Wait, who’s hiring on LinkedIn? July HR Round-Up
This month’s Round-up includes some great articles for onboarding and hiring, especially how to approach improving diversity in your organization. I’ve also thrown in some interesting HR news and two pieces about the education and skills that the future workforce will need. STEM or Liberal arts: which do you think will be more important? Read more and find out!
Egg-freezing and IVF are tech’s hottest perk
Company perks are continuing to evolve based on the needs and desires of employees. Some organizations, especially in the tech space, are now offering fertility treatments in their perks package. Read more about why employers like Gusto are including these offerings in this BuzzFeed article.
An Open Letter to Leaders Trying to Improve Diversity
This Medium post by Andy Ayim should resonate with any founder or hiring manager pushing for a more diverse workforce in their organization. Ayim relates his own experience as well as asks some great, action-spurring questions for leaders to reflect on. One that stood out to me was “Why do you take the quick and easy road to go for cultural fit rather than cultural add?” Definitely something to think about.
Why MailChimp doesn’t let employees work for their first week
Marti Wolf, Chief Culture Officer at MailChimp, gives an in-depth run-down of their new hires’ first week on the job. She also explains why they are given a personality assessment so managers can have some insights into how to help them work well with their teams. You’ll want to check out this onboarding process if you’re planning to hire soon. It’s always good to keep improving upon existing onboarding procedures!
Why are Canadian workers so unhappy?
Who would’ve guessed that Canada would be behind the US when it comes to employee satisfaction? According to a recent survey by Robert Half & Happiness Works, Canada was ranked fifth (out of eight), and the US took the highest score. Main contributors to this score were engagement and levels of stress. Read more in this HRM Canada article, or check out the full report here.
Coding is the new cursive- and we have to embrace it
I’m not that old, but I do remember hours and hours of cursive writing practice around grade three. I remember my first typing classes where I thought “hmm, I don’t think computers are for me, I probably won’t get a job using them anyway.” HA! Now it’s almost impossible (at least in North America) to go without touching computers or other technology in your daily life. Kelly Lovell argues that coding is the new cursive, and we need to be putting way more effort into teaching it in early stages of education than we currently do. She also stresses the importance of encouraging women to learn skills that allow them to enter STEM, giving ideas of how to accomplish this.
As HR professionals, we look for specific skill sets when we hire. Some skills are essential no matter what the role is. How will coding affect types of mandatory skill profiles in the future? It’s interesting to think about for your current organization, and it’s hiring needs, especially if you’re in a non-tech realm.
Liberal Arts in the Data Age
“What kind of job are you planning to do with that?” I’m not the only one who was asked this when I told people my university major. Now I work for an HR-tech company, but my Bachelor of Arts has definitely been useful!
This Harvard Business Review piece by JM Olejarz points out why liberal arts are and will continue to be useful in the ‘data age.’ He references several experts who also feel STEM is not the only relevant training for today’s youth and their future job demands. This piece fits nicely with the other article in this Round-up about the need for more coding in schools. Both are necessary!
The mental health email shared ’round the world
You might have seen this story trending on LinkedIn or other mediums you follow. An employee shared a screenshot of an email from their manager in response to them taking a mental health day. Professionals all over the world joined in on the discussion as to what extent the leniency and support for mental health in the workplace should be. According to the Mental Health Commission, in 2011 there was more than $6 billion lost in productivity due to mental illness related absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover. It’s a serious issue that we can’t avoid.
What are your thoughts on this manager’s gesture? What best practices and policies does your organization have for mental health?
Tech talent in Toronto, Vancouver is top quality at budget rate: CBRE Report
Things are looking great for tech industry in Canada! A number of US companies are considering moving some operations to our larger tech hubs. We’ve also recently opened the Global Talent Stream program to attract more international talent. As this CBRE report shows, Toronto and Vancouver were ranked as the best markets for tech. However, are corresponding salaries appropriate for this boom, and for how long this ‘budget rate’ can feasibly last?
Miss last month’s post? Get June’s HR Round-up here!
Imagine you’re in HR for a tech company or are a recruiter in this industry in Canada. How do you see this growing market affecting your ability to recruit? Do you think salary and other incentives need to be adjusted to get ahead of the competition? As well, if you’re a tech company outside of these urban centres, what implications do you see in vying for top talent to stay in (or come to) your area?
Kensington Palace is hiring, on LinkedIn of all places
Not a typical job posting you see on LinkedIn! The Kensington Palace posted a Senior Communications Officer role three weeks ago, and already have way over 1,000 applications. The LinkedIn ad alone has over 38,200 views to date. Hopefully, they find a great candidate that can meet the royal family’s needs!
A Wisconsin company will let employees use microchip implants to buy snacks and open doors
How would you feel about having an implantable chip, provided by and for work-related use? Three Square Market (the vending company from this story) says implants are optional and will be programmed for building, equipment, and computer access as well as for purchasing snacks. According to the article, this tech is already more advanced in Europe. We’ll no doubt see more adoption in North America as time goes on.
It’s interesting to think (from an HR manager’s perspective) about how to execute this project company-wide. As well, how would you draft employee policy and what would need to be included?
That’s it for this July’s HR Round-up! What did you find interesting this month? Anything you saw/heard that is also newsworthy? Let us know in the comments!
