
• Candidate has to speak (rule of 80/20): candidate speaks 80% of the time
• Listen and take notes (do not evaluate during interview)
Conclusion
• Thank the candidate
• Invite them to ask questions
• Provide info about the next steps (delays and respect them)
• Have candidates sign referral and /or judicial inquiry form (need to show the signature for
someone to be legally allowed to give references)
Candidate leaves
Proceed to evaluation

Oddball interview questions of 2012

Here are five of the Top 25 Oddball Interview Questions for 2012:
1. “If you were to get rid of one state in the U.S., which would it be and why?” (asked at Forrester Research,
research associate candidate)
2. “How many cows are in Canada?” (asked at Google, local data quality evaluator candidate)
3. “How many quarters would you need to reach the height of the Empire State building?” (asked at JetBlue,
pricing/revenue management analyst candidate)
4. “A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is it here?”
(asked at Clark Construction Group, office engineer candidate)
5. “What song best describes your work ethic?” (asked at Dell, consumer sales candidate)

Possible tests
 Achievement tests (pure knowledge test, theorical knowledge) like certification exams for professional orders,
english test for secretary
 Performance tests (job sample like paint this wall) (manual skills) (keyboarding skills in the real work
environment): very realistic and faithfully predict candidate performance on the job and gives them a good idea
of what the job will be like
 Personality tests (testing attitudes) usually for professional or executive positions. Expensive tho cuz usully done
by external firms. Want to confirm your impressions from the interview., Hire for skills, fire for attitude
 Physical tests (evaluate physical conditions). Need to make sure its really necessary so theres no discrimination
 Assessment Centers (all of the above, center that will stress them, tests to do, situations, 1 or 2 days to see how
they react
 Other tests:
 Graphology
 Lie detector (not used often)

58
 B. Tests as selection tools
Types of tests
• Achievement  Knowledge
• Performance  Skills
• Personality  Attitude
• Physical skills  Physical capacity
• Mental capacity  Intellectual capacity
Assessment centers administer tests
Choosing tests
a. Make sure it can rly help assess candidates, assess competencies
b. Financial contraints (is it worth the cost?)

Realibility and Validity (not in the exam)

• Validity: The accuracy with which a predictor measures what it is intended to measure
• Reliability: The degree to which interviews, tests, and other selection procedures yield comparable data over
time
The fact that a test is reliable is no guarantee that it is valid; however, an unreliable test cannot be valid.
- Make sure what you evaluate is clear

Reference checks/ backgroud check

- Written permission from candidate
- Never with the actual employer unless permission given by the candidate
- Closed-ended questions
- In relation with the position to be filled
• What to verify?
– Employment history (contact old supervisors to double check info)
– Criminal record (when required by the position) (need a written consent from the candidate for
a background check). Check judicial record for a child care worker, not for a clerk
• Necessity of verifying antecedents
– 60% of candidates provide misleading information
Ask yes/no questions: if it true that he hired ppl, etc
Can’t bash a candidate so sometimes ppl prefer doing it written so they can think, instead of verbal
Would you rehire this person?
Ill be his new manager, what advice would you give me to get the most out of this person?

The final steps

Superior announcing the decision to THE candidate (as a manager the final choice is yours)
- Verbally and/or in writing (negociation of vacation and stuff)
- Deadline for accepting the offer (once you sign negociation is over)
- Start date (and prerequisites such as medical examination if necessary, but after job offer so its not
discriminatory)
Pre-employment medical if so treatment of the « second best(s) » (call them and thank them, explain why not chosen
and try to keep contact with them cuz very good and may be ppl you want in your team but for another job)
Socialization

Unionized positions

59
 – Respecting the collective agreement (it is you responsibility to see that the selection process complies with all
the provisions of the collective agreement, like for ex if before a promotion they need to do a written exam to
verify the candidates competencies you need to do it)
– Copy of the collective agreement transmitted with the offer
– No individual negotiation on the agreement’s clauses (hiring and working conditions are already set)

Integration for existing and new employees

 In-Boarding: Deployment is the movement of existing staff from one department or location to another to
meet operational needs or to satisfy employees’ request. It consists of informing the existing employee with
the specificities of his new position and environment.
Inboarding: someone from inside the organization
 On-Boarding: Orientation is the process used for welcoming a new employee into your organization. The
process starts before the employee’s arrival and is active for the duration of the probation period.
Onboarding: turning an outsider into an insider

Why is orientation important

- Reduces errors and saves time
- Reduces employee turnover
- Reduces the need for corrective discipline
- Reduces employee anxiety
- Reduces employee grievances
- Fosters organizational culture
- Clarify expectations
- Facilitates socialization
Bar is low. Ppl don’t expect much of their first day
Usually first day at work is not a wow. People are not expecting you (like showing up to ur bf house for the first time)
Within 5 days an employee knows if they want to stay or not (first impression is rly important)

Management goals for employee orientation

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 department and the company in general
- Create harmonious relationships within their team
- Immerse themselves in the values of the organization and in the work environment
Important to meet the manager on the first day (make sure to free time to see them)

Commonly made mistakes to be avoided

- Bombarding the new hire with facts, figures, names, and faces, all packed into one seven-hour day
- Showing boring or sorely outdated orientation videos
- Providing lengthy front-of-the-room lectures
- Failing to prepare for the new hire – providing no phone, no e-mail, no computer, and no meaningful work
- Not greeted by the immediate superior
- Not reviewing the job description
- Not showing around the department (show where the bathrooms are, the showers, etc)
- Not introduced to the fellow employees

60
Items in the orientation package
- Welcome letter signed by the CEO or line manager
- Organization history
- Map of facility, including parking information
- Current organizational chart
- Copy of the employee’s specific job goals and description
- List of unique terms in the industry, company, and job
- Training class schedules (this week u will learn this, next week that and then…)
- Safety and emergency procedures
- Copy of policy handbook, including a resume of policies and procedures, such as Harassment in the workplace,
discipline, office hours, and e-mail rules
- List of employee benefits, including insurance plans
- Holiday schedule
- Document signed by the newcomer attesting he read and understood the content of the package
Want them to sign, so if they do something they are not supposed to: then proof

3 important steps:
1. Before the arrival

All the equipment should be ready for you when you come in on the first day
Can do a treasury hunt (clues in the office so ppl walk around, introduce yourself and when u have all the clues you
go talk to your immediate supervisor where you get ur personalized employee pack
Before the arrival: warn ppl that someone is coming

61
 2. During the first day

Open and complete the employees administrative file with the HR

If unionized, the union steward will meet new employees on their first day, sign membership card, provide a
copy of the collective agreement
3 goals:
o To make certain they feel welcome
o Give them the necessary info to understand the organization and their job
o Complete the administrative elements of their hiring

3. After arrival (first few weeks)

Buddy system, but the role of the manager is still very important
- Make sure the person is integrating well in their work environment. Probation period

Why do we end up hiring the wrong person for the right position?
- Incomplete analysis of the job functions
- Poor definition of the KSAO

62
 - Wrong choice of recruitment source
- Inadequate screening
- Unstructured interview
- Wrong questions asked
- Perceptual biases
- Overselling the position
- No reference check
- Not thinking about tomorrow
- Poor listening
- Too much talking

Results from the improper hiring

- Complaints to Human Rights Commission
- Tarnished public image
- Inability to attract the best candidates
- Loss of clients
- Decreasing competitiveness
- Slowing down your progression
- Frustration with existing employees
- Costs

Staffing

HR Indicators (Selection/orientation)
A few examples : p.339
Effectiveness :
- Percentage of positions filled
- How many candidates passed a test
- Percentage of recruits that are performing
- Satisfaction of recruit towards orientation activities
Efficiency :
- Cost of selection (or cost of orientation)
- Number of resumes analyze in a month
- Number of days spend in orientation
- Amount of candidate interviewed by each recruiter

63
Key points
- The 3 steps of the selection process
- What do we verify in the phone interview?
- Language skills, availabilities, motivation, work experience
- Types of question you can ask in an interview
- Behavioural: STAR (past, things you have done)
- Scenario
- Role play (active role character)
- Types of selection tests
- Performance (skills) personality (attitude) achievement (knowledge)
- Why do an orientation process?
- Ease the socialiation of an employee
- Cost (turn over, productivity)
- What does an orientation process consist of?
- 3 main steps of an orientation process: before arrival, first day, after the first few weeks

64
 CLASS 7: COMPENSATING EMPLPOYEES FAIRLY Chapter 6 p. 150 to 181 & chapter 12 p. 340 to 342

Why its important:

- To mobilize people
- Pay equity act
- Negociations about salary

Manager’s role
• To understand compensation principles
• To possess adequate knowledge of the positions managed
• To ensure equity, an important factor in compensation decisions
Job description, choose the selection criterias

Basic principles for equitable treatment of employees;

1. Internal consistency btwn positions: compensation must reflect the value of a job compared to other jobs
within the organization, in terms of required qualifications, responsibilities, effort and working conditions
2. External wage competitiveness; salaries comparable to those offered by its competitors
3. Employee motivation and mobilization (ex: non monetary recognition)

Objectives of compensation
As a major HR tool, compensation aims:
– To attract
– To motivate
– To retain employees

2 types of compensations:
- direct: $$$, monetary components, money that is given directly to the employee by the employer, what you get
in your bank account (how to attract and motivate)
- Indirect: non-monetaty components; vacations, work environment, insurance, etc (how to mobilize employees)

Global compensation (p.160, what’s it’s composed of)

65
Direct:
1. Base salary: hourly wage or annual salary payed to an employee for providing a service
2. Salary increase: ex: every year you get a raise for seniority
3. Cost of living and market adjustments: done by some employers to guarantee that their employees maintain
their purchasing power. These adjustments are calculated on the basis of the customer price index (CPI) or rate
of inflation
4. Incentives and profit-sharing: bonus based on performance goals

Indirect:
1. Benefits: protection measures to help employees deal with life’s uncertainties (life insurance, salary insurance,
health insurance, pension plans)
2. Paid time off: annual vacation, statutory holidays, parental leave and sick days
3. Employee services: assistance offered to support employees in their work and in their personal life (membership
in a sports centre, daycare services, financial advice…)

Overall compensation

Pay incentives (variable group pay plans; collective equity: employee compensation varies according to the performance
of the team, business unit or organization). (important factor for motivation and to reinforce the desired behaviours)

p.168
66
 Gain sharing: short term plan gets big gains at the beginning (cuz ppl will get involved cuz they want more money, ex: if
you say 50/50 of revenues they will work hard to find a solution), but at the end it takes a lot of effort to get the results.
(like when making orange juice )
Stock purchase: part-owner so now you think differently. Its good to mobilize people (buy stocks at the preferencial
price)
Stock options: will do everything you can to increase the stock price (gives the right to buy a certain number of company
shares at price X, and then you can sell them at market price)
What determines the value of a stock: if company is profitable. Problem is that people will try to make as much short
term profit as possible (cuts on training, employees, etc).
When you lay off ppl they leave with your knowledge and all and they might go work for your competitors (with your
knowledge). Affects the reputation of the company

Immediate supervisor is not rly responsible for managing these various plans
When organizations make increasing employee retention in strategic positions one of their objectives, they often use
long-term group variable pay plans
All to attract and retain talent**

Indirect compensation
Benefits (25,5%) 41 % of
private - Retirement plan/ pension plan base salary
- Insurance plan (life, sickness, medical, dental)
public - Government plans (UI, CSST, etc.)
- All employers must contribute to the following gov plans:
- it’s the protection plans offered by governments, to which employers must make financial
contributions
- Quebec pension plan
- Employment insurance (if you lose your job)
- Quebec health insurance plan
- CNESST occupational and health safety plan
Paid time off (15,5%)
- Civic holidays
- Vacation +sick days, parental leave…
Employee services
- Rebates, daycare, gym, EAP (employee assistance program), etc. cafeterias
- For example Hec daycare for Hec employees next to CSC
If you make 100K a year, you cost 141K to the employer (bcuz of benefits)
*Goal of compensation: attract and retain talent*
Private benefit plans are different from one company to another

