Can Employers Regulate What Their Employees Post on Social Media?

Jun 10, 2024

By Andrea Raso and Catherine Repel at Clark Wilson

Between the prevalence of living life publicly on social media and the rise of so-called “cancel culture”, employers are often left wondering what actions they can take regarding their employees’ online activities.  As with many matters in law, the answer is: it depends.  Employers, however, can take one concrete step to be proactive in dealing with employees’ social media activities.

Employees have a general right to engage in activities of their choosing when they are not engaging in work for their employer.  Some such activities may be protected under applicable human rights legislation if they overlap with a protected ground.  Of note is that in British Columbia, the Human Rights Code (the “Code”) lists political belief as a protected ground such that employers cannot discriminate against employees in relation to their political belief.  While political belief is not defined in the Code, it has been interpreted as including matters beyond partisan politics, but it must typically include some type of government action or matter of general public importance.  As an example, if an employer is concerned about an employee who frequently posts about support for Trump, that activity is likely protected if the employee is based in BC.

That said, employees’ rights to engage in the activities of their choosing can reach a limit as certain off-duty conduct has been found to justify termination of employment for cause and without notice where the conduct is prejudicial to the interests or reputation of the employer.  Additionally, employers have an obligation to all employees to provide a safe workplace free from bullying and harassment, which can include online activities if they are work-related.  In short, employers are not required to tolerate all off-duty conduct of their employees and, in certain circumstances, an employer may be required to step in to ensure they are meeting their obligations under applicable health and safety and/or human rights legislation.

The legal risks in any given circumstance will depend on the specific facts, but employers who are concerned about their employees’ online activities should put a social media policy in place.  The policy will not likely be able to dictate the activities the employees engage in, such as preventing them from going on social media at all. The policy may, however, prevent them from identifying themselves as an employee of the organization on social media unrelated to employment (such as LinkedIn) or may require them to ensure that any posts or their activities clearly represent their own views and not those of the employer.  Employees may be further barred from posting about internal matters relating to their employment or the employer.  At the very least, a social media policy can provide a framework for notifying employees of what conduct is and is not permitted and provide notice of consequences for breaching the policy.  While there are limits to what an employer can permissibly regulate, employers are wise to be proactive and set expectations before issues arise.

In the absence of a social media policy, or if an employee breaches the policy and an employer is considering further action, it is best to seek legal advice to understand the potential risks of the different courses of action.

About Clark Wilson

Clark Wilson is one of Western Canada’s largest law firms, providing comprehensive legal expertise across 35 distinct areas of business law and private client services. Our Employment & Labour group works exclusively with employers, providing strategic and practical guidance to organizations nationwide, helping them create high-performing teams and advocating for their interests in contentious disputes.  

Andrea Raso

Andrea Raso is a partner at Clark Wilson where she chairs the firm’s thriving Employment & Labour group and offers complementary services in Mediation & Arbitration, Privacy Law, and Indigenous Law.

Catherine Repel

Catherine Repel is a partner at Clark Wilson where she practices exclusively in the area of Employment & Labour.

Showcasing Your Employer Brand Online in 2024

Jun 5, 2024

By Tierra Madani, Associate HR Consultant, Chemistry Consulting Group

In today’s competitive labour market, a strong online employer brand is essential for attracting top talent, engaging employees, and enhancing your organization’s reputation. A company’s employer brand is not just what you say—it’s how your employees, potential candidates, and the public perceive your workplace.

But how can organizations effectively create and showcase a positive employer brand online? One of the most powerful strategies is leveraging internal employee ambassadors to share authentic content that reflects your culture and values.

Why Online Employer Branding Matters

Before crafting an online employer branding strategy, it’s important to assess your current presence:

  • How is your employer brand perceived online?
  • How do you measure its impact on talent attraction and retention?
  • Is your employer brand considered during strategic planning?

A strong online employer brand is increasingly critical, as both job seekers and consumers are selective about the organizations they engage with. Employees today want workplaces that align with their values, while candidates evaluate companies’ reputations before applying. Similarly, customers and partners prefer organizations that demonstrate ethical practices and authentic engagement.

Aligning your HR and Marketing strategies ensures your employer brand accurately reflects your culture, supports recruitment efforts, and reinforces overall business goals.

Four Tips to Build a Strong Online Employer Brand

1.  Align Your Employer Brand With Core Values

Your organization’s core values serve as the foundation for your employer branding strategy. Share stories that highlight what makes your team unique:

  • Showcase community involvement and partnerships
  • Recognize team members who go above and beyond
  • Feature events or initiatives that reflect your workplace culture

Authentic storytelling reinforces your values and creates engagement across social media channels, helping potential candidates connect with your organization.

