news
UPFRONT
CANADIAN ORGANIZATIONS
NEED TO STRENGTHEN
COMMITMENT TO EMPLOYEE
LEARNING
Organizations that are committed to
learning and development report better
organizational performance than their
competitors. However, a new Conference
Board of Canada report finds that only
34 per cent of Canadian organizations
say that they have a strong learning environment,
while the remaining 66 per cent
believe it is either moderate or weak.
“Canadian organizations have room to
improve when it comes to making workplace
learning a priority,” said Donna
Burnett-Vachon, director, Leadership and
Organizational Development Research
at The Conference Board of Canada.
“The key to doing so is for organizations
to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of
their learning practices and programs.
Only then can they identify strengths and
opportunities for improvement.”
Regular assessment of learning and
development programs allow organizations
to better prioritize spending and
resources to ensure strategies are working
effectively. However, the percentage
of Canadian organizations conducting
evaluations of their learning practices
has dropped by 25 per cent in the last 15
years.
The report highlights the Learning
Performance Index (LPI), a proprietary
assessment framework that can assist organizations
in evaluating the quality and
effectiveness of their learning environments.
The report applies the LPI to a
sample of 350 Canadian organizations
and finds a strong positive link between
learning performance and competitive
organizational performance. Overall,
organizations with strong LPI scores
tended to have:
■■ Lower voluntary employee turnover
rates;
■■ Enhanced employee performance and
engagement;
■■ More effective organizational
leadership;
■■ Effective succession management
strategies; and
■■ Alignment of their employee
development and HR strategies.
CANADIAN WORKERS WANT
MORE INSIGHT INTO HOW
THEIR EFFORTS AFFECT THE
BOTTOM LINE
When it comes to their jobs, new research
reveals many professionals would
like more information about how their efforts
contribute to the company’s bottom
line. While half of Canadian workers in
the Robert Half Management Resources
survey reported they are always able to
see the connection between their duties
and their firm’s performance, the majority,
58 per cent, also said they want greater
insight. Eleven per cent of those polled
noted they rarely or never see how their
work affects the organization.
The findings uncovered different sentiments
among age groups. Fifty-eight
per cent of professionals 55 years of age
and older consistently see how their work
contributes to the company’s bottom line,
followed by 52 per cent of professionals
35 to 54 years old. Forty-nine per cent
of respondents ages 18 to 34 said they
are able to make the association between
their efforts and organizational performance;
this group also is the most likely
to seek a greater understanding.
“When employees can easily recognize
the impact their roles have on the overall
success of the company they work
for, they are more likely to be motivated
and able to make decisions with longterm
business goals in mind,” said David
King, Canadian president of Robert Half
Management Resources. “Employees of
all levels benefit from better understanding
the value of their contributions, and
it’s up to senior management to ensure
that this information is being shared.”
Robert Half Management Resources
highlights three ways employers can incorporate
connecting individual roles
to the bottom line into their staffing
management:
■■ Don’t stop at the top. Discussions
about company performance and goals
need to happen with staff members
at all levels. Understanding how their
role contributes to the organization
can help employees boost their own
performance.
■■ Make the discussions ongoing.
Managers should look for
opportunities like staff meetings,
performance reviews and regular
check-ins to communicate how
individuals’ contributions benefit the
business.
■■ Tap external perspectives. Check
with network contacts and consultants
for their insights on how the company
is faring and to learn best practices
from other firms.
CASUAL DRESS CODE IN
FASHION AT WORK
Dressing up for work continues to go out
of style, new research from staffing firm
OfficeTeam shows. One in five Canadian
senior managers interviewed said employees
wear less formal clothing than
they did five years ago. In addition, 19 per
cent of office workers stated they would
DISCUSSIONS ABOUT COMPANY
PERFORMANCE AND GOALS NEED TO HAPPEN
WITH STAFF MEMBERS AT ALL LEVELS.
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 ❚ 11