Building a compensation program

Legal context
Important objectives:
- Internal equity
- External equity
- Individual equity
- Collective equity

67
Legal context

Pay equity act stipulates that an organization must correct salary differences due to systemic discrimination based oon
gender in female-dominated jobs (more than 60% are women)

Legal context

68
Similar job, similar salary (close the gaps btwn genders): pay equity act
Need to make sure job that are done by women (stereotypes) are evaluated fairly: secretary, nurses, etc

Types of equity
Equity: a principle advocating equal compensation for employees for equal work or job contribution

a. Internal equity is equity with respect to salaries and requirements for similar or different jobs within the
organization. (similar job in the same organization) (the one that involves the most responsibility)
To achieve such consistency among jobs you need to apply a series of steps or techniques:
1. JOB ANALYSIS: gathering info about tasks, requirements, work conditions
2. JOB DESCRIPTION: brings together the info collected during the job analysis. Make sure its accurate to
make a sound jugement of the relative value of a given job (to decide the salary)
3. JOB EVALUATION : attributed a relative worth or value to jobs based on various factors such as
qualifications and effort required, responsibilities and working conditions. Rank one job in comparison
with another

b. External equity is equity with respect to salaries for similar jobs in different organisations
1. SALARY SURVEYS
2. SALARY RANGES

c. Individual equity is equity with respect to salaries for individuals. Salaries are compared using four criteria:
(same job same organization)
1. Individual performance (higher performance, higher pay); mostly bonuses or commission
2. Competency (if have a masters vs someone with only a bac)
3. Seniority (not subjective easy to explain)
4. Experience

d. Collective equity is equity with respect to the compensation received by different groups of employees in the
organization. Compensation takes into consideration:
The group’s contribution to the success of the organization

Collective equity: compare yourself to someone in another organization: IT team in an IT business is the core business

Now less individual performance pay plans and more group variable pay plans

69
Setting Base Salary: A Step-By-Step Process
INTERNAL EQUITY

Job evaluation
It’s a systemic procedure aimed at ranking jobs within a company in order to establish fair salary differentials (the
difference in salary btwn jobs of various hierarchical levels) btwn them (not to set salaries, only ranking to compare)
In order to determine salaries, the next essential step after job evaluation is to refer to the labour market (check the
salary of similar job in your company (in terms of tasks and requirements) and competitors)

The 4 factors above are defined by law (recommendations of the quebec pay equity act) to do a job evaluation
You have 1000 points and you put a weight on each factor. max 1000 points

Definition of factors
Organizations need to define various levels
A “weighting” system has to be determined for each job position
(need to choose common factors that allow us to give jobs a relative
value)

Its an evaluation committee who does this (HR+manager+ employee

representatives)

70
Check the competency profile to know the min level of education and experience required

Do the same for qualification, experience, etc (all the 4 criterias)

And you also need to determine how many levels you have and how many points for each
Problem: its not the same level to go from high school to college than from bac to masters
Never going to be perfect
CHART: 1000 points (sometimes only one so you need to consider the janitor and the CEO in the same chart)
Qualification/ experience
Responsabilities
Effort. Inellectual / physical (sometimes manual jobs pays a lot cuz of that)
Working condition (need to define each level and make sure theres a clear difference btwn each level)
Nurses: good salaries: cuz bad working conditions (nights, long shifts, sick), a lot a responsabilities (life of a person in
your hands), and a lot of intellectual effort
For ex: HEC- university
1. Qualification: varies a lot (should have the most points cuz it’s a university so that’s what the uni is based on:
research and quality of teachers) 600pts
(high school, college, certificate (part of first cycle diploma), bachelor, + part of a professional body, DESS
(certificate 2nd cycle)+ title, Master (MSC (it’s a specialisation) + title or MBA)
2. Responsibilities (very different, coordinateur vs janitor) (important here but ppl in finance also have a huge
responsibility, but since it’s a school we mostly value teachers) 200pts
3. Effort can change: intellectual (prof vs white collar) 150 pts
physical (maintenance ppl)
4. Work conditions of everyone pretty much the same for every employee 50 pts

In an unionized environment usually one grid for white collar and one for blue collar
But if not in an union, one grid for all employees
Were saying its 20 pts for cegep to certif (60 to 80) then since a bac is 3 years =120
You put a weight on the qualification factor (in this case 400/1000 for qualification)
HS DEP Cegep cert bac + prof order DESS MSC/MBA PhD post-doc
Qualification 15 40 60 80 120 140 200 300 385 400
Experience
Etc all 4 criterias.
Need to look at it and make sure it all makes sense
Job evaluation permits the company to let employees know what it values (bcuz of the weights) signals organizational
values and goals
This structure reduces bias and favouritism in salary allocation (since managers must respect the agreed-upon
structure), and complies with provisions in the quebec pay equity act

Traps to avoid when evaluating job positions p.158

• Assuming the job descriptions are up to date
• Assuming the job evaluation process is objective by default
• Assuming it is useless to do a job evaluation because the market will tell you how much to pay
• Evaluating jobs by considering the current job holder
• Thinking the job title indicates its value
• Assuming the gender predominance of the position

Setting Base Salary: A Step-by-Step Process

71
EXTERNAL EQUITY: external salary competition is a determining factor in the company’s ability to attract and retain a
sufficient number of quality employees (the last 4 boxes are to create a compensation package)
a. Choosing a benchmark: (reference)
Benchmarking: compare yourself with another organization of the same size as you to know the salary of an
accounting job for ex. (make sure it’s the same size and sector) The sector matters less for jobs that require
more general competencies (like a clerk).
A benchmark market: a group of companies an organization wishes to compare itself with in order to determine
salaries.

b. Salary survey:
A salary survey collects info about wages offered by companies in the benchmark market. This info deals with
various aspects of compensation, but most salary surveys deal only with data relating to the base salary, since
this is essentially what influences the perception of external equity

Salary survey results : example based on base salary

72
 Can be broken down by positions like above or by company size, sector or geographic region.
Max and min show the lowest and highest salaries companies in this sector offer for the given positions
25th percentile: 25% of the companies pay less than 63K for a production manager

Can get the info to do a salary survey through compensation consulting firms, public websites, professional
associations, etc

c. Salary positioning:
Need to choose which salary position is preferred compared to the chosen benchmark.
Impacts on payroll cost. It’s a decision of the HR in collaboration with the finance department
Ready to accept a smaller pay to have a more flexible schedule, nicer organization, etc (way to attract employees
when competing against huge organizations and ur not able to give the same salary as them)

3 options when it comes to wage positioning

1. Lead: paying above the market level
2. Lag: paying below the market level
3. Match: paying equal to the market reference point (most common)
The companies pay policy (its salary positioning relative to the market) can be a determining factor in achieving
its goal to attract and retain employees
Even if pay less can attract ppl with more vacation, better benefits (indirect)

d. Salary ranges:

To distinguish ppl based on their seniority, performance or competencies

A pay range is created by setting a minimum and maximum salary, based on salary survey results (by using the
min and max or 25th percentile and 75th percentile)
A wage range allows you to determine a new employee’s salary, but is flexible if its someone you rly want

73
Salary structure

a set of salary ranges and grades constitutes a pay structure

new recruits with little experience would begin at the min salary, but then with merit (annual performance), seniority
and competencies, you can move up in the salary range
To continue advancing past the maximum of range 1, employees would have to be promoted into range 2
Salary increases are usually based on;
- Seniority (mostly used in unionized environment)
- Merit (based on annual performance; do a performance evaluation based on achievement of objectives set at
the bgn of the year, employee behaviour during the year (initiative, team spirit, punctuality, etc)
– Merit pay increase: felt every paycheck and this increase becomes a permanent part of the base salary
– Lump-sum bonus: receive it at the bgn of the year (but base salary does not increase for the next year)
- Competencies (if acquire and master new competencies, new skills, you get a raise)

HR Indicators
2 types of indicators :

- Effectiveness : Achievement of one or many objectives

- Efficiency : Amount of resources used (money, time)

HR Indicators (compensation)
A few examples :
 Effectiveness :
- Perception of compensation equity
- Increase in performance following the pay incentive program
- Employees’ satisfaction regarding the global compensation (% of employees satisfied)
 Efficiency :
- Salary costs (could also have % of annual increase in overall payroll)
- Sells per full time employee
- Sells/salary mass

Review :
Types of compensation

74
 - Indirect and direct
- Indirect compensation can help retain employees even if pay them less than big companies
Types of equity
- Internal: similar job in the same organization
- External: similar job in another organization
- Individual: same job same organization (performance, experience, seniority, competencies)
- Collective: group’s contribution to the success of the organization
Steps to establish the base salary
Basis of the pay equity act
- Internal equity so that similar jobs have a similar pay (close the gender gap)

CLASS 8: DEVELOPING COMPETENCIES Chapter 8 p. 212 to 241 & chapter 12 p. 344 to 346
Co-development presentation & corporate universities

Questions Raised in Today’s Class

- What responsibilities do I have with respect to my employees’ professional development?
- Why does my department’s performance depend on my employees’ competencies?
- How can I ensure that I always have the right employees, at the right time, and with the required competencies, to run
my department properly?
- Given the competencies to be acquired or developed, the work situations in which they are required, and the
employees targeted for the training, what are the best learning strategies to adopt?
- Why is the “transfer of learning” that occurs following a training activity such an important phase in the process?
- Is it possible to evaluate the impact of a training activity aimed at developing competencies?

Competency capital: sum of competencies an employee masters at a given time

Devastating Effects of Incompetency

- Shift from incompetency to performance failure
- Inability to meet quality standards and delivery deadlines
- Inability to implement new technologies, improve a process or modify a management practice
- Inability to continue working with certain suppliers
- Tensions and conflicts between team members
- Obligation to move an employee to a different position or give the job to someone else
- Reduction of the manager’s flexibility
Ex if buy a new software but you don’t use it, it’s a waste

- 70% of new jobs in Canada require a post-secondary education, and 25% of them require a university degree. Only 5%
do not require a high school degree
-Some of the skills needed today are so-called soft skills that can be transferred to any area (communications, team
building, leadership, etc.)
- Proper training starts with a structured and sound orientation program “turning outsiders into insiders”
- Illiteracy is slowing down Canadian economic development. Between 468,000 and 1 million Quebecers have less than a
grade 9 education, and 31% of these persons are between the ages of 16 and 30
- Small and medium enterprises employ 60% of the labour force in Quebec

75
Retaining Information

Tell me and I forget.

Teach me and I
remember. Involve
me and I learn.
Benjamin Franklin

(Brainy Quotes)

Competency development activity: a tool used by an individual or organization to acquire or develop a competency:
training activity: arrangement aimed at acquiring or improving competencies

Learning is at the heart of competency development (work=learning source, employee=learner, manager=learning agent
or transmitter) learning culture. Learning to learn

Why Is Developing Competencies Important?

Managers must ensure that they have the right number and the right mix of employees with the competencies
necessary to perform work appropriately and to reach the performance goals set for the department. This is because
organizations are confronted by
New technologies
Performance problems
New products / services
Mergers / acquisitions / downsizing
Competition
Legal or professional obligations (min number of hours)
Reductions in turnover
Increased morale
Fewer instances of corrective discipline
Reduction of workplace injuries (specially for young workers)

Key actors
 Employees
 Superiors (need to identify the needs)
 Human Resources Department (developing the tools to improve competencies)
 Upper Management (determine the strategic orientation of the orga and the budget)
 Government
 Training firms
 Educational organizations
 Professional associations (a set number of hours per year but they also offer training)

76
Competency Development Activities: p.216
Four Goals of competency activities (and implication for the manager)
- Ensure integration of new employees (starts before arrival, make sure they are immersed in the values etc)
- Consolidate your present operational position (ensure that your department’s competency capital remain at an
optimal level)
- Support (current or future) organizational change
- Support career path of employees (do I have the place to grow in this organization?)

