Business Guide
How-To Guide for Business offers step-by-step instruction for preparing your workplace for a prosperous and sustainable future.
Download your free copy of the Tomorrow’s Workplace Guide for Business
TOMORROW’S WORKPLACE BUSINESS GUIDE
Community Guide
Enjoy a Community Guide of the project scope and context for your Community/Business project.
Learn how community services and business can collaborate to enhance the workplace and integrate diversity in a variety of contexts.
Download your Free copy of the Community Guide For Tomorrow’s Workplace.
Facilitators Guide
Chambers and HR Consultants: Enjoy a Power Point Presentation of the project scope and context for your Business/Community project.
Tomorrow’s Workplace projcet was driven by the needs of business owners and revealed:
- * the importance of addressing priorities identified by the business
- * levaraging workforce diversity
* the importance of partnership with community and employment service providers to improve the competitive edge
Diversity is the new competitive advangtage for sustainable business. Rethink, reshape and renew your business community.
Download your free Tomorrow’s Workplace Overview Presentation. Learn the scope of the project and what is needed to initiate your community/workplace/business collaborative model.
Research Guide
Enjoy an extensive Literature Review of the project scope and context for your Business/Community project.
Download your free copy of Tomorrow’s Workplace Literature Review
PRESS RELEASE – BUSINESS GUIDE TO BE LAUNCHED
AWARD WINNING BUSINESSES MODEL FOR TOMORROW’S WORKPLACE
A Party to Celebrate Collaboration, Community and Business Success
Following 18 months of research, consultation with business leaders, workshops, seminars, conferences and surveys, and in collaboration with leaders in HR, Best Business Practices, Diversity and Community Development, the Tomorrow’s Workplace team unveils the GUIDE FOR BUSINESS LEADERS: Business – People – Community – Diversity, at a launch event on May 20, 2010 at the Sheraton Hotel, Surrey, BC (Guildford). Festivities begin at 4:30 pm and conclude by 7:30 pm.
The Canadian workforce is changing significantly, with the gradual retirement of the Boomer generation. Baby Boomers represent 40% of the workforce in North America, and business leaders are now looking at a new workforce model that includes diversity of age, ethnicity, physical disability, and gender.
New expectations in the workplace will have a profound effect on the longevity and sustainability of Canadian small and medium sized business. Factors include:
• Workers in their forties are caring for aging parents,
• Adult children often still live at home,
• Boomers are increasingly caring for grandchildren.
• Cultural distinctions require flexibility in family care, benefit selections, meal provisions and holiday extensions.
• Educated and highly trained young adults are seeking employment that fits around individuality and personal goals.
Tomorrow’s Workplace has worked with businesses in the Surrey area to learn, educate and collaborate in an effort to identify changes that are needed to create a high performing workplace, and develop effective methods for managing change in our business culture.
The event includes: an early evening of networking, short educational presentations, brief informative stories from local business leaders, live music, complimentary appetizers (cash bar), exhibits from Community Employment Service Providers, door prizes and a gift copy of the Tomorrow’s Workplace Guide for Business for each guest.
Admission is complimentary, but pre-registration is required. Please call
Heather at the Surrey Board of Trade at 604.581.7130 – or register online
Learn more about the Tomorrow’s Workplace Project
CONTACT: Bill Beatty FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Telephone: 604.866.2203
Email: Bill Beatty [bill.seni2@telus.net]
Background Information:
Tomorrow’s Workplace; funded by the Canada – BC Labor Market Agreement, Western Economic Diversification Canada, and Coast Capital Savings, is the brainchild of S.U.C.C.E.S.S, a Vancouver based multicultural training and service organization. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. partnered with the Surrey Board of Trade, Simon Fraser University , and Kwantlen Polytechnic University to research, and document the face of employment in BC and its relationship to privately owned small enterprise in the next decade and beyond.
The project assists Greater Vancouver area businesses through a series of business analysis and constructive consultation exercises, including: a 360-degree view of operations, financial plans and marketing/sales structures, clarity of mission, vision and values, employee workplace design and human resources strategy, and community service connections and effectiveness. Finally, the process is video documented for future study by Simon Fraser University and Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Canadian Business Faces Workforce Challenge
Challenges to the Emerging Canadian Workforce
A recent article in the Toronto Star sketched an outline of the face(s) in Tomorrow’s Workplace. The labor force in this country is evolving, and with the changes come inherent challenges.
