HR Career Paths: Tracy New, CHRL
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY EXPERT
Growing up in Scarborough, Ont., Tracy New always
thought she would pursue a career in sales. Her father
was in sales and owned his own business, but it was her
mother’s job in the human resources department as a
pension actuary that really motivated New to pursue HR.
“I’ve always been told I’m a people person,” she said. “I truly care
about peoples’ well-being. That – I believe – is a skill to be successful
in any area of business and, in particular, human resources.
I also have an education in business management, so that meant
I could choose to focus on any segment, including accounting/
finance, sales and marketing, operations and human resources.”
As HR manager for iCheck, one of Canada’s largest national
maintenance and repair companies, New calls her current position
a perfect fit. The firm provides comprehensive work-order
dispatch, client support, invoicing, portfolio analysis and reporting
to more than 4,000 companies of varying sizes.
“Our entrepreneurism keeps me close to strategic business
development, while human resources keeps me close to developing
our people through so many programs, but especially in the
health, wellness and safety of our employees,” she said.
When she started at iCheck 15 years ago, New says basic HR
responsibilities were divided into different departments – including
accounting and operations – and managed by the controller.
“I started as an account manager in operations and then went
back to school to obtain my CHRL,” she said. “As our company
evolved, I was promoted into human resources to develop this
new department. Programs, policies and procedures continue to
be developed, including a strong focus on occupational health
and safety.”
HR Professional recently sat down with New to find out more
about what she does and why she is so devoted to this specific facet
of HR.
What are your main areas of responsibility?
Tracy New: I have responsibilities for all HR disciplines, including
occupational health and safety, recruitment and selection,
training and development, employee relations, compensation, strategic
development, policy development and additional functions.
My biggest responsibility is ensuring that managers, supervisors
and employees carry out their roles in compliance with the company’s
health and safety policies and procedures. I also work in
partnership with employees and contractors (operational partners)
to minimize operational losses, accidents and injuries. It’s my
continuous responsibility to promote a positive health and safety
culture in the workplace.
career paths
What do you like most about your job?
TN: There are benefits to working with a mid-size company, especially
one that is always growing and has an entrepreneurial spirit.
There is great satisfaction to be part of a team that turns ideas into
successful business.
Depending on the project, we may deal with asbestos in a residential
home in New Brunswick to infection control in a health
facility in B.C. We must train our supervisors, managers and contractors
to be health and safety advocates across the nation. We’re
successful because of our people.
What does a typical work day look like?
TN: Depending on the day, I may need to juggle project work with
daily activities and spontaneous urgent matters, while always working
towards the company goals. My day can be spent carrying out risk
assessments and considering how risks could be reduced; outlining
safe operational procedures that identify and take into account all relevant
hazards; making changes to working practices that are safe and
comply with legislation; preparing health and safety strategies and
developing internal policy; leading training with managers and employees
about health and safety issues and risks; recording incidents
and accidents and producing statistics for managers, or producing
management reports, newsletters and bulletin reports.
By Lisa Kopochinski
Courtesy of Tracy New
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ MAY/JUNE 2015 ❚ 65