Competency is not easy to define

• Composite of knowledge, skills and attitudes
• Competent employees
– master the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to perform their jobs in an effective manner
– have the ability to solve problems
– have the ability to adapt to change
A competency can only be confirmed through concrete action that has short- and long-term outcomes. A person with an
unpredictable performance level is not competent
Competency: the ability to act effectively in the framework of one’s professional activity. It’s an abstract notion that only
becomes apparent in the course of carrying out a professional activity. Infer its presence by observing employee
behaviour on the job and the results of the action it made possible

What is a “quality” competency?

- Relevance (match the nature of the problems to be addressed or the situations to be improved)
- Timing (competency delivered “just in time”)
- Critical mass (quantity (ppl and competencies) that must be acquired to have a significant effect on
performance or the desired improvement)

Life Cycle of a Competency

1. Acquisition
Employees obtain new knowledge, develop new skills or adopt new attitudes towards their jobs
2. Optimization
Employees are fully operational and apply competencies on a daily basis. It is during this phase that employers
can recover their investment
3. Obsolescence
A competency loses its relevance more or less rapidly. It needs to be updated or simply replaced
The life cycle has been accelerating in the past few decades

The Crocodile Syndrome

77
 p.220
Don’t need to learn this by heart but need to understand
Crocodile: can open jaw slowly but closes all at once: severe shortfall
Gap btwn the level of competency required for the job and the level or relevance of the available competency capital.
Gap btwn what employees can actually do (acquired competencies) and what they theoretically should be able to do
(required competencies)
In an ideal world: a flat line: no gap but its realistic for competencies=requirements
Wider the gap the harder it is to go back
Non competency zone: a field of activity where a person lacks competency, either completely or partially
To close the gaps you can:
- add some specific on job trainings
- Hire new ppl
The gap leads to non-competence which leads to direct or indirect non-performance (and for ex inability to meet quality
standards, create tension w/in teams…)

Promotion of Workforce Skills Development and Recognition (act to promote workforce skills development and
recognition)
- Administered by Emploi-Québec
- Applies to all categories of employees
Employers whose total payroll is $2 million or more must
-Invest 1% of the total payroll in competency and skills development activities for their personnel each calendar
year
- Declare the amount invested in these activities to Revenu Québec
- Pay the difference to the government labour force training fund if the amount invested is less than 1% of the
total payroll (if the amount invested is higher than 1%, employers receive a credit for future skills development
activities)
Invest in your staff or need to pay 1% to the government which will be put in a training fund (may be invested
for your competition)

Manager’s Role in Competency Development

78
First step is the most difficult one: managers need to take a step back and reflect on how things are going: problems the
analysis brings to light, upcoming challenges, state of the RH in terms of current capabilities and future potential

Life Cycle of a Competency

Knowledge: Cognitive perspective (THINKING)
Knowledge = remembering something previously learned
Comprehension= grasping the meaning of something
Application= using something learned
Analysis= breaking something down into its component parts
Synthesis= putting the parts together to form a new whole
Evaluation= judging the value of something for a given purpose
Skills: Psychomotor perspective (DOING)
Attitudes: Affective perspective (FEELING)

How to identify competency needs?

1) Using problems and shortcomings as a basis

Link with manpower planning

79
For ex: late deliveries because of incompetence (or sometimes lack of motivation, bad system…)
As a manager you need to
1. Detect the factors affecting performance that are related to the employee’s competency capital
2. Identify the problems that could be solved by providing training activities or another learning situation/
intervention
3. Focus on developing a proactive approach

2) Using job-related competency profiles as a basis

Competency assessment: evaluate the degree of mastery an employee has reached for each competency in his profile.
(what he has aquired)

Methods for Identifying Competency needs

For individual employees:
 Self-assessment (questionnaire d’auto-évaluation)
 Employee performance evaluation
o Analysis of performance indicators (such as sales, complaints…)
o Individual performance evaluation interview (to identify which non-competency zones are likely to
explain the goals you didn’t reach
o Direct observation
 Employee competency assessment (interview to know the a. employees competency assessment, b. employee’s
short, medium and LT aspirations and expectations, c. individual professional dev. Plan that would be realistic
and desirable to implement in the coming year)

80
  Employee potential assessment (for future assignments and progression in the company. Employee potential is
assessed under every angle. Multisource evaluation method (clients, colleagues, employees...)

For teams or the entire department

 Group interview (to examine in detail operating problems observed over the previous months. Goal is the
identify the missing competencies from a collective point of view)
 Matrix approach
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. 2options
a. Negociate an individual development plan with each employee (not a formal legal contract)
b. Create a global development plan for your department

Learning Strategies p.228

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, need to decide which learning strategy you will implement: (depends
on each individual, some prefer hands on, others theory, etc)
 Outside work (learning outside the job)
o Courses, seminars, webinars
o Simulations (no risk, can do errors and its ok cuz its not real)
o Self-training (resources available for employees. They can use them as they see fit. Allows more control
over the topics, time, pace and often the place where they do their learning. These factors may reinforce
their autonomy and their motivation)
o College, university studies
 At work (learning around the job)
o Tutoring, mentoring (experienced colleague training the new one to integrate them)
o Behaviour modeling
 During work
o Hands-on training (apprendre sur le tas)
o Job rotation
o Increased responsibilities
o E-learning

How you should do your trainings:

70%: learning through doing
20%: learning through others (ex: shadowing)
10%: theory

Comparative Advantages

81
Eight Important Variables for Learning Strategies (that need to be taken into account when u choose which one)
1. Strategic importance of the development activity and the necessity of changing behaviours
2. Goals of the development activity
3. Nature of the competencies to be acquired and increased (field, level of complexity)
4. Characteristics of the learners (motivation, cognitive abilities, previous experience…)
5. Context in which the competencies are to be implemented (urgent work, availability of equipment, possibility of
replacing employees…)
6. Skills that can be mobilized in your department or within the company
7. Budget and time available to reach the goals that have been set
8. Energy that you, as manager, are ready to invest in the activity

The most effective strategy is to combine several approaches. Sometimes send one or only a few ppl to a training and
then they teach the other ppl (ripple effect)

Support the Transfer of Learning

Transfer of learning: the process of mobilizing competencies acquired during a learning activity in the work
performance. Effective use that employee-learners make of what they have acquired during the training session
(applying new knowledge)
As a manager you have influence and can take action mostly on what you can do before and after the training activity
Before the activity
o Plan the activity (select the ppl you will send and make sure the activity corresponds to ur priorities)
o Help your employee and prepare the environment (be familiar with what the training is, make sure the
employee knows the training goals and what is expected form him/her after returning to work, put the
employee in contact with other ppl who have done the same training)
During the activity

82
 o Stay close (are things going well, u have the appropriate material?, etc) (but u don’t have much influence since
ur usually not the one doing the training)
After the activity
o Help create a climate that encourages learning transfer (make sure they have the equipment to use their new
knowledge, etc p.233)
Sometimes a large part of what has been learned will not be transferred. Ppl often presume that learning transfer
happens automatically, but it’s not the case

Three Essential Elements That Improve the Quality of the Learning Transfer
Learning transfer is 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, and willingness to acquire new
competencies and to use effective strategies to implement them in their job
Development activity itself:
When and how it is offered, teaching support provided, content, level of difficulty, pace
Work environment:
Workload, availability or resources, support from co-workers, workplace climate, possibilities for recognition and
promotion

“During my training session, I used a much more sophisticated version of the software program than the one we have on
the computers in my department. Now I only have access to half the functions I studied.”
- The activity was the problem bcuz the software used during the training was better than the one they use on
a daily basis

“Since I hadn’t sufficiently mastered the new quality inspection process I had been trained for, I made a lot of mistakes
and slowed down everybody’s work. Before long, my boss asked me to do the job the old way and said we’d talk about
training later.”
- The timing wasn’t good, better preparation of the work environment

“The seminar was clearly way over my head. Because I didn’t understand the basic notions, I 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!”
- Seminar was too hard, not proper, not the
- The work environment was ready but maybe didn’t send the right person, but if seminar is way above their
head the choice of the activity was not right

“I really learned a lot during the 3-day session, and I’m convinced that I could use what I 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.”
-work environment

Let’s practice
• You work in an IT department. You have an employee with a lot of potential and a high level skills in coding, but
not much work experience. The employee is a fast learner and passionate about everything IT. You see in this
person a future team manager for the Network security team.
• Build the development plan for this employee.

83
Evaluating the Quality of Development Activities by Kirkpatrick (evaluate a learning activity): evaluate the effectiveness
of training p.345 example of questions for reaction
1. % of satisfaction with respect to the organization and content of activity (reaction to the training)
• Document the learners’ immediate reactions
2. Learning assessment (learning)
• Use feedback devices or pre-and post-tests to measure what learners have actually learned (if come out
with skills that they did not have before taking the course
• Level of knowledge
3. Expected impact of activity on work performance (behavior or transfer)
• Make sure learners apply new skills and knowledge (if they adopt the appropriate behaviours after their
training/ transfer of learning)
• Level of knowledge transfer
4. Overall assessment of cost-benefit ratio (result)
• Using objective measures, determine if training was a good investment in time, effort, money for the
employee, department, company (results/ level of operational improvement/ check if now more sales)
• Level of operational improvement
• For ex can compare the sales of an employee who have followed a competency development activity
with those employees who have not

Competency monitoring: an attitude of being constantly on the lookout for anything that might affect competency
capital (similar to quality monitoring). Need to remain in the competency monitoring mood to avoid competency
obsolescence

Classic pitfalls: p.234; 8.7.2/3

HR Indicators
2 types of indicators :
- Effectiveness : Achievement of one or many objectives
- Efficiency : Amount of resources used (money, time)

HR Indicators (training)

84
CLASS 9: MANAGING EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: Chapter 7 p.182 to 211 & chapter 12 p.342-343

Why?
- As a manager you have a big responsibility for employee performance such as defining expectations, ensuring
support, giving necessary resources to the employees for them to be successful
- Manager is a key actor in this
Job performance: the contribution of an employee through results or behaviours corresponding to the expectations of
his/her superiors

Managing employee performance also means attaining at least 5 objectives involving various players p.185
1. For top-level managers: it is essential that the orga have a management system that facilitates the
implementation of strategic priorities. Want to ensure consistency btwn the values promoted by the company
and the wat employee performance is managed on a daily basis
2. Managers (=coach) are the ppl primarily responsible for performance in an organization. They must adopt
performance management practices that create an atmosphere for optimal performance. On a daily basis, they
must specify their expectations in terms of the organization’s strategic priorities, provide on-going feed back, …
winning behaviours of managers p.187
3. HR professionals: manage the performance evaluation process and ensure that it is rigorous and free of bias.
Also their responsibility 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. Need feedback and what the
opportunity 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

85
Performance Appraisal
Evaluation process usually performed annually by a supervisor to help employees understand their roles, objectives,
expectations, and level of performance success.
Occurs continuously throughout the year, but normally formalized once a year. (usually done on an annual basis)

Performance Management
The process of creating a work environment in which people can perform to the best of their abilities. (a system in itself)
(a process that includes defining expectations, observing behaviours, giving feedback on, assessing and improving
employee and team performance, see below figure 7.1)

Purposes of Performance Appraisal for the Organization Strategic Tool

• Facilitate the implementation of the strategic plan and help attain corporate global objectives (waterfall) and
empowerment to give meaning to work and how their job fits in the bigger picture
• Improve productivity (to work on what is relevant and important)
• Identify training and development needs
• Update the competency inventory (know the strengths and weaknesses of the parties involved)
• Provide feedback on training programs
• Shed light on staffing process (mostly when you evaluate new employees, on boarding)
• Improve one-on-one communications (relationship btwn leader and employee and the psychological conditions;
should be an ongoing discussion)
• Enhance work atmosphere (goal is to support ur employees, motivate them, empower them, give them
objectives, tell them where they are going etc)
• Make high and low performers stand out (through performance management)
• Help with staffing decisions when there is a merger, an acquisition, or downsizing. (if in an acquisition 2 ppl have
the same job they might check the performance of both employees and only keep the one with the best
performance)