What happens when the boomers retire?
Baby boomers although working much longer than they had anticipated, will eventually retire. When the boomers go, who will replace the largest demographic in the labor market?
Don Drummond, chief economist for the TD Bank Financial and author of the latest Star article, lists several contributing factors and their implications for next decade. He suggests that although Canadian women, aboriginals and youth could assist this country’s labor transition, there remain significant obstacles.
Women outnumber the men
Recent statistics indicate that women, under and over 25, outnumber men in the Canadian workforce: 7.1 million compared to men at 6.9 million. Women remain under- compensated for their efforts and occupy the lowest wage paying jobs in the country.
Businesses will be forced to address the growing and insistent demand from the female demographic for their needs: for childcare considerations, elder care obligations, and pay equity and opportunity.
Aboriginal Opportunities
Aboriginal peoples continue to increase in the Canadian population, with over 50% living in the urban centers. Overall, they are younger than the non-aboriginal population, yet remain underutilized in the Canadian workforce. According to Drummond, it makes sense to empower the Aboriginal people to meet the employment demands, but again, there are challenges.
The cost of education for even entry-level employment has become out of reach for many Aboriginals. The same problem affects young high school graduates as they prepare to enter the Canadian workforce.
Tax benefits and subsidies for education- used by the wealthy
A striking level of grants, subsidies, scholarships and various forms of financial assistance and tax credits, eludes students in the most challenging situations and is typically awarded to the students taking advantage of the programs from wealthier families.
Aging Workforce Opportunities
The aging factor is not a Canadian phenomenon alone. The US faces the boomer retirement as does Europe. Currently there are 8 million in the EU from 60-65 preparing to retire. Given the decreasing birth rate over the past generation, nations face a shortage of younger applicants to fill positions in almost every industry sector.
Forward thinking businesses might consider how to help their aging workforce continue in the labor market through inventive transition strategies that respect their physical and circumstantial requirements..
Implementing a Business Strategy
The heart of a successful business strategy is people.
Too often organizational leaders think that, if they only find the right set of tools or the latest financial or marketing software, their dreams of building a successful business will pay off. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your point of view, everyone else in the company also has their dreams for the future. In essence, a business strategy is a metaphor to describe the collective actions of individuals. To the extent that the individuals can find a way of expressing their dreams and meet their needs and aspirations, then the business will be successful.
Strategy implementation is fundamentally connected with organizational change.
Unfortunately, many change initiatives have lost sight of the need to integrate legitimate employee concerns with perceived organizational imperatives. There is sometimes a sentiment that individual employees have got to accept the changes or find a job somewhere else. At a time when the true value-added in organizations is the collective energy of the individual employees, adopting this view will be severely restrictive.
Marketing Embraces HR talked about the importance of employee involvement, and outlined some ways to address employee resistance. These cannot be over-emphasized.
Having said this, however, there are some steps that can be taken to increase the odds of successfully implementing a strategy.
Strategy Development
Setting the stage for successful implementation starts during the initial planning activities. You can:
- Involve the key staff in shaping the strategy helps create a sense of commitment and belonging
- Solicit input from all staff about the future direction of the enterprise
- Develop a proposed strategy
- Share and communicate it with staff and solicit feedback
- Remember that an unspectacular strategy brilliantly implemented will be better than a brilliant strategy poorly executed
- Identify the broad key performance indicators that will help you track success – financial markers, sales targets, cost of sales, customer satisfaction and complaints, etc. At this point, you don’t have to set specific targets, these can come during implementation
During Strategy Implementation
- Assign responsibility to each department/division/team to develop their own operational plan for how they will implement the business strategy in their area
- Review all operational plans to identify overlaps, redundancies, or inconsistencies and make appropriate adjustments
- Set specific targets for the key performance indicators – e.g., how many sales, in what time period? how much profit or ROI? what level of customer satisfaction?
