Cross Cultural Training: When Norms are Different

Hiring a foreign worker isn't guaranteed and it may take longer. But you may be better off in the long run. One of my first jobs ever was as an immigration officer so maybe it was just me, but I loved this demystification of rules for hiring foreign talent. This is American content though - I'll find someone Canadian soon. I spoke with an immigration attorney, Sergio Athanasso, of Sergio Law. He specializes in helping organizations with their foreign recruitment and gave us a bunch of tips on how to navigate international hiring. Key highlights include: 1. 🌎 Understand the various visa categories and their qualifications: TN, L1, E2, O1, H1B. 2. ⏱️ You need to plan ahead with foreign recruitment, but sometimes maybe not as long as you thought. 3. 📚 For anything other than hiring a Canadian, you may want to secure an immigration lawyer. And maybe even with hiring Canadians. So if you are American HR - or someone going to work in the States, check this out! It might not be as bad as you thought! Find Sergio Athanasso at [email protected] or https://sergiolaw.com/ You can find me, Andrea Adams, for consulting https://thehrhub.ca/

Succession planning is more than just a game of thrones! It's about building a pipeline of ready and able leaders. But where do you start? This week I delved into the complexities of succession planning with Dr. Nanette Miner. She is an author, consultant, and succession strategist, and broke down the process of succession planning which is mostly preparation. As the video below says, you need a pipeline not a single individual. 3️⃣ Succession planning takes a minimum of 3 years. Maybe this is why few organizations do it well. 🔍 You need to start with the metrics. 📈 Succession planning is building talent not buying it. 🎯 Avoid personal bias: what served you in the past may not serve you in 5-10 years. Nanette believes that leadership should be instilled from day one and that every employee should be given development opportunities. Leadership is a behaviour that takes a long time to learn. Find Dr. Nanette Minor on LinkedIn or at https://www.trainingdr.com/ Find Andrea https://thehrhub.ca/

"HR professionals have the hardest and the most critical role. It's to really understand the people dynamics and how it's going to help a company grow." This week we were talking about scaling organizations. It's always a hot topic in HR consulting. Tish Squillaro, a dynamic consultant with over 20 years of experience working with clients like Salesforce and IBM, was my guest. She understands complicated things and shared some of her knowledge with us. Her particular expertise is helping venture-backed companies scale effectively. She emphasizes five priorities for helping an organization scale and says HR plays the most important role. The first of which is having the right people in the right seats. So we talk about: 👥 The importance of 'right people, right seats' in scaling an organization 🎯 The role of focus in achieving organizational goals 💼 How leadership style impacts decision-making and overall organizational success 🧪 The significance of team chemistry in fostering a positive work environment. Tish's insights are not only fascinating but also insightful. You can find her via the following: https://candor-consulting.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/tishsquillaro/ And you can find me at https://thehrhub.ca

"Celebrate all diversity." In this case we were mostly talking about cultural diversity - as in from different countries. This used to be something we talked about a lot and then we stopped. It's still relevant though. Some peoples have different priorities or beliefs that come into our workplaces or we're part of a multinational firm. So, with some personal trepidation that we might veer off into negative stereotypes, I spoke with with Sue Ingram. She's has a keen interest in what makes a great workplace and dealt with the topic beautifully. In this episode, Sue brings her unique insights into multicultural workplaces and discusses: 🌍 The importance of understanding and respecting different cultures in the workplace. Food is a great icebreaker! 🤝 The role of trust and understanding in fostering a healthy work environment. Trust is related to predictability which, with different cultures can be harder. 🗣️ The subtle nuances of communication across different cultures - Sue gave examples. 👥 The impact of cultural differences on workplace dynamics and how to navigate them. There are some great resources out there and this episode is a treasure trove of knowledge for HR professionals who have a culturally diverse workforce. It's packed with practical tips and insightful anecdotes that will help you navigate this with more joy and confidence. Really - we need to celebrate! Find Sue on LinkedIn at   / sueingram1   Her email: [email protected] Her book: https://www.amazon.ca/Fire-Well-Staff... Find me (Andrea) for consulting support [email protected]

"Being in person doesn't mean you are present." On one hand, many employees love remote work while, on the other, many companies want employees in person. Where do you sit on the subject? The debate rages in my household. I'll state the obvious: it's hard for any of us to be objective. I spoke with Kaleem Clarkson, COO of BlendMe, a consultancy focused on supporting remote and hybrid workplaces. Recently, he was listed as one of the top 50 experts around enabling remote work. He shared his insights on why employers resist remote work, the pros and cons of remote work, and how to build a successful remote work culture. 🥇Top tip: plan around building social connection. 🌍 The advantages of remote work are considerable. If they weren't, there would be no debate. 💻 The main challenge of remote work is how to build social connection. He says this rests mostly on the employer. 👥 A social connection strategy and calendar will help you foster connections among remote teams. 👨‍💼 He doesn't try to persuade skeptical leaders. He'll help if they are genuinely exploring the issues. 🔍 You need to think about asynchronous communication and documentation in a remote work setting. Find Kaleem on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/kaleemclarkson/ Blend Me Inc: blendmeinc.com Kaleem's YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/KaleemClarkson Find Andrea for consulting at [email protected]