Purposes of PA for the Supervisor Supervisory Tool

• Justify salary increases (when no collective agreement)
• Identify employees’ strengths and weaknesses (on the basis of the supervisor’s knowledge of job’s tasks and
KSAs)
• Pinpoint the group’s strengths and weaknesses (only as strong as your weakest link)
• Define the objectives for the coming period (which help ppl work together for the same objectives)
• Reinforce the credibility of line management
• Justify personnel movements (promotions, demotions based on performance)
• Allocate responsibilities among group members (cuz u know the strengths and weaknesses)
• Validate staffing process

Purposes of PA for the Employee: Proaction, Follow-up, Feedback, Correction

• Clarify what is expected with respect to objectives, responsibilities, results, and behaviours
• Indicate the supervisor’s view of the employee’s past performance
• Confirm employee’s strengths and weaknesses (team or individual point of view)
• Give opportunity to employees to express themselves (not a monologue, an open discussion btwn both)
• Provide a framework for setting in place a plan of action for the coming year (opportunity for reinforcement
and/or corrective actions); feedback
- To give feedback (corrective for ex)

86
 - Need to define clear objectives right at the beginning of the cycle

Managing performance (the system in inself) 5 steps

Should be an ongoing and proactive
process
1. need to view ur employees as
strategic partners
you should know the strategic context: the
objectives of the firm, of you dept: need to
know the internal and the external
environment/ context.
This will allow you to
2. Define expectations: SMART
3. evaluate performance: (key role
during the whole process) usually at
least a midterm evaluation/ meeting
to see if they are on track. Adjust
objectives so they are feasible and
they have control on them
its rly important for employees to
feel empowered (feel like you have
control over your destiny)

it’s a cycle
5. Action plan to make corrections, or what to do. Should leave the evaluation motivation cuz u need to feel like ur
objectives are realistic and u have the tools to meet them

Usually companies adopt a process like this to meet 3 main objectives (goal of performance management) p.188
1- Set a strategic objective (by ensuring that the performance expectations of employees are aligned with the
organization’s priorities.
2- Aims for an administrative objective (Salary increase and bonuses that are linked to employee performance
evaluation)
3- Motivational objectives (mobilizing employees and encouraging to perform better)

1) Take ownership of the strategic context

Explain to the employees their why (why

what they do matters, show them the
bigger picture)

87
Strategic context= its mission, vision, values, priorities and goals
You must know the company’s strategic context. 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. Explain the why,
which can be found in the business plan.
Must communicate these strategic objectives and explain them to employees. Make the message go from the top down
Important for employees to see a clear link btwn their companies strategic priorities and the mandates given to them.

2) Define Expectations
Performance expectations: results or behaviours that the manager wishes to obtain from an employee; these
elements will enable the manager to ascertain whether the employee had performed well
Examples of expectations you could give to your employees:

Outputs of an
employee’s work.
Targets to be
achieved (#sales, #
units produced, etc)

Behaviours: (what you want ur employee to present in their work) want someone to be more proactive. How
employees should go about achieving their work goals or the recurring results expected of them. Respecting
management values, collaborating within work teams, providing customer service.
Competencies: knowledge, skills (increase the typing skills, leadership, initiative, communication skills) and
attitudes
You need to make sure that you will be able to properly evaluate the expectations (of ur employee)
Can use the job description and the form for the performance review and the meeting conducted with the
employee at the end of the year to set expectations
Work with the employee to write down a clear, simulating mandate

Expectations should be (should always be smart)

88
 S : Specific (to the individual and precise, ex : increase production by 10%)
Expectations need to fit the profile of your employee (adapt to if their new or not). Personalized. Precise:
shouldn’t be open to interpretation. Will be evaluated on this, so it needs to be clear
M : Measurable (can be measured, last period 3000 and now want 3300)
A : Aligned (explain why and how) how they fit in the bigger picture. Why they are being set such a performance
expectation. Link the expectations to the strategic priorities will help employees understand their role in the
organization and how they can contribute to its success.
R : Realistic (employee can achieve it) needs to be realistic to be motivating. Employee needs to know that its
realistic (and needs to know the support they will get from ur employer). It out of reach, it often leads to a loss
of motivation or unethical behaviours
T : Timely (set a time frame, due date)

3) Support performance
Delegate based on strengths and
weaknesses (and it’s a way to empower
employees thus motivate and mobilize
them)

Corrective and constructive feedback

Need to have a least 1 follow up (but

should be continuous or recurring);
ongoing
Documents: to have meetings based on facts (take notes)
Delegate: ask someone else to do the work ur supposed to do.
What to delegate?
How to delegate? State work goals or expected outcomes clearly. Explain the importance of this activity in the
employee’s overall workload (a precise schedule if possible so that the work gets done on time)
Delegate to whom? Spread the tasks you wish to delegate among all the employee in your team. Not only the
ppl you trust the most. Make sure they are not overloaded before delegating
Know how to listen: really listen; show signs of agreement; ask questions
Positive feedback: a powerful motivational tool. Needs to be precise, immediate and public
Constructive feedback should be precise, immediate and private

89
 employees should know what will be spoken about in the appraisal meeting (because of the follow ups and all)
Should not be like the picture where they have no idea what they are getting into

4) Evaluating Performance
• Use effective tools created by HRD or developed by managers (developed by HR or manager but used by
managers)
• Maximize the effectiveness of these tools by ensuring that they are
• Easy to use
• Quick to use
• Appropriate for measuring the competencies in question (and relevant/pertinent)
• Based on realistic goals
• Approved and supported by upper management

Two Common Mistakes in Setting Performance Expectations

Deficiency:
o Not clearly specifying at the outset the expectations that will later be used to evaluate an employee
performance. (S of SMART was not done right)
Contamination (the opposite mistake):
o Expectations specified at the outset are not relevant to performance and not taken into account by
managers conducting the evaluation (important to understand the context of the orga. and the role of
the employee in the organization to avoid this)

Most Common Methods for Appraising Performance

90
1-Graphic Rating Scale

Like a customer service survey: a definition of each competency, skill and attitude that should be mastered by the
employee (can have an odd or even number scale(usually btwn 4-7 performance levels) but when its odd like here 5,
there might be a lot of 3 which will create a central tendency; so to avoid this you can do an even scale)

91
Evaluate every employee under their supervision using a grid that has predefined criteria related to the job. Each rating
is a judgement on performance

Pros and cons : Graphic rating scale

PROS
• Easy to use and complete (ppl are familiar with this system) and quick
• Easy to understand for the evaluated
• The criterias apply to a large amount of job (what the orga rly cares about like: customer service, initiative,
teamwork, etc) so easier to compare employee performance
- Employees can readily discover their strengths and aspects they will have to correct in order to improve their
performance by consulting the form
CONS
• The interpretation of the different levels of performance may vary from one manager to the other (if a good
performance is not precise 2 managers may give different results for a similar performance). Performance
calibration is used to correct differences. Committee that reviews the evaluations done by all managers, to
compare how strictly they appraise employee performance and correct any differences that are not justified
• The uneven scales create a central tendency
• Might need appendices for more complex jobs (to better reflect their job reality)

2-BARS: Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scale

92
Each level of the scale is clearly detailled (clear definition of what it should be)
Take more time to produce, need to do one like this for every competency in the orga but still useful
Pros and cons : BARS
PROS
 Each level is very precise of what is expected
 Helps homogenous analyses between different managers
 The employee has a better understanding of what is required to get to the ‘’next level’’

CONS
 Some managers might have a hard time making the difference between the different levels (so takes a lot of
time to develop the tool cuz need to make sure there is a clear distinction btwn each level
 The different levels must be determined for every job which is a long and costly procedure.

3-BOS: Behaviourally Observation Scale

This is an observation scale, a frequency scale

The sentence is a resumé of the expectation

93
Pros and cons : BOS
PROS
 Offers an explicit definition of the different criteria to simplify the process
 The employee understands which behaviour must be exhibited more often (employees know what they need to
do more often)

CONS
 Requires a high level of discipline from the manager to observe and take notes regarding the behaviours
 Requires proximity between the manager and the employee to be able to observe the behaviours
 Evaluation of a ‘’frequency’’ allows for a lot of interpretation. (what is a lot?) often is going to the gym 4 times a
week for someone but for somebody else its twice a day
- Doesn’t fit with all types of jobs: With remote working and all its harder to observe the work of ppl working in
another country, in another timezone.

4-MBO: Management by objectives

MBO establishes goals to be reached before the next evaluation. Often used in evaluating management since their work
consists mainly of coordinating activities and completing projects rather than carrying out precise tasks.

94
The form should consist of a small number of general objectives formulated to indicate clearly whether they have been
met or not
Bgn of period: objectives are formulated and written down
End of period: assessment on whether the objectives have been met or not
Custom made for each employee
Mostly used for the managers (their objectives are the department objectives)
SMART objectives
Don’t want to give too many objectives. Want to focus on 2 or 3 maybe 4. To really put the focus on what really matters

Pros and cons : MBO

PROS
• Objectives are defined by the manager AND the employee
• Objectives are clearly defined and easy to measure (SMART)
• Custom-made for each employee

CONS
• If it is the only method, it doesn’t take into account the behaviours the employee manifested to achieve his
goals (cuz usually give quantitative objectives and not qualitative)
• Needs to be combined to another tool to be very efficient. (this is good for quantitative, but you should also use
the BOS, BAR or graphic rating scale for the qualitative aspect, to show the behaviours you want them to have)

Multi-source appraisal or 360-degree appraisal: 5 main sources of evaluation

subordinates: like ur team

Utopic goal: remove subjectivity. Want evaluation to be as objective as possible. Try to do this by having SMART
objectives, and to use good tools. Take notes and be really to handle this well. Performance management process can be
used for other RH decisions (such as salary, promotion, staffing, …). So want this process to be as detailed, objective and
specific as possible
- Not a tool but a method/ an approach to evaluate an employee
- Nowadays more and more teamwork and if supervisor is remote its easier to evaluate this way
- Other ppl working with/ around the employee also evaluate the employee

95
 - Feedback from different sources so a broader perspective of the strengths and weaknesses of the employee (not
just your own opinion)
- Need a certain level of trust, and open communication to optimize 360 appraisal
- RH has to be adapted to the context
- Employee: self-evaluation. When they participate they have a more positive attitude toward their annual
evaluation and are more engaged
- Co-workers: peer evaluation, mostly useful to evaluate mutual assistance and collaborative behaviours when
working in teams

Advantages of 360-Degree Appraisal

• The system is more comprehensive because responses are gathered from multiple perspectives
• Quality of information is better. Quality of respondents is more important than quantity.
• It complements TQM(total quality management) initiatives by emphasizing internal/external customers and
teams (give best product at the best delay, at the best price, etc)
• It may lessen bias/prejudice since feedback comes from more people, not one individual. Many input, personal
bias if less affected
• Feedback from peers and others may increase employee self-development.
- The why of the 360 is for employee development. Better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses
- Offers a diversity and wealth of various points of view on an employee’s performance

Disadvantages of 360-Degree Appraisal

• The system is complex in combining all the responses. (richer quality of information but time consuming)
• Feedback can be intimidating and cause resentment if an employee feels that respondents have “ganged up on
them.” (3rd party gathering the info and rephrasing it is always good; need to be constructive)
• There may be conflicting opinions, although all of them may be valid from the respective standpoints. (so need
to make sense of all of that and of the different opinions and point of views on an employee)
• The system requires training to work effectively. (everyone involved should know how to give good and
constructive feedback)
• Employees may collude or “game” the system by giving invalid evaluations of one another. (give me a good
evaluation, I’ll give you a good evaluation)
• Appraisers may not be accountable if their evaluations are anonymous. (so putting your name when you do your
evaluation is good, but only the person compiling the info should be able to see the names) cuz some ppl may
write things that are not real if anonymous

