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Relationships with the Community

Listening is not a passive activity. By being a passive hearer, you may take in some words but give nothing back. Listening requires thought and effort. It means you must work at listening with your head and heart and not just your ears. And it means learning how to respond to what is being said so that those people doing the talking know that they have been heard.

Employer Committed to Staff

The biggest challenge in finding a new job, especially after a lay-off, is the job-search myth. Let’s face it: people are worried about searching for a job, especially during a recession. However, the fears people have about tend to be largely unfounded. Cheryl Bakke Martin, President of Inspirations Unlimited, a Calgary-based career counselling and coaching company, completed an outplacement program for employees at Flextronics, an international electronics manufacturer. She was very impressed with Flextronics in its commitment to helping staff through the career-transition process. She says, “Flextronics really had their people’s welfare as their top priority.” Flextronics is in the process of shutting down its Calgary facility, which employed 370 people. As Martin explains, “People tend to create their own obstacles to finding satisfying jobs, and my job is to shift people’s energy from despair to hope and optimism.” She says the key is to realize what they are good at and what they like to do. Broaden your beliefs The first myth to dispel is the narrow view of what people believe they are capable of. Bakke Martin told Flextronics’ employees not to define themselves by what they have done in the past, or to think that their previous work is all they can ever do. Her goal is to shift workers’ tendency from looking back—thus preventing change—to looking forward at new opportunities and ask the questions: “Where am I? Where do I want to be? What have I never had the opportunity to try? and Can I make that happen now?” Do not believe everything you hear The second myth career counsellors are up against is created by the media and perpetuated by peer groups. People should not believe everything they hear. Daily news stories about the recession and lay-offs do not mean that there are no jobs; it all depends on where you look and what you believe. The departing Flextronics employees were taught how to approach the job market, and how to find out about the opportunities that do not get posted. These largely come down to using existing networks and learning how to find new networks. Find encouragement and support The last myth to dispel is that career counselling is only about teaching skills such as resume writing, interviewing, and how to find job opportunities. One of the most important aspects of career counselling is the encouragement and support it provides. “Career counselling does require a little bit of hand-holding and encouragement,” Martin says, “and an important part of this is giving people the confidence they need.”

Interview with Adria Vasil: Author of Ecoholic

YW: What is an ecoholic?

Spotlight: Xerox

Founded in 1974, the Xerox Research Centre of Canada (XRCC) has a global mandate to provide innovative ways to re-evaluate materials and processes to deliver more energy- and cost-efficient products to customers around the world. The teams behind these innovations are made up of individuals from around the world, which is an integral part of XRCC’s strategy for developing a world-class research centre. The hiring, mentoring and promotion of skilled immigrants has won the organization various awards, and we consider the company’s approach to diversity a workplace model worthy of mention.

October is Workplace Health Month

With increasing pressures both at home and at work, many employees feel undervalued and stressed. This affects performance and productivity, as we know that happy, healthy employees are more likely to treat their customers well. They are also more likely to stay with their employers.

Corporate Social Responsibility: Article 6/6

In the October 2007 issue, Jennifer Kiwala highlighted the benefits of integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) into the workplace culture. She outlined five key steps to ensure program success:

Corporate Social Responsibility: Article 5/6

Corporate Social Responsibility: Article 4/6

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is when an organization recognizes that its long-term interests are best served by ethically sound practices. Companies that embrace CSR are seen to be more innovative, productive, and competitive.

Corporate Social Responsibility: Article 3/6

Corporate Social Responsibility: Article 2/6

In the October 2007 Issue, Jennifer Kiwala highlighted the benefits of integrating corporate social responsibility into the workplace culture. She outlined five key steps to ensure program success:

Corporate Social Responsibility: Article 1/6

In a day and age of fair-trade and organic consumerism, with an increasing number of people volunteering and taking working holidays, it is no wonder that there is now a movement towards bringing this philanthropic way of being to our workplace–our home away from home. Many are lobbying Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the new business ideology that will do just that.

2007 YW Conference

We spend more waking hours at work than we do anywhere else. Increased stress and mental health, motivation concerns, psychological harassment, the demands created by technology, difficult people, ergonomics, are all important issues that need to be considered in today’s world of work. But imagine working at a place where you and everyone around you enjoys going to work, you make a meaningful contribution and are valued and recognized, the team is productive and energized, learning is valued, management cares for employees and relationships are positive. Sound too good to be true?

Give a Little, Gain a Lot: Volunterism

Two thirds of Canada’s 6.5 million volunteers are part of the paid workforce.

Interview: Lance Thurston on Engaging Employees

Your Workplace magazine recently met with Lance Thurston, Commissioner, Department of Community Development Services with the City of Kingston. As a “healthy manager” Lance had been struggling with the problem: How do I continue to motivate employees and keep a positive climate and atmosphere of celebration for doing good things here, when the headlines the next morning are all about the horrible stuff that’s perceived to be going on?

Trend: Global Greening, Aricle 2/6

Article 2 in a Series of 6 In the January 2007 issue, Steve Bannister provided an overview of five key trends that will affect people and businesses in the year ahead. These trends were: Global Greening, The Flow of Philanthropy, Connecting the World, Information vs. Knowledge, and The Power of Design.

Peter F. Drucker, 1909-2005

If only one management book could be your resource, you would do well with The Practice of Management, by Peter F. Drucker. It is as current as any management book you’ll ever pick up, notwithstanding being written in 1954.

Remembering David

David Ellis was bright, athletic and helpful. And at the age of 18, he was killed on the job. Now his father, Rob, has sold his business to tell David’s story – because talking about his death may save another young person’s life.

Eleanor Brydone Named Designer of Distinction

It’s a first for Canada and a world-class accomplishment for Eleanor Brydone, founder and CEO of Rice Brydone Ltd., the Toronto-based design collaboration responsible for many of Canada’s most innovative workplace environments. On Saturday, March 6, Ms. Brydone was named Designer of Distinction 2003 at the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Annual Conference on Design in Savannah, Georgia.

Westray Tragedy

May 9, 1992, Stellarton, Nova Scotia

Community Sculpture

A sculptural installation to commemorate organizational change? Say what? It’s true: Sun Life Financial commissioned a piece of corporate art to mark its merger with Clarica Life Insurance. However, to its credit, Sun Life commissioned artist Carol Bradley and philosopher Tilman Lichter of The Pleiades Project to oversee the creation and installation of a truly collaborative sculpture. The result is an impressive work of art — SITE — that became a labour of love designed by Bradley and contributed to by more than 1,100 Sun Life and Clarica employees, members of their families and community partners. The process began with Bradley and Lichter interviewing employees and studying the Waterloo, Ontario, corporate building that dates back to 1912. SITE is an imposing work — 20 feet high by 16 feet. It is composed of steel, clay and glass. Bradley and Lichter started The Pleiades Project in 2001 to change the face of public art by blending an artistic and philosophical perspective. Artist Bradley says it is about transforming “the creation into a genuinely collaborative event, a shared community process.” For philosopher Lichter, SITE “is a good example of a piece of art that could not have been made by one person. You see that as soon as you stand in front of it. No one person could possibly create the variety of ideas you see incorporated in this piece. And yet it all forms one cohesive whole. One work.” Pleiades, by the way, refers to the constellation of the same name and symbolizes the efforts of Bradley and Lichter to steer public art in a new direction.

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