An Engaging New Look for the IRC

As we launch a new season of great people management development programs, we are also pleased to launch a refreshed visual identity. We have enshrined our familiar name - IRC - in our logo and added the tag line "Talent Engaged". Why the change? We want to more clearly communicate the areas in which we specialize: organization development as well as labour relations. We work in all sectors of the economy, not just those that are unionized. By using the acronym "IRC" and tag line "Talent Engaged", we remove the exclusive focus on "Industrial Relations" and communicate this broader mandate.

"Talent Engaged" refers to engaged participants: our programs are hands-on and very experiential, designed to engage adult learners. And it refers to engaged organizations: our alumni return to work with the skills and motivation to make a real difference.

A Gift in Honour of an IRC Luminary

Queen's IRC recently received a generous gift from the estate of Colin Campbell Young, who passed away in February 2008. Mr. Young was a Vice President of DuPont Canada and friend of the pioneering professor James C. Cameron. Beyond mentoring Mr. Young, Dr. Cameron was founder and head of Queen's Industrial Relations Section, a unit that was to become the IRC.

The IRC plans to earmark the estate gift for research into the future of labour relations practice, an issue close to Dr. Cameron's heart.

Lessons in Interest-Based Bargaining

Build trust, be yourself, prepare for tradeoffs - and watch the junk food. Ford Canada's Vice President of Human Resources Stacey Allerton Firth - who is on the teaching team for the IRC's Labour Relations Foundations program - shares these and other secrets for successful interest-based bargaining. In this article, Stacey draws on her experiences as a long-time senior HR executive and as lead negotiator for the 2005 Canadian Auto Workers National Negotiations team.

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New Brunswick's "Hothouses" and "Pipelines"

Faced with massive emigration, erosion of their natural resource-based economy, and poor academic standings, New Brunswick is ready for change. With the rallying cry of "self sufficiency in 20 years", the province is undertaking an ambitious leadership development program, reports IRC Fellow Françoise Morissette. A new institute is acting as a hothouse for high potential entrepreneurs, while leadership is being built into the curriculum from elementary schools to universities. It is "large scale systems thinking" at its best.

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Register soon to ensure admittance to these popular Fall programs:

• Oct. 7 Performance Management Essentials and Strategy (Toronto)
• Oct. 8 Employee Group Benefits Essentials and Strategy (Toronto)
• Oct. 15 to 17 Business Strategy (Toronto)
• Oct. 19 to 24 Negotiation Skills (Kingston)
• Oct. 21 to 24 Building Smart Teams (Regina)
• Oct. 28 to 31 OD Foundations (Banff)
• Nov. 2 to 6 Labour Arbitration Skills (Kingston)
• Nov. 3 to 7 Labour Relations Foundations (Halifax)
• Nov. 9 to 14 Negotiation Skills (Banff)
• Nov. 11 to 13 Organizational Design (Kingston)
• Nov. 17 to 19 Partnership Development (Kingston)
• Nov. 18 to 21 Change Management (Regina)
• Nov. 25 to 27 Organizational Learning (Kingston)
• Dec. 2 to 4 Building Risk Readiness (Kingston)