2. Collaborate With Marketing

Employer branding thrives when HR and Marketing work together. Marketing teams can help:

  • Identify the best social media channels for your audience
  • Measure engagement, reach, and overall brand awareness
  • Develop data-driven campaigns to highlight employee experiences

Establish regular collaboration meetings to brainstorm, plan, and refine strategies that reflect both your company culture and marketing objectives.

3.  Leverage Your Employer Brand Across the Organization

A strong employer brand supports multiple functions, including:

  • Recruiting and retaining top talent
  • Strengthening community and customer engagement
  • Building partnerships and collaborations

Integrate employer branding into your strategic planning and align messaging across departments for consistent, impactful communication.

4.  Empower Employee Ambassadors

Employees are your most credible storytellers. Encourage them to share authentic experiences that reflect your workplace culture:

  • Highlight employee achievements and team successes
  • Celebrate community initiatives and positive partnerships
  • Provide guidance on social media engagement to amplify stories safely and effectively

An authentic employer brand motivates employees to advocate for your organization, strengthens internal engagement, and improves external perception.

Take Your Employer Brand to the Next Level

Revisit existing initiatives and look for ways to enhance online visibility and authenticity. By showcasing your culture, values, and employee stories effectively, your organization can attract top talent, retain employees, and elevate its reputation in the marketplace.

The Chemistry Consulting Group Advantage

Chemistry Consulting Group provides HR consulting services across Canada, with consultants in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Toronto, and Montreal, as well as virtual services nationwide. Our certified CPHR strategists specialize in:

  • Organizational design and culture audits
  • Employee engagement surveys and 360 evaluations
  • Performance management tools
  • Employee handbook, policy, and procedure development
  • Orientation and onboarding programs
  • Total compensation reviews and market benchmarking
  • Job descriptions, EDIB strategies, and training workshops
  • Flexible HR support through on-call or on-site services

With Chemistry Consulting Group, organizations can build a compelling online employer brand, engage employees as authentic ambassadors, and attract top talent in today’s competitive labour market.

Wellness at Work: Nurturing Mental Wellbeing in the Modern Workplace

Mar 20, 2024

By Damien Lacey, Marketing Specialist, Montridge Advisory Group Ltd.

In today’s fast-paced and demanding work environments, prioritizing employee wellness, particularly mental health, has become more critical than ever. As our understanding of mental wellbeing evolves, organizations are increasingly recognizing the importance of creating a supportive and nurturing workplace culture. This shift is not only beneficial for employees’ health and happiness but also for the overall productivity and success of the organization. In this blog post, we’ll explore the concept of wellness at work and discuss strategies that organizations can implement to better ensure the mental wellbeing of their workforce.

The Importance of Wellness at Work

Work-related stress and mental health issues have become a growing concern in many industries. According to the World Health Organization, stress-related illnesses cost businesses roughly 33 billions of dollars each year in lost productivity and healthcare expenses. Additionally, employees who experience high levels of stress are more likely to suffer from burnout, absenteeism, and reduced job satisfaction.

Creating a workplace that prioritizes wellness can help mitigate these issues. When employees feel supported and valued, they are more likely to be engaged, motivated, and productive. Moreover, promoting mental wellbeing can enhance employee retention rates, as employees are more likely to stay with organizations that prioritize their health and happiness.

Strategies for Promoting Mental Wellbeing

Create a Supportive Work Environment:  Cultivating a workplace culture where mental health is valued and openly discussed is crucial. Encourage managers to engage in regular check-ins with team members, not just about work progress but also about their overall wellbeing. These conversations can help destigmatize mental health issues and create a supportive atmosphere where employees feel comfortable seeking help if needed.

Provide Mental Health Resources:  Consider leveraging the resources available through the company’s extended health plan to enhance mental health support, providing access to additional services such as counseling and therapy sessions. Offering these resources alongside support groups and educational materials can help employees navigate mental health challenges more effectively and maintain their mental wellbeing. Consider partnering with mental health professionals to provide onsite support and workshops to educate employees about mental health issues and coping mechanisms.

Promote Work-Life Balance: Encouraging work-life balance is key to supporting employees’ mental health. Providing flexible work arrangements, such as remote work options or flexible hours, can help employees manage their work and personal responsibilities more effectively. Encouraging employees to take regular breaks and vacations can also help prevent burnout and improve overall wellbeing.