In a small or medium business (or NFP) you need to do a little bit of many things - learning and development is no exception. So, as part of my series on HR for SMBs, we are talking about L&D in that environment. Our expert guest for this episode was the exceptional James Aird, an L&D specialist with a Master's of Education from Harvard. James has a unique perspective, having honed his skills in conflict areas like Iraq and the Congo. He is down-to-earth with a lot of practical tips to help SMBs figure out their L&D. In this episode, James shares: 🎯 Why SMBs should invest in L&D. 💡 Common challenges faced by SMBs in implementing L&D programs and how to address them. Some is money, but some is attention and expertise. 📚 Surprisingly affordable options for SMBs to access comprehensive learning and development resources. 🏢 The role of leaders in driving L&D and aligning it with business objectives. 🔑 The ideal time for an organization to invest in a Learning Management System (LMS). If you're leading a small or medium business or NFP or you're in HR there, check out this episode - and the whole series! Resources: The Assoc'n for Talent Development https://www.td.org eLearning Industry https://www.elearningindustry.com James' website: https://edupivot.io/ Reach out to Andrea for consulting [email protected]

I was tired of hearing about 'fast-paced change' ten years ago. And now the pace is even faster. The World Economic Forum's 'Future of Jobs Report', estimates that by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by a shift in the division of labor between humans and machines, while 97 million new roles may emerge. That's since 2020! That's next year! My guest, Michelle Ellis, brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. With her background in from Disney, a PhD in training and performance improvement, and her current role at Intellum, a learning management software company, she shares approaches to building learning culture. We talked about: 📚 The definition of a learning culture and its importance in modern organizations. Note the pace of change. 📈 The benefits of fostering a learning culture, including increased innovation, retention and employee satisfaction. Many things promise this, but I think learning can deliver. 🎯 The role of a learning culture in upskilling and reskilling employees. 💼 The difference between talent management and talent planning. This was so interesting - see the video! 🧠 The importance of competency-based learning and the distinction between skills and competencies. 🔧 The role of technology in building a learning culture. This episode offers valuable insights for HR professionals looking to cultivate a learning culture within their organizations. It's a case for those who aren't building a learning organization to reconsider. Hiring is expensive! It's time to equip your team with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in a rapidly changing work environment. Find Michelle on LinkedIn at / michelle-ellis-phd-cxac-cert-3357833 See Intellum here: https://www.intellum.com/ I am an HR consultant to small and medium businesses and not-for-profits. Reach out to me here: [email protected]

Battling uphill with recruitment for small and medium businesses or not-for-profits? Worried about competing with the big names and their resources? It's time to level up your HR game! In this episode of The HR Hub, I dove into full cycle recruitment: all the steps in the recruitment process. I offered insights and strategies to help you attract great people even against larger and more well-known employers. This is another episode I (Andrea Adams) did myself. I'm an HR consultant to small and medium businesses and distilled some of the questions I get into a quick overview. I broke down the full-cycle recruitment process and highlighted why you need to care about each step if you want to make great hires. In this episode, you'll discover: 📚The difference between a job ad and a job description, and why it matters. 🎯How to source candidates effectively whether you target individuals or get individuals to target you. 🚀 Strategies to speed up the screening and selection process and avoid bias. 💰 Getting the most out of your budget. ⏰ The importance of timing in recruitment and how to plan for it effectively. 👥 How to assess a candidate's fit for your organization without compromising diversity. Find me at https://www.thehrhub.ca/ [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/

Thinking about running a 360 program to provide feedback to employees? For some reason, one of the few things I remember from university was a project I did on 360's. Even then, it seemed so much more valid and potentially insightful that a regular review. To explore this, I reached out to Jo Ayoubi, co-founder of Track 360 Feedback. Jo is a consultant and they have a 360 software platform so she was an excellent guest for this discussion! Jo covered it all: 🤔 360s are a great way to get insight on HOW someone does their job not just what they accomplish. 📝 A 360 feedback program is NOT a performance review. It could be a piece though. 👥 Preparation is critical - particularly preparing all the people who will participate. 📊 Not all her clients do a good job of follow-up but you probably should. 📅 It will take 2-3 months from beginning to end. This episode has so much valuable insights to help you understand how a well-implemented 360 feedback program can help employee and organization performance! Find Jo Ayoubi and her company at https://tracksurveys.com/ She would also chat with you on LinkedIn:   / joayoubi   Find me for consulting in Western Canada https://www.thehrhub.ca/

Worried about a leadership shortage? Or are you a new leader and... OMG it sucks?? This week I talked about building leaders with Corina Walsh, a seasoned leadership coach and host of the "People and Culture Success Show". Corina has considerable knowledge and practical advice to help HR identify, nurture, and accelerate leadership within an organization. She shed light on the common mistakes new leaders make and how HR can help. We talked about: 🛠️ Promoting people who are technically strong. Could be a bad idea. 🎯 The key attributes of emerging leaders - they should be people-people. 🔍 The important role of HR in succession planning and leadership development. 🔧 How to help new leaders transition smoothly and effectively. 📚 The importance of ongoing leadership training and development. If your leadership pipeline is barely a trickle or new leaders are failing. Check this out. Find Corina at shiftpd.com. She has a lot of free resources too! Find Andrea for small and medium sized business consulting in Western Canada.