If they are really good, you need to take them to the next level

Preparing for the Evaluation Meeting

– Choose a neutral place (so not your office or their office)
– Choose an appropriate time
– Reserve enough time
• 45 to 90 minutes for an annual review (constructive communication, not a monologue. Don’t want
this to be rushed, take your time. Its rly important for the employee (empowerment, motivation, etc)
96
 – Help employee preparation in advance
• Provide employee with a blank copy of the evaluation form (so they can do a self evaluation and then
they send it to their manager) (should ask then to evaluate their own performance, review previous
goals and set themselves new objectives)
• Inform the employee a few days before the evaluation.
- Make sure as a manager ur really free (no phone calls, emails, phone on mute, etc, don’t want to get interrupted
if not it gives a rly bad impression to the employee and the employee doesn’t feel important. Like a date want to
give a good impression)

Conducting the Evaluation Meeting

Beginning of the meeting
• Review of the objectives and of the way the meeting will be conducted (will reduce stress cuz they
know what is coming)
• Suggest that employees give their own evaluation first (so they can break the ice and talk first)
• Begin the conversation with new employees
• Encourage employees’ comments, ideas or suggestions throughout the meeting. (ask why)
- Patience, active listening, respect, open

During the conversation

• Listen actively and provide feedback
• Draw attention to the agreement points (if the convo is starting to deviate)
• Show understanding of divergences and make an effort to come to an agreement
• Treat major points in depth in case time is running short
• Talk about the overall performance aspect
• Adopt an attitude of openness and respect.
- As a manger try to keep the control of the discussion, mostly if its starting to go off trail
- Should be seen as an opportunity for constructive exchanges with the employer

5) Propose an Action Plan

• Characteristics of the action plan
– Has focus on the future
– Highlights manager’s role as a coach (not as a judge) (coach= supporting performance)
– Links with relevant performance factors
– Highlights employee self-development with respect to
• Experience
• Stepping out of the comfort zone
- You want the employee to be motivated when they leave the office (if its an employee with a poor performance
last year, you want them to understand that this year they will they will be able to do better and you want them
to know that you will be there to support them)
- Action plan: performance maintenance plan or a performance improvement plan
- Doing a competency development plan (standard practice to offer training as a way of thanking employees who
have met performance expectations)
- Must be as clear as possible so that the employee and the supervisor feel committed to applying it
Performance evaluation used to establish the bonuses (that’s why good preparation for fair and accurate assessments is
so crucial

97
Evaluation biases

Knowing them allows you to be aware and careful to try to avoid them
Perceptual biases /traps you try to avoid:
o Halo effect: you kind of base your whole evaluation on one specific characteristic of an employee (is always here
on time so it’s a good employee)
o Contrast effect: when ur in your evaluation period you may do 4-5 evaluations back to back in the same day.
Don’t compare them to the person before. Always evaluate their performance based on the expectations that
were defined FOR THEM. If the first has a remarkable performance, you might be more strict on the 2 nd one with
an unsatisfactory performance.
o Last impression effect: take notes throughout the year to avoid doing your evaluation on only what they have
been doing recently (only recent behaviour like last few weeks, not considering the full year)
o Similarity effect: we like ppl that are like us. You see something similar in them so u like them. Always evaluate
based on the expectations. Overrate an employee bcuz they share personal characteristics or are attracted to
the same things
o Restriction-of-range effect: when you put everyone in the middle (so ur not mean to anyone and too kind, you
just want everyone to be happy so you just give an average to everyone) Avoid very good or very bad to avoid
having to make a judgment

98
 o Tendency-to-extreme effect: don’t want to be accused of being in the middle, so give extreme notes (too strict
or too generous). To protect their reputation, they could for example give all their staff excellent evaluations

FOCUS ON THE EXPECTATIONS SET AT THE BGN AND TRY TO BE AS OBJECTIVE AS POSSIBLE

Performance Appraisal : Conditions of Success

• Top Management provides support (and can help determine why we do it, who will do it)
• Evaluation simple and understood by all users
• Evaluation is nondiscriminatory
• Criteria used are job related and well explained (and relevant)
• Evaluators are trained (ask for training to RH ppl)
• Employees are informed (about the process, how it works, how to use the tools, etc)
• Process clear and uniform (across the organization)
• Evaluation supported by a policy (clear steps, document to support this, have the possibility to challenge your
evaluation, calibration session so every manager is on the same page regarding what is a great vs exceptional
employee.
- Should be strategic; help to mobilize ppl,
- Must be documented to be based on facts (and to be able to explain the why of an employee performance).
Take notes throughout the year on any critical incident affecting the employee. Behaviours, attitudes, reactions,
whether they involve good or bad performance. Back up comments with concrete examples
- Need to consider the work context: any recent changes in the employee’s functions (new responsibilities, etc)
and other contextual factors (such as company restructuring, budget cuts, decreased resources, etc)
- Many sources of evaluation
- A good professional development plan should be based on an in-depth analysis of performance factors
(motivation, competency, resources and constraints)

Reasons Appraisal Programs Fail

• Inadequate preparation on the part of the manager (not trained, don’t have the tools, no notes, etc)
• Employee not given clear objectives at the beginning of the performance management process (lose efficiency
cuz u don’t know what to focus on, and during the evaluation you lose points cuz it wasn’t clear
• Manager not able to observe performance or have all the information (BOS)
• Performance standards are not clear (have a clear definition of performance to avoid interpretation)
• Inconsistency in ratings among supervisors or other evaluators (calibration session with managers)
• Manager rating personality rather than performance
• The halo effect, contrast effect, or some other perceptual bias
• Inappropriate time span (too short or too long) (sometimes 1 year will be too long) and make sure when it’s
done is ok (the time of the year)
• Overemphasis on uncharacteristic performance (if something bad happened in your employee’s life)
• Inflated ratings because managers do not want to deal with “bad news” (need to have courage to have the
tough discussions)
• Subjective or vague language in written appraisals
• Organizational politics or personal relationships cloud judgments
• No thorough discussion of causes of performance problems (need to have the courage to ask the real questions
to really understand the root cause)
• Managers may not be trained to evaluate or give feedback
• No follow-up or coaching after the evaluation

99
Performance appraisals: getting results
The annual performance evaluation should be a pleasant annual meeting for the appraisee and the appraiser.
One with no surprises. Should be viewed as one event to evaluate the past and to look towards the future!

“Performance appraisal systems are like seat belts – most people believe they are necessary, but don’t like to use them”
-Dick Grote

HR Indicators
2 types of indicators :
- Effectiveness : Achievement of one or many objectives
- Efficiency : Amount of resources used (money, time)

HR Indicators (performance management)

To evaluate the performance of your performance management process

Key points
• The steps of a good performance management
- 5 steps
• Fixing good objectives
- SMART
• The success factors of a good performance management system
- Support from upper manager
- Tools are easy to use
- Employees are well informed
- Have a policy that will help you with this process
• The different tools used to evaluate
- Graphic rating scale
- BOS
- BAR
- MBO
- All these tools can be used in a 360 (360 being the form of the evaluation and not the tool in itself)
100
Class 10: MANAGING DIFFICULT EMPLOYEES AND WORK CONFLICTS
Chapter 9 p. 242 to 273 & chapter 12 p. 347 to 352

Conflict: a process created by a real or perceived difference (of values, interests or opinions) btwn 2 or more
interdependent, interacting parties (legal entity or a physical person) who each consider the other responsible for the
conflict, who are experiencing strong emotions, and whose behaviour is harming productivity or the work environment

6 Elements Of a Conflict

1. Process
 Evolving situation
 A conflict is evolving. Can be last few minutes or years, centuries
2. Perceptions
 Different interpretations depending on the context, mood, past experiences, etc.
 A smile can be interpreted as a sign of friendship or a sign of hypocrisy
 The ppl involved have their own vision of the situation, which is influenced mainly by their own
motivations. They hold only incomplete info about the situation and the motivations of the other
party (asymmetry of info)
3. Divergence of interests
 Belief that satisfaction is obtained at the other party’s expense
 I lose you win or vice-versa
 In an organisation there can be convergence of interests and also divergence of interests
for ex: mgt and employees the best products, the best image, …this is convergence, divergence will be
about salaries for example
4. Interaction between two or more people
 Process of action and reaction
 Need more than a person for there to be conflict
 He said, she said bla bla
5. Interdependence between parties

101
  Higher risk of conflict when interdependence increases
 Ppl in a team have a different perception of what the teacher wants. But what the other team thinks
doesn’t rly matter
6. Strong emotions
 Intensification of emotions with conflict aggravation (intensification of the conflict)
 Becomes irrational
Need those 6 elements to say there’s conflict

Types of conflict

Inter-organizational: a company and someone outside: ex: subcontractor, supplier, client

When Should a Manager Intervene? (regardless of the type of conflict) (intervene only when there’s a specific situation)
Two essential criteria to assess whether intervention is appropriate
 Harmful effects on the affected employees’ performance
 Collateral damage (other colleagues around, suppliers, client, etc)
When:
 The conflict impacts productivity
 Encourages the formation of opposing clans (with me or against me)
 Impacts the quality of customer service or the organization’s public image
 Encourages the spread of rumours

102
 - If it is only 2 employees that don’t like each other, as long as they respect each other and it does not interfere
with work, you do nothing. They don’t have to invite each other for dinner on Saturday night.
- 50% of managers don’t intervene when theres a conflict. They think it will go away by itself (which wont) or
don’t think they have the tools to do so.
- Make sure you have policies and a culture that promotes resolution by the parties involved (without managerial
intervention). And take the approach of reconciling all interests at stake

What should the manager do? (the intervention plan)

1. Calm the emotion (losing IQ when high in emotion, breath, relax, do it at the right moment. Propose a short
delay b4 starting a collective discussion on the issues. Encourage parties to verbalize their emotions)
2. Target the needs and priorities (talk to the employees separately)
 Clarify the situation (what r ur needs and priorities?)
 Context favorable to compromise (after talking separately to them, you put them together for them to
solve the problem. Ur job is only to guide) Solution needs to come from them, and needs to be
sustainable. Draw up a list of needs based on priorities. Manager can use this list to create a favorable
context for compromise
3. Encourage solution development
 Win-win situation, but give and take. Need to make concessions
 Focus on priorities (firm about one’s priorities, but flexible in other respects) impartiality (how the orga
functions best, not personal interests if it’s the manager ending up taking the decision)

Consequences Of Conflicts

Its not the conflict itself that determines the consequences, but rather the way it is managed.

NEGATIVE
Sabotage
Revenge on the company
Harm to a co-worker involved in the conflict

POSITIVE
Conflict management oriented towards creativity and cooperation
Open attitude
Indispensable for clarifying each one’s wishes and objectives
103
 Benefits
Elucidation of confusing situations
Revealing of latent uneasiness or unexpressed elements of dissatisfaction
Deeper understanding of the other person and of the organization
- Clarifies the policies (why he’s the one that can go on vacation) Makes an healthy work climate.
- Questions the system in place (in a positive way) Why are vacations allocated this way
- Conflict provides an opportunity to deepen the understanding of the other party, and of the organization. To
reassess and make improvements
- When conflict leads to reconciliation of the parties, it promotes group cohesion and strengthens the authority or
leadership of the leader

Other conflict resolution mechanisms

- If the manager feels ill-prepared to deal with the conflict, you can call a mediator
Start with mediation: a negotiation process assisted by a third party
based on mutual interest. The parties are controlling the outcome, not imposing: each party is free to accept or refuse
the proposed solution. Helps to find better ways to communicate. Employees solving it by themselves (manager is the
mediator). But for ex: can show good faith during that time cuz u feel like u might lose ur job. Confidential: so it’s a
solution only for this conflict (not able to use it for a similar situation later on) (mediation helps preserve the quality of
the relationship btwn the parties)
Arbritation: settlement of a dispute by an arbitrator: an impartial 3rd party. They make the final decision (decides who
wins). Based on laws, who’s right, who’s wrong. The final decision is the decision, it’s imposed. Both parties may not be
happy. Conflict is not necessarily resolved long term

What to do in a group conflict?