- Monitor your performance indicators on an ongoing basis – there will be bumps in the road
- Diagnose your results with the staff responsible using constructive, non-judgmental approaches
- Adjust your operational activities to address the identified issues
There is really a three-step process necessary to successfully implement a business strategy.
- Involve! Involve! Involve!
- Communicate! Communicate! Communicate!
- Praise! Praise! Praise!
Author: Wayne Penney, Business Consultant and Team Member with Tomorrow’s Workplace
15th Annual Cultural DIVERSEcity Awards for Business
Gala Event for Diversity – Business to Win Award
DIVERSEcity
Tomorrow’s Workplace is happy to promote the upcoming Annual Cultural DIVERSEcity Awards for Business: April 13, 2010 at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel in Surrey, BC.
Businesses from the lower mainland who exhibit leadership qualities in the application of diversity values and practices are eligible for nomination. There are a variety of business size categories; small business, non-profit, youth-owned, government funded, etc. to insure inclusive opportunities.
Judges will be looking for:
- Cultural Expertise
- Community Involvement
- Employee Initiatives
- Marketing Strategies
For More information, visit their website at DIVERSEcity.
Click here for a quick FAQ on the event.CDA FAQ
When the Two Say “I Do”: Marketing Embraces HR
A little used power combination within any organization is a much needed marriage between marketing and HR.
There is no argument that HR must become more strategic in its approach to organizational development. Routine HR functions can be outsourced, freeing the HR practitioner to focus on managing people not paper. Marketing has always been a necessary component of business strategy. When the two functions become aligned and integrated; the result is a sustainable brand. One needs the other to ensure that the brand you build is authentic.
How do the two functions merge to produce a sustainable brand? The key is in authenticity.
Branding is a buzzword that is frequently misunderstood. Let’s begin with what a brand is not. It is not a tag line, nor a logo. A brand cannot be established by changing your letterhead or the appearance of a website. A brand that is sustainable is the essence of your organization – not something tangible. A brand is a promise that must be kept. A brand begins from the inside out. It is the invisible, unreachable heart of your organization that is hard to communicate in mere words. A brand is something that you live every day; not write about in a mission statement or create for an advertising campaign. Branding is emotional. A true functioning Brand is an experience not a thing. For HR to build employer of choice initiatives in order to retain and attract valuable human capital, a partnership with marketing just makes good sense. HR guides the internal experience and marketing guides the external experience. Employees are the link between internal and external – as they influence customer experience every day.
How do you tell if your brand is working?
One immediate measure is employee engagement. A sustainable brand that provides you with competitive advantage and unique positioning is a joint effort between HR and Marketing. A baseline measurement or an engagement survey tells you the most important information you need to know. What is the actual experience of your company? What does it feel like? What emotion does it create in your employees? What emotions are your employees then transmitting to your customers?
To jump-start your organization, here are a few suggestions that enhance both HR and Marketing in their ability to deliver synergistic results.
Strategy Steps
1. Establish a baseline measurement like the Q12 from First, Break All the Rules. You need to create a qualitative and quantitative baseline to measure the results of your OD efforts (and enhance your credibility as a internal profit-centre).
2. Ensure that the internal basics are in place before attempting external branding efforts. Do employees know what to do? Do they have the equipment they need to do their job?
3. Compare your results from your baseline measurement against employee statistics (e.g. turnover, absenteeism, stress leave).
4. Examine your recent marketing efforts. Does your marketing reflect your internal reality, your actual corporate culture; or is it a fantasy produced to hopefully attract customers? (Such a fantasy alienates your employees and is a major source of disengagement).
5. Create an internal focus group from a cross-section of the organization. If you feel that your culture lacks trust, bring in someone to facilitate the discussion and compile the results.
6. Have the employees review the marketing campaign. Does it produce hysterical laughter? scorn? disbelief? agreement? empathy? commitment? passion?
7. Where are the disconnects? If your employees don’t believe in the marketing campaign – what do you think they will deliver to your customers?
8. Get a sense of your organizational experience. What do you stand for and why do you exist? What is your core ideology? What does your product or service mean to your employees? Do they care?