Financial Wellness: Financial wellness is a crucial component of mental wellbeing, encompassing a sense of security and control over an employee’s financial situation. Employers can promote financial wellness among their employees by offering educational resources, such as workshops on budgeting and saving, and by providing access to financial planning tools and services. By supporting financial wellness, employers not only enhance employee satisfaction and productivity but also contribute to a more positive and resilient workforce.

Encourage Physical Activity: Physical activity is known to have numerous benefits for mental health, including reducing stress and anxiety. Encourage employees to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine by offering onsite fitness classes, gym memberships, or incentives for participating in physical activities. Also, consider walking meetings, providing standing desks, supply yoga mats for stretch breaks or just emphasizing the need to stand and move for a few minutes regularly throughout the day can also help promote physical activity in the workplace.

Provide Health & Wellness Days: Offering paid health and wellness days can give employees the opportunity to prioritize their mental wellbeing when they need it most. These days off, which would be in addition to vacation days or sick days, can help reduce stress, prevent burnout, and allow employees to recharge and refocus. By supporting employees’ health in this way, organizations can improve overall productivity and employee satisfaction.

Offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs): Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) provide employees with confidential access to counseling and support services for a wide range of personal and work-related issues. Offering an EAP can help employees manage stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues, and can be a valuable resource for those in need of support.

Promote Mindfulness and Stress Management: Mindfulness and stress management techniques can be powerful tools for improving mental wellbeing. Offer workshops or training programs to help employees develop these skills, providing them with practical tools to manage stress and improve their overall mental health. Encouraging practices such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises can also help employees incorporate mindfulness into their daily lives.

Lead by Example: Leadership plays a critical role in shaping organizational culture. Senior leaders should prioritize their own mental wellbeing and openly discuss the importance of mental health with their teams. By leading by example, leaders can help create a culture where mental health is valued and supported, and where employees feel comfortable seeking help when needed.

Conclusion

Wellness at work is not just a buzzword; it is a critical component of a healthy and productive workplace. By prioritizing mental wellbeing and implementing strategies to support employee health, organizations can create a positive work environment where employees can thrive. Investing in wellness not only benefits employees but also contributes to the overall success and sustainability of the organization.

Employee Experience, Why It Matters for Business Success

Feb 6, 2024

By Arlene Keis, Associate HR Consultant, Chemistry Consulting Group

Organizations across Canada understand that no matter how much time, strategy, and investment they dedicate to developing and marketing their products or services, it is the customer’s perception of the experience that ultimately drives brand loyalty and business growth. This concept, often described as the customer journey, highlights how every interaction shapes long-term engagement, advocacy, and profitability.

Today, forward-thinking employers recognize that this same principle applies to the employee journey. At Chemistry Consulting Group, we know that a strong employee experience strategy directly impacts recruitment, retention, workplace culture, and overall organizational performance. Research across Canada and globally consistently demonstrates a clear link between positive employee experience, improved customer satisfaction, and measurable business results.

The employee experience encompasses how individuals perceive and feel about their journey with your organization—from first encountering your employer brand as a prospective candidate through recruitment, onboarding, career development, and ultimately offboarding or retirement. Every interaction along the way contributes to employee engagement, motivation, and loyalty. A positive experience fuels productivity and strengthens workplace culture, while a negative one can result in disengagement, turnover, and increased hiring costs.

Many organizations assume the employee experience begins on day one. In reality, it starts much earlier at the attraction and recruitment stage. Employer branding, job postings, career websites, and recruitment marketing all shape first impressions. Candidates evaluate not only the opportunity itself but also the tone, clarity, and consistency of communication throughout the hiring process. When organizations maintain alignment between their brand promise and candidate experience, they build trust. When communication gaps occur or messaging feels inconsistent, top talent may abandon the process altogether.

Onboarding is another critical milestone in the employee journey. Just as customers expect a seamless service experience, new hires expect a well-prepared and welcoming first day. A structured onboarding program—complete with prepared workspaces, access to digital tools, leadership engagement, and a thoughtful orientation plan—signals professionalism and respect. Early impressions strongly influence long-term engagement, making onboarding a strategic investment rather than an administrative task.

Beyond onboarding, sustained employee engagement depends on growth, development, and recognition. Organizations that prioritize performance management, mentoring, leadership coaching, and professional development create an environment where employees feel valued and supported. Micro-experiences such as regular feedback, meaningful recognition programs, inclusive workplace policies, diversity and equity initiatives, health and safety practices, and work-life balance all contribute to a strong organizational culture. When employees see opportunities for advancement and continuous learning, retention improves and institutional knowledge is preserved.

