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Queen's University IRC

Cathy Sheldrick

Lessons from the BCNU Governance Board Certificate Program

Building a Custom Queen’s IRC Certificate: Lessons from the BCNU Governance Board Certificate Program

Human Resources / By

Union president Christine Sorensen and the British Columbia Nurses’ Union (BCNU) Board have big aspirations for a professional union with a strong, high-functioning Board. Achieving this vision has meant restructuring, long-term strategic planning, and significant training for the Board – and all within a three-year elected term. In 2017, Christine was appointed as president (from the vp/acting-president role) and a new Board had also been elected. With a significant turnover in Board members and a strong drive for change, they began working towards their goals, immediately taking on some significant organizational and structural issues.

Relationship Management in a Union Environment

Relationship Management in a Union Environment

Labour Relations / By

Building relationships in the workplace is hard – and it takes work. It’s even more difficult when you work in a unionized organization which has traditionally adversarial relationships. But these days, organizations like the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) are stepping away from the attitude that, as a union, you have to be in ‘fight mode’ all the time. They are working towards accomplishing more for their members by trying to have better relationships with management. This is where the Queen’s IRC Relationship Management in a Union Environment program comes in.

Workplace Restoration Q&A with Anne Grant

Workplace Restoration Q&A with Anne Grant

Labour Relations / By

Queen’s IRC sat down with Anne Grant, the facilitator for our new Workplace Restoration program, to find out more about the topic and the program. In the interview, Anne shares her experience in workplace restorations, including the surprises she’s had along the way. She gives some insight into what makes workplaces toxic and how this program will help organizations that are experiencing disruptions like prolonged conflicts, increased harassment or grievance claims, leadership issues, strikes, investigations or significant organizational changes.

4 Steps to Fix a Toxic Workplace

4 Steps to Fix a Toxic Workplace

Labour Relations / By

How do you fix a hostile workplace after a strike, merger or other polarizing event? How do you create a healthy workplace after a harassment or grievance investigation? It can be difficult to rebuild the trust that has been lost between members of a team or in leadership, or both. But, according to Anne Grant, you have to bring people back to a joint vision of what the workplace should be.

Queen's IRC Certificates

Queen’s IRC Certificate Fast Facts

News / By

Did you know that we offer Certificates in Advanced Human Resources, Organization Development, Labour Relations, and Advanced Labour Relations? When you place a Queen’s University IRC Certificate on your wall, it tells your colleagues that you have received leading skills-building education and that you are a committed continuous learner.

Jim Harrison teaching at the HR Metrics and Analytics program

Transforming HR Data into Business Insight: A Closer Look at the HR Metrics and Analytics Program

Human Resources / By

Queen’s IRC recently introduced the HR Metrics and Analytics program to help HR professionals analyze metrics and transform data into powerful stories for their leaders. Led by Paul Juniper and Jim Harrison, the program was designed to help HR professionals become more confident and competent in how to analyze data, how to use data properly, and how to share it in ways that can help their organization make decisions.

5 Insights into Conducting Effective Fact-Finding Investigations

5 Insights into Conducting Effective Fact-Finding Investigations

Labour Relations / By

Fact-finding is an essential skill set for anybody who is in an HR, labour relations or employee relations role. If you stay in this role, at some point you will end up doing investigations, and having this skill set is going to make you much more efficient as a practitioner. Jerry Christensen, who recently retired from the City of Calgary, managed and coordinated the City’s respectful workplace program and dealt with all of their human rights issues.

Peter Edwards

Peter Edwards Delivers 2015 W. D. Wood Lecture

News / By

Peter Edwards, Vice-President Human Resources and Labour Relations at Canadian Pacific, delivered the 2015 W. D. Wood Lecture on November 6, 2015 at Queen’s University. Peter spoke about the future of work, the future of the labour movement and how technology will impact jobs. Peter urged the audience to think about how things like controlling trains remotely, driverless cars, and completely automated factories are going to profoundly change the world.