9. Start reading (yes, recommendations are coming) to get a sense of where a strategic approach to HR and marketing can take your organization.
Employees Must Believe
If you want your employees to fully engage in their work, give them something to believe in, an ongoing story that they are part of and one that results in feelings of pride and accomplishment. In order to retain valuable human capital, your first customers should be your employees. A sustainable brand starts within. That is why the function of HR is now more important than at any previous time in the history of organizations. The function of HR is to protect and support the heart and soul of the organization. Only then do you have something to give to your marketing department. Only then can you build a brand.
Each employee should be able to answer two questions with pride and commitment. What do we stand for? Why do we exist?
These questions form the foundation of your brand, the essence of your lifeblood as an organization. Without answers to these questions, you are leaking valuable human capital as well as bottom line profitability. Jim Collins calls it a hedgehog; we call it simply a Core Ideology. It is the foundation for creativity in business. When employees can answer these questions with a sense of pride, you have full engagement.
To create a brand experience requires the participation of employees.
To gain commitment to such participation, the employees must believe in the Brand. If you are looking for ‘buy-in’ from your employees, you have already missed the mark for what are you attempting to ‘sell?’ Your internal brand experience must produce authentic value for your first customer, the employee. If there is no value for the employee, you have much work to do before attempting an external marketing campaign.
It All Starts with a Story
How to create and sustain a brand experience? Look to the ancient art of storytelling. What stories do your employee’s tell about your organization? What is your corporate mythology?
First, just like in traditional storytelling, you need to set the stage, to define the current situation in an insightful, coherent and clear manner. You need to be able to honestly describe ‘what is.’ Your baseline measurement. The starting place for your journey.
Next, again just like storytelling, what challenges are being faced? What untapped resources and talents are available to meet these challenges? Engage your entire employee – not just the small part that fits a current job description. What creative employee gifts are hiding in your organization? This is the ordeal phase. Difficult but necessary. Talent management calls for finding hidden talent that is not being utilized.
Finally, how can you overcome these challenges by capitalizing on employee’s untapped strengths and hidden potential? What can they bring to the brand experience? What do your employees need in order to fully engage in this story? The power to change is fuelled by commitment—emotional engagement anchored in lived experience. This is what will make you an Employer of Choice.
When you have accomplished these three objectives, you will have something worthwhile to take to market. Every life—and every organization—is mythic territory. The realm of story is the realm of actual lived experience. That is why the gift of story has carried the human race since the beginning of time. The essence of that story is what marks you as an Employer of Choice and also carries your Brand Experience. To create a sustainable brand experience – start from the inside out.
Dr. Ginger Grant
For more from Dr. Ginger Grant visit her website
More Articles available at:
University of Manchester Blog on Transforming Management:
Tomorrow’s Workplace: Mission, Vision and Values
Applying Mission, Vision and Values in the Tomorrow’s Workplace Project
One area our team is continually promoting to business and community providers is the overall importance of a clear mission for the company or organization, the subsequent vision that accompanies it, and the values that drive it. To illustrate we asked our Project Director, Mr. Bill Beatty, to outline the MVV for our project and demonstrate what it looks like.
Mission
Tomorrow’s Workplace Partners and Team provide a container that focuses creative, practical, and logical skills on developing resilient small and medium sized businesses, reflecting a diverse workforce, demonstrating strong community support.
Vision
Surrey is a nationally recognized community where business, government, and service organizations collaborate, around the Surrey Board of Trade, to create a vibrant local economy based on sound business practices, community-supported sustainability, and employment representative of the diversity of its workforce.”
Values
The Tomorrow’s Workplace collaborative believes:
♦ Business values community
♦ Community partners will change what they do and how, if it makes personal, professional, and spiritual sense
♦ Local government, educators, and service organizations value business
♦ Business drives community wealth and stability
♦ The entire community benefits when businesses employ citizens reflecting our diversity
♦ Everyone in Surrey wants to see business success
♦ Small and medium sized businesses need community based support to thrive
♦ Surrey can be a model of business development for our province and nation
♦ The Surrey Board of Trade is a leader in innovative business and community practices
♦ Tomorrow’s Workplace is a key resource for business and community
♦ Together we will succeed