Even the exit phase plays a vital role in shaping your employer reputation. Whether an employee leaves voluntarily or through organizational change, a respectful and professional offboarding process reinforces your company’s values. Exit interviews provide actionable HR insights, helping organizations refine their employee experience strategy and strengthen future engagement efforts. Former employees often become brand ambassadors or detractors based on how they were treated during their departure.

Designing a comprehensive employee journey map allows organizations to identify opportunities for improvement at every touchpoint. In today’s competitive labour market, companies that intentionally design and optimize the employee experience gain a powerful advantage in attracting and retaining top talent.

Chemistry Consulting Group provides expert HR consulting services to organizations across Canada, with consultants based in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Toronto, and Montreal, and virtual HR support available nationwide.

The Chemistry Consulting Group team of certified CPHR strategists deliver comprehensive human resources solutions, including organizational design, culture audits, 360 evaluations, engagement surveys, performance tools, policy development, onboarding, compensation reviews, job descriptions, and EDIB strategies with training. We also offer flexible on-call and on-site HR support tailored to meet the evolving needs of growing businesses.

Contact us today!

What Lost Productivity Looks Like on Ineffective Teams

Dec 12, 2023

By Vivo Team

When looking for ways to manage costs, managers and executives are often trained to ignore money already spent, instead focusing on future spending. When it comes to tracking the cost and value of meetings, for example, managers commonly dismiss the cost of people’s time as a “sunk cost” because they’ve already committed to paying salaries.

Companies spend an enormous amount of money paying people to sit in meetings, but they fail to consider how efficient or effective those meetings really are. Furthermore, most people are not trained to participate in, or run, effective meetings.

Also frequently overlooked, the cost of lost productivity is a key culprit of financial drain for leaders, managers, and their company. Leaders now, more than ever, need to be equipped with data and insights about their people to succeed in this climate of uncertainty. Being aware of strengths, weaknesses, gaps, and leader/team effectiveness allows you to focus on areas for improvement.

For example, imagine an employee who loses 5 hours of productivity a day. If that employee is paid $50,000 a year, their lost productivity would cost the company approximately $32,370 annually.

Does 5 hours sound high? Lost productivity time can add up quickly:

Confusion/lost time due to poor communication (1-2 hrs/day)

Attending meetings you don’t need to be a part of (1-2 hrs/day)

Inefficiencies from a lack of structure or processes (1-2 hrs/day)

If proper structures and communication norms were improved on this employee’s team, the cost of lost productivity will be reduced. If reduced by 50%, that’s $16,185 in savings.

Now imagine that team has five other members who are also more efficient and productive as a result of training in structures and communication (5 x $16,185).

You just saved $80,925 in lost productivity costs.

Your company’s cost of lost productivity, as it relates to training and development, is a simple yet effective way to increase productivity and efficiency—ultimately leading to a positive impact on your bottom line.

Key indicators that lead to high-performing leaders and teams:

Communication – Clear and open communication reduces misunderstanding and costly errors, minimizes work delays, and enhances overall productivity.

Structures – Unifying and streamlining work processes and related behavioral norms builds the foundation for efficient and successful teams.

Interactive Feedback – A feedback culture provides essential information for decision making and performance improvement by reflecting on the past and anticipating future results.

Emotional Intelligence – Awareness and management of one’s emotions while navigating the emotions of others reduces assumptions and increases psychological safety and connection.

Accountability – Holding one another accountable drives innovation, trust, and productivity.

Cohesion – Team cohesion positively impacts project outcomes, client satisfaction, team engagement, and collaboration resulting in increased success and productivity.

By using behavioral analytics to evaluate your team’s effectiveness in these areas, leaders can uncover insights into where improvements need to be made to recoup losses. Team effectiveness and lost productivity costs are interdependent. Thus, by increasing your team’s effectiveness you will decrease your company’s lost productivity costs.

About Vivo Team

Vivo Team is a tech-driven learning and development company providing leaders and teams with the skills, analytics, and insights they need to succeed. This results in increased engagement and productivity—and the data to prove it!

Seven Strategies to Mitigate Labour Shortages in Your Organization

Oct 4, 2023

By Arlene Keis, Associate HR Consultant, Chemistry Consulting Group

Labour shortages are dominating headlines across Canada and the United States, impacting nearly every sector of the economy. From hospitality to healthcare, organizations are grappling with the economic consequences of a tight labour market. While the root causes are complex, the reality is clear: addressing labour shortages has become a strategic business imperative.

There is no single solution, but organizations can take proactive steps to minimize the impact. Adopting a multi-faceted strategy is often the most effective way to navigate today’s labour challenges. Here are seven actionable strategies your organization can implement now.

