Bringing Practitioner-Focused Research to People Management Practitioners
Aug. 2014
In This Issue…
Inside HR at the Ontario Public Service: An Interview with Lori Aselstine
What does 'professionalism' mean for HR professionals?
Flashback Feature:
Organized Labour in Canada and the United States: Similarities and Differences
Inside HR at the Ontario Public Service
An Interview with Lori Aselstine, Director, Employee Relations and Strategic HR, Government of Ontario
Cathy Sheldrick, Maketing Assistant, Queen's IRC
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. Lori shares which skills and knowledge she wishes she had acquired earlier in her career, and her thoughts on how HR can play an integral role in the development of corporate strategy and performance. Lori notes that in the next decade, we are going to see a push towards alternate work strategies, and this will present a host of challenges and questions, particularly with a unionized workforce.
Lori has over 33 years of experience with the Government of Ontario, most of which was in the human resources field. She has held positions such as director of Ontario Public Service labour relations, director of Broader Public Sector labour relations and director of strategic human resources business.
What does 'professionalism' mean for HR professionals?
Claude Balthazard, Vice-President Regulatory Affairs, Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA)
The desire for HR professionals to be accorded the respect and status of being true professionals is a theme that goes back many decades; and there is no evidence to suggest that this desire has waned over the years. In 2013, the Human Resources Professionals Association asked the following question on its annual member survey: "Do you agree that the professionalization of HR is, or should be, an important issue for the profession?" – 89.4% of respondents agreed with the statement. This represents as much agreement as one is ever likely to find on any question. (Human Resources Professionals Association, 2013).
But there is an interesting contradiction here. The contradiction lies in that for something that is seemingly so important to HR professionals; the topic of "professionalism" rarely appears in HR publications or HR conferences. When the topic of professionalism comes up in HR circles, there are two responses which are often heard. The first is a response that goes something like "I always behave in a professional manner, and my clients and colleagues think of me as such." The other response goes something like "I am always professional in what I do, but there are others in our profession that give the rest of us a bad reputation." And yet, in a 2011 survey conducted by the Queen's University Industrial Relations Center on the State of HR in Canada (Juniper & Hill, 2011), the authors noted that those HR professionals who reported that they are "pessimistic" or "not sure" about the future of HR were, in general, concerned about the lack of professionalism in the profession and the credentials that are required in order to obtain the CHRP designation.
By way of contrast, some of the established professions do not seem to take "professionalism" for granted and certainly do not think that the topic is an "undiscussable." A bit more than a decade ago, in response to concerns that had been expressed about a decline in professionalism among lawyers, the Chief Justice of Ontario struck an Advisory Committee on Professionalism. The document Elements of Professionalism was authored by the Committee's Working Group on the Definition of Professionalism. (2001)
Flashback Feature: Organized Labour in Canada and the United States: Similarities and Differences
Pradeep Kumar, 1987
Labour movements in Canada and the United States have much in common and close historical ties. They are bound together by a common continental heritage, interdependent product and labour markets, and a similar labour relations framework in the two countries. International unions, with predominant membership and head offices in the United States, are an integral part of the Canadian labour movement. Unions in the two countries share common goals and beliefs, have similar functions and organizational structures, and have been fighting in recent years an uphill battle for legitimacy in face of a hostile and challenging economic, social, political, and technological environment.
This paper was presented at the 36th Annual Conference of the Association of Labor Relations Agencies, held in Albany, New York, July 26-31, 1987.
For a complete list of programs, download our Program Planner today!
Invest in your best with a one-time team discount! Details
Join Queen's IRC online for the latest videos, articles, and information:
Copyright 2014 Queen's University IRC, Robert Sutherland Hall, 138 Union Street, Kingston, ON K7L 2P1
Call 1-888-858-7838 | Email IRC@QueensU.ca| Visit us online at irc.queensu.ca
