In the Talk from the top series, Ottawa business executives share some of their expert advice and insights on human resource issues. This month’s topic is keeping the love alive. Three executives explain what they do to keep passionate about work, and to keep their team going full steam ahead.
Back to basics
Randy Burgess, vice president of the Ottawa 67s Junior A Hockey Team, is focused on staging a world class sports and entertainment production for every game. To do this is a challenge, especially with the mandate of maintaining low ticket prices, which results in a tight budget for video crews, equipment, entertainers and event coordinators. “Where else,” asks Burgess, “can you take a family of four for three hours of live entertainment for only $60?” He looks slightly unbelieving as he says this, knowing that there just isn’t anywhere else!
Most of his staff have regular “day” jobs – government workers, salespeople, students – and they work the games because each of them is looking to add something to their own lives. “I try to give them the basic tools to gain experience in an area of interest,” says Burgess, “and they take it and run.” For example, when he started with the organization more than two years ago the equipment for the show was a sagging table and a pile of gear. Today, there have been some huge upgrades: new cameras, a new control room, a rewired audio/video system, a re-flown sound system with arena-shaking subwoofers, a scoreboard with twice the intensity of the video image, new projectors…the list goes on. “Getting the right equipment in place proved to the crew that we were serious about staging world class events,” he explains. “The crew shares that commitment and we all try to make each game better than the last.” And they share a lot of laughter too, which is another critical factor in the success of the show, as well as why they love their jobs.
Proving his commitment, giving people the opportunity to work at something they’re interested in, and encouraging people to have fun helps his team love their jobs. But the real kicker comes when staff experience live what Burgess says is the very best reason that they do what they do. On January 23rd, Isabelle McGrath performed the ceremonial puck drop to start the evening. Eight-year-old Isabelle had just finished treatments for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After she dropped the puck and shook hands with the team captains, she was so excited it was all she could do to keep her feet on the ground as she jumped and skipped back to the bench smiling ear to ear. “Players all tapped their sticks for her – it inspired me, the audience, the players…” Burgess recalls, “The opportunity to be involved at so many levels is why we love our jobs at the 67s.”
Value the work
Nick Ayre, vice president of human resources at CARE Canada, says that buying into the value of your mission is a key contributor to being successful in your work. Of course, CARE Canada’s mission is easy to buy into. It encompasses serving individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world through strengthening capacity for self help, providing economic opportunity, delivering relief in emergencies, influencing policy decisions at all levels, and addressing discrimination in all its forms. Connecting with the organization’s mission must certainly be the case for those CARE Canada international employees working in the most harsh and dangerous environments around the world and enduring often long-term separation from family and friends. “This kind of motivation can only come from within,” says Ayre. “You can’t be trained to feel this, and it isn’t policy-driven. These are very special people who work in the field.”
For Ayre, however, the passion for his work is driven by his personal business mission, which he breaks down into three distinct areas:
- Through the excellence of the work of his department, he understands well the contributions human resources make at CARE Canada to enable its work around the world and in delivering approximately $140 million in programming to people in need.
- His personal passion for human resources drives him to develop and nurture best practices in HR for the benefit of all staff at CARE Canada.
- Part of his passion is also driven by his desire to help outsiders learn more about CARE and how to embark on a career in international development.
Can profit-oriented leaders learn from Ayre’s passion? Absolutely – the key is to have a defined mission and to believe in the value of the mission. Keeping the mission alive keeps your passion for your work alive.
Board the bus
Leeanne Paquette, human resources manager, joined the Medical Council of Canada two years ago as their first dedicated HR resource. Her philosophy, “You’re either on the bus, or you’re not,” illustrates her goal of having fully engaged employees, and her HR initiatives have worked wonders at helping staff get on board. Her first task at the council was to create an HR Report Card requesting feedback from all employees. One of her questions, “Do you enjoy coming to work?” was for the most part answered negatively. Today, that same report card reflects an amazing shift in staff attitudes toward work.
So how did Paquette get staff engaged and loving their work? Many new initatives were put in place, but driving the changes were two main goals: getting staff involved in decision making, and helping to make life easier for everyone at the council. Nothing she did cost a lot; sometimes her initatives cost the council no money at all, but it added up to massively increased job satisfaction. Here are a few things she did to achieve attitude adjustment at the council:
- Improve employee understanding of the important work of the council;
- Introduction of online performance management systems;
- Creation of a health and wellness committee;
- Flex-time hours;
- Creation of an extended leadership team – managers meeting together with directors for the first time as a group;
- Administrative Assistants’ Forum: administrators meeting together as a team to share knowledge and improve consistency across the organization, and to work together for improvements with management;
- Professional development – HR helps employees ensure their career path is on track and they are getting the training they need to be successful and even more productive; and
- Arranged with local suppliers to offer pick-up and delivery of dry cleaning and employee vehicles for maintenance, in-house flu clinics, and massage therapy sessions.
When employees board the council bus now it’s full steam ahead with job satisfaction and improved morale.
Manager’s tip of the month: Susan Landry, CHRP, HR manager at Sun Media
“Remember,” cautions Landry, “that not everyone will love the job for the same reasons you do.” This sounds obvious but we can get so wrapped up in our own motivation that we forget others will have a completely different view. “I know someone who could make more money somewhere else,” she explains, “but because we give her the option of working from home at least one day a week, she’s staying put.” Whatever it is that management can do to help people love their jobs means increased productivity, retention, and employee loyalty – and sometimes it saves the company money too!
Patricia Heard interviews business leaders for the Talk From the top series of articles. She is with The Pollack Group, an executive staffing agency operating in Ottawa for more than 35 years. Find more at www.pollackgroup.com or contact Patricia directly at patricia@pollackgroup.ca.