1.  Become an Employer of Choice

In today’s competitive job market, top talent chooses employers based on more than salary. Creating an environment that demonstrates care, recognition, and growth opportunities gives organizations a distinct advantage. Becoming an employer of choice involves:

  • Competitive compensation and benefits
  • Flexible and hybrid work arrangements
  • Open communication channels and employee recognition
  • Work-life balance and mental well-being initiatives
  • Strong leadership, mentorship, and career advancement opportunities
  • Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB)
  • Innovation-driven culture and modern, efficient tools
  • Community involvement and engaging workplace culture

At Chemistry Consulting Group, we help organizations assess and strengthen their employer value proposition, aligning HR strategies with what matters most to employees.

2.  Focus on Employee Retention

Retaining existing employees is more cost-effective than recruiting new ones. Understanding why employees stay—or leave is critical. Exit interviews, engagement surveys, and focus groups can reveal actionable insights.

Fostering a culture of open communication, trust, and recognition strengthens retention. Employees naturally gravitate toward organizations that prioritize positive workplace culture. At Chemistry Consulting Group, we design custom employee engagement programs that improve retention and build long-term loyalty.

3. Raise Awareness About Your Employer Brand

An organization’s employer brand can significantly impact recruitment success. If your brand is positive but unknown, it’s time to amplify your presence:

  • Participate in local job fairs and community events
  • Create a compelling careers page on your website
  • Leverage social media to showcase company culture
  • Engage current employees and families in referral programs

If your brand has gaps, addressing them is essential. Chemistry Consulting Group provides employer brand assessments and strategic communications support to ensure your organization attracts top talent.

4. Tap Into Underutilized Labour Pools

Traditional recruitment methods may not suffice in a tight labour market. Look beyond conventional sources to attract skilled talent:

  • Retired professionals seeking part-time roles
  • Indigenous youth, newcomers, and immigrants
  • Individuals re-entering the workforce or with disabilities

Engaging these groups may require community outreach and tailored recruitment strategies. Chemistry Consulting Group can guide your organization in identifying untapped labour pools and creating inclusive hiring practices.

5. Expand Recruitment Nationally and Internationally

Local labour markets may be insufficient, especially for rural or remote organizations. Casting a wider net—nationally or internationally—can help:

  • Consider relocation packages, housing support, and immigration assistance
  • Leverage international students as potential long-term employees
  • Utilize provincial nominee programs for permanent employment pathways

Chemistry Consulting Group supports organizations in national and international recruitment strategies, including immigration compliance and onboarding support.

6. Invest in Training and Professional Development

Upskilling current staff reduces the need to compete externally for talent. “Grow your own” by:

  • Providing internal training and mentorship programs
  • Offering co-op, apprenticeship, and summer student opportunities
  • Supporting career advancement and succession planning

Training programs boost engagement, improve service quality, and build a loyal workforce. Chemistry Consulting Group specializes in custom learning and development programs designed to meet your organization’s current and future workforce needs.

7. Increase Productivity Through Innovation

Optimizing processes and workflows helps organizations do more with less. Consider:

  • Streamlining meetings and communications
  • Leveraging technology to replace manual processes
  • Encouraging innovation and creative problem-solving

Enhanced productivity reduces the pressure of labour shortages while fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Chemistry Consulting Group provides organizational effectiveness assessments to identify productivity gains across your workforce.

The Chemistry Advantage in HR Solutions

In today’s competitive labour market, HR practices are under the spotlight. Organizations that pivot quickly and embrace strategic, employee-centric solutions gain a critical advantage.

Chemistry Consulting Group provides comprehensive HR consulting services across Canada, with offices in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Toronto, and Montreal, as well as virtual services nationwide. Our team of certified CPHR strategists delivers tailored solutions including:

  • Organizational reviews and design
  • People and culture audits
  • Employee engagement surveys and 360 evaluations
  • Policy, procedure, and employee handbook development
  • Orientation and onboarding programs
  • Total compensation reviews and market benchmarking
  • DEIB strategies, team-building, and training workshops
  • On-call and on-site HR support

By partnering with Chemistry Consulting Group, organizations can navigate labour shortages strategically, strengthen their workforce, and build an employer brand that attracts and retains top talent.

Contact us today!

What BC Employers Need to Know: Pay Transparency Act

Sep 21, 2023

By Wendy Ferguson, Chemistry Consulting Group

The Pay Transparency Act is now law in British Columbia, and all employers must take necessary steps to comply with the new legislative requirements. Organizations that fail to adapt risk non-compliance and reputational damage. Federally regulated employers must comply with the Employment Equity Act instead.