Summit Chair Brenda Barker Scott

Getting Ahead of the Shift: Summit Inspires Thoughtful Conversations About the Changing World of Work

News / By

With an impressive line-up of guest speakers and facilitators, the Queen’s IRC 2015 Workplace in Motion Summit brought together over 100 leaders in HR, OD and LR from across the country to engage in conversations about the workplace of the future, and the trends that are driving new models for organizational planning. The Summit, held on April 16 in Toronto, featured a number of themes, including: Talent: How do we engage, retain and motivate a new generation of workers? Transformation:  How can organizations transform without trauma?

Clark MacFarlane, Executive Director, CMHA – Cochrane-Timiskaming Branch

Exploring Senior Leadership in the Canadian Mental Health Association

Human Resources / By

Clark MacFarlane has over twenty years of experience in the health care sector, and is currently the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) – Cochrane-Timiskaming Branch, in northern Ontario. CMHA branches provide direct service to people who are experiencing mental illness, and to their families. They are in the process of implementing a new service delivery model, which shifts from traditional treatment methods to a recovery approach.

Queen's IRC Coaching Skill training program brochure cover

Coaching Skills: Post-Program Perspectives

Human Resources / By

In December 2014, Queen’s IRC introduced a new two-day Coaching Skills program. With long-time Queen’s IRC facilitator Françoise Morissette at the helm, the program promises to deliver essential coaching skills, tools and models to help participants master the coaching process and improve performance at the individual and organizational level. “Coaching is popular because it’s very portable and can be used formally or informally,” said Françoise, the lead facilitator for the program.

Lori Aselstine

Inside HR at the Ontario Public Service

Human Resources / By

In April 2014, as Lori Aselstine began her retirement from the Government of Ontario, she sat down with Queen’s IRC to talk about her career, the HR profession and practising HR in an environment that is 85% unionized. Lori talks candidly about her experience rising through the ranks in the Government of Ontario, as well as the challenges and opportunities that come from working in labour relations for the government, which often plays the role of the employer and legislator.

Queen's IRC Archvie Revitalization Project

Queen’s IRC Archive Revitalization Project

News / By

The Queen’s IRC archive revitalization project has been unveiled.  The goal of the project, driven by Queen’s IRC Director Paul Juniper, was to digitize archive publications to make them available to the public once again. “I am excited to be able to share our IRC research and publication history in a new and accessible way,” said Juniper.

Queen's IRC launches new website

Announcing the Queen’s IRC Website Redesign

News / By

Queen's IRC is pleased to announce that its new website has officially launched. It was redesigned with simplicity, ease of use, and mobile compatibility in mind. Designed and developed in house, the new website offers enhanced navigational features, as well as a fresh look and updated content.

Erin O'Flynn is the first participant to earn the IRC's Advanced HR Certificate. She is pictured here with IRC Director Paul Juniper, who spearheaded the creation of the Advanced HR programming and the Advanced HR Certificate.

Queen’s IRC Awards First Advanced HR Certificate

News / By

When Paul Juniper became the Director of Queen's University Industrial Relations Centre (IRC) in 2006, he recognized the need for more senior level training in the changing human resources (HR) profession. To accomplish this, he designed a new series of Advanced HR programs to enhance the strategic knowledge, ability, and capability of HR practitioners. The goal was to enable HR practitioners to shift from an administrative and/or transactional role, to one that has become an integral part of an organization's business strategy – an HR business partner.

Queen's University in Kingston, ON

Training Employees is Key to Effective Union-Management Relationships

Labour Relations / By

For practitioners in Queen's University's Human Resources (HR) department, the past two years have brought about a number of changes in the way they do their jobs. Two years ago, there were four union contracts at the University, and today, the tenth contract is being negotiated. With about 80% of the University's employees now unionized, Al Orth, Associate Vice-Principal (Human Resources) at Queen's University, says the environment has changed significantly.
 

Ontario 2020 Delphi forecast

Ontario experts pessimistic about the future: Ontario 2020 Delphi forecast

Labour Relations / By

Last year, OPSEU brought together business, labour, government, and community agencies for an in-depth exploration of the possible futures for Ontario with Ontario 2020. The Ontario 2020 Delphi forecast has now been released, which shows that experts are concerned and pessimistic about the future of the province. Queen's IRC Director Paul Juniper was a member of the steering committee for the Ontario 2020 project, which included a two-day conference in Toronto.
 

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