Melissa Anderson
HR leader,
Abebooks, an Amazon Company

Melissa Anderson, MBA, CHRP, is a strategic HR business partner and talent management leader who recently joined AbeBooks. Prior to joining AbeBooks, Melissa spent 12 years with Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management. Melissa obtained a Diploma in Business and HR from Camosun College and her MBA from Royal Roads University.

No matter what field we look at, it’s clear that the customer is more powerful than ever and customers now have much higher expectations.

How does HR display customer-obsessed leadership and become a role model inside our organizations? The vital detail is that we must focus on two sets of customers—our employees and the customers being served by our employees.

AbeBooks is a subsidiary of Amazon and Jeff Bezos says: “Our customers are invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”

We subscribe to that point of view. While HR has gained tremendous traction improving talent management and differentiating our organizations through employee experiences, we also need to be more customer-focused. By making time to listen to our customers, internal and external, we can understand their needs and begin to make things a little better each day.

Tina O’Neill
HR manager,
Tolko’s Cariboo Region

Tina O’Neill is the Human Resources Manager for Tolko’s Cariboo Region. With eight years generalist experience in human resources, her experience is as colourful as her personality.  Spanning public and private sectors in transportation, warehousing, education, and forestry. Tina is a proud member of HRMA’s Northern Advisory Council.

Now that borders are shrinking and the competition for talent is on a global scale, organizations will need to develop cultural competencies. If culturally competent organizations bring together knowledge about different groups of people, and transform them into policies and practices, HR practitioners will need to be very familiar with their target market’s customs and behaviours.

For example, if you’re conducting an interview in North America it would be common to welcome a candidate with a handshake. However, if you shake hands with the candidate you’ve flown in from South Korea with one hand in your left pocket you’ve just insulted someone you’re trying to create rapport with. Just ask Bill Gates!  Other interactions that could cause miscommunication are eye contact, level of participation in a meeting, and length of pleasantries and greetings before getting down to business.

If there are cultural and ideological differences I would recommend a local trainer from the area. It is important to recognize the challenges of globalization and carefully plan for them as opposed to relying on Internet research which could steer you into trouble to due to broad generalizations.

Ryan Sherman
HR advisor,
City of Kamloops

Ryan Sherman, BBA, CHRP, is a young human resources professional, who after graduation had worked in private industry for approximately five years, and very recently, moved to the public sector. He is a member of HRMA—Central Interior, where he previously held an advisory council position.  His passion for his role is derived from working towards solutions for challenging labour relations issues, and strives to ensure that HR is seen as more than just an administrative function, but as a valued business partner.

Continuing weak or stagnant economic global growth.  As many companies continue to struggle with lower quarterly results and stock prices, the tendency is to look to trim margins and remain competitive wherever possible.  When companies do the same with their human capital, employees can be left with overwhelming uncertainty. Staff can fear wage loss, increasing workloads, longer hours and the possibility of job loss—all of which can lead to toxicity in the workforce.

When the reality that employees face is not in line with their expectations, HR departments must critically examine not only their role in difficult staffing decisions, but also how they will ensure that they are leading the change and not racing to keep up with it.  HR must ensure that company executives are aware of the ramifications of proposed changes, and that those involved are affected as little as possible to ensure a continued safe and productive employment environment.

Charmaine Cheung, CHRP
HR director, Dept. of Economic Development,
Yukon Government

Charmaine Cheung, CHRP is currently the director of human resources for the Department of Economic Development, Yukon Government.  Prior to moving to the Yukon, Charmaine was a recruitment consultant for an international executive search firm in Shanghai, China.  Charmaine holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a graduate certificate in Strategic Human Resources Management. She obtained her CHRP designation in 2011 and serves on the HRMA advisory council for the Yukon region.

In today’s world, “globalization” has touched almost every facet of our lives from economy, to politics, to the technology we use. It comes as no surprise that globalization also poses unique challenges for HR.

In the Yukon, statistics from Immigration and Citizenship Canada show that the number of immigrants to the Yukon grew almost 5 times from 2005 to 2014, one of the fastest growth rates in the country. While this has filled vacancies in an otherwise tough market with a small population, it has also created the need for more cultural understanding as the workplace becomes more culturally diverse. This can be especially challenging in a small town versus a city where diversity is more built into the socio-economic fabric of the society.

As such, one challenge has been to align HR strategies with the growing diversity in the workplace, and the need to equip employees with the necessary skills, experience and mindset to operate effectively in a global business environment.

Jay Sharun, CHRP
negotiator,
Western Industrial Relations

Jay Sharun, CHRP, is a negotiator with Western Industrial Relations, the premier consulting firm for labour relations in Western Canada.  He has been an industry leader for over 20 years and has negotiated more than 600 collective agreements in every sector and with every union.  Jay lives in West Kelowna and is the 2014 recipient of HRMA’s Award of Excellence for his innovative work at BC Tree Fruits.

Fresh out of university I attended the retirement lunch of a long time senior manager.  He retired after exactly 10 years because he promised his CEO he would stay that long.  He gave his word and he was a man of his word.

Today, the landscape has changed and organizations fight tooth and nail to retain top talent for a fraction of the time.  While likely not in the same league as melting polar ice caps or saving rain forests, free agency remains the greatest challenge for HR.

Players in professional sports move around frequently – looking for the best deal, or the best location, or their best chance to win.  Organizations, like sports teams, must find a way to win in spite of this movement. Increasingly, leaders will struggle to justify the resources spent creating amazing employment experiences for such short tenure.  How will you find a way to win?

(PeopleTalk Summer 2016)