 Clarify roles & responsibilities
- Sometimes roles overlap, so make it clear

104
- Make sure that there’s no job overlap
- Confusion about the priority level of tasks
- Confusion about the hierarchical relationships
- Who reports to who? Who has the authority to assign tasks?
- Who’s supposed to do what (in terms to priority)
- Make sure employees understand the interdependence of the tasks (to know which to prioritize)
- Who’s responsible for the project
- Make sure the employee expectation are clear
 Establish decision-making policies
- Many conflicts are rooted in the perception that there is
an unfairness is the distribution of tasks, schedules and
resources
- To make sure the most enjoyable tasks r not always
given to the same ppl
- The standards and criterias for choices should be known
by all
- Make the work assignment process as objective as possible
- Make it fair and be able to explain ur choices
- This way employees can also anticipate who will get the next project
- Who goes to training?
- Seniority? Alternance? Rotation? Skills?. Best is rotation (but still take into account the complexity of the task
and the experience of the employees)
- How am I gonna decide on who’s going on vacation
- A good policy should contain;
1. Min competencies for the tasks
2. Rotation mechanism that includes all the ppl eligible for tasks
3. Planning a training strategy for those who do not have the minimum competencies
 Balance leadership style and employees expectations
- Can’t please everyone, but should have an open conversation with the employees to know what they are
expecting from you. Explain why or why not their expectations can or cannot be met p.264
- And you can also tell them ur expectations of them
- Performance expectation, etc
- Manager needs to show the example
 Discuss about group standards
- Instead of imposing it, discuss it
- What is the expected level of collaboration, respect,
etc.
- Employer needs to show the example: set behavioural
norms with his employees. Ex: show that insulting
others is unacceptable
- A code of behaviour/conduct can be established:
consists of clearly defining group norms
 Maintain a climate of harmony
- Consult with ur employees to understand their concerns
- Be transparent about your choices (regarding reorganizing tasks and establishing decision criteria) (why u did
that). If employees understand the big picture, there is less resistance and gossip

105
 - When there’s a restructure, new employee, new boss, ur the new boss etc, must take preventive measures.
Clarification of group roles and standards must be done at regular intervals

Overview of conflict resolution situations

Last one: not gonna help u cuz I want to reach my goal

Always clarify and talk to ur employees (and be transparent)

Discipline
106
Method to correct employees’ behaviour when they have broken a rule or not followed a procedure correctly
- Want to make them aware that what they did is unacceptable (like with kids)
If there is a risk of a negative impact, the manager must intervene before matters get worse. (never believe that the
situation will improve on its own or that it is too late to do anything. Tool to use: internal company policies ; and
regulations; collective agreement; charters and laws; external professional resources
This intervention has several objectives:
Objectives:
 Modify the behaviour
 Acknowledge the satisfactory behaviour of other employees (cuz they’re not receiving a sanction)
 Preserve group productivity
 Restore harmony to the group
 Respect the dignity and integrity of the difficult employees
 Act in compliance with legislation and be able to justify your decisions, if necessary. (needs to be
progression. Start by verbal warning, then written, then etc)

Difficult employee: performance is inadequate and who refuses to comply with the organization’s standards. Ya im like
that, I yell at ppl. Deal with it
Employee in difficulty: it’s the circumstances. Temporary. (ur mom passed away, divorce, sick kid, etc)
As a manager need to understand and can resort to external resources to help them (financial)
Manager: need to establish the code of acceptable behaviour for the group. Why arriving late is unacceptable
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

Steps In The Intervention Process:

107
 1) Document the problem: examining the goals that were established, the means at the employee’s disposal for
reaching the goals, and the unsatisfactory results achieved. Also objective data such as frequency of errors,
recurring unexcused absences, # of days late in performing a job, … Also write down the reasons employees
give to explain their inability to reach the objectives that have been set. If its inappropriate behaviour: keep
track of the incidents
Documentation must also include the employee’s version of what happened. Meet with other employees who
may have been victims of their colleagues actions
2) Meeting The Employee: Meeting with an employee to develop an action plan (if necessary the meeting can be
held with a witness present)
Goal is not to reprimand the employee, but rather to find a solution that would avoid the necessity of applying
sanctions. Objectives of this meeting:
1. Explain why the situation is problematic and unacceptable
2. Gather additional information, meet with other employees (potential victims) (to understand the causes
of the problem and to see if there is risk of the behaviour being repeated or persisting
3. Remind the employee of the organization’s expectations and regulations
4. Identify objectives for improvement and ways to reach the objectives
5. Inform the employee of possible sanctions if the behaviour persist (have a plan B for ur kid for ex)
3) Establish an action plan to correct the behaviour or the performance. Specific to each situation. All action plans
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.
4) Then meet with the employee on the date agreed upon in the action plan to review this situation.
5) If misconduct has ceased: prepare a maintenance plan to see that improvements continues
6) If no change: the action plan failed so apply sanctions

Action plan: employee in difficulty: stuck there cuz temporary

Not complying with the obligation to perform work can lead to sanctions
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 (due to
professional incompetence, physical or psychological inability) (not this chapter)
The application of sanctions is the last tool to be used in employee management

108
Elements to Be Considered BEFORE Applying Disciplinary Sanctions
• Proper communication of information to employees (do they know that
arriving late exposes them to sanctions, and what type of sanction (the
consequence))
• Tolerance by manager and/or company (apply the rule in a consistent way for
everyone throughout the company). (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)
• Appropriateness of sanction to offence (proportionality)
 The seriousness of the offence committed
 The employee’s overall disciplinary file (if had a few warning already,
progressive discipline. Verbal, written warning, suspension etc)
o Severity of the sanction applied is proportional to the
seriousness of the offence committed
• Circumstances (someone working there for 25 year punches ur supervisor,
usually its discipline is perfect, but this time its bcuz his wife left him; won’t
necessarily get fired)
• Manager’s attitude
 Acting fairly (give the same warning to 2 ppl doing to same thing)
o Take into consideration the facts & previous measures
applied (can consult other managers)
o Be open-minded and know the facts
If don’t do all those steps, there will be holes in ur story and it wont hold in court

Sample of Progressive Discipline

Progressive discipline
Progressive discipline: the principle of applying increasingly serious disciplinary sanctions for similar misconduct as it is
repeated. It gives the employees the possibility to correct their wrongful conduct. Applies to all work environment.
Unionized or not

 Except in case of serious misconduct = breakdown of trust between the employer and the employee
o Theft, fraud, violence, criminal act (usually leads to immediate dismissal, the max sanction)
• First offence: verbal reprimand
• Second offence: written warning placed in employee’s file
• Third offence: short suspension without pay (1-3 days)
• Fourth offence: long-term suspension without pay (3 + days)
• Fifth offence: dismissal
- Do all those to make sure it holds in court
- Depending on severity, can skip steps (punched someone in the face go straight to third or fourth step)
- Or you can be clear and say: if u do X then 3 day suspension in the collective agreement or in the employee
handbook or in health and safety manual (for non unionized companies)
- Every offence should have their own progressive discipline (and don’t necessarily add all up)

Article 124 of Labour Standards Act:

Recourse against dismissals not made for good and sufficient cause
An employee credited with 2 yrs of uninterrupted service in the same Company who believes that he has not been
dismissed for a good and sufficient cause may present his complaint in writing to the CNESST within 45 days of his
dismissal. Or to his union.
The onus for providing the existence of just cause is on the employer
109
Manager’s Role During The Dismissal (after all the other steps they are fired)
 Conduct an interview where a letter is given to the employee
 Objective of the meeting: communicate and explain the decision taken. Be brief and firm. (don’t
need to explain yourself, just say facts. Review of the corrective procedure: 10-15 minutes.
Employees know)
 Silent witness presence
 Try to be with someone else: HR person or colleague or union rep (they won’t comment, just
observe and acknowledge). Need to offer the employee to be with someone else too (so its 2/2)
 Don’t want to be one on one cuz if it goes to court its he said she said, you want a witness to
help
 At the end or begining of a normal work period
 Accompany the employee
 To his/her workstation to pick up personal belongings
 Escort the person out, to make sure they wont like hack the system, steal the info etc cuz they
are mad
 Recuperate any company property (keys, computers, access cards)
- If too emotional: can send them in a cab, etc to make sure they are safe
- At the end of the interview, give the employee a letter that records the conditions of his/her departure what to
put in the letter: p.254

Contesting A Disciplinary Decision (dismissal but also the other disciplinary measures)
Two cases possible:
 Lodged grievance if the employee is unionized
 The arbitrator can uphold, amend or revoke the disciplinary decision, or substitute
another decision (can do anything unless its restricted in the collective agreement)
• Complaint with the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et sécurité du travail (CNESST) (if not
unionized)
 Mandate to oversee the implementation and application of the LSA (loi pour sociétés
par action)
 Attempt to mediate the dispute
 In case of non settlement, transmission of the file to the Tribunal administratif du travail
(TAT). They hear the parties and render a decision. (and there u will have an arbitrator
that will take the decision)
- What usually goes to court is dismissals
- Contesting a disciplinary measure is part of an employee’s rights

HR Indicators: conflict and difficult employees

Attitudes and behaviors affect organizational dynamics and ultimately, its performance. (its measurable)

If they’re happy there wont be much

gievances

Sense of belonging not many ppl

absent

110
Attitudes and behaviours among employees is called HR results. Attitude influences employee’s intentions and
possibly their behaviours at work
Example turnover: turnover rate (effectiveness)
Costs associated to voluntary departures (efficiency)
Behaviours: # of grievances (and type of grievance and proportion)
Can do a survey on work satisfaction p.349

Understand why so many ppl are absent (how much time did I spend on understanding that

Arbitration costs 20-25K

% of grievances associated with overtime, with staff movement, safety infraction, etc

How many ppl left by themselves vs how many we fired. Understand the motives of departures, why ppl leave. U
can manage some reason of departure (poor work environment, lack of measures to promote work-life balance,
misuse of people’s skills), but others you cant (moving to another city for ex)

111
Class 11: ENSURING EMPLOYEES’ PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: Chapter 10: p. 274 to 303

Managerial Roles and Responsibilities

a) Supplying protective equipment to employees
b) Informing employees and providing them with proper training
c) Ensuring safety and maintaining sanitary work conditions
d) Ensuring that work organization, procedures, and techniques are safe
e) Setting up prevention programs
f) Conducting accident investigations
g) Knowing workers’ rights and obligations
h) Protecting employees from psychological harassment
i) Preventing stress and burnout

Did you know?

An international study ranked Canada 5th country in the world where it is good to work.
1st = USA, 2nd = Germany, 3rd = Netherlands, 4th = Australia

Why it’s important?

