Calendar of Events

Career Portfolios Have Many Uses Have you started the practice of using career portfolios in your organization? The career portfolio can be used for selection, promotion, succession and retirement planning. The career portfolio does not always have to be limited to paper. Today, the employee who takes charge of his or her career and uses the portfolio to enhance their career is limited only by imagination. Can you keep up with them? Come and find out more about portfolios and how to best use them in your organization.

Come and learn how the Leadership in your Workplace could be responsible for the Physical and Mental Health of the Organization. Understand why the Canadian Mental Health Association states that, according to their Surveys, "70% of the Stress people experience in their lives comes from their work!" Epidemiologist have determined there are 3 Primary factors influencing the Longevity of Life to 85 years: 1. Family History 2. Job Satisfaction 3. Life Satisfaction. These 3 Factors affect 80% of our Longevity and 20 % is affected by our Lifestyle You will also Participate in a short Workplace Satisfaction Survey and an Analysis of your Stress Symptoms to determine how your Workplace could be affecting your Health!!

The best employers recognize that their employees want to do a great job, and when their employees are struggling, it is often due to outside stressors or work related circumstances. This half day session will begin with a focus on a powerful outside stressor – family violence. Although the employer’s responsibilities related to family violence may be limited, handling this situation can have a significant impact – positive or negative. Family Violence and the Workplace Committee members from the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for Family Violence Research will explore this important topic, including the benefits of a compassionate response. A presentation by Dr. Judy MacIntosh from the Faculty of Nursing at UNB will follow, and is designed to explore what workplace bullying is, its impacts, how to recognize employees who are being bullied in the workplace, and how to begin to address it. Dealing with workplace bullying requires more than compassion – employers have specific responsibilities. Finally, Jennifer LeBlanc & Sarina McKinnon from the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission will present employer responsibilities surrounding issues such as discrimination as well as other prohibited grounds. This is an area where being proactive can save you precious resources. The session will end with an informative panel Q&A.

We all understand the importance of employee engagement. But do we know how to measure employee engagement? Determining engagement is not as simple as going to Survey Monkey and throwing together a few questions. Come and listen to a market expert who knows how to design and analyze the results of employee engagement surveys.

Join your Fredericton Chapter executive and other members to talk about your ideas and suggestions for next year’s professional development events. Let us know what topics are important to you and ideas you may have on speakers or presentations that would be of interest to other members. Then join us for drinks and appetizers as we continue to network and share good ideas. We welcome and value your input.

The past year has produced several ground breaking legal cases in various industry settings that all HR Professionals should be aware of. Jamie will review several of the cases that have arisen over the past year here in Atlantic Canada as well as in other Provinces. Do you have an employment law question or situation that you are currently in or a topic that you would like discussed during this breakfast session? Please email your employment law topics or questions to ldekleva@unb.ca by September 16th, 2011 in order to have similar cases discussed. Please note that time may not allow for all topics or questions to be answered. Please Join us for a high intensity breakfast session that will provide employer and employee legal perspectives on the most influential employment decisions of 2010/2011. We encourage you to bring your business leaders along. For those of you in unionized environments, why not invite your union leadership!

Prior to our monthly breakfast session, the Fredericton Chapter will be hosting a brief Annual General Meeting starting at 8:00. Various reports will be given, including Financial, PD Events, Mentorship program, Students, CHRP and Marketing updates. A call for nominations will be made for various Director roles.

Today’s stretched labor market is making it more difficult for organizations to find, recruit, and select talented people. The competition for talent is intensifying, as there are fewer qualified applicants available. This shortage of talent in Atlantic Canada makes it all the more important that organizations be able to not only attract and select top candidates, but to also retain their talent over the long-term. Candidates are looking for more than just an attractive salary; they are seeking organizations that can offer them various kinds of benefits, the potential to advance, and an environment in which they can learn and thrive. If an organization cannot offer these, job seekers will find ones that do. Anna Stuart, Vice President of Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette, will share her experiences on today’s best practices for recruitment and selection. The more effectively in which organizations recruit and select candidates, the more likely they are to hire satisfied employees. You will learn during Anna’s interactive presentation that an organization’s selection process can influence tomorrow’s bottom-line business outcomes. Tony Case, Human Resources Consulting Practice Leader, and Jennifer Murray, Senior Consultant with Knightsbridge Robertson Surrette, will speak to how organizations are using on-boarding methods in their quest to encourage talent retention once the candidate has been placed. Whether you’ve heard the term before or not, on-boarding is more than just new-employee orientation, and Tony and Jennifer will explain the many ways in which organizations are using these techniques to define expectations and objectives, develop employee self-awareness and insight around leadership strengths and skill gaps, and encourage their reputation as an accessible leader and relationship-builder. Together, these presentations will demonstrate the interconnectedness between effective recruiting and on-boarding methods to the long-term success of the organization.