Disclosure of Salary/Wage Information on Job Postings

As of November 1, 2023, all BC employers are required to include the expected salary, wage, or salary/wage range in every publicly advertised job posting. This includes:

  • Job boards
  • Company career pages
  • Professional association postings
  • Recruitment agency listings

Ensuring accurate disclosure in job postings is a critical step for HR compliance and talent acquisition.

Prohibited Conduct Under the Act

Employers may no longer request an applicant’s pay history unless it is publicly accessible. Direct inquiries or third-party information gathering is prohibited.

The Act also strictly prohibits retaliation against employees who:

  • Make inquiries about their pay
  • Disclose pay information to colleagues
  • Request pay transparency reports
  • Ask employers to comply with the Act
  • Report compliance concerns to the director

Retaliation can include suspension, demotion, discipline, harassment, termination, or other disadvantages.

Reporting Requirements

Reporting obligations will roll out in stages, starting with large organizations:

  • 2024: Employers with 1,000+ employees
  • 2025: Employers with 300+ employees
  • 2026: Employers with 50+ employees
  • After 2026: Employers with fewer than 49 employees (unless exempted)

Reporting employers must prepare an Annual Pay Transparency Report by November 1 each year. Reports must be distributed to all employees and published on a publicly accessible website.

The report will include:

  • Employer and workforce details
  • Pay gaps based on self-identified gender
  • Differences in wages, overtime, and bonuses for men, women, and non-binary employees

Employers must also make reasonable efforts to collect gender information following the new Gender and Sex Data Standard.

Starting June 2024, the provincial government will publish an annual summary highlighting pay differences, trends, and non-compliance reports.

Human Rights and Privacy Considerations

While the Act does not create new employee rights to contest pay, BC employees retain the ability to file complaints with the BC Human Rights Tribunal if discrimination occurs based on sex or gender identity.

Employers should also carefully manage personal information collected for pay transparency reporting. Privacy requirements differ for public and private sector organizations.

Summary and Next Steps for BC Employers

The Pay Transparency Act aims to close the gender pay gap and address systemic discrimination in the workplace. While most BC employers are not immediately subject to full reporting requirements, the majority of the Act is already in force.

Key compliance steps include:

  • Updating recruitment and hiring practices prior to November 1, 2023
  • Revising job postings to include salary or wage ranges
  • Eliminating requests for pay history during recruitment
  • Preparing for future reporting obligations

At Chemistry Consulting Group, we support BC employers in:

  • Updating HR policies and employment contracts
  • Creating communication plans for employees
  • Ensuring compliance with recruitment regulations
  • Conducting training on pay transparency and HR compliance

Professional Recruitment and HR Consulting Services

Chemistry Consulting Group offers full HR consulting services across Canada, with consultants in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Toronto, and Montreal, and virtual services available nationwide.

Our Professional Recruitment services help organizations find and hire top talent efficiently. Services include:

  • Background checks and skills assessments
  • Employment agreement development
  • Salary negotiations
  • Onboarding support

By leveraging our expertise and networks, Chemistry Consulting Group ensures BC employers remain compliant with the Pay Transparency Act while attracting, engaging, and retaining the best candidates.

Contact us today!

The Art of Retention: Strategies for Keeping Key Personnel in Your Organization

Aug 14, 2023

By Judith Mewhort, Managing Partner, Montridge Advisory Group Ltd.

The challenges that employers have faced over the last three years have been extraordinary.  Having survived the Covid-19 pandemic,  business owners and human resource directors now must adapt to a partially or fully remote workforce, quiet quitting, a rise in mental health concerns, a desire for greater flexibility, and so much more.  The shift in the concerns of workers worldwide has made it increasingly difficult to retain staff and none more so than your key people.

So what is an organization to do? The answer may surprise you. In a survey from Employ, 1200 HR decision makers and recruiters stated the number one reason people left their organization was for more money (37.1%). However, a recent article in Leaders Magazine, citing several surveys, concluded that while employees state that better pay is important, it ranks tenth, not first! Resolving the disconnect between what organizations feel is the key to retention versus what employees express is important to them could be a significant factor in your company’s future success.

So what are the areas that are important to workers and even more so to your senior people:

  • Purpose and mission
  • Alignment between their personal values and the company’s culture
  • Opportunities for advancement
  • Flexibility regarding hours of work as well as taking leave
  • Growth and development opportunities
  • Impact and influence over critical changes

So what are the things your organization can do to improve retention?

