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For more information on Queen’s IRC’s practitioner-focused research, please contact our research team at: ircresearch@queensu.ca
Latest ARTICLES
The Gift of Workplace Coaching
Many employers of choice offer coaching to their new generation of leaders because it’s a tool with transformative powers. Given the ever-changing business landscape—including the transition back to the office after COVID-19—smart employers provide their employees with the tools they need to succeed—from day one. For new leaders, that includes coaching. In this article, I will talk about what coaching is, the transformative power of coaching, what new leaders can expect from employer-sponsored coaching, and how to get the most out of the gift of coaching.
Inspiring Leaders: Behaviours Build the Brand
It is no surprise that when we think of inspiring leaders, we identify people we want to emulate, model ourselves after and have the opportunity to work with. As a colleague once observed, leadership can be summarized very succinctly: “Leaders inspire”. And it is seldom because of ‘what’ they do, but rather ‘why’ they do it and ‘how’ they do it.
5 Benefits to Growing Your Team’s Emotional Effectiveness
In the post-pandemic hybrid world, people are craving reconnection. They are looking to rebuild trust in organizations that look and function differently than they did just a few years ago. Leaders of teams know they must foster new ways of connection among their teams. Growing your leadership team’s emotional intelligence is key to building a connection and managing the increasingly diverse needs of employees, while creating a healthy and engaged organization.
Bringing HR Strategy to Life: The Importance of Delegated Authorities and How to Make Them Work
How do employers translate HR strategies and well intended policies into effective and responsive HR practices and results? A key driver of this success is the clarity and practical application of one’s HR “delegated authorities”. Knowing what HR decision making authorities to delegate, to whom, and how they need to be supported and applied have become mission critical HR management realities for most organizations regardless of sector. Delegated HR authorities are key to “how” HR strategy is delivered, how desired workplace cultures and employee productivity aspirations are realized. They are also key to how meaningful line management accountabilities for employee engagement, wellness, and performance are achieved.
Back to the Collective Bargaining Table
With governments everywhere reducing or removing restrictions, it appears that we’re heading back to bargaining in person. At a real table instead of a virtual one. But even if we’re planning in-person negotiations in the near future, we’re not returning to “normal” – that’s still a ways off. We will need to transition, effectively, from a flat screen to sitting across from each other, in three dimensions, for the first time in a few years. Here are some ideas and considerations to help with that transition.
4 Steps to Achieve Sustainable DEI Transformation
In recent years, organizations have turned their human resource energies to enhancing workforce diversity, fostering inclusive workplace cultures and addressing systemic barriers to employment equity. These efforts are simply the right thing to do, and they also reflect leaders’ growing appreciation that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts enhance organizational success. From being able to attract and retain talent, to being more able to innovate and problem-solve, the benefits are plentiful.
COVID-19 Vaccinations and Workplace Rights: 2022 Case Law Update
This article provides a case law update regarding the legality of vaccination policies in Canadian workplaces. While these recent decisions are directly relevant for unionized workplaces, the principles set out are useful for all employers, as the courts may consider similar principles when evaluating mandatory vaccination policies in relevant matters (such as wrongful dismissal claims arising out of the implementation of such policies). The current case law suggests that employers can implement protections against COVID-19 in the workplace, but such protections must be reasonable, balanced and relevant to the particular workplace.
Director’s Note – February 2022
Welcome to a new year of learning! As Queen’s IRC’s new Director of Professional Programs, I’m delighted to introduce our 2022 Program Planner. It’s a privilege to join this team, and I look forward to getting to know you, our participants and sponsor organizations, throughout 2022. While we had hoped to resume in-person training here in Kingston and across Canada this winter, the ongoing pandemic means we’ll have to wait a bit longer. In the meantime, “Studio IRC” brings you virtually into our technology-enhanced classrooms, with amazing tools that our program team and expert facilitators are using to deliver immersive and interactive programs.
Leaders and Change: Imperatives in the ‘New Normal’
The pandemic experience, while incredibly challenging for leaders and teams, also provided important learnings. We came to recognize the greater impact and influence of such attributes as resilience, agility, humility, curiosity, self-care, compassion and caring and attention to growing self-awareness as central to the leader role in guiding teams and ensuring that organization priorities are realized. These are foundational and increasingly expected of the most effective leaders.
ABOUT OUR PRACTITIONER-ORIENTED RESEARCH
Our research includes a variety of activities that complement our programming. Through surveys, interviews, and articles, we aim to communicate trends in the HR and LR fields.
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