Stefanie Young, CHRP
HR advisor
City of Prince George

Stefanie Young, CHRP, is an HR Advisor with the City of Prince George. Since completing her Bachelor of Arts and Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Business/HR at TRU, she has gained experienced in both the private and public sectors. She also serves as a member of the BC HRMA Northern Advisory Council focusing on Communications and Professional Development. Stefanie is proud to live and work in the City of Prince George.

When I think of HR and innovation, the first thing that comes to mind is having a creative and diverse workforce. People are essential to innovation and I am a firm believer that everyone brings value to the table. We all come with strengths, knowledge and imperfections which make each one of us unique and valuable; I see innovation as a synchronization of ideas from a variety of perspectives. We can learn so much from one another.

As HR professionals, we play a key role in fostering a creative and innovative workplace. Working with the operational and technical expertise of our organization’s supervisors and employees, we add an HR perspective to help attract and retain a creative and diverse workforce. Together, over time, we create a culture of innovation. I strongly believe diversity and innovation will not only form a desirable workplace, but will give an organization a competitive advantage.

Shane Mosley, MBA
Manager, Human Resources
Sawchuk Developments Co. Ltd.

Shane is a member of the BC HRMA’s Southern Interior Advisory Committee, where he administers the Mentoring Program and acts as a mentor to other HR professionals.  After a 30 year career in mining at Inco Limited’s Manitoba Division, he moved to Kelowna and began his current role as an HR Generalist.  He is a graduate of Athabasca University’s online Advanced Graduate Diploma in Management and MBA programs.

I believe that every worker wants to add value and feel valued. Start with the personal belief that every individual in the organization has something new to offer and turn that belief into a company ‘value’, so that the seeds for a culture of innovation and inspiration are planted and nurtured from the top of the organization and cascaded down throughout.

Next, look at yourself as an HR professional.  Are you innovative in your thinking and behaviours?  Do your recruitment processes tend to be stagnate, old-school techniques, or do they facilitate the uncovering of fresh new thinkers?   Look at the systems and symbols in the workplace.  Do they differentiate between employee groups, or is everyone treated equally for their contribution?  What activities are in place to capture the ideas of existing, especially long term, employees?  Do you have an idea network or suggestion plan?  Do you use focus groups and cross-functional teams for problem solving?  And finally, ask yourself, “Do I inspire others?”

Diane Golchert
HR consultant/benefits broker
Evolution HR & Benefits Consulting

Diane is a Human Resources Consultant/ Benefits Broker and owner of Evolution HR & Benefits Consulting in Kamloops.  She has a broad background covering close to 20 years experience as an HR generalist, and is currently completing her Masters degree in Leadership & Curriculum. Supplementing her Canadian experience, she has worked as an HR leader for various corporations in the US, Germany, and Malaysia, and has been leading an evolution in improving organizational outcomes through the operation of her HR & benefits consulting business since 2007.

It is people that shape innovation, not computers or technology.  When people are healthy, they bring an energy and enthusiasm to their work, allowing for strong teamwork with colleagues and a full engagement in their work.  HR plays a leadership role in ensuring that the shape of the corporate culture is one that supports optimal employee health by fully respecting work/ life balance, allowing employees to take their vacations every year, providing flexibility in work arrangements, and having some strong employee benefits, including retirement support/ planning and corporate ownership.

People engaged in their work know when the creative juices are flowing, answers to perplexing puzzles appear, though sometimes it’s just a quiet voice in the back of your head, not fully formed, yet pointing you in the direction of the solution.  But it does concern me that we’re so wired these days, and I hope people make time to unplug, do some reflecting, and make time to listen to that inner creative voice.

Make space in the workplace for innovation to flourish, by making it one of your core values, then incorporate that into the annual performance planning and review process.

Jacob Sol
District Principal for Community Education
New Westminster School District

Jacob Sol is the District Principal of Community Education for the New Westminster School District, a department of unique public schools that provides free education to British Columbian residents who hope to attain Grade 12 graduation or upgrade for employment and post-secondary admission. Prior to his current position, he was an elementary school Principal and teacher. Jacob was a top-scorer in Canada in the October 2011 NPPA assessment.

In my work in the public education sector, acquiring, mobilizing, developing, and retaining talented and motivated employees is crucial; these are key elements contributing to the effectiveness of strategy and the encouragement of organizational innovation.

The need for a strategically-integrated HR and senior management team is critical to organizations of any size and there is exponential need for talented HR managers as organizations increase in complexity. We are experiencing, and should encourage, the re-framing of the HR role—and as the culture shifts, we find new opportunities and gain further attention from our partner groups.

Development in human resources has enhanced my practice immeasurably. It has led to more than the professional fork in the road moment that I anticipated by unlocking unexpected opportunities within my current role. For this reason, I encourage all leaders to consider professional development in the HR discipline as a way to facilitate and enhance the work that they already do.

Christine McLeod, CHRP
chief possibilities officer
Impact99 HR Summit

Christine McLeod is passionate about driving change in global workplace engagement. She helps business leaders and their teams rise about day-to-day operations to see and synthesize the internal and external possibilities around them—shifting quickly from high-level aspiration to bottom line application—with the clear purpose of creating more impactful future workplaces. She is the founder of Canada’s Impact99 HR Summit, now in its third year and taking place this October in Vancouver.

Before we can unlock it, we need to know what innovative potential looks like. “Relentless Innovation” is one of eight guiding principles I have identified as differentiators in truly engaged workplaces. What does it look like? Employees are empowered to improve operational excellence and customer loyalty. Results-focused ideation and experimentation is encouraged. Ideas and initiatives that do not yield impactful results are culled and seen as learning.

One “out of the box” way HR can start to unlock that potential is to identify 10 employees known for relentless innovation and team them with 10 of your most connected influencers and “enablers” in the organization who can clear the way.  Present to that group a real, complex company “pain”.  Give them no money, but carte blanche access to leadership in every department, virtual and in person collaboration tools, data and 20 per cent of their workweek for a fiscal quarter. Share the stories and outcomes.