112
Every 6 minutes, there is a work place accident
If prevention is well done, all accidents can be avoided… False. Can reduce (which is your goal, but can’t eliminate
completely)
Depression due to work stress ranks second among the causes for disabilities
Workplace accident: unforeseen and sudden event occurring to a person due to, or during, his/her work that results
in an employment injury
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
Occupation 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
For every 50 employees, the law obliges you to have a first aid provider on the premises (minimum standard)

p.279: role of each player: OHS responsibilities

c
Managerial roles and responsibilities
a) Supplying Protective Equipment to Employees

Ex: helmet, protective glasses

1. Factors influencing the wearing of PEE:
- Employees need to be aware of danger/ risk, to understand why they need to take responsibility to protect
themselves (why you need to wear an helmet)
- Being responsible for one’s own protection (when an employee feels responsible for their own safety)
- Being familiar with prevention methods (how to wear and use the equipment)
- Deciding to wear the protective equipment. Use positive reinforcement (congratulate employees who use it
instead of penalizing those who don’t)
2. Employer: supply safe equipment for free and be sure it is working properly

113
 3. Manager: ensure that the right equipment is used for the right task and that employees use the equipment
properly (by for ex giving some training)
4. Supervisor: bring awareness and discussion with employees. Needs to spread the message that safety goes
beyond appearance and comfort. Need to make verifications and reinforcement. If an employee does not
follow the safety rules, they can take disciplinary measures to make sure the employee understands its
mandatory to use the equipment.

b) Informing Employees and Providing Them with Proper Training

3 ways to do so

safety standards and roles can be included in a training session for the employees and supervisors
Do a thorough analysis of the workplace to understand each position
Need to do the verification to know the various skills and knowledge required for each job (and the possible
dangers)
Must provide training and ensure adequate supervision so they can acquire the skills and knowledge required to
do their job in complete safety
Provide a list of hazardous materials and contaminants found in the workplace (need to know what they are and
how to work with them properly)

c) Ensuring safety and maintaining sanitary work conditions

Are there any risks that could be eliminated?
- Can wear glasses, move the objects around the machines, …

Some factors make some

equipement dangerous like
the lack of safety mesures,
hazardeous uses, unsafe
storage, etc
Good lighting, fanning, Temp

- As the manager you must take all the measure to reach the goal of safety. You must make sure that the
premises are clean and hygienic and provide sanitary installations, adequate lightning, heating, etc
114
- The workplace analysis focuses on the elements that make up the physical environment, the terms and
conditions for performing work, and the layout of the workstation p.281

d) Ensuring that work organization, procedures, and techniques are safe

Informing on Risks and Providing Proper Training
- Need to tell ur employees of the risks

6 types of risks:
Chemical: combustion, decomposition, chemical reaction
Biological: viruses, bacterias, …
Physical: noise, temperature, radiation…
Psychosocial: violence at work, overwork, working at night, psychological harassment, inadequate job training
Ergonomical: work posture, lightning, repetitive tasks, excessive efforts, …
Safety: machines, vehicules

In uni: dust, harassment, inadequate posture when siting, temperature, noise,…

d)Identify and Inform about the Different Risks

To define the risks, the manager must do a task analysis – ITEM

Task: analyse all work procedures

This to analyse to understand the risks of your team

e) Setting Up Prevention Programs

Goal: Eliminating & prevent unsafe conditions

115
 In your prevention program:
1. Identify potential sources as we did earlier
2. Experiment with the proposed solutions
3. Apply the solutions
4. Validate the effectiveness of the solutions (Hr indicators)

- Do prevention for physical and psychological risks

- When doing prevention, you need to intervene at the source before the danger manifests itself or the situation
deteriorates
- Must present measures and behaviours workers can adopt

f) Conducting accident investigations

Investigation
 Know the causes to prevent it from happening again
 Take actions to change the context
 Make sure to inform employees
- When an accident happens although you put preventive measures, you need to investigate

What to Do in the Event of an Accident?

transport to the hospital

First must ensure he/she receives first aid treatment (and a doctor if needed)
Next, you must notify the CNESST if the accident is serious and has caused severe injury or resulted in the death of the
employee
Must register the accidents that require care but do not lead to more than one day’s absence
Must ensure that injured employees receive their full salary for the entire day of the accident
Then investigation into its causes must be held (ITEM)p.289
116
If missing more than a day, or if need medical aid: need to register the accident and notify the CNESST if applicable

g) Knowing Workers’ Rights and Obligations

6 workers’ obligations:
1. Become familiar with the prevention program (understand the why and when it can apply)
2. Take the necessary measures to ensure their own health, safety or physical well-being
3. See that they do not endanger the health, safety or physical well-being of others
4. Undergo the medical examinations required by the AOHS (LSST) (ex: drug test)
5. Participate in the identification and elimination of risks (if u identify a risk u need to tell ur supervisor)
6. Cooperate with the health and safety committee/with a representative of CNESST

Quebec Legislation (4 legal bodies)

 Occupational Health and Safety Act (AOHS)
 Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases Act (AIAOD)
 Psychological Harassment in the Labor Standards Act
 Criminal Code (federal)
Occupational Health and Safety Act (AOHS) = prevention
Goal: To eliminate, at the source, dangers to the health and safety of workers.
Prevent accidents at work
Accident at work? Its an unforeseen event related to the environment, the equipment or an individual (burn, cut,
fracture, etc) usually caused by human error
- 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.
- Need to have a clear understanding of the relationship btwn various jobs and be able to identify ensuring OHS
risks

Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases Act (AIAOD)

Goal: Compensate for the financial losses suffered by the worker who is the victim of an employment injury and
promote his rehabilitation and his right to return to work.
Occupational disease? Its a disease that develops over a period of time after a substantial exposure to a project.
Only identified when the malfunctioning of the individual is diagnosed and traces to working conditions. Develops
slowly, but begins early. Ex: burnout

Two Specific Roles of the CNESST

Prevention
 Promote health and safety
 Eliminate dangers
 Perform inspections

Compensation
 Compensate injured or sick employees
 Provide care to injured or sick employees
 Provide rehab to injured or sick employees

Some companies have an:

Company Health and Safety Committee
• An OHS committee : equal number of employee and employer representatives.
• Goal : To eliminate at the source any risk of workplace injuries by implementing procedures and conducting
workplace risk analysis & inspections.
117
• Advantages :
• In-depth practical knowledge from both side
• Enhancement of cooperation among all parts of the work force toward solving health and safety
problems.

Workers Rights:
 Healthy and safe environment

1) Right to Refuse to Perform Work (AOHS-LSST)

A worker may refuse to do work that would endanger their health and safety or that of another person.
• Inherent risk/refusal endangers another person
• Immediately inform the supervisor
• Stay available and in the workplace (even if u refuse u need to stay, so that if its resolved u can start
working again) (or could be temporarily assigned to other duties that they are capable of performing)
• The employer must contact the prevention representative to assess the situation and take corrective
measures.
• The intervention of a CNESST inspector if we cannot get along.
- Ex: electrician that doesn’t want to work cuz the tools are defective for ex
- But like a firefighter can’t say no when a house is burning cuz they know their job is dangerous
- Cant refuse if refusing puts the life of someone else in danger
- Must receive their full pay and not be subject to any sanction

2) Right to Protective Reassignment (AOHS-LSST)

• Certificate attesting that exposure to a contaminant poses a risk to their health (from a doctor for
ex)
• Reassignment to other duties
• Employees must receive their regular pay
• Same rights for pregnant or breastfeeding worker
- ex: if a women is pregnant and she works somewhere with a lot of chemicals that could be bad
for her kid, it’s her right to be reassigned if she has a certificate from the doctor
- if ur unable to reassign other tasks, they may stop working until they are reassigned or until
their health allows them to return to their usual job (but must still receive their pay)

3) Right to Receive Rehabilitation & to Return to Work (AIAOD- LATMP)

• Reintegration in their employment or an equivalent employment
• No loss in pay
• Possible rehabilitation services upon reintegration
• Temporary assignment to other duties or modification of their tasks
- rehabilitation: facilitate the employees return to work after a work accident or disease

118
 - employer needs to modify the tasks of the employer if he cant perform his old task because of
a temporary handicap. Modify the workstation is needed
- a gradual return for absences due to psychological problems

Conclusion

• Legal framework
• Workers’ Rights
• Quebec Legislation
• Occupational health and safety act (AOHS)
• Industrial accidents and occupational diseases Act (AIAOD)
• 6 workers’ obligations
• Occupational health and safety act (AOHS)
• Industrial accidents and occupational diseases Act (AIAOD)
• Two roles of the CNESST
• Company Health and Safety Committee
• Workers’ rights
- Next video : Protecting employees from psychological harassment

h) Protecting employees from psychological harassment

Psychological Harassment : 4 Important Elements

 Unpleasant/vexatious behavior that is repeated or serious. It could be:
 Behaviors
 Verbal comments
 Physical actions
 Gestures
 that are hostile or unwanted
 which offends the dignity or the psychological or physical integrity of the employee
 which results in a harmful workplace
 With alleged intention or not (it is the effect on the person involved that counts and not the alleged intention

Recourse included in the Act Respecting Labour Standards to allow victims of psycho harassment to file a complaint
Harassment is also in section 10 of the Québec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
Also Bill C-65: An Act to Amend the Canada Labour Code

Even if the harasser had no intention to harm the victim, it remains psychological harassment in the eyes of the law

Law protects the victim regardless of if they said stop or not

Could also come from someone outside the company: like a
client, patient, supplier, etc

Employer’s Commitments p.293

1) Employer must talk frankly about

psycho harassment with their
employees. Employers must inform
them of the commitment using all the
119
 means at their disposal (memos, messages in their pay slips, etc, needs to reach everyone in the
organization)

2) Employers also have the obligation to detect risk factors that could give rise to psychological
harassment. Make a list of situations that might pose a risk of psycho harassment

Psychological Harassment: Intervention

Intervention plan– Manager
1. Policy against in place against harassment. (need to put in place a policy against harassment)
2. If an employee files a complaint.
3. Resolve as soon as possible!
4. Investigate and think of mediation! (impartial, credible and competent third party)
5. Sanctions and support. (support to victim and harasser so they understand what they did wrong and how to
improve)
6. Follow up periodically.
7. Make the harasser aware.
8. If the situation persists, employee must be removed.
9. Build a disciplinary record. (make it clear that they can lose their job if they continue that way)
- Employer must also learn from the case. Review HRM practices and improve them

Support measures for both parties :

• Fixed-term leave, with pay (victim)
• Professional training or assistance (ex : therapist for victim, training on how to change behaviour for harasser)
• Progressive return to work (could develop some mental health issues)
• Compensation for medical treatments or drugs not covered by the RAMQ

Sanctions (harasser) : verbal warning, written warning, short or long term suspension without pay and dismissal if it
continues or if its really bad

Psychological Harassment : Other Possibilities to help fix the situation

120
Conflict resolution mechanism that had a 3rd party support and can put it in your HR policies
Can offer training
Good communication plan so everyone has the info about psychological harassment

Conclusion
 Psychological harassment
 Definition
 Visual example
 Intervention plan for manager
 Employer’s commitments (detect risk factors and how to act)
- Next video : Preventing stress and burnout

i) Preventing stress and burnout

Stress at Work: Some Statistics
o 1/4 workers describe their daily life as very stressful.
o 6 out of 10 highly stressed workers indicate that work is the main source of stress.
o The most stressed workers are educated and occupy office (managerial) positions.
Stress: State of mental or emotional strain from adverse or very demanding circumstances
Burnout: physical or mental burnout from too much stress. A state of intense exhaustion where one has the
impression of losing control over one’s work and being unable to achieve concrete professional results.
Often, burnout is defined by 3 components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and loss of personal
achievement.

Preventing Stress/Burnout: Symptoms of Stress

121
Symptoms you can observe in your employees
Psychological: depression, look anxious, feel tires and edgy
Back pain, skin disorders, memory loss
Behavioural: Beginning to smoke, drinking problem, drugs addiction, eat more/ less
Physiological: Blood pressure rise, sweat, increase heart rate, migrane, difficulty breathing
Ask employees how they are doing on a regular basis

Four Categories of Work Stressors (where stress can come from in the work place)

a. Physical and technical environment: Can be stressful environment: too much noise, not enough
lightning, too humid, not enough space, poor layout of the work stations
b. Factors related to the task: Work overload, not enough work, short deadline, monotonous tasks,
repetitive, too much fragmentation of the tasks, unclear mandates
c. Work organization: Lack of control on his work, lack of communication, work schedules
d. Psychosocial factors: Personal problems with customers, managers, colleagues, etc. Relationships
with a superviser, colleagues and clients can be harmful to psychological well-being when they are
colored by distrust, hostility and a spirit of competition

Stress Can also Become Distress

122
 The 4 categories of work stressors can increase the perceived stress
It can be experienced in 2 ways
a. Eustress: positive stress which contributes among other things to professional achievement (a little
stress is positive
b. Distress: negative stress that can lead to burnout
Need to observe your employees to know how the work stressors are impacting them (if stress is having a
good or a bad impact on them)

Some Solutions – Manager

 Detecting signs of stress and exhaustion (observation is the best tool for that)
- The 4 symptoms mentioned earlier
 Listening to employees (and observe them. Stay connected to ur employees)
 Eliminate irritants at the source (by analysing the 4 work stressors)
 Wellness programs (yoga, employee assistance program for mental health)
 Promote a healthy environment
- Health and wellness promotion program for employees
- Encourage employees to participate in decision-making concerning their work
- Culture of communication must be promoted and information must be shared about company strategy and
growth
- Need to feel involved in the company project
- Stimulating work and an opportunity to acquire and use competencies with their career in mind
- So mobilized companies where employees support a common cause
 Doing some prevention (make them aware on the risk of burnout and stress)
- Make sure to adapt the workload to employee’s abilities and resources provided