Be Clear About Your Firm’s Reason For Being 

This is more than a slogan. This is the embodiment of your values and how you demonstrate those values over time. To get it truly right, strategies, goals, tasks, and the work environment must reflect those values in large and small ways. For example, at Montridge, our Mission is “To support our clients in caring for the physical, emotional, and financial well-being of their employees”. Therefore, our work culture must reflect that mission not only for our clients but for our own employees. To help the well-being of our employees, we have implemented flexible work hours, a generous vacation allowance, a hybrid working model, and financial support. Our mission shows up in a variety of ways including an adaptable leave policy and adjustable working hours that enable people to pick up children from school or to take elderly parents to medical appointments.

When you look at your organization’s mission, is it supported at all levels of your firm in both small and large ways?  If not, you likely have some work to do.

Nurture and Promote From Within

Promoting from within often garners increased loyalty which is one of the keys to retaining staff.  It is important that employees understand the steps necessary to move forward in their career path, such as goals to be met, courses to be taken, and skills to be demonstrated. Leadership needs to provide regular, meaningful feedback and ensure that skill and technical development is part of the nurturing and training of the next generation of management and leaders.

In addition to providing a clear road map to career advancement, it is vital that unconscious bias or discrimination doesn’t get in the way of promoting people. Your organization will lose excellent people who become frustrated and discouraged if they are overlooked due to our human tendency to want to be around others that look like or think like us.

If your organization is smaller with a relatively flat hierarchy promoting from within is still possible. It’s more about providing interesting work and offering new challenges for those that want them more than a new title.  However, be prepared to offer additional compensation or other perks when increasing job duties or responsibilities. Piling on more work without recognition and reward is a surefire way to a rapid exit.

In addition, there is often a longer timeline to leadership roles within a smaller organization due to fewer positions but the ability to have a greater impact on a firm’s trajectory will be rewarding in and of itself for the right candidate provided that there is a forward movement for their career path and the company.

Offer Professional Development Opportunities

Fresh ideas and the ability to share challenges, problems, and successes with colleagues in the same industry or profession can bring a fresh perspective and new energy to your management team. Industry conferences, working groups, courses, and working toward designations or degrees can be incredibly powerful. Developing new skills improves technical abilities but also provides employees with a confidence boost and can enhance problem-solving abilities.

When markets change or growth slows, professional development or travel is often an area in which firms cut back. While this can be a sensible approach in market downturns, it can come at the cost of slower long-term growth. Employee turnover is expensive.  Losing key people even more so. Be careful not to reduce expenditures that are central to retention, training, and promotion in the long term as a way to bump the bottom line in the short term.

Ensure Transparent Communication Both Up and Down the Reporting Hierarchy

The importance of clear, bi-directional communication cannot be overstated. When plans and strategies only travel in a downward direction with little or no meaningful input from those on the front line or nearest to the problem, the result is frustration, feeling undervalued, and being overlooked.

Not being heard or having one’s ideas co-opted by another may be the fastest way to having your best, most engaged people leave your business.

In larger organizations, a structured hierarchy can have many benefits but cross-pollination of ideas is not one of them. Ensure that there are both formal and informal ways to have information and ideas transmitted. Make sure that there are regular check-ins for key people with both their reports and those that supervise their growth and development.   When adopting new ideas, new technology, or new divisions, make sure that all the stakeholders are present and providing input, and the feedback of those on the frontlines be incorporated into the planning.

Offer Benefits Tailored to the Needs of Your People

Benefits and compensation are the go-to when employers are looking at recruitment and retention strategies. It makes sense, as 80% of potential hires consider compensation and the quality of benefits when weighing job opportunities. But the key to retention for senior people lies with aligning your benefits to support your mission and values as well as ensuring that the benefits on offer resonate and provide a degree of customization and individualization.

There is a tendency within organizations to want to treat everyone the same. Unfortunately, a plan that treats everyone the same is not equitable as the needs of individuals at various points in their careers differ. One of the best ways to find out what appeals to your key people is to ask them. Survey your key people to find out what their priorities are and be prepared to adjust benefits and compensation to suit their needs. Flexibility can be built into an existing framework through a variety of methods without creating a discriminatory situation. Allowing you people to tailor their total compensation to suit their individual needs whether it is enhanced leave, greater retirement contributions, more support for family, or support for charitable causes will go a long way to improving their perception of your organization as one that cares about them as an individual and values their role in your company thus increasing loyalty and productivity.

