Recruitment
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By Lisa Gordon

 

It’s time to think differently about filling the HR experience gap

Busy senior HR professionals have a lot on their plates. With teams to lead, deliverables to meet and metrics to measure, it’s not surprising that there isn’t a lot of time to step back and consider the future of human resources as a profession. But, like many other industries that are facing the same reality, today’s HR professionals need to think about who will fill their shoes in the future, and how they will pass along a lifetime of accumulated industry knowledge to the next generation.

 

Good, full-time HR jobs are hard to come by these days. People aren’t retiring at age 65 as they used to, and the economy isn’t generating many new jobs in the field. It can be difficult for recent graduates to get their careers rolling. That makes it a good time for those who have enjoyed successful careers in human resources to think about giving the next generation a hand.

 

“We have to figure out a way to fill the experience gap,” explained Sandra Smith, vice president, Our People and chief HR officer at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ont. “We need to think differently about ways of involving new grads in the industry, even when they don’t yet have a job.”

 

In her current role, Smith oversees policies that affect the hospital’s 3,000 staff members, 600 physicians and 1,000 volunteers. During her 15-year HR career, she has always tried to look at the big picture. She believes that applying creative talent management and workforce planning solutions to help the next gen can be relatively inexpensive.

 

“Most of the new grads are flexible; they’re usually willing to do a few jobs at once,” said Smith. “Full-time jobs would be best for them; but if they aren’t available, what else can we create? Well, we can look at creating paid internships or project-specific jobs for new grads. Most departments have those foundational projects such as basic recruitment or job evaluations, or other projects for which new grads would have the theoretical foundation. It would give them really good experience, but it would also provide very good value for companies.”

 

Stephanie Canito knows the value of practical on-the-job experience. While she was enrolled in the human resources program at George Brown College, she completed a co-op placement at Southlake Regional Health Centre in 2010. After graduation, she was offered a job at the hospital as an HR adviser.

 

“My co-op was a wonderful learning experience. I was exposed to the different disciplines within Southlake’s HR team, and I’ve had the privilege of continuing to learn and grow with them,” said Canito.

 

While workplace integration is crucial, Smith also believes the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) has an important role to play when it comes to introducing the next gen into the workforce, particularly when facilitating connections between seasoned industry pros and eager young newbies.

 

“We’re a newer profession; we’re evolving as strategic partners in our organizations,” she said. “As a provincial body under HRPA, we need to work strategically and consider how to build in mentoring and knowledge transfer.”

 

Making connections

HRPA has long been a supporter of mentoring within the profession. Its annual conference has traditionally been a good place to connect, but the association has also worked to deliver a more structured networking program for its members. Almost two years ago, HRPA contracted a Toronto-based firm named MentorCity to provide an online member service that enables mentor/mentee matching. Today, more than 2,600 HRPA members have participated in the program.

 

“Each of HRPA’s 28 chapters has its own MentorCity website,” explained company president Shawn Mintz. “As an example, I can log in and look at profiles of people in my chapter that I would like to connect with, and then I can send them an invitation. It’s like eHarmony but for mentoring.”

 

Mintz added that MentorCity doesn’t just make the connection; it also guides participants through the program once a match is made.

 

“We provide all kinds of tools and resources to make it work, from suggestions on how to set up that first meeting to providing a template mentoring agreement, and guiding them through the process.”

It’s not always about matching a senior mentor with a junior mentee.

 

“We do peer-to-peer mentoring as well as senior-to-junior mentoring,” said Mintz. “For HRPA, it’s really about transferring knowledge within the profession and member engagement. Mentoring is one of the top benefits the membership is looking for.”

 

Gaining perspective
In addition to making external contacts, there is general agreement on the value of a defined internal mentoring program as well.

 

As managing director of the Talent and Leadership Development Practice at Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions in Toronto, Vince Molinaro recommends that companies establish formal mentoring within the human resources department, or with other line leaders, to broaden the perspective of the young HR practitioner and make them more marketable.

 

“HR has so many discrete and well defined sub-specialties,” said Molinaro.“One of the immediate ideas is providing lateral opportunities for people to broaden their skills. I find that some of the HR practitioners who are really strong in their craft have spent a good chunk of their career in the business, learning what the company does and taking on some of those line roles, to come at it with a very different perspective.”

Canito agrees with him.

 

“To promote knowledge transfer, the industry should look at establishing HR models within organizations that promote mentorship and coaching, and allow for information sharing and practical exposure,” she said. “I think the one thing the next generation is eager for is the opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge.”

Smith added that integrating HR’s next gen is not about reinventing the wheel, although it is necessary to challenge the status quo.

 

“Many other professions have evolved in this area, and we can learn from them,” she said.“For example, the Ontario government sponsors the Nursing Graduate Guarantee Initiative, a program that links new nursing grads with employers and provides funding for them to gain practical experience that will make them employable. So, when we look at HR as a profession, are there opportunities to lobby for different funding mechanisms to provide our new grads with experience?

 

“We need to create a strategy and work for our future,” concluded Smith. “I have been very lucky in my career; I need to give back. Most of us want to do that, I think."

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