Some Solutions – Employees

 Stayed alert to alarm signals.
 Continue your hobbies and social relationships.
 Better manage your time (priority).
 Impossible to satisfy everyone.
 Impose its limits. (say no)

HR Indicators : measure the practices

• Number of accidents = frequency
• Number of days lost from work = severity
• Types of injuries

123
 • Body parts affected
• EAP participation rate (employee assistance program)
- EAP’s goal is to find a solution to a problem that already exists (addiction, psychological problem). External, can
recommend not impose p.290)
• Absenteeism rate due to psychosocial risks
- Indicators to tell you if you efforts have been rewarding

Conclusion
 Stress and burnout
 Symptoms
 Statistics
 Distress
 Categories of work stressors
 Solutions
 HR Indicators

SESSION 12 – NEW CHALLENGES FOR MANAGERS: Chapter 12 p. 330 to 359 & chapter 13 p. 360 to 385

124
HR Indicators

HR indicators to facilitate the manager's work

Now easier access to info, so more orga are obtaining and using HR data to inform their decision-making about
employees (problems: access to good data, confidentiality of some info, time it requires to analyze data). Collect data to
avoid managing solely on the basis of your perceptions and intuition
An indicator is a tool that enables managers to measure, analyze, evaluate and finally make decisions
Measure: how its right now (run at 7min/mile now)
Analyse: what you want to change (6:30 min) (compare with a benchmark such as a predetermined standard or
threshold; the results mean nothing if they are not compared to something else; like orga overall rate). Choose a
benchmark market (size of organization, type of industry, types of jobs, etc)
Evaluate: more subjective
Decide: setting up actions, (or decide not to change anything)
The manager uses indicators to:
• Validate that his/her decisions will allow the achievement of the objectives;
• Adjust along the way;
• Control the differences between the results obtained and the objectives set.

3 main players share responsibilities for the development and use of indicators and HR management: senior
management (set up the overall business goals), operational managers and employees, and HR professionals (supports
managers in the performance of their duties) p.333

125
HR indicators and the staircase model

If you can measure RH, then that’s RH results, leads to organizational results and finally to long-term success
RH indicators play an important role to measure the results of what we’ve done in terms of activities
All activities are designed to encourage certain attitudes and behaviours among employees that make it more likely that
the organization’s objectives will be achieved
The adoption of attitudes and behaviours among employees is called HR results
Explain attitudes and behaviours of employees with (p.348)
- employee satisfaction and commitment
employee attitudes influence their intentions and possibly their behaviours at work
- behaviours: (grievances, absences and departures/turn over)

HR Indicators: What can we measure?

126
Were the efforts efficient and effective?
HR operational dashboard: info about achievements in the HR domain (efficiency and effectiveness)

HR indicators: effectiveness and efficiency

- Effective means "producing a result that is wanted".
- Efficient means "capable of producing desired results without wasting materials, time, or energy“
Learner's Dictionary

- Effectiveness is about doing the right task, completing activities and achieving goals. (able to do it, achieve the set
objectives)
- Efficiency is about doing things in an optimal way, for example doing it the fastest or in the least expensive way. It
could be the wrong thing, but it was done optimally. (able to do it well without wasting too much time or energy; based
on the time and budget allocated to you)
Diffen.com

127
Examples of indicators related to planning & integration p.338
Could also measure the staffing process as a whole (but harder to determine the results of each step)
Performance management indicators: feedback before & after

Optimal performance is the goal: want high effectiveness and satisfactory efficiency

How many indicators??

- Depends on the business
- Too many indicators is risky, will lose focus and will spread yourself too much
- Want only a couple that will have a definite impact on the strategy and will tie in the values, the mission, the
strategic objectives and the vision
- Want indicators that will have a high impact on the business, some that will add value to the business
- Choose the ones with the most impact on your business

HR indicators: positioning in the value proposition

• Each dashboard must include a limited number of indicators. It is therefore important to choose them carefully
in order to guide decisions and action plans.
• These indicators must also be positioned towards a strategic perspective.

128
HR indicators: positioning in the value proposition
Position of the indicators from a more general and more strategic perspective
4 perspectives provide a complete picture of the orga performance p.354
- Dev and growth
- Internal business processes
- Clientele
- financial

Leads to better sales, so positive financial impact at the end

Shows the steps required to achieve an organization’s financial goals (dependent on the achievement of the goals
related to the other 3 perspectives)

Transformations in the Work Environment

Reasons for Major transformations in the Work Environment
• 1. Organizational change
• Companies have changed
• Trend towards creating a knowledge-based service society (decline of manufacturing)
• Globalization of the economy
• Creation of new business models (la presse +, wikipedia); the choice a company makes in order to
generate revenue
• Creation of more flexible and complex organizational structures
• Also reduction of the number of hierarchical levels so that decisions are make in closer connection with
operations and customers
• Break down traditional silos by creating more flow and transversal mobility in the circulation of
knowledge an info, and to facilitate employee mobility
• 2. Nature of work environment changes
• Companies are not working the same way as before
• New technologies, new missions
• New responsibilities, new tools

129
 • Automation of some jobs, or some professions partly automated; robotization
• Organization of work will be more flexible, open space office, more projects, more personalized work
• 3. Work force changes
• People in the workforce have changed
• Aging population
• Immigration
• Changing values among the new generation of workers (want a good work-life balance, want a self-
fulfilling job. Respect competency rather than authority)
Evolution in the nature of the work done by companies
Work environment: orga context in which individuals perform their professional activity, it includes the nature of work,
technologies used, company culture and relationships with other people
Ability to anticipate and respond to change is crucial

Challenge: Organizations are changing

130
Moving from industrial to service and knowledge based economy (not doing but now creating, and its being done
somewhere else)

Challenge: Changes in the nature of work

Globalization: focus on the core business, things that add value (the rest will be done externally, things that do not add
value). International trade. Relocating/offshoring for costs and efficiency.
Covid: in service based economy: truck drivers, supermarket workers are super important rn

131
Falling birthrate: less young ppl, so look at immigration to continue to answer the needs of the companies, look at other
pools of talent
Ppl of this generations have different needs we need to answer than the other generations

Harder for unions to adapt cuz they are very traditional and they are mainly involved a the local level, unions are often
at a disadvantage when dealing with employers who do business outside the country’s borders.

Ten Management Situations to Expect in the Next Decade p.375

1. Managing four generations
2. Encouraging experienced workers to stay (keep them at work instead of retire, bcuz there’s less ppl to hire from
so want to retain your employees)
3. Facing an increase in the number of employees Retiring
4. Managing multicultural teams and inclusiveness (be open and flexible) (diversity
5. Dealing with labour shortages
6. Suggesting new employment relationships (contractors, temporary workers)
7. Dealing with the search for work-life balance
8. Implementing telecommuting
9. Ensuring adequation between job requirements and competencies
10. Working with robots (and AI)
Challenges: inadequacy of skill (skills of the workforce don’t match their needs)

“I’ve been involved in the people business in one way or another for 35 years, and I’m having more fun today than I’ve
ever had… In the past, the HR function has been like a spare tire kept in the trunk. In an emergency, it’s taken out, but
as soon as the emergency‘s over, it’s put away. Now I feel that we’re a wheel running on the ground. We’re not the
HR we used to be, but in terms of partnering and helping our companies become more competitive, we’ve only just
begun. There is fun ahead!” - Charles F. Nielson, VP-HR, Texas Instruments Inc.

Mobilizing your Employees

Mobilization wheel p.313

132
Orange: do my job as I should do it and behave in an ethical and proper fashion
2nd bloc: want to be a good and productive employee. Demonstrate behaviours of dedication to my job, and willingness
to improve my competencies
Then move to 3rd bloc
Improvement: try to make things more efficient
Make sure customers are happy
Critical mass: sufficient number of individuals individually mobilized (with these behaviours) will create a movement of
collective mobilization.

Difference between Motivation and Mobilization

ME
 Motivation :
 An individual dimension of mobilisation I perform well
 Driven by the working contract and incentives
 Necessary but an insufficent condition to create mobilisation
 Individual

 Mobilisation : WE
 Behaviors focused on others
 Behaviors beyond ones role, discretionnary I help others
 Altruistic behaviors that are fed by social reciprocity become better
- A collective, a team thing

Mobilization levers (p.319)

133
Managerial leadership: managers are doing the right things as leaders of the company (so make sure managers have
trainings)
Need to establish vision, mission and values shared by managers and employees
HRM practices: responsible to make sure that rules and policies exist (performance management)
Organization of work: structure in the company. Clear roles and responsibilities and tasks
The 4 levers are in the control of the organization

Organizational climate

As a manager you must put into play certain conditions to favour mobilization in their team. The 5 conditions need to be
in play to provoque the reactions of commitment, pride and enthusiasm.
We cannot oblige employees to become mobilized, but we can create a fertile environment for mobilization to grow.

Organizational climate that favors mobilization: a healthy and stimulating work environment where employees feel
Trust, Support, Recognition, are treated with Justice and are Empowered creates engagement and motivation on the
part of the employees towards the organization.
134
Leadership style
Motivating leader
• Based on individual interest
• Focus on results and behaviours
 Rewards the satisfactory individuals
 Punishments for the others
• Use of the incentives available
 Measures aimed at individual motivation
 Lack of helpful and cooperative behaviours

Mobilizing leader
• True source of inspiration, model to follow
• Focus on participation
• Manager’s role
 Suggesting goals that inspire optimism and enthusiasm
 Act fairly and recognize contributions
 Create a climate of trust and support

Want to be a mobilizing leader (collective interest), for long-term success, more sustainable motivation

Trust
- Colleagues
- Supervisor
- Organisation
- Clients

Sources of Trust (Stikin & Roth - 1993)

Trust is supported by …
1. Personals attributes
2. Past and present behaviours

1. Trust Is Based on Personals attributes

Psychological / personal: Personality or psychological state. Some people are more disposed to trust others
The ability to trust others is linked to the intention to do so and to the conviction that it is the thing to do
(McKnight 1998) (when you think that trust is the right thing to do)
It is necessary to believe that people can be trusted

2. Trust Is Based on Present and Past Behaviors

Socially defined by what people have previously demonstrated and by past experience with others
• Competency and reputation
• Coherence between talking and acting (walk the talk)
• Integrity of intentions
• Respect for rules
• Openness and honesty
• Tendency to keep promises
• Predictable behavior
• Sincere intention to help
- Your team has always supported you, when u ask for help they give you the right info, directed you to the right
resources, you are more inclined to trust them
135
Support
 Colleagues
 Supervisor
 Organisation
 Clients

Synergy: Trust/ Support

If you are supported…
If you feel supported, you will feel trust
You will be willing to support someone you trust and vice versa

Support: Increase the feeling of being taken care of

2 levels of support: personal or professional front

Personal needs: he want to learn that so I will make him learn that
Targets/ sources: who supports who? Many different ways, not always employer who supports the employee

Justice
 Supervisor
 Organisation
 Clients

Types of Organisational Justice

136
Distributive: does everyone have a similar computer, similar wage for similar effort, access to the same tools to deliver
what they need to deliver. (not only money, also time of the manager, coaching, office space, etc)
Procedural: are there rules to render judgements? Are they applied fairly?
Interpersonal: if 2 ppl do the same wrong thing, they all get the same consequence (no matter who it is and their
hierarchy)

Recognition
 Supervisor
 Organisation

4 practices of recognition at work

Existential: thank you for your presence, ur a good worker and bring a good atmosphere. Thank them for who they are
as a person, their personality.
Work practice: always balances
Work investment: team of employees coming in during the weekend to advance an urgent project (thank them for their
time)
Result: thank them for the result, the project, job well done, on time etc.

Empowerment
Giving the power to your employees to do things and achieve results
2 major factors to support empowerment

137
 Give them responsibilities,
flexibility, delegate
That they have access to the
ressources and things they
need to make things happen

Make sure they have the power

to influence decisions in their
work place. Trust them that
they will make the right
decisions

Use the 5 conditions to be successful

138