One additional word of caution is to ensure that compensation to your current key staff is equal to or better than anything you would offer to attract a new hire for the same position.  With compensation transparency legislation in force or planned for many jurisdictions, existing staff can easily determine if your organization is more interested in attracting new talent than retaining those already contributing to the success of your firm.

Manage Change Well

As companies grow, change is necessary for survival. The next generation of leaders needs to be involved in creating and leading that change and not simply left to implement policy after the fact.

When managing change, it is very important that people at all levels of the organization understand the reasons change is necessary, what the nature of the change will be, the plan to implement and follow through on the proposed change, how the process will be communicated, and how roadblocks will be dealt with as they arise. It is especially important that key people are armed with the necessary communication tools to convey their ideas, concerns, and frustrations but also those of their direct reports and frontline workers.

Companies need to be open to, and have a process for encouraging key people to propose and champion new ideas and processes. Ambitious, curious, and driven key people will leave an environment that is stagnating. Conversely, many companies are guilty of chasing the next shiny new thing without working through the recommended steps in the change management process or abandoning the change part way through the process. Stagnation or change for the sake of change are both surefire ways to lose your best and brightest.

Conclusion

As with many things in life, complex problems have simple, easy-to-understand wrong answers. When considering retention strategies for your key personnel, it is not enough to simply consider enhancements to compensation and benefits. While those are both important for your senior people – or those who wish to be – it is all the other more complex and harder to define elements that are key to retention.

Employer Branding Starts Here

Jun 6, 2023

By Vivo Team

The best  brand ambassadors for your company are already sitting at the table! Your employees shape your culture, demonstrate your values, and live your vision and mission everyday.

“What’s important for me, as leader of the company, is I want to make sure that everybody can embrace our core values. That I too want to be a creator. I want to be a leader. And I want to be a champion. If we can all align with that, then we’ve got something to build on.”

– Renée Safrata, Founder and CEO, Vivo Team

Here are some ways to facilitate ongoing alignment to your employer value proposition.

Accountability to the Vision, Mission, and Values

With good leaders and managers that are tightly connected around their accountabilities, you will have an equation for success. Be accountable to your values, your vision, and your mission. Accountability isn’t a one-and-done. It’s all about ongoing alignment.

Here, Renée expressed: “I want my employees to be able to achieve our vision, mission, and values in their day-to-day and in their career achievement with us.”

Behaviors demonstrate accountability, so it’s important to behave in a way that supports and reinforces your vision, your dreams, and your aspirations.

One way we do this at Vivo Team is on a weekly basis, we provide feedback to one another in response to the question: “What are the behaviors that I, or others, demonstrated that align with our values?” It keeps our coast-to-coast hybrid team aligned and accountable!

Whether you do this in a regular meeting, during Friday afternoon “happy hour” or have a dedicated slack channel, regular interactive feedback should be a systematic practice within organizations.

Norms and Transparency

Just because it’s obvious to you doesn’t mean it is to everyone! By agreeing to a set of behavioral norms, teams increase productivity and engagement significantly.

Clearly outline the types of behaviors that are expected of existing and new employees. Do you have email norms? Meeting norms? A particular way files are stored and shared? Make sure these things are clearly laid out and that everyone understands and is aligned.

Increasing digital visibility among your team boosts productivity and reduces stress. At Vivo Team, we have access to everyone’s calendars, and everyone does a daily check-in on our internal communication platform (we use Slack). This makes planning meeting times a breeze because you know who’s available when. Also, by checking in each day, you won’t have to spend time and energy wondering where people are or what they’re working on.

Create Connection

Being in the same building doesn’t ensure employee connection; the key is really about developing a thriving company culture.

During onboarding, we ensure that every member of the team books our new team member for a casual get-to-know-you chat. They also get invited to participate in internal weekly training sessions on our core teachings to build their knowledge and connections.

We have tools and techniques embedded at the start (check-ins) and end (appreciation, difficulty, final statement) of every meeting to help build connection and increase interactive feedback.

Here are other workplace activity ideas that promote connection:

  • Share and celebrate wins, often—even the small stuff!
  • Plan weekly development meetups to stir the creativity and collaboration juices, where smaller groups work on learning something new together.
  • Assign a mentor to new employees for 30-minute chats once every week or two.

Walk the Walk

The words used to describe your company to current and potential future employees are certainly important, but behaviors speak volumes. Focus on the behaviors you, your leaders, and your teams demonstrate on a regular basis and prioritize them, ensuring that they align with your core values.

Since your employees are your unofficial recruiters and marketers, set them up for success to be able to communicate your company’s employer value proposition by incorporating into the day-to-day culture of the organization.