Each year, Queen’s IRC releases a number of new articles and papers written by our facilitators, staff and experts in the community. In 2016, we also released a change management book, written by Dr. Carol Beatty.
These are the five most popular articles Queen's IRC released in 2016:
The Critical Role of Orientation for New Employees to Your Organization’s Culture
Karen Suk-Patrick, Director of OD and Employee Health Services, Guelph General Hospital, and Chantal Thorn, OD Specialist, Guelph General Hospital
First impressions count. However in the workplace, organizations often fail to realize that this truism is a two way street. As much as we form first impressions about the people we interview…more
Breaking Bad News about Organizational Change
Kate Sikerbol, Queen’s IRC Facilitator
Getting the news out about an upcoming restructuring, merger or acquisition, layoff, or other major organizational change can be a challenge. No one wants to experience having their name ‘pop up’…more
Invisible Barriers: Accommodating Mental Illness in the Workplace
Deborah Hudson, Lawyer, Turnpenney Milne LLP
Mental illness is a leading cause of disability in Canada.(1) In fact, at least 500,000 employed Canadians are not able to work due to mental health problems in any given week…more
4 Strategies for Collective Bargaining in Today’s Economy
Gary T Furlong, C.Med, LL.M (ADR), Queen’s IRC Facilitator
We have entered a challenging and difficult time for collective bargaining for both employers and unions. Shortly following the great recession in 2008, both management and unions…more
Transforming HR Data into Business Insight: A Closer Look at the HR Metrics and Analytics Program
Cathy Sheldrick, Queen’s IRC Marketing Assistant, 2016
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 Queen’s IRC Director Paul Juniper and Queen’s IRC facilitator 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.
According to Paul, one of the key things people learn is how to link the data to the story. “Data with no story is not helpful. A story with no data is not going to be believed. You need to meld the two together.”
“Some people can be really good with the data, but they haven't had the practice or experience at presenting to senior leadership,” Paul said. “ Alternately some people who are in HR have been afraid of using data and numbers, but they're really good with the story. They don't know how to pull the right numbers out of the data in order to support their story.”
Brenda Grape, an HR Business Partner at AMI, recently attended the HR Metrics and Analytics program. “I was really thrilled with it. It definitely went above what I expected.” Brenda said that she really got a lot out of the case studies, specifically being able to focus on how she wanted to present the story that goes with the numbers, as well as focus on the numbers that back the story.
Human Rights and Human Wrongs: Our Continuing Need to Teach
Elaine Newman, Arbitrator and Mediator, Queen's IRC Facilitator, 2015
Francine had been disciplined before. She had been suspended for 3 days, for an angry outburst that she had in the shipping department. But this time was worse. Francine was in the cafeteria, finishing her break. Three co-workers sat down at the same table, and within minutes she began yelling and swearing at them. One of them began talking to her, trying to quiet her down. She threw her cup of tea in his face, and then left the room.
Francine was terminated. The letter of termination cited the company anti-violence and harassment policies.
The most interesting piece of the story arose during mediation, when the grievor told the mediator that she didn't have a problem with anger – she had a problem with the Filipino employees who were working in the plant. "They are all so tight, always together, and they are taking all the jobs in the plant. None of my nephews, and none of my friends' kids are getting the new jobs…"
This is not just a problem with anger management. This is a problem with racism. Canadian workplaces are full of it.
Have you heard about our newest program? Designing Collaborative Workplaces will show you how to build high performance teams, enable collaborative workplaces, and create engaging work spaces for collective learning.
This program will give you the knowledge and tools to create a collaborative framework that builds trust and enables team members to maximize their contributions in a high performance environment. You’ll learn how to create engaging spaces and explore the essential conditions for a ‘team of teams’ culture.
The program runs: – Kingston: April 10-12, 2017* – Toronto: September 26-28, 2017 * Special introductory price for the first program
In the News…
Embrace resistance to meet your change goals
This month, Harvey Schachter reviewed Dr. Carol Beatty’s ebook, The Easy, Hard & Tough Work of Managing Change, in The Globe and Mail. The review highlights some of the key points in Carol’s book about resistance to change, including a case study involving Kodak.
Harvey Schachter is a writer specializing in management issues. He writes Monday Morning Manager and management book reviews for the print edition of The Globe and Mail Report on Business.
For an overview of our professional development training, from the perspective of our participants and speakers, please check out our Queen’s IRC Video.
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Call 1-888-858-7838 | Email IRC@QueensU.ca | Visit us online at irc.queensu.ca
Top 5 Queen’s IRC Articles from 2016
Queen’s IRC recently introduced the 
Francine had been disciplined before. She had been suspended for 3 days, for an angry outburst that she had in the shipping department. But this time was worse. Francine was in the cafeteria, finishing her break. Three co-workers sat down at the same table, and within minutes she began yelling and swearing at them. One of them began talking to her, trying to quiet her down. She threw her cup of tea in his face, and then left the room.
This month, Harvey Schachter reviewed Dr. Carol Beatty’s ebook, 
Queen’s IRC will attend four conferences and trade shows this spring. If you are planning to attend, please stop by our booth and say hello:
